Inspiration

What does "Inspiration" mean, when it comes to God's Word? 

The Bible is God’s Special Revelation because it is God’s inspired Word given to man as a blessing, gift, and act of His grace.

First, the word inspiration means “God-breathed.” “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16. Peter says, “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 1:21, Acts 1:16, Hebrews 1:1, 1 Corinthians 2:13, Mark 12:36). Man was not a passive agent. Inspiration does not mean passive dictation. The character and personality of each author and each audience was used in inspiration (2 Peter 3:15-16). As the LBC states, “the authority of the Holy Scriptures, for which it ought to be believed, depends not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God, the author thereof”. Inspiration means God is the author of His word, but He used men to write His Word in their own character, personality, style, language, and context.

Second, inspiration was both verbal (every word) and plenary (whole). “I tell you the truth, 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. “Every word of God is pure…” Proverbs 30:5. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…” 2 Timothy 3:16 (Galatians 3:16, Revelation 22:18-19). God is the author of every word written, which means every word has significance and important, yet He is also the author of the whole Bible as one, which means the Bible is a succinct, perfect, story from beginning to end making clear one large narrative (God redeeming a people to Himself).

The inspiration of Scripture is the backbone of the Bible. All of the other characteristics flow out of inspiration; authority, clarity, sufficiency, and inerrancy. The verbal-plenary nature of inspiration is the key to a correct view of inspiration. Verbal-plenary does not emphasize the transcendence of God, like the neo-orthodox understanding does. Neo-orthodox inspiration is not even inspiration at all because it leaves humans completely devoid of playing a key role in God’s Word. Verbal-plenary inspiration does not fall trap to the dictation inspiration. Dictation leaves the personality, languages, and authors void of playing a key role in God’s Word. Verbal-plenary inspiration is not even limited, like some scholars think, because inspiration is clear, God is the author of His Word and where His word originated. Being the true backbone of the Bible, inspiration and the verbal-plenary method it was inspired in, keeps God as the author, yet has the beauty, character, and context of human authors with personalities, languages, and the human element in the process. The inspiration of God’s Word is what makes God’s Word special, sufficient for salvation, clear for understanding of truth, and free from error.