Bible Answers
(Editor's Note: For some time now brother Gene Frost has written a syndicated column which has appeared in a number of papers and periodicals of the secular press. We are happy to bring his brief "Bible Answers" to our readers, and will be carrying this page as a regular feature. Those who have questions they might want to address to brother Frost, or who wish to correspond with him about any of his articles, may write him at the above address.)
QUESTION: Did God dictate the Bible to the persons who wrote it? Or, is it the product of men who wrote their experiences with God without expecting it to become "holy scriptures," and who naturally added their own erroneous ideas and inaccuracies?
ANSWER: The Bible is the product of God. It originated in the mind of God, and is the revelation of God's will to man. The Holy Spirit, knowing the mind of God, has revealed his wisdom in words to holy men chosen of God to speak for Him. (1 Cor. 2:7-13; Eph. 3:3-5; John 16:13, 14, et al.)
The Holy Spirit gave unto holy men the very words they spoke and wrote in the revelation of God's will. (2 Peter 1:21) Notice the testimony of Scriptures to this effect: "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (2 Sam. 23:2), "which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before" (Acts 1:16), "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet" (Acts 28:25), "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly," i:e., in express words (I Tim. 4:1), "which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." (1 Cor. 2:13)
Plenary inspiration (i.e., full inspiration) does not necessitate uniformity in style and manner. God may speak in a great variety of styles, and so the peculiar style of any writer, instead of being removed, was merely appropriated and given accuracy by the Holy Spirit.
As a result of this divine guidance, the writers of the Bible presented not their own ideas and evaluations, but the word of God. When we hear or read this word we ought to receive it "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God." (1 Thess. 2:13) Being the word of God, it is true. (John 17:17) On no other basis can we account for the ability of men to foretell events, and even the names of persons involved, hundreds of years beforehand. (1 Kings 13:2, 2 King 23:15-20) Prophecies of Christ number in the hundreds. How could men foretell with unerring accuracy events removed by centuries? These "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:21) On no other basis than plenary inspiration can we account for the historic and scientific accuracy of the Bible. The Bible announced the rotundity of the earth over 2000 years before Columbus. (Isa. 40:22; Prov. 8:27) Though not a book on science, its statements are true scientifically; equally convincing is the fact that it does not state many of the absurdities taught at the times when it was written. Archeology continues to vindicate the Bible in its historical references unknown to and hence denied by skeptics in other ages.
Perhaps the most marvelous demonstration of the plenary inspiration of the Bible is its harmony. The Bible was written by about 40 different men of different walks of life (from king to slave) over a period of approximately 1500 years under different circumstances, customs, and cultures, covering 4000 years of history and projecting to the end of time. Instead of a disjointed collection of conflicting documents, the Bible is one harmonious account of man, of his relationship to God, of his need of salvation, and of redemption. All that man needs to know to stand justified before God is revealed therein. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:3)
When the revelation of God was being written, its writers knew that they were making known God's will. (Eph. 3:3-5) They received their knowledge, not from experience, but from the Holy Spirit in the very words that conveyed God's thoughts. These words are eternal, and are protected by God's providence. (Matt. 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23,25) The same revelation will judge man in the last day. (John 12:48, Rev. 20:12, James 2:12)
Respect of the Bible as God's word will prompt obedience — don't allow men to rob you of this respect by representing the Bible as just another book.