************ Sermon on Belgic Confession Article 3b ************
Doctrine: Inspiration
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on January 18, 1998
B.C. 3(b)
2 Peter 1:12-21
"The Inspiration of God's Word"
Introduction
Last time we learned that God spoke. Scripture tells us this in many places and the Belgic Confession affirms this. Last time we also learned that part of what God said was put in the Bible; we learned that the Word of God was inscripturated.
If you remember, last week I asked a question about this inscripturation of God's Word. I asked, "If the Bible is not the same as the original special revelation of God, is it still the Word of God?" The answer, I said, is "yes."
How can I and the church say that? The reason, dear people, is that the Bible is inspired. Yes, it was written by men. But, as the Belgic Confession of Faith puts it,
... holy men of God spoke,
being moved by the Holy Spirit
Or, as Peter puts it,
(2 Peter 1:21) For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
This means that the Bible is God's Word, not man's word. This means that it is God speaking to us in the Bible, not man speaking. This means that we ought to hear the voice of God in the Bible, not the voice of man. Today, let's take a closer look at inspiration.
I The Bible is Inspired Yet Written by Men
A What does Peter mean when he says men spoke from God "as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit"? What does it mean to be "moved by the Holy Spirit"? First of all, let's say what it does not mean.
A mother was sitting next to her first grade daughter during morning worship service one Sunday. She noticed her daughter look down at the open Bible. In a low whisper, the girl asked, "Did God really write that?"
"Yes," the mother quietly whispered back.
Looking down at the Bible again, she said in amazement, "Wow! He really has neat handwriting!"
Inspiration does not mean that God took pen and paper and wrote down the words of the Bible.
"Inspiration" also does not mean dictation. There have been some who picture the human authors of Scripture as secretaries who take down word-for-word what God dictates to them. Under this mechanical view, Biblical authors such as Paul, Moses, Peter, and Matthew, are but mere scribes who transcribe what God says. Under this view, the mental and spiritual capabilities of the human authors lay dormant so that they did not contribute in any way or form to their writings.
On the other extreme is what is known as the dynamic theory of inspiration. This view says that such writings as the letters of Paul, the 5 books of Moses, the epistles of Peter, and the Gospel of Matthew are inspired in the same way as are the works of William Shakespeare, the books of Charles Dickens, the suspenseful films of Alfred Hitchcock, the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, and the paintings of Vincent van Gogh. Under this view, there is no direct operation of the Holy Spirit in the production of the books of the Bible. This view reduces "inspiration" to the artistic level and inspiration becomes no more than "an urge to write." Under this view Scripture can be and is filled with errors and mistakes.
B How does the Belgic Confession view inspiration? The Confession's view is simply known as "organic" inspiration. Organic inspiration says the human authors of Scripture were completely controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit. Yet, God used them
as they were, with their character and temperament, their gifts and talents, their education and culture, their vocabulary, diction and style.
Organic inspiration means that the Scriptures are God's Word. Yet, they are written in human language, by as well as for men. The Scriptures have no heavenly style or vocabulary. The human authors of Scripture speak in the vocabulary and thought patterns of their time.
A close examination of the books of Scripture shows the unmistakable stamp of their human authors. A methodical and observant doctor like Luke states at the outset that he did his own research before he wrote the Gospel that bears his name (Luke 1:1-4). And, his two books are full of observations that only a scientist-type would notice. The psalmists repeatedly make mention of their personal experiences. Anyone who reads God's Word with the least bit of literary discrimination, immediately recognizes that the writing style of John is very different from that of James; and the writing style of Paul is quite different from that of Peter.
"Organic" inspiration means that the Bible was not handed down from heaven, neatly printed and bound, ready-made for our reading and instruction. This is what the Moslems and Mormons claim for their holy writings. Our Scriptures have come to us by the voice and hand of men and it took hundreds of years before the process was completed.
C Organic inspiration is taught very clearly in our Scripture passage for this evening. Listen to what the apostle says:
(2 Peter 1:20-21) Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. (21) For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Peter clearly indicates that the Scriptures come from God. He tells us that "no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation." A little earlier he can say, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories ..." (vs 16). The Bible is fully divine. It has its origin in God.
