The Revealed and Inspired Word of God

The word “inspired” means “God breathed.”

2 Timothy 3:16 NASB95 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

Every word of the Bible is inspired or “God breathed.”

This was the Apostles’ view concerning the scriptures. The Bible is not the work of men that possessed specific genius or supernatural insight. The writing, the scriptures are “God breathed,” or “inspired.” What exactly does it mean that they are “God breathed”? They are “breathed into by God.” The writers were supernaturally guided to express exactly what God intended them to express as a revelation of His mind and will. The “inspiration” came from God to individual men to give us the Bible. The word “Bible” is from the Greek word “biblos” meaning “writings.”  This one book, the Bible is the Word of God.

Isaiah 40:8 NIV The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

The Word of God is unchangeable and stands forever.

1 Corinthians 2:13 NIV 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 Peter 1:25 NIV The word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that was preached to you.

2 Peter 1:19-21 NIV And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 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.

The entire Bible is inspired of God.

Over forty (40) different men, with different training, personalities, and backgrounds spoke and wrote over a period of 1,500 years, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The words they wrote were not borne by human impulse but were inspired from God. Thus the words were backed and given by God.

Fallible men wrote what the infallible God inspired.

The fallible men have passed away but the infallible words they wrote abide forever.The Bible does not contain the Word of God; itisthe Word of God.  The gift of the inspiration from God caused the writers to become an instrument of God’s expression. By them, the infallible God communicated His mind and will to men. They wrote in the manner and in words which God gave.  The inspiration of the writers did not change their personalities or individual peculiarities as thinkers or writers.

The Bible is its own witness of this inspiration.

Look at the claims the Bible makes about itself. Only the Word of God can make these claims.

Exodus 31:18 NIV When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

Psalm 119:89 NIV Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Psalm 119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:152 NIV Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. 

Psalm 119:160 NIV All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

1 Peter 1:23-25 NIV For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

There are more than 8,000 references in the Bible to the statement:“God said,” “the Lord said,” or “The Word of God came.”

The prophets always introduced their message with the statement, “And the Word of the Lord came unto…” The prophet delivered the message which was and is the Word of God.

Peter said the prophets wrote what God told them to write.

1 Peter 1:10-11 NLT This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean.They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all this would happen.

Their message did not originate from them but God. As a result, they often did not fully understand everything the Spirit of God was revealing and inspiring them to write. Notice the admitted weakness of the men God used.

Exodus 4:10-12 NIV Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Forty years later, Moses spoke to Israel.

Deuteronomy 4:2 NIV Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

David, the youngest son of Jesse, spoke about how God anointed him and spoke through him.

After he was anointed by Samuel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

2 Samuel 23:2 NIV David said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; His word was on my tongue.”

Jeremiah was insecure about what God was telling him.

Jeremiah 1:6-9  NIV “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” ⁷But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. ⁹Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth.

The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of the Bible.

2 Peter 1:21 NIVFor prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit inspired men, whom God selected, gave us the Bible. 

God used different methods to convey the message.

The message came to them by the word of angels, the voice of God, the writings of the apostles, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God spoke to them in dreams, visions, by writing on tables of stone, revelations, and by spoken word. What God conveyed to them is the Bible. 

Hebrews 1:1-2 NIV In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

There are several passages where the Divine Author and the human instrument are mentioned. The Holy Spirit guarded and guided the words so that a true and perfect message would be recorded. 

The Great Theme Of The Bible

The one great theme of the Bible is Jesus Christ. 

(See handout – Jesus in all the books of the Bible)

By a creative act, God broke the chain of human generation and produced the supernatural One—Jesus, the Son of God. 

Galatians 4:4 NIV But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,

Jesus is the one great unifying factor who binds the Bible into one message—God’s plan of redemption for us. 

• The theme was proclaimed in the Old Testament like this, “Someone is coming.” 
• In the day of the incarnation it was announced, “Someone is come.” 
• In the days of the end time it is prophesied like this, “Someone is coming again.” 

The reason behind the coming of Jesus is the theme of the Bible.

Galatians 4:5-6 NIV to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

Revelation and Inspiration Of The Bible

What is the difference between revelation and inspiration?

