In 2 Timothy 3:16, the apostle Paul

writeS: "AU Scrtpturelsgiven bytnspiratlon

of GoeL' Two questions arise: 1) What is
by inspil<ltion?; and 2) How may
we know that the Bible is inspired?
l)Whatismeantbyinspiration?First,
as Warfield has pointed out, "God-
breathed out" (theopneustos) is a better
translation of the origiruillanguage than
''inspired. "Theopnenstosactuallyspeaks
of the fact that the Scriptute is "breathed
out" of the mouth of God, whereas
"inspired" means "breathed in."
In other words, theopnens-
tos has to do, not so much with
the transmission of Scriptnre,
but with its origin. What Paul is
saying is that the Scripture itself
owes its origins and its contents
to the creative breath of God.
Biblical inspiration, then, to
quote Warfield, is "that
extraordinary supernatural
influence (or, passively, theresult
of it) exerted by the Holy Ghost on the
writers of our sacred books, by which
theirwordswererenderedalsothewords
of GOd, andtherefore, perfectlyinfallible."
Second, the biblical revelation which
has been breathed out by God isa written
revelation. In 2 Peter 1:20,21, we read
that God chqse certain men (prophets)
to inscriptnrate His message. These men
were "moved by the Holy Spirit" so that
their writings were nothing other than
the very Word of God. The Holy Spirit
enabled the prophets to record God's
revelation without error. So, whereas
GOd is the primary author of Scripture,
the 'human writers are anthots in a
secondary sense. But only God speaks
creativelyinthe Scriptures. As Calvinhas
said, the Bibleis given "bytherninisuyof
men from God's very mouth."
This is not to assert,. as do some
modernists, that the humanauthorswere
little more than passive puppets as God
dictated words to them as a boss would
dictate a letterto hisstenographer. Rather,
theBibleteacheswhatissornetirnescalled
the "organic" view of inspiration. Thatis,
the Holy Spirit acted upon the human
writers in an organic way, in accordance
with their own personalities, characters,
temperaments, gifts, and talents. Each
author used his own particular style. Yet,
when hewrote, he wrote only that which
the Spirit intended, nothing more and
nothing less.
God had chosen from all eternity the
individuals whom He would have pen
His Word Qeremiah 1:4-10; Galatians
1:15,16). He fashioned these men, with
their individual personalities, character
traits, and talents (Psalm 139: 13-16), for
their own personal task of writing. Then,
in His perfect timing, God caused them
to write His infallible Word.
Third, in2 Timothy 3: 16 Paul would
have us know that the whole Bible is
God-breathed. Notonlyisthis true of the
"sacred writings" Chiera grarnmata) of the
Old Testament (v. 15), but it is true ofall
Scriprure(pasagraphe), the New as weU
as the Old. (There could scarcely be a
moreprofoundstatementrnaderegarding
the absolute trustworthiness and
authorityofScripture.)Thisisthedocttine
of plenary inspiration. Plenaryinspiration
is taught throughout the Bible. InJohn
10:35, for example, Jesus refel5 to the
Old Testament and says "the Scripture
cannot be broken," i.e. it is authoritative.
In Romans 3:2, Panl says that the entire
Old Testament is "the oracles of God." In
Luke 24:44 the Lord places the law of
Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms on
18 f mE COUNSEL of Chalc;edon Jannary, 1993
the same levelofauthorky; they are all to
be considered as God's infallible Word.
Regarding the New Testament writings,
as we have already seen, in 2 TImothy
3:16, Paul says that all Scripture, i.e., the
Old as well as the New is God-breathed.
In 1 Corinthians 14:37 he claJms that
"the things I write umo you are the
conunandrnents of the Lord." And in 2
Peter 3: 15,16, Peter refers to Paul's
apostolic writings as "Scripture." The
docttineofplenaryinspirationmaintains,
to quote Gordon Clark, "that the Bible is
inspired in. all its parts. There is
no section of it that was not
breathed out by God. Nehemiah
7, withallitsnarnesandnurnbers,
is just as much inspired as john
14."
And foutth, the Bible teaches
a verbal inspiration. As already
seen, the Bible is not just partially
Inspired. Neither is it ttUe that
onlytheconceptsofSctiptureare
God-breathed. Rather, itistheverywords
ofScriptnrethataretheproductofGod's
creative breath. This is confinned by
numerous passages. Oneexarnpleofthis
is found in Matthew 22:32, where Jesus
bases the doctrine of the resurrection on
the tense of the verb "to be." Says jesus,
the Father has stated "I am' (not "I was,"
or"! will be") the GodofAbrabarn,lsaac,
andjacob.
