Foundations of Faith
HOW WAS THE BIBLE WRITTEN? or What Is the Meaning of “Divine Inspiration”?
Suppose you see a Christian friend of yours getting involved in some sinful and destructive activities. You are upset; you are concerned for your friend. What should you do? Your mind and emotions are whirling around with conflicting thoughts. One moment you are angrily telling him off (in your mind), and the next moment you are tempted to ignore the whole thing. But then you begin praying about it; and the more you pray, the more thoughts and words and scripture verses seem to pour into your mind. Then you put these thoughts and words and verses down on paper in a letter to your friend. In the letter you plainly but gently confront him and express your concern for him and promise to pray for him.
The picture just painted is a crude and very incomplete illustration of how we believe the Bible was written. The verse, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” literally means, “Every Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). God did not write the Bible with His own hand; nor does it appear that He simply dictated the different parts of the Bible to scribes such as Moses, David, Isaiah, John, and Paul (except for those times when God spoke directly to His prophets and His exact words were written down, such as Jer. 1:4,5 and elsewhere). Rather, God carefully selected men who were devoted servants of His and prepared each one so that he had all of the education, knowledge, experience, holiness, and self-denial necessary to be used by God in “breathing out” His Word through their minds.
The apostle Matthew, no doubt, was capable of writing an account of his experiences during three years of living, learning, and walking as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Lord used him, worked through him, to produce a gospel with a particular emphasis, addressed to a particular group of people, and that included just those events, incidents, speeches of Christ, and discussions between Christ and His disciples that met God’s purposes for the Gospel of Matthew.
In the genealogy of Christ given in Matthew 1, the apostle could easily have obtained the part from Abraham to Zorobabel from the Old Testament. But the Lord either had to show Matthew where he could find the genealogy from Zorobabel to Joseph, Mary’s husband, or else revealed this to Matthew as a special revelation. But there is a very special mark of “God-breathing” in the genealogy of Christ, namely the mention of four women, and only four, and indeed a very peculiar, unusual selection from all of the wives and mothers of the men in the genealogical succession. (See Assignment 16)
No doubt through seasons of prayer and communion with the Lord, God’s thoughts filled the minds of His servants so that the words they wrote were God’s words, but at the same time expressed in each one’s own unique writing style. There was a submission of the writer’s will to God’s will such that the words written were God’s own words and the writer’s own words at the same time.
We can usually distinguish between a letter or essay written by a fifth-grader and one written by a college graduate by means of the vocabulary used by each and the grammatical structure of their writings. Just so, Hebrew and Greek scholars can see distinct differences in the vocabulary, style, and polish of writing among the different authors of the books of the Bible.
Let us see what the human writers of the Bible have to say as to the authorship of the Bible:
Moses said, “God spoke all these words” (Exod. 20:1).
David said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was in my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2).
Jeremiah said that God told him, “Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth” (Jer. 1:9).
The apostle Peter said, “Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spoke before concerning Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus” (Acts 1:16; see also Acts 4:24,25; Heb. 3:7; 10:15,16 where the Holy Spirit is credited with authorship of Old Testament passages).
The apostle Paul said, “Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teach, but which the Holy Ghost teaches” (1 Cor. 2:13).
The following examples from Scripture show that it was not just the thoughts, ideas, and the truths that were divinely inspired, but the words themselves–and even the particular forms of the words–that were God-breathed:
1. In Matt. 22:41-46, the Lord based a crucial argument concerning His own deity on the word “Lord” as quoted from Psa. 110:1.
2. In Luke 20:37,38, the Lord Jesus gave an argument for the resurrection from the Old Testament. The argument was based on the fact that in Exod. 3:6, God said to Moses, “I am … the God of Abraham…” rather than “I was …”
3. In John 10:34, the Lord vindicated Himself from the charge of blasphemy by focusing on a single word in Psa. 82:6.
4. In Heb. 12:26,27 we find an important argument concerning future judgment based on the simple words quoted from Hag. 2:6, “Yet once more.” (See Assignment 17)
Does all of this mean that we are to take all of Scripture totally, absolutely literally? The answer is basically, “YES,” but with some simple qualifications. Just as a factual story in the daily newspaper, or a scientific text book, or a biography may often contain metaphors, similes, hyperbole, and other figures of speech, so does the Bible. The Book of Psalms was written in poetry and is particularly rich in non-literal figures of speech used to express better the depth of feelings and emotions of the authors.
Let us look at a few examples of non-literal expressions in the Bible:
1. “The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved; I bear up the pillars of it” (Psa. 75:3).
2. “Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19).
3. “The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isa. 55:12; also Psa. 114:4,6).
4. “I am the Bread of life … the Door … the true Vine” (John 6:35; 10:9; 15:1). (See Assignment 18)
In addition to figures of speech, there is quite a bit of symbolism used in the Bible. The books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation are particularly noted for the use of symbols, such as creatures with four faces and four wings (Ezekiel 1), beasts with ten horns (Daniel 7), and locusts shaped like horses and with human faces (Revelation 9).
