II. Recording Revelation - “Scripture”Once God has selected a recipient and communicated something, the second step is “recording” the message for posterity in written form – “Scripture.” Here we are talking about the original written account by the recipient in the original language. The vast bulk of the Old Testament writings were originally produced in Hebrew. 18th-19th century critical denials of Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch were made on the false assumption that no written languages existed in Moses’ time (ca. 1400’s B.C.). Now it is known that the Sumerians were very literate long before Moses’ time, the Egyptians had a complete phonetic script before their first dynasty, and literature was well developed in the Middle East of Abraham’s time. A phonetic "alphabet" is a series of symbols in which each symbol represents a sound (language). Our word “alphabet” came from the first two letters of the Hebrew and Greek alphabets (aleph/alpha & beth/beta), which suggests a common origin or connection, perhaps the Phoenician alphabet. Early writing materials include stone, clay tablets, wooden tablets, papyrus, parchment, animal skins, and ostraca (broken pottery). Multi-lingual documents, such as the Rosetta Stone and Behistun Inscription, provided tools by which known ancient languages could be used to open up other ancient unknown languages. While the Greek word translated “Scripture” (graphe) is, simply, the word for “writing,” it is obvious that the word was intended to distinguish a certain special kind of written material - written material which is “inspired” by God. Inspired “Scripture” is what you have when an original revelation from God is written down in the language and thought forms of the recipients (either ancient Hebrew or first-century Judaism in a Greco-Roman world). The Old Testament Scriptures assert that God communicated with certain individuals and these major figures left behind written records to guide those who would come after them. Thus, we read that Moses (Exodus 24:4), Joshua (Joshua 24:26), and Samuel (1Samuel 10:25) “wrote,” as did David (Psalm 3-5, etc.) and Solomon (1Kings 4:32). Much of the Israelite kingdom era material was originally recorded by prophets who lived during each reign and kept records (cf. 1Chronicles 29:29; 2Chronicles 9:29), with final compilations produced by major inspired figures. After Judah’s return from Babylon, Ezra was a skilled scribe (Ezra 7:6,10) and may have written Chronicles and the book of Ezra, as well as editing and finishing earlier records. The New Testament books also claim to be based in "eyewitness" accounts of actual events that were widely known (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 2:22; 10:37; 26:26; 1Corinthians 15:1-8; Hebrews 2:3,4; 2Peter1:16; 1John 1:1). But, if fallible humans wrote those original records of what God revealed, how do we know they conveyed it accurately into written form? This is where the question of “inspiration” enters. Inspiration“Inspiration” refers to the supernatural influence on the human writers by which they communicated and/or recorded what God wanted us to know. "Inspiration" means one Divine Editor overseeing and guiding the development of contents. In the Bible, inspiration is stated and assumed on the basis of statements like “and the Lord said to . . .” or “Thus says the Lord, . . . .“ The New Testament writers refer to inspiration in Second Timothy 3:16 (theopneustos - “God-breathed”) and Second Peter 1:21. While the Bible never explains in detail the “process” of inspiration (2Peter 1:21 comes the closest), there are several theories or explanations of “inspiration” discussed today. Jesus promised to “remind” the Apostles later on, by the Holy Spirit, of what He had said to them (John 14:26). There are several views of “inspiration” – how and to what extent it applies. The partial inspiration theory allows for errors in science & geographical matters, which raises questions about identifying what is/is not inspired. The verbal inspiration theory emphasized inspired "words" and holds to a very “high” view of inspiration, but does not account for the various levels of “literary” quality (grammar, vocabulary, etc.) present (as between Gospel accounts). The plenary inspiration theory emphasized inspired "writers." This "idea/conceptual" theory also expresses a high view of inspiration, but allows for each writer's personality/vocabulary to come through. The Bible is, in one sense, a “human” document, since numerous writers were involved and critical studies do reveal different levels of literary ability - some writings have better grammar and vocabularies than others (personal differences). Portions were written during different historical periods and in different cultural settings. Several lines of argument attest the Bible’s claims of inspiration. First of all, the Bible claims to represent the very words of God in some instances (Genesis 1:3; Exodus 3:4-7ff; 1Samuel 15:10,11). Secondly, the Bible is not simply a collection of 66 unconnected writings, but contains a unified theme from Genesis to Revelation (salvation through a Messiah to appear in history). There is also a unity of “typology,” with symbols, events, and people pointing ahead to related truths (ex. Genesis 22; Numbers 21:6-9 & John 3:14,15). The Bible also maintains a general ethical unity - behavior and attitudes that are “righteous/sinful” tend to continue to be so throughout Scripture and history. Third, numerous predictive prophecies are specific and fulfilled in detail later on. Fourth, although the Bible reflects various cultures over the centuries, its message still shows a remarkable correspondence with our contemporary life (sin, human nature, morality). Fifth, accusations that the Bible simply is a fictitious glorification of Jewish seem absurd when it is realized that the Bible is painfully honest about the Jewish people and their heroes - the good and bad are presented in a believably balanced fashion. On the other hand, the histories of other nations were usually doctored up or edited to fit a humanistic agenda - patriots tend to glorify their nation, while opponents denigrate a nation and