Inspiration I - What does it mean?

[Al Habeshi]

I was wondering, when some say that their Bible is inspired what does it mean?

Do you mean that each word was related to the author by God? Or did God give the person the meaning of a word and the person interpreted this and wrote what he understood of the meaning in his words or what?

Note: I'm not really discussing whether the books of the Bible teach that they are inspired, but what it means to believe that they are.

al Habeshi

 

[talitha]

One version says that all scripture is "God-breathed". I like that - the Spirit of God moving through the mind of a man like breath. There is a flavor or style of the man, but the substance is God - and I believe he chose certain men for certain messages because of the words they would choose to say things.

For we [including those who penned Scripture] are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.(Ephesians 2:10)

blessings
tal

 

[Johnnz]

There are those who have a sort of 'dictation' view of inspiration. Others, like me, believe the scriptures are a pretty accurate record of accounts of God's dealings with humanity over the centuries, and in that respect they are an inspired record which gives us sufficient trustworthy information to relate meaningfully to God.

John
NZ

 

[ebia]

I was wondering, when some say that their Bible is inspired what does it mean?

Do you mean that each word was related to the author by God? Or did God give the person the meaning of a word and the person interpreted this and wrote what he understood of the meaning in his words or what?

Note: I'm not really discussing whether the books of the Bible teach that they are inspired, but what it means to believe that they are.

al Habeshi

God gave the human author the gift to write what needed to be written. Each text is fully the product of a human author (or authors) but also what God wants it to be.

 

[unkern]

The Torah (first five books of the bible) were actually made by the Lord, as far as the rest of the OT goes they were inspired by the Lord actually working through them. As far as the NT goes the inspiration was the OT and was written with the Lord flowing through them.

 

[Maranatha27]

Hi,

We believe that the Bible was written by the Holy Spirit, as talithia nicely pointed out. For example Zachariah speaking for God, by the Holy Spirit to the remnant of Israel, made a remakable prophecy in the 12th chapter of the book that bears his name. Jerusalem will be the major issue, that causes all nations to come up against Israel in the "time of the end".

God knows the future, while mere man has no clue. Isaiah speaking by the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 46:9

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
[10] Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Current events point to an inevitable conflict over Jerusalem, you should know that being a Moslem.

 

[salida]

Yes, its means God wrote it.

 

[Bible2]

Al Habeshi posted in message #1 of this thread:

some say that their Bible is inspired

Greetings.

Actually, the Bible itself says that it is inspired: "All scripture is given
by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16).

Al Habeshi posted in message #1 of this thread:

what does it mean?

The original Greek word translated as "inspiration" in 2 Timothy 3:16
is "theopneustos". "Theos" means God and "pneustos" means
"breathed". God's "breath" is the same as his "Spirit", his Holy Spirit.
So saying that the Bible is inspired by God means that the Bible
"came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). This means
that those who wrote the Bible weren't just writing their own ideas,
but the ideas that God's Holy Spirit moved them to write.

Al Habeshi posted in message #1 of this thread:

Do you mean that each word was related to the author by God? Or
did God give the person the meaning of a word and the person
interpreted this and wrote what he understood of the meaning in his
words or what?

It means that all of the "doctrine" and "instruction" contained in the
Bible is from God, that God conveyed infallible doctrine and
instruction to us through the writers of the Bible: "All scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God
may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy
3:16-17). The doctrine and instruction of the Bible can be translated
into any language.

Also, the gospel taught by the Bible, that Jesus is the Son of God
(John 10:36) who died for our sins and rose from the dead on the
third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), is a gospel which is true forever,
for it is the word of the Lord, and "the word of the Lord endureth for
ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you"
(1 Peter 1:25). So Christians cannot accept any writings of man
subsequent to the Bible that deny the gospel, that deny that Jesus
is the Son of God and deny that he died for our sins and rose from
the dead on the third day, no matter even if these writings claim
that they were given by God to a man through an angel from heaven:
"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel
unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed" (Galatians 1:8-9). For "Satan himself is transformed into
an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14), and he, as the evil god of
this evil world, will stop at nothing, he will even create entire false
religions based on writings purportedly from God, in order to try to
keep as many people as possible from believing the true gospel: "the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:4).