But in straightforward historical narratives, such as Genesis through Esther, the four Gospels, and the book of Acts, for the most part there is no reason to accept these narratives in any way but absolutely literally. If such a historical narrative speaks of the creation and fall of man, the parting of the Red Sea, the swallowing of Jonah by a great fish prepared by the Lord, the transformation of water into wine, or the resurrection of Christ, we accept these as literal declarations of the infinite power of the Creator-Author of the Bible.
Even when a non-literal figure of speech or symbol is employed, the teaching given in the passage is not to be discounted. Scripture tells us that those “not found written in the book of life” will be “cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). Nobody knows whether this will be a literal fire with literal flames and intense heat, or if it is symbolic of the intensity of mental, emotional, and spiritual agony that will be experienced by unrepentant sinners. But either way, the message is powerful and clear, isn’t it!
What about the inconsistencies in the Bible? First of all, the Bible is not “full of inconsistencies” as so many unbelieving scoffers proclaim. Many apparent inconsistencies can be resolved by a more careful study of the text and context. Occasionally, inconsistencies have been traced to transcription errors when the ancient manuscripts were copied by hand (no Xerox machines or printing presses back then!). However, this kind of error is very uncommon, in spite of the many times the manuscripts were copied.
There remain a few problems for which there seems to be no obvious solution. In such cases we need to live with the problem until a satisfactory solution appears, as has frequently occurred in the past. Meanwhile, it is of paramount importance that we rest with utmost confidence and assurance upon the multitude of evidences (as presented in the previous four issues of Growing) that confirm the Bible as truly the Word of God, and not be shaken by the very small number of fine details in the Bible that are in apparent conflict.
Finally, what should be the practical effect upon our lives of the things we have learned concerning the divine inspiration of the Scriptures? Clearly, our hearts and consciences should be stirred to read and understand as much as we possibly can of the Scriptures, for therein we have God’s revelation of Himself, His way of salvation, and His path for His children to follow. And as we grow in knowledge of the Word of God, let us allow the Word to change us and conform us to the image of God’s Son.
Running the Race
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDYING THE BIBLE (V)
We conclude this series of articles with a list of suggestions for properly interpreting the Bible.
11. Try to determine whether the language of the text is literal or figurative. Sometimes the answer is found in the text itself (John 2:19-22; Rev. 1:12-20).
12. Determine the meanings of the words you are reading. An ordinary English dictionary is helpful, but even better are books that give the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words found in the original manuscripts. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament and Old Testament Words, and Strong’s and Young’s Concordances are particularly helpful. For those who are willing to learn the Hebrew and Greek alphabets, the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament with interlinear (that is, between the lines) English translation are valuable. All of our readers who are interested in serious Bible study are strongly encouraged to take courses in biblical Greek and Hebrew while in college or through college correspondence courses.
13. Always study a particular verse in the context of the entire chapter, and study a particular chapter in the context of the entire book. (See Assignment 19)
14. Compare Scripture with Scripture in order to arrive at its true meaning. There is a divine unity that runs throughout the Bible, so if one part of the Bible is difficult to understand, often another part of the Bible that is more easily understood will shed light on the first. When studying a particular biblical subject, it is most profitable to gather together, with the aid of a concordance, all of the passages bearing upon the subject and comparing them one with the other; by this one can arrive at the teaching of the whole of Scripture on the subject, or what is sometimes referred to as “the whole tenor of Scripture.”
15. It is often helpful to learn about the manners and customs of the people to whom the Bible was originally written. The Land and the Book by William Thompson and Manners and Customs of Bible Lands by Fred Wight are helpful books in this regard.
16. The use of reliable Bible commentaries can be very helpful in reaching an understanding of passages of scripture. However, it is profitable for the student of the Bible first of all to seek, through prayer and dependence upon the Holy Spirit, and with the aid only of concordances, Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible, and the like, to interpret the passage on his/her own. After that it is helpful to check out one’s own interpretation with that of a respected Bible commentary. If we become too dependent on the commentaries to teach us, we will miss many “gems” that the Holy Spirit has to give those who diligently apply themselves to the study of the Scriptures.
Assignment 16: (a) Name the four women mentioned in the genealogy in Matthew 1; (b) why do you think God wanted these particular women, and not others like Sarah and Rebekah, included in this presentation of the genealogy of Christ?
Assignment 17: Find a verse in Galatians 3 where an argument based on an Old Testament passage hinges on whether a particular word was singular or plural.
Assignment 18: Psalm 22, “a Psalm of David,” is often referred to as “a Messianic Psalm” because it clearly is prophetic of the Messiah–the Lord Jesus Christ. (a) Write down at least three non-literal figures of speech found in this psalm that serve to describe the intensity of Christ’s very real and literal sufferings on the cross. (b) “Hyperbole” is a figure of speech which exaggerates the truth in order to express one’s depth of feeling; can you find an expression in Psalm 22 that may have been an exaggeration as far as the personal experience of the author, David, was concerned, but was literally fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Assignment 19: In 1 Sam. 21:8 we find the expression, “The king’s business required haste.” This statement from Scripture is often taken out of context and used in urging individual believers or assemblies of believers to take some course of action. From the context, what seems to be David’s actual purpose and intent in making such a statement?