There isn't something I'm more passionate about then the Bible. Okay, not entirely true. If you know me you know I'm passionate about a lot of things, but when I get to teach from the Bible and teach about the Bible...I come alive in an entirely different way. It sometimes feels like an outer body experience if I'm being honest.
We've looked at theology in the first blog post, and the importance of knowing and studying it. We're going to take that a step further and dig deeper into two theological terms. Terms that are necessary to know as a part of our vocabulary when referring to the Bible. Try not to be too intimidated! Approach this with an attitude of curiosity ;)
“Inspiration” and “Inerrancy” are words we don't hear preached or taught on, often. My goal is to walk (not run) you through the depth of both of these terms based on my own study, research, and personal findings. My desire is to "teach" this in a way that is transferable; passing it from one generation to another.
As followers of Christ it is easy to say that we believe the Bible is fully inspired by God, and that it contains absolutely no errors, but we can sometimes lack the knowledge of what it means to live our lives by a Word that is fully inspired and contains no errors. Knowing these truths changes everything! Scripture is inerrant because it is inspired, but what exactly makes it without error and inspired?
Inspiration
The term "inspiration" is used to describe the authority the Scriptures have, both Old and New Testaments. It's also used to explain why this specific book (versus other religious books) and these specific words are greatly valued to those who call themselves followers of Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:16 is a verse that is commonly used for biblical support when referring to the inspiration of the Bible. But simply quoting a verse from Scripture means nothing in support of inspiration because the term has not been fully defined. Let's take a look inspiration means from a biblical, plenary, and verbal standpoint. Stay with me!
Exploring Biblical Inspiration
Biblical inspiration deals with the fact that all Scripture is God-breathed; it was supernaturally influenced by the Holy Spirit who divinely chose ordinary people to write down what was being divinely communicated to them.[1] The writings of Scripture is what is inspired; every page is God-breathed. The meanings and intentions behind the passages and / or verses in their given contexts, are also inspired by God because of hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics: the study of correct methods of interpretation; in our case it would be specific to the interpretation of Scripture. If we affirm and acknowledge the authority Scripture has based on its inspiration, we also affirm that that teachings of Scripture can be understood and properly exegeted (studied and communicated).[2] Studying the words, grammar, syntax, and sentence structure of a verse are vital in the interpretation process. Each word, its order, and where it is intentionally placed on the pages of Scripture are inspired by the Holy Spirit.[3] Because each word is inspired, the intent of each author in each book was inspired; each page is God-breathed; and with this knowledge, we can now confidently use 2 Timothy 3:16 as biblical support for the inspiration of Scripture.
Exploring Plenary Inspiration
Plenary inspiration deals with the following: God is the author of Scripture; the focus of inspiration is on the authors; and the writers have been inspired in all of their writings.[4] This avenue of inspiration focuses more on the authors and how they were mentally inspired by the Holy Spirit to communicate the written Word of God. While plenary inspiration shifts its focus from God to the authors, they don't deny that God is the sole author of the Scriptures. They choose to focus their attention on the author rather than the text.[5]
This specific type of inspiration does hold importance in that we can rest assured the authors were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, but to focus all of our attention on the author(s) is to completely miss the full picture of inspiration.
Exploring Verbal Inspiration
Verbal inspiration deals with the following: God is the author or formal cause of the Bible; the focus of inspiration is on the words of the Bible (text versus author); every word is inspired by God; the teachings of the Bible are the source of inspiration; God was fully conscious in his inspiring of the Word; the Bible is without error; lastly, it is authoritative and demands our obedience.[6] Being verbally inspired means that the whole of Scripture was given to us by the Lord Himself; His Word is fully human and fully divine.[7]
Inerrancy
The term "inerrancy" is used to describe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, containing no error in word, grammar, syntax, authorial intent (intent of the author), structure, and thought. This is all because it was inspired (as we have just learned).
Knowing what we do about the inspiration of Scripture, we can better understand inerrancy and why it is important to affirm that all of Scripture is inerrant. If one portion of Scripture is errant, or with error, the rest of Scripture cannot be inerrant, without error, because all of Scripture is one unified whole. This is where the importance of hermeneutics comes into play; human interpretation is not infallible[8] (incapable of making mistakes). We need to correctly interpret passages in order to draw out the intended meaning from the author that was given to them by divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, through the breathing (speaking) out of the Word by God Himself.
Inerrancy as it Relates to the Whole of Scripture
We know that the whole of Scripture is inerrant; it's all true. When I say the whole of Scripture I am referring to the canonical books (the books of the Bible we have today that were accepted as genuine); not those that did not make it into the canon.
John 17:17 talks about how God’s Word is Truth, and he, John, was asking the Lord to sanctify His people in His Truth. Scripture is for sanctifying, correcting, convicting, teaching, training, discipling, and equipping, as mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:16. For those who stake their lives on the Word of God it is important to recognize the inerrancy of Scripture. It is not just a book that contains no error because it came from the mouth of God. It is a book of pure truth that teaches us how to live in this fallen world as depraved, sinful human beings. Something that contains error cannot be fully authoritative[9].
Exploring the Importance of Inerrancy
Inerrancy is a theological term to know and understand. The powerful phrase that “Scripture is inerrant” should comfort those who follow Christ. Because it is inerrant, it is our sole and final authority; it is our measuring stick, our final word, our comfort, peace, and our sword for battle. It would not hold any of those positions in the life of a believer if it were errant (with error). Inerrancy assures the believer that the claim they are making is completely justified because it is all truth.[10]
If we believe the Bible to be both inspired and inerrant, are we living like His words are true? Are we filling our minds with these words? Are we clinging to these words of life?
The Scriptures are divinely inspired, without error, and breathed out by a good, perfect, sovereign God the Father who is the same, doesn't change in character, and desires for His creation to personally know Him. We can know Him through His Word and by those words, come to a saving faith and knowledge in Jesus Christ and teach others also.
Bibliography
The Holy Bible ESV. Wheaton: Crossway Publishers, 2005.
Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
2001.
Geisler, Norman L. Inerrancy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1994.
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[1] Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter A. Elwell, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 2001), 160-161. [2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Wayne Grudem. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 109. [3] Norman L. Geisler, Inerrancy, Normal L. Geisler. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980), 377. [4] Ibid., 929. [5] Ibid., 929. [6] Ibid., 1242. [7] Ibid., 211. [8] Ibid., 297. [9] Ibid., 157. [10] Ibid.,158.
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