The Bible: Divinely Inspired and Fully Authoritative
Throughout human history, God has chosen to reveal Himself to the human race primarily through human voices and hands. There have been few exceptions. Even Jesus Christ, God’s ultimate revelation, came to the world in human form. The Bible is a compilation of histories, laws, psalms, prophecies, and letters written by these “human voices and hands” that God used to reveal Himself to the world. This practice stretched back to the laws and prophecies of the Old Testament Age and continued through the birth of the Christian church. Accordingly, the Bible is authoritative because, as the early church leader Origen wrote, it is “inspired by the Spirit of God.”
The process of exactly how God communicated His Word through the hand of Man remains a mystery. With few exceptions, however, such as the Ten Commandments and some of the specific prophecies of the Old Testament, God did not dictate to the authors of the Scriptures exactly what they should write. God did not circumvent or extinguish the unique personalities, perspectives, and passions of the biblical authors. On the contrary, He used these qualities and gave the human authors fairly wide latitude of literary discretion in their work.
For example, the psalms graphically reflect raw emotions that swing from exaltation and worship to distress and hatred and back again. The Gospel authors write their accounts from different perspectives and, in some cases, in different styles. Paul’s letters, though timeless, reflect his own personal touch and style. In his first letter to the church at Corinth, for instance, the apostle steps outside the realm of divine inspiration to give his personal opinions on marriage, divorce, and celibacy (making it clear when he does so) and, in several of his epistles, provides readers with a glimpse of the hurt and anxiety he has suffered from certain congregations and individuals.
The Bible is not a contrived recitation of stories and doctrines verbally dictated from Heaven to anxious scribes, robotically writing down what they hear. It is a rich and compelling tapestry woven together by real people experiencing a real relationship with the God of the universe.
The authority of the Scriptures comes not from human interpretation or understanding, but from Almighty God. As Augustine wrote, the “MediatorâÂ?¦inspired the Scripture” and thus Scripture has “supreme authority.”
The doctrines of the Christian church and the conduct of the believer should be governed by and consistent with the Bible. Of course, the task of interpreting and applying the Scriptures depends on the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It is through an open, genuine, and submissive relationship with the Holy Spirit that the words of the Bible come alive and serve their ultimate purpose for the believer in Christ.
