Bob Prichard

Topic(s): Bible Infallibility

From beginning to end, the Bible claims to be the word of God, the revelation of His will to man. Paul wrote to Timothy, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). The word “inspiration” literally means “breathed into by God,” or “God breathed.” This means that the Holy Spirit exercised a supernatural influence over the Bible writers so that they would communicate to man exactly what God wanted communicated to him. Because of this, the Bible writers wrote without error in all areas, including morality, history, and science. Bible inspiration is not be limited to one area, such as morality or doctrine. Inspiration prevents errors of fact (not theories) in history, science, and other areas.

The Bible writers were conscious that they were not speaking of their own accord, but were speaking for God. Peter wrote, “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21). Samuel said, “The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). Jeremiah said, “the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9). Thus the writers claim plenary (full), verbal (the actual words) inspiration. They spoke the very word that God commanded.

Jesus spoke of the written word when He said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus indicated that even the smallest parts of the letters of the written word had be fulfilled. Jesus could not have made such a statement if He had not understood that God inspired the very words of scripture, not just general thoughts.

God did not just dictate the words of scripture to the Bible writers, however. Each writer under inspiration used his own vocabulary and style of writing. Thus Luke, a physician, used medical terms in his account of the ministry of Christ. Inspiration allowed each writer to avoid error, even as he used his own vocabulary and style. This did not make the writers incapable of sinning, but simply protected them from error in what they wrote and taught. Even as an apostle, Peter erred in his treatment of his Gentile brethren (Galatians 2:11-14). The epistles of Peter are still inspired and authoritative, however.

Foes have claimed the Bible is full of errors, but the Bible has stood the test of time, and no one has ever been able to document any contradiction between the Bible and known fact. This is because the Bible is not the product of human reason, but of the inspiration of God.