INSPIRATION

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul stated that the Scriptures are "inspired of God" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Greek is one word, theopneustos, literally "God breathed." It is an affirmation that God is the ultimate author of the Bible.

Inspiration cannot be explained precisely in a way that human understanding can fully fathom. In some way, God used certain men, preserving their personal literary abilities and traits, yet overseeing the process so that the exact will of the divine mind was conveyed through the human instrument (1 Cor. 2:11ff).

The Bible contains a wide variety of evidence that establishes its heavenly origin. Its inspiration is demonstrated by:

• An amazing unity -- some forty people produced sixty-six documents over sixteen centuries.
• Phenomenal prophecy -- more than 1,000. Amazingly, history was written in advance (see Isa. 53, for example).
• Uncanny accuracy, defying human explanation. See, for instance, the numerous details in the book of Acts.
• The Bible also evidences divine control in its authorship by what it does not say. It contains no description of God or Christ. It omits most of Jesus' thirty-three years upon the earth. These are matters that surely would have been included in a work of human design.
• The early writers, such as Paul and Peter, were willing to die rather than forfeit their claim to be spokesmen for God in the documents they produced. See: BIBLE.