How'd They Do It?
“How did they do that?”
It’s a question we, as men, often find ourselves asking.
We’re not satisfied with simply accepting that something works. We want to know HOW it works.
How did they do that stunt?
What makes that engine run?
How did they build that?
When it comes to believing that every word in the Bible is God-breathed, inspired, inerrant, and infallible, it’s natural for us to ask, “How?”
How could a book written over approximately 1,500 years by over forty different authors from various ways of life, professions, and educational abilities claim to be 100% inspired by God?
The answer is found in what is called the “verbal plenary” view of inspiration.
Verbal Plenary Inspiration is “the belief that the Bible is inspired even to the very words (verbal) that were chosen by the writers. Inspiration is a special superintending act of the Holy Spirit whereby the writers of the Scriptures were motivated to write, were guided in their writing even to their employment of words, and were kept from all error and omission.”
“The whole of Scripture is inspired, as the writers wrote under the Holy Spirit’s direction and guidance, while allowing for variety in literary style, grammar, vocabulary, and other human peculiarities….it maintains that the guidance of the Holy Spirit extended to every word of the original documents.”
Seriously? Then how come something written by the Apostle Paul reflects his tone and personality while a Psalm written by King David reflects his circumstances and personality?
Well, here are a couple of answers.
First, God chose the men who would write the books of the Bible. In His providence, He allowed them to go through unique experiences and preparation so that they could accurately communicate His message.
Verbal plenary inspiration also teaches that “the Spirit’s guidance extended to even the words the writer chose to express his thoughts. The Holy Spirit did not dictate the words, but guided the writer so that he freely chose the words that expressed God’s message. (For example, the writer may have chosen the word “house” or “building”…but could not have chosen “field” because it would have changed the content of the message.)”
Essentially, God chose the men who would write the Bible knowing who they were, their unique life circumstances, personalities, and the times in which they lived. Whether they were eyewitnesses to an event, speaking prophetically, writing history, or teaching God’s ways to His church, each one wrote what God told them to write through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Every word they wrote is the Word of God. Because it is God’s Word, literally God-breathed, it is inerrant and infallible, and timeless. As Timothy said, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)
That’s how it works. It is a magnificent work of God, His gift to us to guide us through life as we strive to become legendary men of God.
Quotations from: Horton, Stanley M. Systematic Theology: A Pentecostal Perspective. Springfield, Mo: Logion Press, 1994. Print. Pg 99
Weekly Memory Verse:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.