Revelation and Inspiration
The first and most significant fact concerning the Bible we must understand is that it is “God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16). It contains the words which come “from the mouth of God” (Dt 8:3; Mt 4:4). While there are many things that God has not revealed to us, he has given us the Bible so that we might know him and obey him. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Dt 29:29). Fundamentally, then, the Bible is God’s revelation to mankind. Revelation is “that act of God whereby he discloses himself or communicates truth to the mind, whereby he makes manifest to his creatures that which could not be known in any other way.”[1] In other words, in Scripture, God has revealed his mind to man.
This is the point that Paul brings out to the Corinthians. Notice the logic in what he tells them:
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1 Cor 2:9–13)
First, there are things which man could not know on his own, which “God has prepared for those who love him” (v. 9). It is “these things” that God revealed to the apostles through the Spirit (v. 10). This is possible because the Spirit searches the depths of God and understands the thoughts of God (vv. 10b–11). Then, the apostles, who had these thoughts of God revealed to them through the Spirit, “impart this in words” (v. 12). Thus, their preaching and their writings (i.e., Scripture) have their source ultimately with the mind of God as mediated through the Holy Spirit. Thus, he is the Bible’s ultimate source.
This passage also touches on the related doctrine of inspiration, which concerns the process by which the thoughts of God became written down in Scripture. It may be defined as “The Holy Spirit’s superintending 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.”[2] Observing the passage above, we can produce the following diagram of this process:
Thoughts of God ➡️ Spirit of God ➡️ Apostles ➡️ Preaching/Scripture
The same process shows up in 2 Pet 1:20–21. Notice the logic in what Peter says:
“No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
It is clear that Peter is talking about God’s written revelation since he uses the term “Scripture.” The source is ultimately “from God” rather than “from one’s own interpretation” or the “will of man.” Further, it is the Holy Spirit who carried them along as they spoke the words of God. Once again, we can produce a diagram depicting the logic:
From God ➡️ Holy Spirit Carries Along ➡️ Men Who Speak ➡️ Scripture
Thus, the first step in the historical process by which we received our English Bibles is God’s revelation to mankind and his inspiration of Scripture.
As the Holy Spirit carried men along in both OT and NT writings, they wrote down the Scriptures in the original manuscripts, or autographs. In the case of the Ten Commandments, it was initially God who wrote on the tablets himself (Ex 32:15–16). But after Moses broke them upon seeing the sin of the people, God had him make new tablets upon which he was to write the commandments (Ex 34:27). Elsewhere, God directs Moses to write the words of the Lord (Ex 17:14; 24:4–7; Num 33:2; Dt 31:9, 22, 24). He would complete the entire Pentateuch, which was deposited beside the Ark of the Covenant (Dt 31:24–26). Later, God directs Joshua to write further revelation (Josh 24:26). At other times, God spoke directly to prophets and directed them to record his words (eg. Jer 1:1–2; 30:1–2). The Holy Spirit inspired David in his writings (2 Sam 23:1–2).
In the case of the NT writings, we have a similar dynamic. Our Lord, before his ascension, preauthorized his apostles to recount his words with the aid of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26; 15:26–27; 16:12-15). Like the prophets of the OT, John received a vision from the Lord and was commanded to record it (Rev 1:1–3; 22:6–21). Finally, the apostles spoke and wrote the words of God (1 Cor 14:37–38; 1 Th 2:13; 2 Pet 3:15–16). In sum, God revealed his word to his appointed men and, through his Holy Spirit, led them to record an inspired record—the Scriptures. Next, we will consider the recognition of the inspired record of Scripture, or canonicity.
[1] Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 159.
[2] Ibid., 163.
A Boy and His Bible 