Inspiration of the Scriptures
“Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may he complete, furnished completely unto every good work,” (II Timothy 3:16, 17 R.V.).
1. It is more than human genius and human qualification. Inspirations are endowments from God. No man has been inspired to write since John finished the Book of Revelation.
2. It is more than illumination.
a. Illumination means the influence of the Holy Spirit which enables one to understand spiritual truth. Only yielded believers are illuminated.
b. Some are more yielded, and their illumination is greater, for God can work in them.
3. It is more than a revelation. The exposé of records: things revealed by God. Only God knew the record of the creation. Men of God have records of men’s lives, thus proving that the Bible is the Word of God; for when mere man is recording the life of men, he leaves out the bitter and bad. God doesn’t!
4. It literally means “God-breathed”. The Word is the breath of God in a person (chosen of Him) that inspired the person. Today God is breathing to man by means of the written Word. If the Bible is not what it claims to be, it cannot be a “good book”. It is the same in the case of our Lord. If Jesus wasn’t what He claimed to be, He couldn’t be
a “good Man”. IF THE BIBLE IS NOT WHAT IT CLAIMS TO BE, THEN IT IS THE BIGGEST LIE EVER PRINTED.
Alone man is powerless to know God’s Word. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. 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” (II Peter 1:20, 21). Man needs the Holy Spirit to lead him and to interpret the Word. The same Spirit leads men, but no two are led alike. We believe in a full, complete, inspired-of-God-Bible. Not a partly inspired Bible, but ALL-inspired! One who says that the Bible contains some parts that are inspired means that the Bible contains some things that are not inspired, some falsehoods, etc. They are wrong!
B. Extent of Inspiration (Verbal) “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,” (I Peter 1:10,11).
Men were inspired to write the Word of God, but they did not always understand what they wrote, proving that it is God’s Word only. “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?And He said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end” (Daniel 12:8, 9). “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue.” (II Samuel 23:2—David).” Exodus 20:1; Isaiah 1:2; Jeremiah 1:4; Ezekiel 1:3; Amos 1:1; Daniel 9:21.
THE ENGLISH BIBLE
The Old Testament contains 39 hooks. The New Testament contains 27. There are a total of 66 books.
The Hebrew Old Testament contains 24 books. The reason for that is that there was just one book for Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, etc. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into the Greek it was found that these books were too large for one scroll, so the books were divided into two books, or two scrolls. There are 1189 chapters in the Bible, made up of 31,163 verses. All are manmade divisions. All punctuations (periods, commas, question marks, etc.) are man-made. None are by God. All capitals are man-made.
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