Articles
Word Of The Week: Inspiration
A creative person may say he was “inspired” by something to write a poem or paint a picture, and indeed we can be lifted to higher thoughts and feelings by something we encounter. But the Bible concept of inspiration is quite different.
When it says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Tim. 3:16), it literally means that the Bible is “God breathed.” That means the words written are the words God gave to the authors: “These words we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches” (I Cor. 2:13).
Some people think some parts of the Bible are profound literature. Others like the poetry of the King James language. Some like the moral framework that Scripture provides. But the Bible is more than this: it is the revelation of God’s thoughts in God’s words.
We cannot impugn the moral force of the words of God by saying “the Bible was written by men.” It was, but not by men only: “Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Pet. 1:21).
This puts the Bible in a class by itself.
