In 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, Paul tells us the Scriptures are “inspired.” He tells us the purpose of the Scriptures. And he tells us the importance of that inspiration. But what does the Bible reveal about its inspiration?
Jesus told His apostles they would be guided by the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth (John 14:26). That promise was fulfilled in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came over the apostles and led them into all truth that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Paul also stated that his message came directly through revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11-12).
I was taught in school that God is the “author” in the word “authority.” Indeed, the Bible teaches that He created everything: Genesis 1:1; Psalm 95:5; Acts 14:15; 17:24. But He gave authority to His Son whose life and resurrection proved Him to be the Son of God (Matt. 27:54; Rom. 1:4). Thus Jesus could say that He had all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
But we return to the apostles… Jesus chose them and trained them. Then He gave them the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-13) and sent them out as “ambassadors” (2 Cor. 5:20) to compel the world to be “reconciled” to God. The gift of prophecy was a miraculous gift God gave Christians in the first century to help them tell others what God wanted them to know. Based on passages such as Acts 8:14-15, we know that only the apostles could give miraculous abilities to others.
So Christians in Corinth, for example, had the miraculous ability to prophesy, to share the message of God with others. But this prophesy came from God through the Holy Spirit to the apostles who then wrote the message down in words chosen by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9-13). See also Ephesians 3:1-5.
The process of revelation was God sharing the Truth with the apostles and prophets. Then the process of inspiration was the Spirit guiding the apostles into preaching and writing that message with complete accuracy. The original words God chose were inspired. Translations are not inspired. But the words selected by the Holy Spirit need to be translated as accurately as possible so that we, today, can know what God wanted the message to mean.
Treat the written Word of God with the respect and honor you would the spoken Word of God.
Paul Holland