Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 14
May 10, 1962
NUMBER 2, PAGE 1,12a

Inspiration Of The New Testament Writers

J. W. McGarvey --(Apostolic Times)

In some former articles I have traced the New Testament books back to the time in which they are said to have originated, and to the writers who are said to have been their authors. I have not entered into details on the latter of these two points, so as to settle doubts which have been raised as to the authorship of one or two books, nor is it important that I should do so, in as much as the grounds of such doubts are insubstantial, and they are entertained by but few persons of competent judgment.

But to trace the books of the New Testament to their reputed authors, is not to prove their divine authority. This can be done only by showing that said authors were inspired men. To this task I now address myself. But before I present the proofs of inspiration it is necessary to state first what inspiration I propose to prove. Many theories of inspiration have been propounded, but I have yet to see one which has been formed by what appears to me to be the true process. If I am to defend the inspiration of the apostles, I must not form my conception of what their inspiration was by merely considering its phenomena. I must first ascertain what they claimed for themselves, and adopt this as the theory which is to be defended or rejected. It will do the apostles no credit to frame for them a theory of inspiration which was not their own, even though it could be successfully defended, for in the very defense of it there would be a silent condemnation of the apostolic theory on all points of difference between the two. Let us inquire, then, what inspiration the apostles asserted for themselves.

In the first place, it is claimed by Matthew, and reiterated by Mark and Luke, that Jesus made to the original twelve the following promise: "You shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles: but when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you." (Matt. 10:18-20) If this promise was fulfilled, then certainly, under the circumstances mentioned, the utterances of these men, both in matter and manner, were dictated by the Spirit of God, and were the very words which infinite wisdom required them to speak.

In the second place, it is claimed by John that Jesus made them the following promises: "But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you." (John 14:26) "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth." (John 16:12,13) If these promises were fulfilled, then these twelve men — Judas, who fell, being excepted — were miraculously enabled to remember all that Jesus had ever spoken to them, and to either write it or speak it with infallible accuracy. Of course, when they remembered any of his words by their natural powers, we may infer from the very nature of the case, that to this extent they were unaided by the Spirit; but to the full extent that their natural memory was defective, they claim the promise of infallible aid. Let it also be noted that the power by which the sayings of Jesus were recalled was competent to the reproduction of his thoughts in any words which its own infinite wisdom might dictate; and that the very nature of the promise precludes the supposition that the apostles were at liberty to choose words for themselves, except as the very words of Jesus were retained in their memories. Such is the promise in regard to the past. In regard to that which Jesus had not yet taught, the promise is equally explicit; for it assured them that the Spirit would guide them into all the truth. The truth referred to must be understood according to the usage of Jesus, who employed the expression not for scientific or philosophic truth, but for religious truth. If, then, this part of the promise was fulfilled, the apostles must have been equally infallible when speaking on religious topics not specifically discussed by Jesus, as when reporting what he had said.

Such are the claims of the writers in regard to the inspiration which Jesus promised them. We next inquire what claim they set up as to the actual fulfillment of these promises.

It is recorded by Luke that on the next Pentecost after the ascension of Jesus, the twelve were waiting, as Jesus had told them, for the promise of the Spirit, and that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. He furthermore asserts that Peter and the eleven stood up together on this occasion and claimed that in this event was fulfilled the promise of God through the prophet Joel: "It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,...." (Acts 2:1-17) If this event actually transpired, the promise of Jesus was certainly realized in all its fullness; for it is impossible to conceive a clearer proof of divine inspiration than for a company of men to speak intelligibly and correctly in a number of languages which they had never learned. Such speaking necessarily implies the dictation of the words which were uttered, whatever may be true in regard to the thoughts. It is possible, in such a case, that the thoughts expressed were not understood by the speakers, and possible that they were thoughts conceived in their own minds; but it is impossible that the words could have been chosen by the speaker. Throughout their ministry the original twelve continued to reiterate their claim to this species of inspiration, and to the complete fulfillment of all that Jesus had promised them.

In behalf of Paul, the most voluminous of all the New Testament writers, we find the same claim set up as to the inspiration itself, although he does not claim to have been included in the original promises of Jesus. He says: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them to us by the Spirit: For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor. 2: 9-13)

Now, if this claim is just, it is certain that when Paul spoke or wrote concerning "the things of God," he uttered thoughts which were revealed to him by the Spirit of God, and he uttered them in words which were taught him by the same Spirit. And let it be noted that he sets up this claim, not for himself alone, but for himself and others, doubtless including with himself the other apostles. This, then, is the inspiration that is claimed by the apostles. If they possessed it, whatever they spoke or wrote concerning the life and teaching of Jesus, or concerning religious truths not uttered in person by Jesus, must be received as the veritable utterances of the Spirit of God. If they did not possess this inspiration, they did not possess what they claimed, and their pretensions are false. We cannot save them from the effect of this conclusion by assuming for them some other kind or degree of inspiration than this which they claim.