June
20, 2003
INSPIRATION
OF SCRIPTURE
"All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16, 17, NKJV).
God's
Holy Word, the Bible, affects human beings so profoundly because
"all" the Bible "is given by inspiration of
God." The Bible is more than a collection of moral values
and principles; it's more than a great book; it's an inspired
document, it's God's Book. The prophets related what they
saw and heard in human language, but their message came directly
from God.
The Bible
reveals our Creator. It is the Creator's written message to
us about Himself and His plan for us and our world.
The Bible
is a collection of sixty-six books. The thirty-nine books
of the Old Testament were composed between about 1400 and
400 BC, and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament between
about 50 and 100 AD. Over the span of 1500 years beginning
with Moses and ending with John, the disciple of Christ who
wrote Revelation, there were at least forty prophets who made
their contributions.
The Bible
writers were shepherds, traders, fishermen, soldiers, physicians,
preachers, government officials and kings, human beings from
all walks of life. They served under different governments
and lived within contrasting cultures and systems of philosophy.
Amazingly, when the sixty-six books of the Bible are brought
together, we find perfect harmony in the messages they convey.
How did
God reveal Himself to the prophets? He said to Moses, "Listen
to My words: When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal
myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams" (Numbers
12:6).
Paul
made very clear his inspiration, "I did not receive it from
any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation
from Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:12). He also tells us, "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)."This is
what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but
in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths
in spiritual words" (1 Corinthians 2:13).
The Bible
as a whole communicates one coherent message-One mind planned
it all, the mind of God. Scripture's remarkable unity gives
evidence that it is not simply human literature but indeed
the Word of God. Humans wrote the thoughts and words, but
they were "God-breathed," inspired by God Himself.
From
beginning to end, the Bible is God's revealed plan for the
life and salvation of all mankind.
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