How we got the Bible (Revelation, Inspiration & Inerrancy)
Revelation, Inspiration & Inerrancy of the Bible
A. REVELATION
1. What is revelation?
a. “An uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen. God has been pleased in various ways and at different times to make a supernatural revelation of himself and his purposes and plans, which, under the guidance of his Spirit, has been committed to writing.” - Easton Bible Dictionary.
b. Greek: ἀποκαìλυψις, meaning “disclosure: - appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation.” - Strong’s Greek Dictionary.
2. Modes of revelations?
a. General Revelation - The revelation which God continuously makes to all men: by it His power and divinity are made known. (ISBE)
- Nature: Psalms 19:1; Romans 1:20
- History: Example – the preservation of Israel
- Human Constitution: Man was created with an intuitive conscience that bare witness to the existence of his Creator.
Consider this: Is it possible to gain knowledge of God apart from the Bible?
b. Special Revelation – God’s manifestation of Himself to particular persons at definite times and places, enabling those people to enter into a redemptive relationship with Him. (Erickson, 1983)- Theophany – Exodus 3:1-4; Isaiah 6:1; Daniel 3:25;
- Divine Speech – direct speech (I Samuel 3:10); dreams (Matthew 2:13); visions (Isaiah 1:1); indirect speech (Ephesians 3:5); angels (Luke 2:10).
- The Incarnation – Hebrews 1:1-4.
c. The Bible as Revelation – II Timothy 3:16-17- There are some who question whether the Bible should be viewed as being revelation as it is a record of what was already revealed.
- Illustration: A spoken speech vs. recorded speech.
3. Questions for personal application:
a. Do you think you would pay more attention if God spoke to you from heaven or through the voice of a prophet than if he spoke to you through the Scriptures? Why?
b. Do you think your present level of response to the Bible is an appropriate one?
c. When you think about all the ways God speaks and how often God speaks to his creation what conclusions can you draw about the nature of God?
B. INSPIRATION
1. What is inspiration?
a. Definition: 'The supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit upon the Scripture writers which renders their writings an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God.' - Millard J. Erickson: Christian Theology.
b. Greek: θεοìπνευστος meaning “divinely breathed” - Strong’s Dictionary.
c. God's breath is the irresistible outflow of His power. When Paul declares, then, that “every scripture” or “all scripture” is the product of the Divine breath, “is God-breathed,” he asserts with as much energy as he could employ that Scripture is the product of a specifically Divine operation. (ISBE)
“Inspiration is the means God used to achieve His revelation in the Bible. Inspiration involves man in an active sense, whereas revelation is solely the activity of God…” (Geisler & Nix, 1986)
2. How do we know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God?
(a) Unity of the message.
(b) Bible Prophesies - 100% accurate.
(c) It's miraculous preservation.
(d) Archeological and scientific confirmation of its accuracy.
(e) The teaching of the Scripture itself.
- II Timothy 3:16
- II Peter 1:20-21.
- Acts 1:16.
- II Samuel 23:2.
3. Questions for personal application:
a. Do you know of any proven historical fact that has shown something in the Bible to be false? Can the same be said of other religious writings such as the Quran, Bhagavad Gita or Book of Mormon?
b. Is there anything in the Bible that you do not want to believe or obey? What is the best way to approach and to deal with desires you may have in this area?
C. INERRANCY - Are there errors in the Bible?
1. Concepts of inerrancy: -
(a) Absolute inerrancy: The Bible gives detailed scientific and historical information with absolute accuracy and it fully true.
(b) Full inerrancy: The Bible does not aim to give detailed scientific and historical information but is fully true.
(c) Limited inerrancy: The Bible is fully true and infallible only in matters concerning salvation.
(d) Inerrancy of purpose: The Bible was not written to communicate truth but rather to bring the reader into fellowship with Christ.
(e) Inerrancy is not important: The Bible was just merely written to point us to Christ who is the Truth revealed.
2. Importance of Inerrancy
(a) Theological Importance – If God is Omniscient he must know all things. If the Bible is not inerrant then it cannot God's Word.
(b) Historical Importance – The Church has historically held to the inerrancy of the Bible.
- “I have learned to yield this respect and honour to the canonical books of Scripture…that the authors were completely free from errors.” Augustine
- “The Scriptures have never erred…The Scriptures cannot err…It is certain that scripture would not contradict itself; it only appears so to the senseless and obdurate hypocrites.” Martin Luther.
- When a person treats the inerrancy of Scripture as peripheral or optional he is more susceptible to accepting false doctrines
(c) Epistemological Importance (Nature and Validity of the Scripture) – If the Bible is faulty in one area how do we know it is true in other areas? (“False in one, uncertain in all.”)
3. Inerrancy and Phenomena – Approaches used to deal with alleged discrepancies: -
(a) Abstract Approach – Discrepancies are merely difficulties. Because the case for inspiration of the Bible is so great, discrepancies need not be explained. (B.B. Warfield)
(b) Harmonistic Approach – Discrepancies can be resolved and we should attempt to do so in every case. (Edward Young)
(c) Moderate Harmonization Approach – Discrepancies may be resolved using data that is available. However, some discrepancies cannot be resolved until new data is available to aid in our understanding. (Everett Harrison)
(d) Simple Approach – Inspiration guarantees only an accurate reproduction of sources which the Bible authors used so that discrepancies exist because the primary sources were inaccurate. (Edward Carnell)
(e) Acknowledgement Approach – The Bible contains real and insoluble discrepancies. We should call them what they are and acknowledge their errors. (Dewey Beegle).
4. Principles for applying inerrancy?
(a) Inerrancy pertains to what is affirmed or asserted rather than what is merely reported.
(b) The truthfulness of the Bible must be seen in the context of what the statements meant in the cultural setting. (For example the word 'son' also means 'descendant' in some cultures.) Compare Matthew 27:5 and Acts 1:18 or II Chronicles 4:1,2.
(c) The Bible's assertions are fully true when seen in accordance with the purpose for which it was written. Compare Luke 19:38 with Matthew 21:19, Mark 11:9 and John 12:13.
(d) Reports of historical or scientific matters are in phenomenal rather than technical language.
(e) Difficulties in explaining the biblical text should not be prejudged as indications of error.
5. A comprehensive definition for Inerrancy?
“The Bible, when correctly interpreted in light of the level to which culture and the means of communication had developed it at the time it was written, and in a view of the purposes for which it was given, is fully truthful in all that it affirms.” Millard J Erickson
Recommended References:
Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983.
Geisler, Normal A General Introduction to the Bible. Chicago: Moody, 1986
Internet Reading: http://www.pbministries.org/articles/kohler/kohler.htm and also http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Inspiration.html