The Doctrine of Inspiration

Properties of Inspiration:

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV 1900

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Scriptural Inspiration is Plenery

Scriptural Inspiration is Verbal

Proverbs 30:5 KJV 1900

Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Therefore Scriptural Inspiration is Sentential in its Transmission. That is, God has revealed Himself to us in Hebrew and Greek Sentences.

In faithfulness to God and to our readers, it was deemed appropriate that all participating scholars sign a statement affirming their belief in the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture, and in the inerrancy of the original autographs.

NKJV Translation Team

New stuff:

Scriptural Inspiration is Confluent.

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV 1900

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Inspired: God Breathed

But also: People wrote the Bible.

Jeremiah 1:1 KJV 1900

The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

Psalm 2:1 KJV 1900

Why do the heathen rage, And the people imagine a vain thing?

ps 2

Amos 1:1 KJV 1900

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Luke 1:1–4 KJV 1900

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Luke 1:1–5 KJV 1900

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

1 Peter 1:1 KJV 1900

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Theories of Inspiration

The Dictation Theory

Writers are stenographers.

Islamic - no christian doctrine.

Reason - Certain phenomoa of scriptures

1: Different styles, vocabularies

If a single writer and dictation, then every book will have the exact same style and vocabulary.

If i write 2 different sermons - different content, but same style and word use, cause it same writer.

But the books of the bible, while all having a singhle coherent story and doctrine all have different styls and vocabularies that refect their human writers.

Isaiah not like amos.

Paul not like Peter.

Luke is not like John.

2: Levicula

Romans 16:3–15 KJV 1900

Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us. Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord. Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household. Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord. Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them. Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.

Are we take this :Thus saith the Lord? Did God dictate this to Paul, Does God want us to greet all these people?

We have not got any idea who these people were., they are mention here and no where else. This passage might have limited historical info, but its useless to us over 2000 years later.

NOW:

Still inspired, still plenery, but clearly not a result of dictation.

Third phenomoa:

Human Emotions

Best example is the imprecatory Psalm - To call down evil upon.

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These also also called the deliverance Psalms. They record the deep anger, frustration and even hatred that the writer felt as a result of loss in battle, or violation of sacred decree or other terrible oppressive acts of other nations.

This anger and hatred is hard to understand, especially for us as christians who’s Master command us to love our enemies.

And it would be very hard to sjustify these Psalm as being the result of dictation.

For example: Do anyone of you believe that God would tell his people that the best way to vent their frustration and find joy is to raid enemies homes, steal babies from their mothers and then bash those babes heads on rocks?

No?

Psalm 137:9 KJV 1900

Happy shall he be, that taketh And dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Psalm 137:9 NLT

Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!

Psalm 137:1–9 KJV 1900

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps Upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; And they that wasted us required of us mirth, Saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; Who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee As thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh And dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

ps 137

Psalm 137:1 KJV 1900

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion.

The imprecatory psalm are often used by atheists and muslims to show that God is not loving patient and that God is more evil than people because not even the atheist would, for example, smash his adversaries innocent babies on a rock.

ps 137 1-10

And many christians, when questions about this, don’t know what to say. Because the bible is “God’s Word” god must have said it.

What they do not understand is the doctrine of inspiration. If you subscribe to dictation theory then you are in deep trouble because then you have to say that God really did say that joy is found in the murder of children.

Dictation theory puts word in God’s mouth that he never actually said.

Now: This Psalm and all the others are inspired, and the writers were all carried along by the Holy Spirit, but these Psalm are not given like proverbs, they are God ordained to show and help us who at times might also feel these terrible feeling of revenge and hatred and anger, because we read them and we see that we are not alone, and we can see how later the writers of these psalm found peace and hope and forgivness and that gives us hope.

The inspiration and preservation of these Psalms is not God giving consent to the content and the emotions, he is showing how someone filled with such hatred and anger can later find peace in God.

Another example:

Psalm 139:22 KJV 1900

I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

Psalm 139:20–22 KJV 1900

For they speak against thee wickedly, And thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

So Dictation Theory falls very short in explaining these phenomia.

2: The Accommodation Theory

That God accomodates himself to us.

John Calvin big proponent of this theory.

For who even of slight intelligence does not understand that, as nurses commonly do with infants, God is wont in measure to ‘lisp’ in speaking to us? Thus such forms of speaking do not so much express clearly what God is like as accomodate the knowledge of him to our slight capacity. To do this he must descend far beneath his loftiness”

John Calvin

So This theory is very simple - God has had to condescend himself so that we can understand and comprehend him in scripture.

Now: This theory is true, God has accommodated himself to us, he accommodated himself when he chose to reveal himself in Hebrew and Greek, 2 human languages. Hebrew is a type of Chaldean dialect and greek is from pagan Rome.

So God has accommodated Himself, so the theory is true, however it still does not explain things like the levicula. Its true but its also inadequate.

3: The Supervision Theory

This is the theory that agreed upon by virtually all of evangelical Christendom.

Its simple: The Holy Spirit supervised all the wrings of holy Scripture. Its fits most in line with scripture:

2 Peter 1:21 KJV 1900

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

In this theory, the Holy Spirit is not in a passive role but in a very active role, but that role is not one of puppeteering (dictation) but rather a role of supervising.

So the writers of scripture were not listening to some inner voice or something.

They were holy men, taught ether by Jesus or the Holy Spirit or both, they were spirit filled men.

And when they wrote Scripture they wrong freely and spontainsisly out of their hearts to these churches. But while they wrote spontainesly, they did not write independently of the Holy Spirit and as they wrote the Holy Spirit supervised every word and every sentence so that the end product is, for example the writing of Paul and bear all his trademarks, styles and characteristics, but also the very Word of God.

And that gets it right.

It explains why every book that is authored by a different writer is different in its style and vocabulary.

It explains why we have the levicula and why Paul could ask for someone to bring his jacket to the next meeting.

2 Timothy 4:13 KJV 1900

The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

And it explains the human emotion of some passages as they spoke and wrote out of their feelings of deep frustration.