over-emphasize its faults. As we consider how the Bible came to us, I want to focus for a moment on a further discussion of what the Bible asserts about “inspiration” – the Divine influence involved in the development of the story of redemption and its written record. Inspiration in the Law of Moses - The five documents that arose in connection with the Sinai covenant and Mosaic Law (Pentateuch/Torah) was early given the highest reverence among Jews. Moses is presented as having "face to face" communication with God (Exodus 3; 19:3f; 20:21ff; 24:1-3,9ff; 33:1; Deuteronomy 34:10) so much so that his face would shine from being so near God's glory (Exodus 34:29ff). The two stone tablets of the "10 Commandments" were "written with God's finger" (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 9:10). We see "inspiration" expressed in two ways: not only allowing one to "speak" God's word, but also to perform special tasks. In such cases, God "puts it into the hearts" of people to do things that contributed to His plans and purposes (Exodus 35:34; 36:1; Numbers 11:25; 23:5; Deuteronomy 18:18). Inspiration in the Judges/Prophets - The "inspiration" of the Judges was based on the influence of the Holy Spirit (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14). Kings were anointed, but they became "prophetic figures" when the Spirit "came upon them" (1Samuel 10:10; 16:13 - Acts 2:30; 4:25). Another way of showing inspiration is seen when "the word of the Lord" comes to someone.[1] "The Word of God/YHWH" is also represented as an authoritative source for prophetic speech (Numbers 3:16; 1Kings 13:1,5; 20:35,36). "The word which Isaiah... saw..." (Isaiah 2:1). This is probably the background to John’s explanation of the Incarnation (Jesus) – the “Word was made flesh and dwelt in our midst (John 1:14). I believe that it was the pre-incarnate Christ who came/spoke to various characters in Hebrew history, then in a real human body to Jews in the early first century A.D. God's work of "inspiring" special events (like 1Kings 12:15) to fulfill His purposes is evident in the books of history. The books of history were "prophetic" to Israel because God had “put wisdom” into Solomon (1Kings 10:24) and the historical records of each king of Judah were made by contemporary prophets.[2] God put something into the heart of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:5). Inspiration in the New Testament Writings - In the New Testament (NT), the "Word of God" is put on the same level as “Scripture, Law, and Gospel.” The NT idea of inspiration is most clearly expressed in Second Timothy 3:16, where “all Scripture” is said to be “God-breathed,” which places God’s involvement with Scripture on a par with His “breathing” life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). The other clear mention of inspiration, Second Peter 1:20-21, refers to the impropriety of inventing our own meanings for Scripture on the basis that it was not produced by human will, but by spokesmen who were “pushed along” by God’s Spirit. There are some other NT references where some type of "inspiration" is stated or inferred.[3] Jesus promised "inspiration" to His apostles (Matthew 10:20; Mark 13:11; John 14:26; 16:13). It appears that Stephen was inspired (Acts 6:10). The writer of Hebrews compared the inspiration of Jesus with the OT prophets by saying that "God spoke...in the prophets...in His Son..." (Hebrews 1:1,2). Jesus, Peter, and Paul accepted the inspiration of the Old Testament writings as they claimed that “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:34,35), that “Scripture” spoke to Pharaoh (Romans 9:17), that God spoke “in Hosea” (Romans 9:25), and that the “Spirit of Christ” was in the OT Prophets (1Peter 1:10-12). One of the reasons why some do not accept the Bible as a message from God is that they do not want a God who speaks plainly and holds them accountable. By marginalizing or ignoring the Word of God, they can continue to “do their own thing” in apparent peace. There are also some who believe in God’s existence, but do not want to be deprived of the joy of writing their own theology (and “doing their own religious thing”). When God reveals or speaks from heaven, there will always be some who hear only thunder (John 12:29) and, either consciously or unconsciously, choose to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). The Bible as the “Word of God” - It is proper to refer to the Bible as the “Word of God.” Some have claimed that the Bible is not the Word of God, but contains the Word of God. If they mean by this that not everything in Scripture is a quotation of something God said, then even the most staunch conservative could agree because the Bible does contain speeches attributed to Satan as well as the inaccurate theology of Job’s friends, etc. However, if they mean that not everything in Scripture is what God wanted there and proceed to tell us, on their own authority, what parts of the Bible are/are not inspired, then we must reject their claims. All books are selective collections of information and the Bible does not claim to be an “exhaustive” (complete) record of the past (see: John 20:30,31; 21:25). However, the Bible, in its entirety, is what God wanted us to know about human history in connection with His plan to offer redemption through Jesus. [1] Genesis 15:1; 1Samuel 9:27; 15:10; 2Samuel 7:4; 24:11; 1Kings 6:11; 12:22; 13:20; 16:1; 17: 2,8; 18:1; 19: 9; 21:17,28; Jeremiah 1:1,2; Ezekiel 1:3; Hosea 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Micah 1:1; Zephaniah 1:1; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 1:1. [2] See: 1Chronicles 29:29; 2Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 24:30; 26:22; 32:32; 33:19 [3] Matthew 22:43; Mark 12:36; Luke 2:27; 1Thessalonians 2:13; 1Timothy 1:18; 1Corinthians 12:11 (the Spirit works/distributes...); 14:37; 1Thessalonians 1:6; 2Peter 3:15,16.
A Ministry of Severn Christian Church (Severn, Maryland) Unless otherwise noted, all material produced by Charles E. McCoy All Scripture citations/quotations from the New American Standard Bible To send a question to Chuck: chuck@severnchristian.org
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