The Holy Spirit and the Bible

Since “spirit” in the original language can also mean “breath” the process of “out-breathing” we attribute inspiration as the work of the Holy Spirit.

Since God is perfect, accurate and incapable of error, so the Word of God is perfect, accurate and incapable of error.

When we use this term, inspiration, we are referring to the supernatural guidance of the writers by the Holy Spirit which resulted in every Word being accurate and reliable in the original manuscripts.

When we talk about the authorship of Scripture, we recognize dual authorship God wrote the Bible using human authors.

A. Inspired Guidance

Inspiration shows us the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit upon the writers.

Not everyone uses the word inspiration with the same meaning.

Sometimes people use the word to describe the “enthusiasm” of a brilliant artist.

we have to define the word as it is used in the context of Scripture.

The Bible says:

2 Peter 1:21 KJV

21 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.

Peter through the Holy Spirits inspiration uses the word moved, meaning picked up and borne along as they wrote God’s message.

So, inspiration means an author was guided to go where God wanted him to go, not where he chose.

B. Inspired Writers

Inspiration also incorporates the personality of the writer into the final product.

Some have argued in the past that God dictated to the writer who simply recorded it, much as a secretary would type a letter that the boss had dictated.

So, this is called the dictation theory.

There are places in the Bible that are dictated by God, Revelation 2:1-3:22 for instance (the letters to the churches).

At other times, the style of the writing and the selection of words reflect the personality and even background of the writer.

We can especially see this in the four Gospels.

Matthew was a Jewish tax collector, impressed with the fact that he had found the King of the Jews.

His Gospel begins with a royal genealogy and the arrival of the kings from the East to worship Christ.

Mark, a young disciple of Peter, seems to reflect Peter’s activism in his Gospel.

The Key word “straightway” or “immediately” makes it appear Jesus is always on the move, doing something as a servant.

Luke’s Gospel is more methodical, reflecting his historical investigation int o the facts.

Luke the medical doctor reflects the humanity of Christ and his key word is “the Son of man”.

The fourth Gospel, written by one “whom Jesus loved,” seems to be obsessed with love for Jesu sand his love for others. His key word is “believe.”

Though each of the four Gospels reflects a unique style of writer and a unique perspective of Jesus, they do not contradict each other.

They harmonize completely to give us the fully inspired, accurate record of the life of Christ.

C. Inspired Words

I believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of scripture.

Verbal means that every word of Scripture is God-breathed.

Every single word, not just the ideas behind the words, is in the Bible because God wanted it there.

The word plenary means “complete or full”;

when used to describe the inspiration of God’s Word, plenary means that all parts of the Bible are equally of divine origin and equally authoritative.

Inspiration applies to more than thoughts or impressions of the authors.

Inspiration means God places the words there.

Every word in the Bible are inspired equally, though some may have greater influence on our lives than others.

So, the Holy Spirit’s ministry extends to the very words.

1 Corinthians 2:12–13 KJV

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

A man in a sailboat is dependent on both the wind and his own skills in sailing a course.

In the same way, God communicated his revelation to the world in an accurate and reliable Book, every word chosen by the moving of the Holy Spirit of God, yet expressed through the personality of the human author.

D. Inspired Results

The Bible is completely reliable because it is completely inerrant and authoritative

Because God inspired the Bible, it is completely accurate and reliable.

The Bible is different than other good books in its content, method of writing, and the final product.

It is the very Word of God - and as such He has promised its...

II. Preservation

A. By Biblical Promise

1. Old Testament Promises Of Preservation

Psalm 12:6–7 KJV

6 The words of the Lord are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

Psalm 89:34 KJV

34 My covenant will I not break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Isaiah 40:8 KJV

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Psalm 119:89 KJV

89 LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.

2. New Testament Promises Of Preservation

Matthew 5:18 KJV

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Matthew 24:35 KJV

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

1 Peter 1:25 KJV

25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

B. By God’s Power

Down through the ages, there have been several concerted efforts by pagan unbelievers to eradicate the Word of God.

In A.D. 303, the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered the confiscation and destruction of all the Christian scriptures.

Thousands of early copies and possibly some original manuscripts were burned.

However, the Word of God was not eradicated!

Earnest believers protected the Word and hid it away in the catacombs, in caves and in graves.

Thus the Word of God survived that attack!

The French humanist Voltaire once said, "Another century and there will not be a Bible on the earth."

Two centuries have gone, and the circulation of the Bible is one of the marvels of the age.

