"But continue thou in the things which
thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou
hast
learned them; and that from a child thou hast
known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
2 Tim. 3:14-17.
So much effort has been made by unbelieving
men, even in the ministry, to make the Revised Version appear
to
teach that some Scripture is not inspired,
that it is necessary first of all to show that a literal rendering
of the Bible does not diminish its claims to inspiration. In the
Revision we read, "Every Scripture inspired of God is also
profitable, etc. This is even stronger than the other, for instead
of making a positive statement that all Scripture is inspired,
it mentions it as a fact so well known that it needs no proof,
and proceeds to a statement of the result. Without going into
grammatical technicalities, it is only necessary to say that the
present participle "inspired," limiting the term "all
Scripture," conveys the simple idea that since all Scripture
is inspired it is also profitable. Add to this the fact that the
revisers placed in the margin the exact reading of the old version,
it is evident that we are fully warranted in quoting 2 Tim. 3:16
as a positive declaration that all Scripture is inspired of God.
The word "Scriptures" is a term
used to denote the sacred writings commonly known as the Old and
the New
Testament. It corresponds to the word "Bible."
"Bible" means "book;" when we say, "the
Bible," we really say,
"the Book." Now the number of books
in the world is almost beyond computation; yet the Bible is so
prominent, and so much above
all other books, that it cannot be classed among them, but is
distinguished as "the Book," or the Bible. Everybody
knows what book we mean when we so speak. It is the same way with
the parallel term, "the Scriptures."
We read of Christ, when He walked with the
two disciples to Emmaus, after His resurrection, that "beginning
at
Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto
them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
Luke
24:27. Thus we see that the term "the
Scriptures" includes the whole of the Old Testament. Therefore
2 Tim. 3:16
affirms that they are inspired. Indeed,
when Timothy was a child there was nothing but the Old Testament
written.
It is especially to the Old Testament that
the apostle Paul refers when he says that "all Scripture
is given by
inspiration of God," and that it is able
to make a man wise unto salvation, and thoroughly furnish him
unto all
good works.
But the fact that the Old Testament is particularly
referred to in 2 Tim. 3:16 does not exclude the New Testament
writings from the term "the Scriptures." The apostle
Peter refers to the writings of Paul, and says that they contain
"some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned
and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto
their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:16. The popular idea is
that the Old Testament is
scarcely inspired, and it is thought a great
concession to give it a place with the New; but this is directly
opposite
to the Scriptural idea. There we find that
the writings of the New Testament are declared to be worthy of
a place
by the side of those of the Old. Both are from
the same source; both were given by inspiration of God, and are
of
equal authority. He who regards the Bible as
it should be, will make no difference between the Old Testament
and
the New.
Now that we have before us a plain statement
of what is included in the declaration that all Scripture is given
by
inspiration of God, we may consider the fact
of inspiration itself. Not that we can understand it, or set forth
any theory of inspiration, but that we may form some conception
of its greatness. We consider the works of God in creation, not
that we may understand the mystery of creation, but that we may
glorify God, whose greatness it proclaims. So we consider the
inspiration of the Bible, in order that we may rightly appreciate
the infinite power of the Word of God.
"Inspiration" means literally, "breathing." A full inspiration is a full breath. This is so common an expression that the reader does not have to know Latin or Greek in order to appreciate the statement that the term, "inspired of God," in 2 Tim. 3:16 means simply "God-breathed." The fact is, then, that all of the Scripture is the direct breathing of the Almighty. We are not required to explain how this can be, since it was all written or spoken by men, inasmuch as it does not rest with us to explain or understand how the omnipotent God works. No man can by searching find out God, and know the Almighty to perfection. We may, however, at some later time, note a few parallel cases, showing the fact that God does work directly through the agency of men, and even through the unwilling agency of evil men. What we are now concerned with is to show that the Scriptures declare themselves to be emphatically God's own word.
Let us read 2 Peter 1:20: "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." The
Revision has it: "For no prophecy ever came by the will of
man; but
men spake from God, being moved by the Holy
Ghost." With this let us read a still stronger statement
in 1 Peter
1:11. In order to get the full force of the
verse, we will read the tenth verse also:--
"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."
Take the two statements from Peter, and
put them together, and we find that the Spirit of Christ--The
Holy
Spirit--was in the men who wrote the Bible,
and that it used their voices or hands to express its own words
and
thoughts. How this could be, and the men still
retain their individuality, and write and speak from the fullness
of
their own hearts, we shall not attempt to explain.
llustrations will, however, be given later.
Additional proof of the statement that the Holy Spirit itself is the real author of the Scriptures, the men being only its agents, is found in the following texts:
"And in those days Peter stood up in
the midst of the disciples and said (the number of names together
were
about an hundred and twenty), Men and brethren,
this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy
Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning
Judas." Acts 1:15, 16.
"But those things which God before
had showed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should
suffer He
hath so fulfilled." Acts 3:18.
"And when they [the disciples] heard
that [namely, the report of Peter and John] they lifted up their
voice to God with one accord, and
said, 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 do the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain
things?" Acts 4:24, 25.
Speaking of the interview that Paul had
with the Jews in Rome, the evangelist says: "And when they
agreed not
among themselves, they departed, after that
Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias
the rophet 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 28:25, 26.
Again, Peter said to the people who gathered
to look upon the lame man that was healed: "And He [God]
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."
Acts 3:20, 21. See a similar statement in Luke
1:70. Also 2 Sam. 23:1, 2.
But there are still plainer evidences that
the Scriptures are God's word alone, and not man's. In the book
of
Jeremiah (chap. 31:33) we read: "But this
shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel:
After
those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law
in their inward parts, and write in their hearts." In the
book of
Hebrews this same language is quoted, thus:
"Whereof the Holy Ghost also is 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.
Although these words occur in the prophecy
of Jeremiah, they are not his words. The Spirit of Christ was
in that
holy man testifying, so that when the writer
to the Hebrews quoted the words, he credited them directly to
e
Holy Ghost, omitting all reference to Jeremiah.
In this no injustice was done Jeremiah; he himself would have
acknowledged that the words were the Lord's,
and not his own.
In like manner we find in the first chapter of Hebrews several verses quoted from the Psalms, yet the writer of the Psalms is not once mentioned, but God is declared to be the speaker. See verses 7-12.
But this is all that the limits of this
article allow. Let the texts herein quoted be pondered carefully,
and in the next paper we shall,
God willing, read some other Scriptures showing further that the
Scriptures are wholly inspired y
God, and that by whatever agency they come
to us, they proceed from the Holy Spirit, and are as much the
Word
of God as though uttered by Him with an audible
voice.
