Bible Stories

The Bible is often called the ‘word of God‘. It is the way, above all others, that he uses to communicate with us — to get his thoughts and purposes into our minds. But how did books written by many different writers come to be God’s ‘word’? And can we be sure that we are properly understanding what God has revealed?

Inspiration

The Bible is distinct and special because it is inspired by God. And although the actual word ‘inspired’ is used only once in the Bible itself, the idea of inspiration is basic to the whole of it. God took the initiative in giving us the Bible. He took the lead in revealing himself in history, in giving his people a right understanding of his revelation, and in providing that a permanent and reliable record of all this should be made. The authority of the Bible is not simply the authority of eminent men, but of God himself.

This means, for example, that the meaning of Jesus Christ as expounded by Paul and others is more than simply the profound and perceptive insights of these men, though it is that. It is the meaning God wanted to be conveyed. God so worked within the thinking of Paul and other writers that their message is at the same time God’s message.

This divine initiative and overruling make the Bible a unique book. On the one hand it has all the features of any other human book — and can be studied as such. We can examine the different characteristics and emphases of the various writers, investigate how and when their books were written, and in general study them as we would study other ancient writers.

On the other hand we approach the Bible as no other book— to listen to it, to submit to its teaching, to recognize its authority as coming from God, and to be confident that the Holy Spirit will bring it alive for us. The Spirit inspired its writers and he can interpret it afresh to the enquiring reader today.

The Bible, then, is a book which is both human and divine. In the Bible what is said and done is neither simply human nor simply divine, but both together. This is one of the distinctive marks of the way God reveals himself — there are some parallels with the way he made himself known in Jesus Christ.

Many of the difficulties that are made as people try to use and understand the Bible arise from a failure to hold together its human and divine dimensions. Modern scholarly study has emphasized the human aspect of the Bible and the rich diversity of its human authors and emphases. But in so doing it has often lost sight of the divine element and made the Bible a merely human work.

Defenders of the divine dimension, on the other hand, have often misunderstood its implications. They have used it illegitimately to deny or prejudge the examination of the Bible from a human point of view.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Bible, the Word from God to Us

• The Creative Power of Sound
• Different views about the Bible
• Warrants for the view that Jonah is fiction
• The Trinity in the Old Testament
• Faith, How Muslims See Jesus (Did Jesus really die?)
• God the Three-in-one in the New Testament
• Different views about the Bible continued
• The Centrality of Christ
• The Church's Understanding of Jesus Christ, Bible and God
• Christ and the Church, the God of the Reformers