After he died, his old printing press and the very house where he lived was purchased by the Geneva Bible Society and made a depot for Bibles.

On December 24, 1933, the British Government bought a book called Codex Sinaiticus from the Russians for half a million dollars.

On the same day, a first edition of Voltaire’s work sold for eleven cents in Paris bookshops.

Joseph Stalin, this bloody butcher took over all of Russia upon the death of Lenin in the late twenties.

From this point on until his death in the fifties, Stalin instituted a "ban the Bible."

A purge from the U.S.S.R. such as had never been witnessed before.

The miserable man literally attempted to wipe the Word of God and the God of the Word from the Russian people’s minds.

Did he succeed?

A recent poll taken in Russia shows that today more people than ever believe in God and His Word.

For thousands of years the enemies of truth have sought to destroy the precious Word of God.

Every attempt to do so has failed miserably as the Bible continues to be read and loved by millions of people.

In 1526, William Tyndale had produced the first English translation of the Bible to be printed on a printing press. This new version was hated by the Roman Catholic Church and in particularly by the Bishop of London. A certain man named John Packington, who knew the Bishop and his hatred of the Tyndale translation, but who was also secretly a friend of Tyndale, went to the Bishop of London and told him he knew how to get all of Tyndale’s Bibles. The Bishop told him to get them and that he would gladly pay whatever they cost. The Bishop of London promised to buy them with the intention of burning them at Paul’s Cross Cathedral in London. Packington went to Tyndale and told him of the deal he had made with the Bishop. Tyndale responded by saying that he knew the Bishop would burn his Bibles. However, printing the Bibles had left Tyndale deeply indebted.

Tyndale decided to sell the Bibles to the Bishop of London. He saw several advantages in doing so. First, he could use the money to pay his way out of debt and have even more Bibles printed. Secondly, He knew when the people of England saw the Bishop of London burning the Word of God they would be come enraged. So, the enemy of the Word of God actually allowed Tyndale to pay off his debts, correct the text of his translation and print three times the number of Bibles that had been destroyed!

Later, when some of Tyndale’s associates were arrested and asked where they received the money to print their Bibles, they answered that the money came from the Bishop of London. This one instance is proof that God is able to preserve His Word despite the attempts of all its enemies to destroy it.

III. Illumination

Illuminations only one of the many present-day ministries of the Holy Spirit.

Through this ministry he reveals to us important spiritual truths we would otherwise miss.

While we think of illumination in terms of a helping the Christian understand the Bible, it also occurs as conviction to the unsaved.

A. Conviction to the Unsaved

Conviction is clearly the work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said,

John 16:8 KJV

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

The word “convict” means “to rebuke or to cause to see.”

The main work of the a Holy Spirit in the life of the unsaved is to help that individual see his need for the Saviour.

The Holy Spirit convicts by helping the sinner see his sin, to see the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and to see the sin judgement of the cross.

John 16:9–11 KJV

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

When a person experiences conviction, he sees his sin, and his need for help and he is motivated to seek salvation.

B. Understanding to the Saved

The other aspect of this ministry of the Holy Spirit is in helping the Christian to understand the Bible.

As a Christian reads his Bible the Holy Spirit brings understanding.

Without the Holy Spirit man would not be able to uncover the truths in scripture.

The Bible says in

1 Corinthians 2:15 KJV

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

As we seek to interpret the Bible and apply it to our lives, we realize that the Holy Spirit is our Teacher.

John 14:26 KJV

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:13–14 KJV

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Spiritual illumination in the Bible is also called the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

1 John 2:20 KJV

20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

1 John 2:27 KJV

27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

God has given us a revelation of himself in the Bible.

He did not give it to us to frustrate us with something we could not understand.

He also gave each Christian the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Scriptures, so that the message of God could be understood.

As we study the Bible, we need to apply sound principles of interpretation while we recognize that man will sometimes disagree, we believe the problem stems from wrong application of literary principles or spiritual problems in the believer’s life.

But when diligently applied, you can begin to understand God’s message in the Bible.

1. Pray

Psalm 119:18 KJV

18 Open thou mine eyes, That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

2. Cleansing

1 John 1:9 KJV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

3. Comparing Scripture

The Bible is the best interpreter of itself.

4. Historical Context

What was happening during the time period.

5. Grammatical context

Learn and apply the basic principles of Nouns, verbs and modifiers.

6. Literal Meaning

The Bible should be taken literally everywhere it can be taken literally.

Related Media

Related Sermons