INSPIRED

All scripture is given by INSPIRATION of God, – 2Ti 3:16

What does it mean to say that the Bible is “Inspired”?

Translating 2Tim 3:16 into English must be particularly problematic because the English language ALREADY has a literary use of the term, “Inspiration”. 

In English, to be “inspired” means to be mentally stimulated to creative thought or activity; it also means to be extraordinarily good. Thus, saying the Bible is “inspired” places it in the same category as Shakespeare’s Hamlet or Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, or even Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.

But while the works of men may be Inspiring, ONLY the Bible is Inspired!

“Inspired” in this sense means that the authors of scripture were uniquely moved by God in the creative process such that the final outcome contained the very words of God for all people and for all time. The precision and exactness of scripture is so high that Jesus could base an entire doctrinal position on the tense used by the author of Exodus over a thousand years earlier (Mt 22:31,32), and Paul could hinge his theology on the fact that the “seed” used in the history of Abraham was singular and not plural (Gal 3:16). Only the Bible can be held up to such scrutiny.

A book by a Man of God may be inspiring, but only the Bible is Inspired!

The Bible does not need to be plugged in; it is its own power source. It has the power to transform the most degenerate sinner and empower the regenerate saint.

The Bible is the only book that can be read a hundred times and still be informative to the reader. It’s the only book that is relevant to the King and the Peasant, the rich and the poor, the Sinner and the Saint.

Pick up your Bible today and, like the Psalmist in 119:18, declare to God, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

Your words were found, and I did eat them; and your word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart:  – I Jer 15:16.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN