Biblical Inspiration

Dynamic Inspiration

Mechanical Dictation

Organic Inspiration

Organic Inspiration

Inspired by God:2 Peter 1:21 – “…no prophecy of Scripture had its origin in the will of man.”2 Tim. 3:16 – “All Scripture is God-breathed…”Acts 4:25 – “You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David…”

Using the vocabulary & style of human writers:Example: Luke 1:1-4

Organic Inspiration

Paul’s style: long sentences, extensive vocabulary, complex grammar, high literary style.

One sentence in the original Greek: 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

Organic Inspiration

John’s style: short sentences, basic vocabulary, simple grammar, style of a fisherman!

One sentence in the original Greek: 24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. John 21:24

Wild PapyrusA common plant found along the river banks of Africa, Palestine, and the Mediterranean Sea. The stalk is “stringy,” such that the papyrus-maker removes the strands, and lays them out in parallel and in multiple layers to form ancient paper. The longer the strands, the wider the sheet that could be made. This is the writing medium of the original New Testament manuscripts.

ScribesANCIENT COPY MACHINES

Fragment of Ancient Manuscriptca. 120 AD

From the Gospel of John, this papyrus fragment is from an early copy of the New Testament. Because of its date, it was produced by a scribe not long after the apostle John's death.

Early Complete Manuscripts of NT, ca. 300-400 AD

Later manuscripts are better preserved, and can be found in complete books instead of just fragments. This manuscript is called Codex Vaticanus.

Canonicity

Clement, bishop of Rome, in 96 AD:

For thus saith the holy Word: “The Lord hath severely chastened me, yet hath he not given me over to death” [Psalm 118:18]. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” [Hebrews 12:6].1st Clement to Corinthians 56:3,4

Other early church fathers, direct disciples of the apostles, quoted from the NT extensively as Scripture: Polycarp, Papias, Ignatius, and others

Canonicity

3rd Council of Carthage, 339 AD

Canonicity

Four Tests of Canonicity:

ApostolicityThe writing must have been written by an apostle, or close associate of an apostle.Godly ContentThe writing must have the majesty and style of having been written by God.UniversalityThe writing must have already been adopted universally by the churches.Divine InspirationThe writing must have already been considered as God’s Word, not just a good book.

Canonicity

Gospel of Thomas?

Simon Peter said to them: Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life. Jesus said; Le, I shall lead her, so that I may make her a male, that she too may become a living spirit, resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself a male will enter the kingdom of heaven. Thomas 114

Written around 150 ADLacks godly contentNot universally accepted as Scripture by early churchesNo evidence of early Christians accepting it as inspired

Canonicity

Apocrypha: Catholics have them, why not us?Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch were written around 150 BC.• Not found in the Hebrew Old Testament• Jesus never quotes from them.• New Testament never quotes from them as being

Scripture.• Ancient Hebrew Jews never considered them as

Scripture.

25,000 Ancient NT Manuscripts

Standard Greek BiblesAfter a careful examination and study of the 25,000 ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, scholars will compile a standard Greek text. If there are any differences between manuscripts, these “variants” will be noted at the bottom of the page, with an listing of manuscripts supporting each version. Nestle-Aland is the name of Greek text behind most modern English translations such as the NIV.

Textual “Variants”KJV: “…peace on earth, goodwill to men.”NIV: “…and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

How Reliable Are Ancient Manuscripts?Very little difference over 1,000 yearsIsaiah 51:17-19 – “Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the boglet that makes men stagger. Of all the sons she bore there was none to guide her; of all the sons she reared there was none to take her by the hand. These double calamities have come upon you – who can comfort you? – ruin and destruction, famine and sword – who can (how can I) console you?

Dead Sea Scrolls – 100 B.C.

Masoretic Text – 900 A.D.

Early TranslationsThere were many attempts to translate the Bible into the vernacular tongue, such as Wycliffe's Bible in English. Most of these were subsequently burned by the Roman Catholic Church and never made it into the hands of the people. The Church also burned Martin Luther's Bible, shown left. But copies survive, even until today, because of a particularly important invention.

Translation Philosophies

Literal

Dynamic Equivalent

Free

(See Leader’s Academy Series, pg. 174)

Bible TranslationsOver 3,000 translationsOver 5,000 left to go

Attributes of Scripture

Authority Perspicuity (clarity)NecessitySufficiency

Authority:Verbal InspirationPlenary InspirationInfallibleInerrant

“The Bible was written so long ago, all kinds of errors and changes must have crept in, so that it is unreliable.” How would you respond?

“If we don’t have the original manuscripts, how do we know that our modern Bible is God’s Word?”

“We need to discover the hidden messages in the Bible. For example, it foretells John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the moon landing, etc. We now have computers that can easily count every 150th Hebrew character, and string them together to discover the secret messages.” How would you respond?

“We believe in the infallibility of the Bible, but not inerrancy, because the Protestant Reformers never used such a word.”

How to Study the Bible

● Get the Big Picture– Know the geography– Know the writer– Know the date of writing– Know the historical background– Write an outline after trying to read

the book in one sitting, if possible.

How to Study the Bible● Study the details

– Divide the book into “chunks” according to your outline.

– Give each “chunk” a title– Ask as many questions as you can

about the text.– Find the answers using standard Bible

tools (e.g. Bible encyclopedia)– Make a summary in your own words.

How to Study the Bible

● Let God Speak (for each “chunk”)– God ______________.– Christ _________________.– Therefore, I _________________.