Further, in Deuteronomy 18:18,19
we read: twill raisethemupapropheLand
I will put My words in his mouth .. and
whosoever will not listen unto My words
which he will speak in My name, I will
requiTeitojhim. "Jeremiah 1:9 says: "Then
the Lord putJorth His hand and tauched my
mouth. And the Lord said unto me, BeholdI
And in
2 Samuel 23:2 we have: "The Spirit of the
Lord spoke by me and His word was in my
tongue. "Thedocttine ofvetbalinspiration
teaches that God the Spirit "guided the
writers of the biblical booksin the choice
COMPl.IITED ON PAGE 7
appreciation of the Calvinists of by-
gone days and their comminnent to
Biblical teaching even to the point of
martyrdom. We are reminded of the
greattrialsthesemenandwomenfaced
and how their faith in a sovereign God
was so practical and sustained them in
daily life. Even in periods when, by
appearances, Calvinismwas losing, God
was actually spreading its influence.
For example when Charles II became
King of England this, humanly speak-
ing, did not bode well for Calvinists.
However "Charles II sent the Calvinists
to the New World as did his futher and
his grandfather, and in that uncharted
wilderness they laid the foundations
for the United States of America." (p.
309)
John Lofton closes out the book by
commenting on various Arminian au-
thors today. He shows the error of their
theology.
This book is important in light of
thestatus of theAmerican church scene
and the growing statism within the
United States. We cannot expect great
change within our borders until our
theology is revolutionized. Man must
be replaced on center stage by God the
Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Once
the spotlight of our soul is focused on
him we can expect our society to be
greatly changed and benefited. This
book not only gives us thoughtful
ammunition for 'the warfare but also
offers us much encouragement to fol-
low in the footsteps of Calvinists down
through the centuries who have battled
for the crown rights of Christ in all of
life. n
CRAMPTON, FROM PAGE 18
of their words and expressions so as to
keep them from errors, without in any
way disregarding their vocabulary or
suppressing their individuality of style
and expression."
How maywe know that the Bible is
inspired? As already noted, the Bible
claims to be inspired, and it makes this
claim frequently. This, of course, does
not mean that it is. But it is at least
significant that the claim is made. Very
few books make such a asserti()n.
The WesuninsterConfessionofFaith
(1,4) says it this way: "The authority of
theHolyScripture,forwhichitoughtto
be believed and obeyed, dependethnot
upon the testimony of any man or
church, but wholly upon God (who is
truth itsell), the author thereof; and
therefore it is to be received, because it
is the Word of God." The Christian,
then, is very much in his right to insist
that he believes in the plenary, verbal
inspiration of Scripture simply because
the self-authenticating Scripture makes
this assertion.
It should also be noted, however,
that there are numerous "evidences"
that the Bible is true, all of which can be
used to refute the skeptic. Yet, these
evidences donot "prove" the Bible to be
the Word of God. The Bible cannot be
proved; it is the groundbase for all
proof.
First, there are numerous cases in
which archaeological research and
historical investigations have
corroborated the teaching of SCripture.
Too, the Bible is logically consistent. It
does not contradict itself, despite the
claims of the critics (who have never
been able to show that there are
contradictions).
Further, to use the words of the
Westminster Confession (1,5) , we "may
bemoved andinducedbythe testimony
of the church to an high and reverend
esteem of the Holy Scripture, and the
heavenliness of the maner, the efficacy
of the doctrine, the majesty of the style,
the consent of all the parts [i.e., logical
consistency], the scope of the whole
(which is to give all glory to God), the
full discovery it makes of the only way
of man's salvation, the many other
incomparable excellencies, and the
entire perfection thereof, are arguments
whereby it doth abundantly evidence
itself to be the Word of God." But this
still does not "prove" the Scriptures to
be God-breathed truth. Rather, "our
full persuasion and assurance of the
infallible truth, and divine authority
thereof, is from the inward work of the
Holy Spirit, bearing wimess by and
with the Word in our hearts" (l,5).
According to the Westminster divines,
we canknow that the Bible is truly God-
breathed revelationonlywhen the Holy
Spirit produces belief in our minds.
This is the doctrine of the "testimony of
the Holy Spirit. "
TheBibJe, then, must be considered
as the Christian's a)tiornatic starting
point. That is, it is the indemonstrable
firstprinciple, the axiom from which all
else is deduced. Every system of beliefs
must begin with indemonstrable
premises. If these premises could be
proved, then they would not be first
principles. Hence, Christianityhasevery
right to begin with Scripture and its
self-authenticatingclaimofinspiration.
In this sense, Christianity is no more
circular in reasoning than any other
system.
How can I know that the Bible is the
inspined Word of God? Again to quote
the Confession: "The authority of the
Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be
believed and obeyed, dependeth
... whollyupon God (who is truth itselO,
the author thereof, and therefore it is to
be received, because it is the Word of
God. " The Scripture is to be received
hased on its own divine authority, its
own claim to inspiration. But this will
only take place when the Spirit Himself
"bears witness by and with the Word in
our hearts."n
January, 1993 'DiE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 7