It is obvious that there is also human activity, human involvement, in the matter of God's revelation to man. Peter says, "men spoke." There are two Greek words that Peter could have used. One of the words (lego) puts the emphasis on the words that are said. The other word (laleo) emphasizes audible, articulate speech. Peter uses the second word, thereby emphasizing the human activity. Also, in the Greek, the word "men" occupies a position of emphasis at the very end of the sentence. Peter purposely underscores the human activity involved in God's revelation to man.
Men spoke, but what they spoke is "from God." How is this possible? How come it is God's Word and not man's word that is said and written down? Peter gives us the answer when he tells us the human authors of Scripture "were carried along by the Holy Spirit." We come across this word in Acts 27. Paul and his companions were sailing for Rome. They hit a storm on the sea. The storm was so fierce that the crew lost all control and let the boat be carried along by the wind. The human authors of Scripture were carried along by the Holy Spirit in the same way that Paul's boat was carried along by the wind. The Spirit was in control so that what was said and written down was "from God" and not from man.
II All of the Bible is Inspired
A The Scriptures are inspired. They are from God and not from man. To what extent is the Bible inspired? Is there any part of the Bible which is of man and not from God? Listen to what the Apostle Paul says:
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ...
The clear teaching of Paul is that all of Scripture is inspired, all Scripture is of God and not of man. We cannot go along with any view which extends inspiration just to certain parts or elements of Scripture.
We have learned certain catch-phrases that people use to deny the full inspiration of Scripture. Some try to distinguish between doctrinal and non-doctrinal parts of Scripture; some try to distinguish between what they call primeval and actual history; some distinguish between the words of Christ and what is said elsewhere; some distinguish between the historical Jesus and the Jesus of the Gospels. All of these are but attempts to deny the inspiration of all of Scripture.
B There is a view of inspiration which says that only the thoughts or concepts of Scripture are inspired. Under this view, inspiration does not extend to the very words used by the human authors. Yet, inspiration must be extended to cover the very words of Scripture. In the New Testament we see more than one argument which rests upon a single word from an Old Testament passage (John 10:35; Matt 22:43-45; Gal 3:16). Jesus talks about the importance of single letters (Mt 5:18). He tells us that "Scripture cannot be broken" (Jn 10:35). To Jeremiah, God said, "I have put my words in your mouth" (Jer 1:9; cf Deut 18:18). And, Paul can say,
(1 Corinthians 2:13) This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit ...
C To what extent, then, is Scripture inspired? We believe in a full or complete inspiration; in other words, all of Scripture is inspired. And, we believe that each and every word is inspired.
Do you realize what that means? It means that Scripture is infallible. To say Scripture is infallible is to say 3 things:
1. Scripture does not deceive; it does not tell us one thing and mean another; it does not stretch the truth, twist the truth, or falsify the truth.
2. Scripture is inerrant; it does not contain mistakes and errors; it is not wrong on any fact or figure.
3. Scripture is non-failing; we can rely on it; we can trust it; we can stake our lives upon it.
III Inspiration Properly Defined
A Scripture in all its parts and in its every word is the inspired Word of God. However, we do have to qualify this. The Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the original manuscripts. The Holy Spirit's inspiration does not extend to the translation of the originals because, to put it simply, there is no perfect translation. Therefore the church has the continuous task of trying to reproduce the original text as closely as possible in the language of the day.
We have to take exception to the position of the Roman Catholic Church which, at one time, declared that the Latin Vulgate is the authentic translation of the Bible. We also have to take exception to the position of those who maintain that the King James Version or the NIV is the only authentic translation of the Bible.
B Another qualification: the original manuscripts — what we know as the autographa (a Greek word meaning "the writings themselves") — are inspired, but hand-written copies of them are not. For what happens when things are copied by hand? Mistakes are made: word order is changed, words are misspelt, words or even sentences are left out or repeated, extra words are added. Did you know, we do not possess any of the original writings as they came from the authors' hands? And, a comparison of the copies that we do have reveal numerous variant or alternate readings. However, many of the variant readings are of an insignificant nature; the vast majority concern differences in spelling only. And, not a single point of doctrine is at stake or in doubt.
