Spending just a few minutes each day reading the Bible, with the help of a plan and some notes, makes the it easier to understand.
Inspiration of the Bible
The Bible itself says that God was its author and that He guided its writers what to write. If the writing of the Bible was not guided by God - word by word - then what the Bible says about God and His dealings with men would be unreliable. If the Bible is not the authoritative 'Word of God' Himself in all its parts, it is far less valuable as a guide in spiritual things and to help people gain salvation.
A fundamental Christian belief
The Bible, consisting of the Scriptures of Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, is the only reliable source of knowledge concerning God and His purposes. The Bible itself makes the claim that God is its author and that He inspired the writers to write it. If that claim is true, then the Bible must be totally without error in all its parts except where copiers and translators have made mistakes.[1]
What 'inspiration' means
The Greek word theopneustos is translated 'inspiration' in the Bible to describe how it was written. The literal meaning of that word is ‘God-breathed [out]'. That means that God 'breathed out' the words for His writers to write down and which became the Bible.
The key aspects of Biblical inspiration are as follows:
- The Bible was produced by the ‘outbreathing’ of God through His Spirit [2]
- The Spirit of God ‘carried men along’ to write His Word [3]
- The inspired writers of the Bible wrote with the authority of God Himself and their words are binding on God’s people [4]
- The inspiration of the Bible involved the Divine control or superintendence of the very words used [5]
- Because the words themselves were Divinely inspired (as well as the writers), the original Scriptures cannot contain any errors [6]
- The power of God’s Spirit to enlighten, to convert, and to save is in the Scriptures themselves and the benefit of their Divine origin is conveyed to us in their words, without any need for the Holy Spirit to make them intelligible. [7]
There are many facts that help prove that the Bible is reliable. But, ultimately, it is just something true Christians have to believe. Without that belief, the Bible loses its value as the only reliable 'textbook' of Christian doctrine.
Conclusion
The value of the Bible to us today is based on the fact that God inspired its writers. God caused those men to write the Bible and to use exactly the right words. As a result, the Bible can be completely trusted as 'God's word' and the only basis for true Christian beliefs.
Bible references |
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| 1 | 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Cor. 2:13; Heb. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 14:37; Neh. 9:30; John 10:35 |
| 2 | 2 Timothy 3:16 |
| 3 | 2 Peter 1:20,21 |
| 4 | 1 Corinthians 2:12 ,13; 1 Corinthians 14:37; John 10:35 |
| 5 | Numbers 22:38; 23:3,5; 2 Samuel 23:1-3; Jeremiah 1:7,9; John 14:10,24 |
| 6 | Psalm 12:6 |
| 7 | 2 Timothy 3:15; John 6:63; Acts 20:32; Romans 10:17; Isaiah 55:11 |