The Word of God: The Inspiration of the Scriptures

Send us Fan MailWelcome to Word of Life Study Series- The Inspiration of the Scriptures! In this day when it seems the whole world doubts that there is an absolute truth, this topic is more appropriate than ever. The basic question is this: Can we trust the Scriptures? To what extent is it trustworthy? Is it authoritative only in matters of faith, or are its historical and scientific declarations also to be trusted? Is the Bible just the human testimony of divine revelation, and therefore subject to error? Is the Bible really the Word of God, or is it just the method that God uses to deal with us through His Spirit? The answers to these questions depend on the definition of inspiration. Ministry website: www.wordinspire.org 1. Inspiration ExplainedInspiration is the process through which God, by means of the Holy Spirit, assured the existence of an exact and true record of the redeeming work of Christ, and the corresponding interpretation of the redemption story, produced in written form by holy men of God. It’s the supernatural action of the Holy Spirit on the mind of the sacred writers whereby the Scriptures were not merely their own, but the Word of God. Scripture not merely contains but is the Word of God. 2. God’s Final AuthorityEvangelical Christians agree that the primary purpose of the Bible is to lead people to a personal relationship with God through Jesus as Savior. But everything taught by the Bible on any subject is helpful and instructive for the complete Christian life (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Because Christianity does relate to the real world, the Bible’s declarations about the earth and history are completely trustworthy. 3. Revelation KnowledgeIt is important to distinguish between revelation, inspiration, and illumination. Revelation, which may be oral or written, may be defined as an operation of God communicating to humanity truth that otherwise man could not know. Since mankind was created in God’s image and endowed with a capacity to know God, it is rational to expect that God would communicate Himself and His mind to people. If unfallen mankind, being a finite creature, needed divine revelation and instruction (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:8), how much more is fallen mankind completely incapacitated by sin.  Support the show