Is the Bible a human book or is it a Divinely inspired book? Admittedly, the Bible was written by human authors, 40 of them over a time period of 1500 years. But according to Scripture, these human authors were all led and inspired by God as to the subject matter that they wrote. Scripture is explicit about this . . .
- II Peter 1: 20-21 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
- II Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
The word inspired comes from the Greek word θεοπνευστος (theopneustos). It literally means “God-breathed”. In fact that’s the way the NIV translates it: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”–II Timothy 3:16.
Just as God, when He created man, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living being” so also God “breathed-out” His Word to human authors and they wrote down the living, dynamic and enduring Word of God.
Who are these men that God used as human authors of His Word? Well, there are 40 of them. Moses was the first person to write portions of Scripture while John the Apostle was the last. Other famous people who wrote the Bible include: David, Daniel, Peter, Paul, Jonah, Isaiah, Solomon and Jeremiah.
All of these men lived at different times; most were complete strangers to one another and separated by hundreds of years. They were involved in many different lifestyles and occupations. Some were businessmen or traders; others were shepherds, fishermen, soldiers, physicians, preachers, kings—human beings from all walks of life. They served under different governments and lived within contrasting cultures and systems of philosophy.
And yet, the wonder of it all is that when these men completed the writing of all 66 books of the Bible with their 1,189 chapters made up of 31,173 verses are brought together we find perfect harmony in the message they convey. Incredibly there are no discrepancies, contradictions, or errors and all prophesies are fulfilled just as the prophets predicted. It is as F. F. Bruce noted: “The Bible is not simply an anthology; there is a unity which binds the whole together.”
The conclusion of the matter is that when you pick up that wonderful enduring Book we call the Bible, you can be assured that you are reading the absolute true and pure Word of God. If any doubts, ask Paul, whom himself, guided by the Spirit of God wrote 13 books of the New Testament. He called it by the name we know: THE WORD OF GOD!
Writing to the Church of the Thessalonians he said, For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the WORD OF GOD which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the WORD OF GOD, which also performs its work in you who believe. I Thessalonians 2:13
