In Inspiration Of The Scriptures

by T. M. Hyland | Category: The Holy Spirit And His Work | Mar 1952

GOD HATH SPOKEN! No fact in human affairs is more important and significant Had He not done So we should be in darkness and ignorance, but with the Scriptures in our possession we are enriched with nothing less than a divine revelation. The book claims to have come from God and in spite of all attempts to discredit its authority it stands to-day;

"Firm as a rock amid the seething waves,

Against it vainly man or demon raves,

Each futile blow but proves how well 'tis based,

And shows the Christian's trust is not misplaced."

It is not our present purpose to marshal the unassailable evidence for the divine authority of Scripture. The book is its own witness. Here we have a collection of writings written over a period of about 1,600 years by men of different types under the most varied circumstances, yet the more carefully they are examined the more evident it becomes that they are one harmonious whole. Not only the broad outlines of Scripture, but the minutest details reveal a harmony and cohesion which lead to the irresistible conclusion that one great mind devised the whole. It is said that when Columbus saw the rive? Orinoco someone remarked that he had discovered an island. He replied, "No such river as that flows from an island. That mighty torrent must drain the waters of a continent." Viewing the unfolding of plan and purpose in Scripture on a scale with a grandeur so far above human conception we perceive the same indications of an infinite mind as are revealed in the wonders of the material universe.

So far as the Old Testament writings are concerned the question of their divine authority resolves itself into a very clear issue for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. What was His attitude to the Old Testament? He not only bore witness to its divine authority in His teaching, but "it is written" was His weapon against the tempter in the wilderness. He not only found solace and strength in its promises, but His mission and experience were inextricably interwoven with its types and shadows and prophecies. None but He could truly measure the depths of divine wisdom implicit in these wondrous records. In song on the betrayal night and in utter anguish at the moment of His deepest suffering the Holy One expressed Himself, as many think, in the very words of ancient Scripture. And after His resurrection His testimony to the Old Testament writings was still complete as to stamp them in their entirety with the hall-mark of divinity. Could He possibly have been mistaken? The question 1. solemn; the issue is clear and admits of no compromise: the veracity of the Old Testament writings and the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ stand or fall together. In the light of His unequivocal testimony how fearful is the responsibility of those who presume to tamper with the Old Testament writings!

In the preceding article in this series attention was drawn to the Holy Spirit's work in creation. It is now proposed to direct attention to His work in revelation. Deep and profound questions regarding the Divine Being and the relations in the Trinity are involved in such matters. We cannot expect to fathom the mode and method of divine activity, but the facts and consequences have been placed on record for our faith and enjoyment. As we view the wondrous ways of God, alike in nature and revelation, we exclaim with the apostle:

"0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge. of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past tracing out. For of Him, and through Him, and unto Him are all things. To Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Romans 11. 38, 36).

In examining the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Old Testament writings we discover such words as these:

"David himself said in the Holy Spirit" (Mark 12.36).

This declaration corroborates the claim which David made:

"The Spirit of the LORD spake by me,

And His word was upon my tongue" (2 Samuel 23.2),

and is further amplified by the apostle Peter who affirms that God spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David (Acts 4.25), and that the Spirit of Christ was in the prophets (1 Peter 1.11) who "spake from God being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1. 21). These statements are of the greatest importance because they link the divine Author with the human instrument and identify the Holy Spirit to be the ultimate Author of the Old Testament writings.

Two further examples of this treatment of the Old Testament may be given from the epistle to the Hebrews. The writer of this epistle quotes from the Psalms and from Jeremiah's prophecy without making reference to the human writer, and ascribes the authorship of the words directly to the Holy Spirit. In the former case he prefaces his quotation with the words "The Holy Spirit saith" (Hebrews 3.7), and in the latter with the words "The Holy Spirit beareth witness to us" (Hebrews 10.15).

On the night of the betrayal when the Lord disclosed to His apostles the wondrous secret of the coming of the Paraclete, which should follow His ascension to the Father, He said of the Holy Spirit:

"He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that

I said unto you .... He shall guide you into all the truth: for He shall not speak from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these

shall He speak: and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come.

He shall glorify Me: for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it unto you" (John 14.26, 16.13-14). In such terms the apostles were directly commissioned by the Lord Himself to add to the body of revealed truth when the Holy Spirit had come upon them, so that the New Testament writings were produced by the operation of the same blessed Person who spake by the Old Testament writers, and this fact is clearly stated by the apostles themselves in their writings (see e.g. 1 Peter 1.12 ; Ephesians 3.5).

Within the limits of this short article our treatment of this important matter must of necessity be brief. Much more might profitably be written on the testimony of Scripture to its divine origin, but for our present purpose sufficient has been stated to establish the fact that the Holy Spirit is the ultimate Author of the Holy Scriptures. And what a wonderful fact it is! Not only does the book convey a divine message, but the Agent in its production is no less a Person than the Divine Spirit Himself, who, "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2.10). His infinite knowledge and wisdom are evident, not only in the glorious theme of Scripture, but also in the order and mode of its unfolding.

We now pass to consider briefly the question of how the Spirit of God worked in the production of Holy Scripture. There are two important passages in the New Testament bearing on this matter. The apostle Paul uses the term "inspired of God " in reference to Scripture as distinguishing it from all other writing. " Inspired of God "is the translation of one Greek word, theopneostos (from Theog: God, Pneo: to breathe) - God-breathed. In the other passage the apostle Peter states that "men spake from God being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1.21). We can go no further than this in seeking a definition as to how the Spirit of God worked in the writers of Scripture. The divine and human element are blended in a way we cannot fathom. We can no more analyse the process of Inspiration than we can analyse the process of Incarnation. In both the Holy Spirit was the divine Agent and the result of His work is seen alike in the spotless humanity of the Redeemer and in the flawless accuracy of Holy Scripture.

In considering the mode of inspiration the following points should be borne in mind:

(1)The Holy Spirit exercised control without superseding the human personality of the writers.

(2)The writing was not mechanical. The faculties of the writers were fully exercised.

(3)When a writer makes use of material from other sources (e.g., genealogies and statistics) the Spirit's control extended to his choice of material, so that, errors in history, inaccurate description, and any other defects, were completely eliminated.

Inspiration extends to the very words of divine revelation. Any other view would leave us with an inspired message in uninspired word - an impossibility. Three statements in 2 Peter 1. place the verbal inspiration of Scripture beyond doubt:

(1)No prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation (i.e., the writer did not put his own construction on his message);

for,

(2)no prophecy ever came by the will of man (i.e., it did not originate with the prophet);

but

(3)men spake from God, being moved (Greek Phero: borne along) by the Holy Spirit (thus origin and control lay with God).

The following words of Westcott are well worth quoting in this connexion:

"God, who gave the message, chose and prepared His messengers, and by His almighty power, using the faculties of His messengers, produced statements of absolute truthfulness. In combining His divine power in perfect union with the exercise of man's faculties, God was surely able to effect results accurate in every detail in spite of natural fallibility. The divine ray, while using the human medium through which it passed, yet retained its own purity -

To suppose that words and cases are convertible, that tenses have no absolute meaning, that forms of expression are accidental, is to abjure the fundamental principles on which all intercourse between men is based. A disbelief in the exactness of language is the prelude to all philosophical scepticism. And it will probably be found that the tendency of mind which discredits the fullest meaning of words leads, however little we may see it, to the disparagement of all outward revelation."

It should be remembered that inspiration applies to the original words of Scripture. The sacred text has been preserved and transmitted in a most wonderful way. All recent discoveries but confirm the conclusion of one of the greatest living textual authorities, that, "we have in our hands, in substantial integrity, the veritable Word of God" (Kenyon).

We cannot leave this subject without emphasizing the fact that the Scriptures Only yield their secrets to those who humbly seek the Spirit's guidance. The Scriptures were not only inspired by Him, but are instinct with divine life. Happy indeed is the man to whom the divine Author of Scripture unfolds its hidden treasure. For it is He alone who can now do for us what the Incarnate Son did for the two disciples on the Emmaus road. Thus, their experience will be ours,

-"Was not our heart burning within us, while He spake to us in the way, while He opened to us the Scriptures? "(Luke 24. 32).

"A glory gilds the sacred' page,

Majestic like the sun;

It gives a light to every age,

It gives, but borrows none.

TheHand that gave it still supplies The gracious light and heat:

Itstruth upon the nations rise, They rise, but never set.

let everlasting thanks be Thine, For such a bright display,

As makes a world of darkness shine With beams of heavenly day.

My soul rejoices to pursue

The steps of Him I love, Till glory breaks upon my mew

In brighter worlds above" (Cowper).

* 2 Timothy 3.16. We do not here enter into the question of the difference in translation in the English Revised and Authorised versions. Probably both renderings are permissible from a grammatical point of view. In the opinion of the present writer there is really no essential difference. The Holy Scriptures are distinguished from all other writings by their very nature-they are God-breathed.

T. M. Hyland | Mar 1952
The Holy Spirit And His Work