Category: Inspiration

The Representations of the Holy Spirit: Part 5 - Wind, Independent

5/29/2021

TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Representations Of The Holy Spirit: Part 5 - Wind, Independent

The wind metaphor is also used to describe the Holy Spirit’s role in the inspiration of Scripture. The term inspiration comes from the Greek term theopneustos meaning God-breathed. God breathed out His Word to human authors who wrote down what was spoken. Scripture was not the by-product of their logic or reasoning.

for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved (phérō) by the Holy Spirit (pneuma) spoke from God. - 2 Peter 1:21

In 2 Peter 1:21, the phrase moved by the Holy Spirit means that the human writers were led, directed, or carried along by the Holy Spirit. The term moved (phérō) describes the way in which the wind blows the sails of a ship to carry it along.

No one guides the wind. It is as if it independently goes where it wants. Meteorologists can measure the wind winds, and to varying degrees, predict the wind’s direction. However, they cannot control the wind. In a sense, the wind is sovereign — it does as it pleases. Like the wind, no one controls the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is independent and sovereign; He does as He wills.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. - 1 Corinthians 12:11

Finally, the wind is moving air, which contains oxygen. Oxygen sustains the cells of all living things. So too, the Holy Spirit gives and sustains spiritual life.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. - John 6:63
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. - Romans 8:11

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The Divine Works of the Holy Spirit: Part 2 - Inspiration

4/21/2021

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TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Divine Works Of The Holy Spirit: Part 2 - Inspiration

Inspiration is “the Holy Spirit’s superintending [i.e. divine direction] over the writers, so that while writing according to their own styles and personalities, the result was God’s Word written—authoritative, trustworthy, and free from error in the original autographs.” (1) Inspiration is necessary to guarantee that what God chose to reveal to man was accurately recorded by man.

Inspiration involves divine authorship. The term inspiration (theopneustos) literally means God-breathed.

All Scripture is inspired by God (theopneustos), and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; - 2 Timothy 3:16

Inspiration comes from two Greek terms theos meaning God and pneuma meaning breath. The term pneuma can also be translated as Spirit. Thus, God breathed out His Word through the Holy Spirit. God did not breathe on the text to inspire it. Instead, He breathed the Scriptures, out of His mouth.

But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. - Matthew 4:4

Inspiration involves human writers. However, inspiration applies only to the words, not the persons. In other words, God communicated His words to human authors, who in turn wrote down what was spoken. These men were not supernatural or inspired. Scripture was not the by-product of their logic or reasoning.

for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved (phérō) by the Holy Spirit (pneuma) spoke from God. - 2 Peter 1:21

Rather than producing the Scriptures on their own, the human writers were moved (phérō) by the Holy Spirit. Moved by the Holy Spirit means that they were led, directed, or carried along by the Holy Spirit. This moving is what is known as the superintending or divine directing of the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit superintended the human authorship, God’s Word was recorded without error in the original autographs or original documents.

ENDNOTES:

Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), 160.

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False Views of Inspiration

7/8/2020

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Trinity Bible Church · False Views Of Inspiration

There are many false views of inspiration, which undermine or completely discredit the Bible as God’s breathed out words.

Natural Inspiration teaches that the writers of the Bible were nothing more than men of unusual ability and insights. We reject Natural Inspiration. If the Bible is no different that any other secular book it cannot be trusted for matters of faith.

Spiritual Illumination teaches that certain believers, who have greater insights than others, wrote the Bible. We reject Spiritual Illumination. If greater insight is all that is needed to produce Scripture, than Scripture should still be in the process of being written.

Partial Inspiration teaches that only those parts of the Bible related to faith and practice are inspired; those parts related to history, science, and chronology may be in error. We reject Partial Inspiration. Can faith or doctrine be separated from history? For example, the narratives about the birth of Jesus contain both doctrine and history. Furthermore, can the Bible be trusted if it contains errors?

Conceptual Inspiration teaches that only the concepts or ideas of the Bible are inspired, not the words. We reject Conceptional Inspiration. Concepts and ideas can only be communicated by words. If the words are incorrect how can they communicate concepts or ideas correctly?

Divine Dictation teaches that God dictated the words to men, who passively recorded. We reject Divine Dictation. If the human authors were passive secretaries each book should have the same style of writing. However, there is no uniformity of style between the books of the Bible.

Neo-Orthodoxy teaches that the Bible becomes inspired as the believer experiences God. We reject Neo-Orthodoxy. If each believer experiences God differently, them the Bible varies in its inspiration. How can one be sure that what they are reading is from God?

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Verbal-Plenary Inspiration of Scripture

7/4/2020

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Trinity Bible Church · The Verbal-Plenary Inspiration of Scripture

There are many views on the inspiration of the Scriptures. The Biblical view of inspiration is known as verbal-plenary inspiration.

Verbal means that every word of Scripture is breathed out by God. In other words, God communicated not by thought or ideas, but accurately and precisely through words.

which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. - 1 Corinthians 2:13

Verbal inspiration applies not only to the words themselves but to the letters and the parts of the letters.

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. - Matthew 5:18

Plenary means that all Scripture, in all its parts, is equally from God. There is no part of Scripture that is more inspired than another part. The Law is just as inspired as the Gospels, and the Psalms are just as inspired as the Epistles. By teaching about Himself from the three parts of the Old Testament (i.e., the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms), Jesus affirmed that they were equally inspired.

Now He said to them, These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, - Luke 24:44-45

If only certain parts of Scripture are inspired, which parts are? If some portions of Scripture are more inspired than others, are the more inspired, more trustworthy?

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Inspiration & Infallibility of Scripture

6/13/2020

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Trinity Bible Church · Inspiration And Infallibility Of Scripture

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. You, O Lord, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever. - Psalm 12:6-7
But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. - 2 Peter 1:20-21

Inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit to correctly and adequately transfer God’s truth into a language that may be read and understood by various people. Inspiration is always related to the Bible itself, not an individual, although it is accomplished through human writers. However, God did not merely dictate to the human writers but used them and their styles.

Because the Holy Spirit correctly and adequately transferred God’s Word to humanity, Scripture is both inerrant (i.e., free from error) and infallible. The Word of Truth is free from all flaws and, though debated, has never been proven wrong in any area of history, science, moral issue, or doctrinal matters. Therefore, the Word of God is free of any blemish, dependable, accurate, and trustworthy. It is thus, infallible in everything it teaches.

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The Representations of the Holy Spirit: Part 5 - Wind, Independent

The Divine Works of the Holy Spirit: Part 2 - Inspiration

False Views of Inspiration

Verbal-Plenary Inspiration of Scripture

Inspiration & Infallibility of Scripture

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