"Every Scripture Inspired of God"
The Bible is a supernatural revelation. The word revelation means an uncovering. Since the Bible is an expression of the mind of God, it is a revelation, an uncovering. The New Testament is "God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory" (I Cor. 2.7). None of this world's rulers knew about this wisdom before it was revealed for "Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him" these "God revealed ... through the Spirit for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God" (I Cor. 2:810).
The word mystery means something previously hidden or covered that is now made known or uncovered. Human eyes, ears, and minds did not know this covered wisdom of God. The Holy Spirit did for He searches the deep (the hidden) things of God. The New Testament then is a revelation to man's mind and not a discovery of man. In fact, its words are those of the Spirit for Paul so affirms: "Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words" (I Cor. 2:13).
The title of this article comes from 2 Timothy 3:16,17; "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work."
The word scripture means writing and in this connection means a sacred writing. The word inspired has been misunderstood in this connection. It comes f rom two words: God and breathed. Literally then, it means God breathed. Every God-breathed writing is the idea. The heavens and the earth are the product of God (Psa. 33:6). Likewise the sacred scriptures are God's product. He spoke them into existence. The scriptures are God-breathed, the result of God's speaking. Man is the instrumentality used by God in giving the scriptures to the world. The Holy Spirit searched the mind of God and communicated the things of His mind to man who wrote them in words chosen by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 2:13; 1 Thes. 2:13). The men moved by the Spirit spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance (2 Pet. 1: 21; Acts 2:4).
God did not inspire the scriptures in the sense of impressing His truth or breathing into the men but rather the idea is that the scriptures are the very words that left God and came to man through the Spirit's agency. The words never changed from the time they left God until they were spoken by the human instrumentality.
Holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). The word moved in this connection means the men were borne or taken to the desired end. Thus the Spirit directed them in speaking to accomplish the end or purpose God had in mind. Through the Spirit the men spoke the very words God purposed or intended that they speak. For this reason Paul could say "the gospel of God, which he promised afore through his prophets in the holy scriptures" (Rom. 1:2).
We are forced to conclude that scriptures did not come by human investigation, nor by man's will but by the inspiration of the Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). Consequently, the scriptures are even more trustworthy than eye witness testimony (2 Pet. 1:19).
God and scriptures are identified with each other. Scriptures are spoken of as if they were God. "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed" (Gal. 3:8). Yet when one reads the account of this Old Testament utterance, he learns that the Genesis record says God spoke to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). Paul says that scripture preached the Gospel to Abraham but Moses says that God said this to Abraham. We are forced to conclude that God said in scripture that the Gentiles would be justified by faith. The point is that the scripture contained the word of God. A similar reference to scripture as if it were God is in Romans 9:17. Paul says that scripture said to Pharoah, "For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth." But when one turns to Exodus 9:16 and reads the statement, it is attributed to God. Again the point is that the scriptures are the words of God.
The reverse of the preceding is true-God is spoken of as if He were scripture. Christ refers to marriage as it was in the beginning and stated that the One who made them said ' "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife" (Matt. 19:5). A study of Genesis 2:24 where this statement occurs does not mention who spoke the words. In fact, a casual reading of the passage seems to indicate that Adam says the words but Jesus affirmed that God said them. In this instance God is spoken of as if scripture. The only consistent conclusion is that the scripture is the word of God.
Since God has so emphatically declared that the scriptures are His product, the result of His out-breathing, what does that say about the authority of scripture? Jesus asserted that scripture cannot be broken (John 10: 84,35). The word broken means to loose or to take out of effect. The point is that whatever God bound cannot be loosed. The same word is used by John the Baptist when he stated that he was not worthy to loose the latchet of Christ's shoes. What God has tied, no man can loose. What the apostles by the authority of Christ bound on earth had already been bound in heaven and what they loosed on earth had already been loosed in heaven (Matt. 16:19; 18:18).
The whole Bible is so closely knit that acceptance of one part entails logically and consistently the acceptance of all of it. Jesus argued that the Jews who believed Moses were bound to believe Him (Christ) or disbelieving Him to disbelieve Moses for he wrote of Christ (John 5:46,47).
Since the scriptures are God-breathed, every word is authoritative and must be observed for the purpose and design for which it was given. Jesus made an argument with the Jews to hinge on one word gods (John 10:34, 35; cf. Ps. 82:6).
Likewise, Jesus made an argument involving the tense of a verse in a dispute with the Sadducees. He appealed to a conversation God had with Moses in which God said that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; He was not the God of the dead but of the living. Since God said I am their God, end since they were dead, it follows that though they had departed from fleshly existence they were still alive. This silenced the Sadducees who believed that people ceased to exist-they did not believe in spirits (Matt. 22:23-33; cf. Acts 23:8).
Paul argued from the singular number of a noun in Galatians 3:16. Seed is singular and refers to Christ in the promise God made to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3).
"Every scripture inspired of God" is a comprehensive statement and involves the acceptance of what they say. The fact that scripture is inspired should cause us to search to find what God's will is. Once we know that will, we should diligently seek to obey it.
Truth Magazine I:12, pp. 1, 22-23
September 1957