Read: 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 and Luke 1:1-3
Part 2
As we continue to look at what the Bible teaches us about itself we will keep going down the path that all the words in Scripture are God’s words. So many people want to say that the Bible is not really the Word of God, but words from people, who are sinners so how can one really believe that 100% of the Bible is really from God and not a bad translation from a person.
It is one thing to make a positive statement that the Bible claims to be the words of God, but it is another thing to be convinced that those words are true. Our ultimate conviction that the words are of the Bible, are God’s words comes only when the Holy Spirit speak in and through the words of the Bible, to our hearts and gives us an inner assurance that these words are of our Creator speaking to us.
Just as Paul explained to the Corinthian church that his speech consists of the words taught by the Holy Spirit, he says, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised”.
Apart from the work of the Spirit of God, a person will not receive spiritual truths and in particular will not receive or accept the truth that the words of Scripture are in fact the words of God. But for those in whom God’s Spirit is working, there is recognition that the words of the Bible are the words of God. Jesus knew this when He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).
As mentioned earlier some people will argue that the Bible is just words written down by people; sinners. When we say that all the words of the Bible are God’s words, we are talking about the result of the process of bringing Scripture in existence. The fact that all the words of Scripture are God’s words should not lead us to think that God dictated every word of Scripture to the human authors. It must be said that the Bible does not speak of only one type of process or one manner by which God communicated to the Biblical authors what He wanted to be said. There is indication that God used many different processes to bring about the desired results.
There are instances of dictation, like when John saw our risen Savior, Jesus. Jesus spoke to John as follows: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write…” (Revelation 2:1); “And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write…” (Revelation 2:8); “And to the angel of the church of Pergamum write…” (Revelation 2:12).
Something similar to this process is seen in the Old Testament with the prophets. For example, we read in Isaiah, “Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, ‘Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.’” (Isaiah 38:4-6)
Finally in the beginning of Luke we find out that he (Luke) used the ordinary process of speaking to eyewitnesses and gathering of historical data in order that he is able to write an accurate account of the life and teachings of Jesus. He did his historical research thoroughly, listening to reports of many eyewitnesses and evaluating his evidence carefully. The gospel he wrote emphasizes what he thought important to emphasize and reflects his own characteristic style of writing.
In some cases Scripture gives us hints of these various process: it speaks of dreams, of visions, of hearing the Lord’s voice or standing in council of the Lord; it also speaks of men who were with Jesus and observed his life and listened to his teachings, men whose memory of these words and deeds was made completely accurate by the working of the Holy Spirit as he brought things to their remembrance (John 14:26).
In cases where ordinary human personality and writing style of the author was prominently involved, all that we are able to say is that God’s oversight and direction of the life of each author was such that their personalities, their background and training, their abilities to evaluate events in the world around them, their access to historical data, their judgment with regard to accuracy of information, and their individual circumstances when they wrote, were all exactly what God wanted them to be, so that when they actually came to the point of putting pen to paper, the words were fully their own words but also fully the words that God wanted them to write, words that God would also claim as his own.