Revelation refers to something God has made known and inspiration refers to the transmission, or the writing. A revelation is when God has unveiled, or uncovered something.

For example, it was a revelation when God revealed the creation to Moses. 

Moses was not present when God created the heavens and the earth. No human eye saw that, but God made it known by revelation.

Another example is found in the New Testament when God gave a Revelation to John of Christ and the end of time. 

God made the future known to John and he saw things that only God could know, thousands of years ahead. John wrote what God revealed.

What other revelations are in the Bible?

• Job had a revelation of the events in heaven when Satan looked for an opportunity to tempt him.
• Zechariah was shown Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him, (Zechariah 3:1). 
• Ezekiel and Daniel had revelations of the end of time.
• Isaiah had revelations of the suffering of Christ and of Satan being cast down from heaven, (Isaiah 14:12)
• Joel had revelations of the days when the Lord would bring judgment on the enemies of God and Israel. He saw the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days.
• Micah had revelations of the coming Christ.

Inspiration refers to the transmission, or the writing. 

It refers to the method that kept this writing from error or mistake. For example, it was inspired writing when Moses wrote of the crossing of the Red Sea, (Exodus 10-15). Moses had seen with his own eyes the crossing of Israel through the Red Sea, but God the Holy Spirit kept him from error as he wrote. In John 19, John wrote the account of Christ’s crucifixion, it was by inspiration. John was there and witnessed the death of our Lord, but he wrote, without error, according to the Holy Spirit.

The transmission, or writing, was by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and kept from error.

Inspiration produced the Bible, a document of God’s self—revelation.

When we refer to inspired authors of the Bible, we refer to the inspiration of the writings and not of the men. The inspiration is in the Word of God. What men have written is inspired by God. Moses, David, Solomon, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, were not always and everywhere inspired. As men, they all erred in conduct.

The Bible clearly defines the errors of the men who wrote.

• Moses killed a man.
• David committed adultery and murder.
• Solomon married many women who worshipped strange gods.
• Isaiah said he had unclean lips.
• Paul had murdered many of the early believers in Christ.

Their fallibility and errancy were never transmitted to the sacred writings.

Each Biblical author yielded his personality to the will of the Holy Spirit.

What they wrote was inspired of God. The truth of inspiration concerns the miracle by which the Spirit of God produced the Bible.Their human language reveals God and His plan of redemption for us.

The Bible does not contain God’s Word; it is God’s Word.

How can we know the Bible is the Word of God?

There are three tests that answer this question.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 NIV You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?”If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

The first test — a prophecy must come to pass as foretold by a prophet of God. 

Prophecy is not prediction or a man-made forecast. True prophecy is from God. Thousands of prophecies about Christ have already been fulfilled, and several thousand will be fulfilled in the second coming.

• Eight hundred years before Christ, Micah the prophet said that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem,(Micah 5:2). This literally came to pass (Luke 2: 17).
• One thousand years before it happened, David said, “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture,” (Psalm 22: 18). This is fulfilled in Matthew 27:75.

Thousands of years in advance, God prophesied things through His prophets that came to pass. This is the first test of the true Word of God. Man cannot tell the future one hour from now but God reveals the future thousands of years in advance.

The second test — the Word of God endures forever.

Psalm 119:160 NIV All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

The Bible is the truth. It has been true from the beginning. Within God’s Word we are shown the creation and the consummation of this age, the beginning and the end. God knows all things and has given us His Book of Truth to reveal Who He is, what He has done, and what He will do.

The third test — the Word of God accomplishes its purpose. 

Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

God’s Word accomplishes all that God has willed for it. The purpose of God’s Word is that we might be delivered from the penalty and judgment of sin. His Word will not return void when it is taught, preached, and studied. 

That is God’s Word.

All 66 books of the Bible are the inspired Word of God. The Bible you hold in your hand is God’s inspired Word. All of the books speak to us and present for us God’s redemptive plan.

1 Peter 1:24-25 NIV For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

The longest chapter in the Bible is about the Word of God—Psalm 119 with 176 verses, and is also the exact center of the Bible. Every verse enthusiastically praises the excellence of the Word of God. 

Psalm 119:89 NIV Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Psalm 119:105 NIV Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.