"Inspiration" 2 Timothy

Описание: By: Rev. Robin A. Riggs, PhD.
Sources: Christian Theology by Russell R. Byrum & The Word of God by Kenneth E. Jones

Text: 2 Timothy 3:16

"Revelation" = the act of making known that which was not known before. OR that which has been made known. OR the process of making something known.

"Inspiration" = the process by which God guided & guarded over the writing down of that which has been revealed by God. "Inspired" comes from the Latin word meaning "breathed into." This would seem to imply that God breathed power into the words or into the Bible, but that is NOT what the Bible says. Perhaps the English word "inspired" may not be the best word for translation here. It comes from the Latin vulgate. The word used in 2 Tim 3:16 is theopneustos, and is used ONLY HERE in the Bible. Literally means "God-breathed". It is a strong word used by Paul to express the fact that the real source of the Bible is God. It is not a book of human origin. It is from God. 2 Peter 1:21 repeats this idea. Scripture does not originate with the human mind, but is from God. It is true that humans spoke the words, but they spoke as they were borne along by the Holy Spirit. The result is that they spoke from God.

"Authority" = the authority of the Bible is its right to command belief & obedience. Its authority is the authority of God over all people. God's authority comes to us i the written book God has given which is the infallible guide to God & God's will for us.

Theories of Inspiration-

Dictation Theory
The Belief that God dictated the Bible word by word, & that writers acted as stenographers for God. Mechanical dictation. The writers were totally passive. The value of this theory seems to protect the Bible from any inaccuracy. But the Bible doesn't say they were "carried along" by the Spirit. This theory cannot account for the differences in personalities, vocabularies & styles found in the Bible.

Natural Inspiration
natural insight of the human writers was sometimes lifted to a higher plan of development so they would discover religious truth. But this denies what the Bible teaches. If they Bible is not inspired, except in a broad, general sense that all well-written books are inspired, there is nothing unique about it at all. It is not a safe guide to the truth about God. This theory gives no real authority to the Bible as a revelation of God. It stresses the human to the exclusion of the divine. It is the opposite of the dictation theory.

Synergistic Theory
God & people worked together somehow to produce the Bible. We have difficulty sorting the role of each, because the Bible doesn't to explain how this happened. We can say that inspiration is the process by which the Holy Spirit guided the writers and guarded the writing & transmission of the Bible so that it is an infallible guide in doctrine & practice. The Bible is a divine-human production brought about by the synergistic action of the Holy Spirit & humans. The Bible was produced by human beings as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this process, the Holy Spirit so protected the process that the Bible is an unfailing guide to God.

Did these writing get passed down reliably?
The writing of the NT was a gradual process, different books being written for immediate purposes of particular needs in the early church. They were then circulated in many countries/cities throughout the Roman Empire. They were considered authoritative & divinely inspired (2 Pet. 3:16), copies were multiplied & distributed among the churches. They were gradually collected into one volume known as the New Testament This collection was mentioned by Tertullian who was born only 1/2 a century after the death of the apostle John. He called them "the new testament" composed of 2 parts, the "gospels & apostles." Travel & communication was slow so it took time for there to be total agreement as to which books were in this "new testament". Most of it was accepted in the 2nd century. By the 4th century the 27 books weren't questioned. But people were VERY strict. Each book was carefully investigated. Because: These were greatly revered by the church & In the time of Diocletian's persecution, Christians were often martyred for their belief in the Bible. When life & death were an issue, they discriminate carefully against apocryphal writings. Among all the worst enemies of Christianity at the time non are known to have ever even once questioned the genuineness of the New Testament.

How do we know it hasn't been corrupted?
We now literally have thousands of New Testament manuscripts dating back into the 1st century, as well as many copies that have been made. We can compare all of these with our more recent copies. While there are word variations, they do not change the meaning or doctrine of the written words. The best proof is the fact that they were believed and shared by multitudes, at the peril of their lives. Who lived at the time & place where the events are supposed to have occurred.