C Can we say that our English translation of the Bible is inspired? After all, our Bibles are translations of Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. And, those Greek and Hebrew manuscripts are hand-written copies of the original manuscripts. So, is our English Bible inspired?
We say that the perfections of Scripture apply in the first instance to the autographs, to the original manuscripts. Next, we say that the perfections of Scripture also apply to hand-written copies of the originals in so far as they faithfully reproduce the original. Finally, we say that the perfections of Scripture further apply to our English Bibles in so far as they accurately and fully translate the original.
IV Pay Attention to God's Inspired Word
A Scripture is God's inspired Word. Within its pages God speaks to us. Peter knows this, so he says,
(2 Peter 1:19) you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place ...
Scripture is like a light. The Psalmist says that:
(Psalm 119:105) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Think of a winding path in the darkness of night; you cannot walk down it without a light. Think of a dirt-filled room without windows; you cannot clean the dirt away without a light to see by. Think of a closet filled with clothes; you cannot properly dress yourself until you can see the clothes you hope to wear.
Peter says to us, "Pay attention to Scripture, as to a light shining in a dark place."
B We are to pay attention to Scripture. This means we are to obey Scripture, we are to listen to Scripture, we are to apply ourselves to Scripture. In what way, in what areas, are we to pay attention to Scripture? Let me mention some of them:
1. We have to pay attention to Scripture in matters of doctrine. What we believe and why has to be solidly rooted in Scripture. Our belief in the Creation, Fall, and Redemption, for instance, has to stem from the Bible and not from science or myth.
2. We are to pay attention to Scripture in matters of practice. How we live out and practice our faith as a church has to be solidly rooted in Scripture.
3. We are to pay attention to Scripture in matters of morality. How we live our lives and what we do and not do ought to be solidly based upon Scripture.
4. We are to pay attention to Scripture in matters of promise. What does God promise His children? Christ did not promise beds of ease or a life of luxury. His promise is to never leave or forsake His own. His promise is a new and better life in a new and better body on a new and better earth. His promise is to hear our prayers, not to answer them in accordance with our wishes. We are to rest on the promises God has made in Scripture and not on promises as we would wish them to be.
5. We are to pay attention to Scripture in matters of prediction. Scripture tells us about the last days, about wars and rumors of war, about scoffers, about a Final Judgment and the salvation of the righteous.
C Scripture is God's inspired Word. "You do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place." We do well to pay attention, because on this earth and in this life it is the only light we are given. This reminds me of an advertisement that I saw once:
Topic: Bible
Subtopic:
Index: 414-434
Date: 11/1987.3
Title: Position Wanted
I would like a job as tutor, teacher and advisor to your family. I will never take a vacation.
I don't drink or smoke. I won't borrow your clothes or raid your refrigerator.
I will be up in the morning as early as anyone in the household and will stay up as late as anyone wishes.
I will help solve any problems your children might have. I will give you the satisfaction of knowing that no question your children ask will go unanswered. For that matter, I will answer any of your own questions on subjects that range from "How we got here?" to "Where are we headed?"
I will settle differences of opinion. I will give you information that will help you with your job, your family and all of your other interests.
In short, I will give you the knowledge that will insure the continued success of your family.
I am your Bible.
Do I get the job?
That is why "You do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place."
Conclusion
The Bible is referred to in many different ways. We speak of it as God's Word, the Good Book, the Holy Scriptures, and the Sword of the Spirit. It is also known as the Book of books and the Living Word. Some call it simply THE Book, for nothing else seems necessary. It stands alone, towering above all other writings.
Of the many titles given to the Bible, however, the one that is the most appropriate is God's Miracle Book. This is true for a number of reasons:
1. It is miraculous in its origin — coming to us by divine inspiration.
2. It is miraculous in its durability — outlasting the opposition of its critics and surviving the attempts of its enemies to exterminate it.
3. It is miraculous in its results — transforming the lives of those who read and believe it.
4. It is miraculous in its harmony — agreeing in all its parts, even though written over a period of 1600 years by about 40 different authors.
5. It is miraculous in its message — telling of many occasions when God supernaturally intervened in the affairs of men to accomplish his redemptive purposes.
6. It is miraculous in its preservation — maintaining its accuracy and reliability down through the centuries.
Yes, the Bible is God's Miracle Book!
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