What did the Apostle Paul mean when he wrote that “all Scripture is inspired by God”? After all, if human beings wrote the books of the Bible, how can we say that it’s God’s Word? Let’s explore how this has possible by looking at what theologians have called the inspiration of Scripture.
The inspiration of Scripture refers to God’s direction of the human authors of the Bible to compose and record His message to humanity in their original writings, something he did in a couple of ways:
Sometimes this came about by God speaking directly to the author. This is what we see in passages like Exodus 17:14, Ezekiel 24:2, and Revelation 14:13 where the author is told, “Write this down.”
Most often, though, God’s direction comes from the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit Himself as He worked through the personalities and vocabularies of the authors of the Bible. “They spoke from God as they were carried along by the Spirit,” resulting in writings that are distinctly the work of their authors while also the very Word of God.
The inspiration of Scripture reminds us that God wants us to know Him and His will, but more than that, that He wants us to know the One He sent to rescue and redeem us, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for ours.
The 99 in :99 explores the big truths of the Christian faith with short, accessible videos featuring members of The Gospel Project team. Learn more at gospelproject.lifeway.com/99-essentials.
