It is said that when the famous pioneer missionary, Dr. David Livingstone, started his trek across Africa in 1852 his expedition carted with them 73 books, weighing 180 pounds. These books ranged from medical texts to volumes on biology, zoology and even poetry. After the party had gone 300 miles, Livingstone was obliged to throw away some of the books because of the fatigue of those carrying his baggage. As he continued on his journey his library grew less and less, until he had but one book left—his Bible.[1]
Livingstone discovered, like so many believers have, that the Bible is the only book that man cannot live without. What is it about this book that makes it so unique? One distinguishing mark is what is called the doctrine of inspiration. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
The Greek word in the text that is translated “breathed out by God,” is theopnuestos. It’s the combination of two Greek words, theos meaning “God,” nuestos meaning “wind, or breath.”
Dr. Charles Ryrie gave simple and complete explanation when he wrote: “Inspiration is God’s superintending of human authors so that using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error in the words of the original autographs His revelation to man. The Holy Spirit of God moved upon men of God to pen the Word of God.”[2]
You could think of inspiration in terms of a sailboat. A fisherman can control the movement of the boat by steering the rudder, but what gives the boat its propulsion through the water is the wind which pushes the sail. In a similar way, the Holy Spirit guided and directed the Bible writers in the writing of Scripture. The Spirit gave the content and power while human writer provided the personality.
Another interesting way to think of the inspiration of the Bible is by noticing the parallels to Christ. In fact, there’s a remarkable correspondence between John 3:16 and 2 Tim. 3:16. John 3:16 speaks of the Savior, while 2 Tim. 3:16 speaks of the Scriptures. These two entities comprise the two greatest gifts bestowed upon humanity. Christ is the living “Word” (John 1:1-3) and the other is the written Word.
Both are utterly unique. Jesus impacted the world like no
one else and the Bible has impacted the world more than any other book. Jesus
was both fully human and fully divine. He came down from heaven in the form of
a man and was fully imbued by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16). The Scriptures are
both fully human and fully divine. The words came from God, were given to men
who wrote them down as they were borne along by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:21).
Moreover, just as the Savior was without sin (1 Peter 1:19), the Scriptures are
without error (Ps. 19:7)! -DM
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