Keeping in mind the text, "All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God," we will place by the side
of it the following from 2 Peter 1:21: "For the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
In a later article we shall consider more
fully the scope of the word "prophecy;" but here it
is sufficient to note
that the statement made in regard to the prophecy,
must be applicable to all Scripture, since it is all given by
the
inspiration, or breathing, of God. The Scriptures,
therefore, did not originate from men, but from the Holy Spirit.
This must settle the question as to whether
or not the Scriptures are in any degree the reflection of the
ignorance
or the prejudice of the men who wrote them;
for he who would claim that they are, must take the position that
the
Holy Spirit is capable of being moved by human
prejudice, or that it cannot utter words of perfect, Divine truth
through an imperfect instrument. But that would be to degrade the Holy Spirit to the level of man.
It is not our business to inquire how the
Spirit of God could speak through a human instrument without
destroying his individuality, and still the
message be wholly Divine. That is a mystery that rests only in
the power of God. We accept it just as we accept the mystery of
the incarnation of Christ, without attempting to explain it.
When we have our attention specially directed
to the fact that the Scriptures proceed wholly from the Spirit
of
God, we cannot fail to be struck with the frequency
with which the statement occurs in the Bible. Let us note a
few instances.
"Now these be the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue." 2 Sam. 23:1, 2. David spoke the word, but it was the Word of God.
Again, 1 Peter 1:10, 11: "Of which
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently,
who prophesied
of the grace that should come unto you; searching
what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in
them did signify, when it testified beforehand
the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow."
Who
was it that testified? It was not the prophets
themselves, but the Spirit of Christ that was in the prophets.
The
prophets did not understand the full import
of the things that the Spirit testified through them, but had
to study
their own writings.
Notice in the following Scriptures how carefully
the distinction is made between the men who were used as
instruments, and the source whence the revelation
came:--
Acts 28:25, 26: "Well spake the Holy
Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto
this people
and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive."
Acts 1:16: "Men and brethren, this
scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost
by the mouth
of David spake before concerning Judas, which
was guide to them that took Jesus."
Acts 4:24, 25: "Lord, Thou art God,
which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in
them is; who
by the mouth of Thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?"
Luke 1:68-70: "Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people,...as
He spake by
the mouth of His holy prophets, which have
been since the world began."
Acts 3:20,21: "And He shall send Jesus
Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must
receive until the times of restitution of all
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets
since the world began."
In all the preceding texts the prophet is
mentioned as the mouthpiece of the Spirit of God; but in the following
quotation from Jeremiah 21:33, the prophet
is ignored, and the credit is given directly to the Holy Spirit:--
"Whereof the Holy Ghost also in a witness
to us; for after that He had said before, This is the covenant
that I will
make with them after those days, saith the
Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds
will I write
them." Heb. 10:15, 16.
Who gave this witness?--The Holy Ghost.
The prophet Jeremiah was used as the instrument of transmitting
it to
the people; but it came so directly from the
Holy Spirit that Jeremiah could without injustice be ignored in
giving
credit for the words. And so we learn that,
since the Scriptures came not by the will of man, but that "men
spake
from God, being moved by the Holy ghost,"
the word which they spoke is not the word of man, but is indeed
the
Word of God.
