The Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Authority of Holy Scripture
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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One of the most important Christian doctrines is what we
believe about the
inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture. What do we mean by these
terms? Of course, this doctrine is hotly debated and all Christians don't agree
on every detail -- and in the short scope of
this article it is impossible to cover all the aspects in detail.* But let's get an overview.
First, let's consider the parameters of this rather large
subject. To understand inspiration we need to:
- Define what the Bible seems to mean by inspiration,
- Examine various theories of the nature of inspiration,
- Understand why the books in our Bibles are considered
inspired,
- Consider the implications of inspiration on the inerrancy
of the Bible, and
- Realize the implications of inspiration for the authority
of the Bible
Two verses in the New Testament directly discuss the idea of
inspiration of Scripture.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so
that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2
Timothy 3:16-17)
"No prophecy of Scripture came about by the
prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of
man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy
Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20-21)
Portion of Leviticus in the Dead Sea Scrolls (MS 4611; ca. 30 BC - 68 AD).
Ink on parchment. Larger
image.
|
In addition, a number of verses from the mouths of Jesus and
his apostles indicate how they viewed Scripture:
"David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit,
declared...." (Mark 12:36)
"The Scripture cannot be broken...."
(John 10:35)
"Until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear
from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)
"The Scripture had to be fulfilled which
the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David ..." (Acts
1:16)
"But this is how God fulfilled what he had
foretold through all the prophets...." (Acts 3:18)
"The prophets ... searched intently ... trying
to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in
them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the
glories that would follow." (1 Peter 1:11)
It is clear that Jesus and the apostles saw Scripture as
divinely inspired. Millard J. Erickson defines this doctrine as follows:
"By inspiration of Scripture we mean that
supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers which
rendered their writings an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted
in what they wrote actually being the Word of God."1
But can't inspiration be considered a kind of circular
argument? We believe that Scripture is God's Word because it claims to be that.
And we believe its claims because Scripture is God's Word.
Yes, in a sense there is a circular argument. But consider
that all arguments for absolute authority must ultimately appeal to that
authority for proof, otherwise the authority would not be an absolute or
highest authority. Moreover, circular arguments are not explicit; they are often
hidden:
"My reason is my ultimate authority because it
seems reasonable to me to make it so."
"I know there can be no ultimate authority
because I do not know of any such ultimate authority." 2
Having said this, the truth of the Bible is certainly
supported by many other disciplines: such history, archeology, sociology, and
linguistics. They do not make it true, but they support its claim to truth. And
in any court of law the defendant's testimony is duly considered as admissible
along with other evidence. In addition, the Bible is persuasive because it is
truthful; the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16:13). Many people
have come to faith by reading the Bible as an historical document, allowing it
to plead its own case, and -- becoming convinced of its truth -- have come to
faith in Jesus Christ.
Erickson outlines five theories of inspiration:
- Intuition theory, that inspiration refers to a high
degree of spiritual insight.
- Illumination theory, that inspiration refers to a
heightening of one's normal powers.
- Dynamic theory, that inspiration involves a
combination of divine and human elements in the process of inspiration and
writing.
- Verbal theory, that the Holy Spirit's influence
extends beyond the direction of thoughts to the selection of words used to
convey the message.
- Dictation theory, that God actually dictated the
Bible to the writers.3
Notice that these are theories, since the Scripture doesn't
state specifically how the phenomenon of inspiration by the Holy Spirit
actually operates -- only that what is written is inspired. However, from the
various verses that allude to this process, I see both a dynamic and verbal
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, without going as far as dictation (in most
instances).
It is clear that when the New Testament speaks of the
inspired Scriptures, it is referring to the Old Testament books -- the Law, the
Prophets, and the Writings -- though sometimes "law" or
"prophets" can be used to designate the entire body of Old Testament
Scripture. The 37 books that make up the canon of Old Testament Scriptures were
completed by about 435 BC and recognized by the rabbis as constituting the
canon of Scripture within a couple hundred years, certainly by Jesus' time.
The Rylands Library Papyrus p52 is the earliest known New
Testament manuscript. It measures 3.5" x 2.5", a fragment from a
papyrus codex. It contains lines from the Gospel of John 18:31-33 in Greek on
the front and John 18:37-38 on the back. It is dated ca. 125-160 AD. |
However, does our understanding of inspiration extend to the
New Testament, as well? Yes. Clearly, Christians have regarded the teachings of
Jesus as inspired! After all we believe Jesus to be God in the flesh.
The office of apostle, ones designated by Christ to found
his church claimed an authority in the early church at least equal to the Old
Testament prophets (2 Peter 3:2; Acts 5:2-4; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Corinthians
13:3). Paul's writings are referred to by Peter in the same category as Holy
Scripture.
"... Our dear brother Paul also wrote you with
the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters,
speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are
hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the
other Scriptures, to their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:15-16)
Jesus' teaching, too, is referred to as Scripture in 1
Timothy 5:17-18, citing Jesus' teaching in Luke 10:7. The gospels and letters
not written by apostles themselves were attested to as true by the apostles
living at the time, and affirmed by the early church.
So the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are inspired.
Does that mean they are without error? Some kind of doctrine of inerrancy is a
necessary corollary of the doctrine of inspiration: Since the Scriptures are
inspired by God, they are true. Erickson defines the doctrine as follows:
"Inerrancy of Scripture is the doctrine that
the Bible is fully truthful in all of its teachings."4
Though the word "inerrancy" wasn't used concerning
Scripture until the last century, inerrancy has been the historical position of
the church since earliest times. In stating such a doctrine, however, it is
important to qualify the term. Erickson observes:
- Inerrancy pertains to what is affirmed or asserted, rather
than what is merely reported.
- We must judge the truthfulness of Scripture in terms of
its meaning in the cultural setting in which its statements were
expressed.
- The Bible's assertions are fully true when judged in
accordance with the purpose for which they were written.
- Reports of historical events and scientific matters are in
phenomenal rather than technical language -- what appears to the eye
rather than scientific explanations.
Because we believe the Bible is true in what it teaches,
then it follows that it is authoritative. By authority, we mean the right to
command belief and or action. Erickson says:
"By the authority of the Bible we mean that
the Bible, as the expression of God's will to us, possesses the right supremely
to define what we are to believe and how we are to conduct ourselves."5
Of course, there is much more that could be said. But this
gives you in short scope what the Jesus, the apostles, and prophets taught
about the inspiration, truth, and authority of Scripture.
Joyful Heart Renewal Ministries
JesusWalk®
Publications
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Director
Contact Information
joyfulheart.com
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