How we got the Bible, 2 Pet.1.19-21, 2.2.14 Introduction: In our day, there are two movements which have undermined belief in inspiration of the Bible. One is the higher critical movement that reduced Scripture to simply the recollections and ideas of a religious group. The more recent movement is religious pluralism, which holds that all religions are equally valid, meaning that none is more true than others. If other religions are equally valid, then other holy books are also. Many Christian young people think this way. To prove the Bible is God's Word, we have to know what it is. We have to know its origin.

Big Idea: The Bible is the inspired Word of God. 19

Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. 2 Pet.1.19-21 1.19 - The words of the prophets about Jesus' return can absolutely be trusted; Their words give us clear guidance in this dark time until Jesus returns. 1.20f - The origin and interpretation of prophecy come from God himself. They were "moved by the HS." This language is that of a ship whose sails are caught up in the wind; likewise, the writers of Scripture were caught up in the wind of the Spirit. The Scriptures were inspired by God. Image of a yacht with its sails up What do we mean by inspiration? Many have come to see the Bible as inspired in the same way that, say, an artist might be inspired. The artist sees the Grand Canyon and with her imagination now flooded with images and ideas hurries back to her canvas to paint a beautiful picture. A poet, upon viewing the devastation of war, proceeds to pen lines which stir the compassion of readers. Is that what we mean when we say the Bible is inspired? 16

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. - 2 Timothy 3.16. We use the word inspiration because of 2 Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." Inspired is translated from the Greek word which literally means "God-breathed." Inspiration, then, in the biblical sense, isn’t the stirring of the imagination of the writer, but rather is the means by which the writers accurately wrote what God wanted written. God breathed means it is from God's mouth. 

Breath = Life



God breathed life into Adam



Jesus said, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." His word are life.



Jesus said his words are "spirit and life."



Many of your experiences. When you came to faith in Jesus or returned to him fully, you could not get enough of the Bible. It was life to you.

Def of inspiration: Inspiration is a supernatural influence upon the authors of Scripture whereby the Spirit of God assures the truth and trustworthiness of their oral and written proclamation. Although some things were dictated to the writers, most of the time the Spirit simply superintended the writing so that the writer, using his own words and personality, wrote what the Spirit wanted. This is why if you are familiar with Scripture you can sense the differences between writers of Scripture. Paul did not write like John; Isaiah does not sound like Solomon. God used their own style and personality.

The Historical View of the Church Historically, the church has consistently held to the inspiration of Scripture, at least until the 19th century. One scholar has said that throughout the first eight centuries of the church, "Hardly is there a single point with regard to which there reigned . . . a greater or more cordial unanimity." Image of all these with their quote. Clement of Rome, 100 A.D., "Look carefully into the Scriptures which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit." Justin the Martyr, 105-165, "...that we must not suppose that the language proceeds from the men who are inspired but from the divine word which moves them." He also said, "...the history which Moses wrote by divine inspiration...the Holy Spirit of prophecy taught through him." Irenaeus, late 2nd century, "...the Scriptures are perfect, inasmuch as they were uttered by the word of God and His Spirit..." Clement of Alexandria, 150 - 217, "...of which [the Scriptures] not one tittle shall pass away without being accomplished for the mouth of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, spoke it." Origen, 185-253, "[the Scripturues] breath the spirit of fullness and there is nothing whether in the law or in the prophets, in the evangelists or the apostles which does not descend from the fullness of the divine majesty."

The Witness of the Old Testament The clear intent of the Old Testament writers was to convey God’s message. 

"Thus says the Lord" or "This is what the Lord says" (Exod. 4:22),



"I have put my words in your mouth" (Jer. 1:9),



"The word of the Lord came to him" (Gen. 15:4; 1 Kings 17:8, 1 Chr.17.3).



"The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue." (2 Sam.23.2)



The Old Testament explicitly states 3,808 times that it is conveying the express words of God. All these references to God speaking show that He is interested in communicating with us verbally.

God was so interested in people preserving and knowing His word that at times He told people to write down what He said. We read in Exodus 17:14: "Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’" (See also 24:3-7, 34:27; Isa.30.8;Jer. 30:2; 36:2; Hab.2.2) The clear testimony of Old Testament writings is that God spoke to people, and He instructed them to write down the things He said. These writings have been handed down to us.

The Witness of Jesus What did Jesus believe about the Bible: 

It has divine authority - Matt.4.4



It is imperishable - Matt.5.17-18 o

At the time of Jesus, the religious leaders believed that only two things were permanent: The Scriptures and the Temple. Jesus made it clear that the Temple was going to be destroyed (mt.24.2) but his words would last forever (Mt.24.35).



It is infallible - John 10.35



It is historically accurate - Mt.12.40; 19.4f, 24.37f.



Has ultimate supremacy - Mt.15.3, 6

What did Jesus promise His disciples about His teachings: 

The Holy Spirit would remind them of what He told them. (Jn.14.26)



The Holy Spirit would reveal future events to them. (Jn.16.13)



The Holy Spirit would guide them into the truth. (Jn.16.13)

The Witness of the Apostles Finally, we need to see what the apostles tell us about the nature of Scripture. To understand their position, we’ll need to not only see what they said about Scripture, but also understand what it meant to be an apostle.The office of apostle grew out of the Jewish legal system wherein an apostle ("one who is sent out") could appear in the name of another with the authority of that other person. It was said that "the apostle for a person is as this person himself." As Christ’s representatives the apostles carried forth the teaching under His authority. These men believed their writings were Scripture: 

"2 Peter 3.16"



"2 Pet.3.2"



"1 Cor.14.37"



"1 Thes.2.13"



2 Thes.2.15



Rev.1.2-3

Other Proofs The Bible clearly claims to be the inspired word of God. But does it give evidence that it must have God as its source? And does it find confirmation in our experience? 

Prophecy: Regarding the necessity of having God as its source, we can consider prophecy. Who else but God could know what would happen hundreds of years in the future? What mere human could get 300 prophecies correct about one person (Jesus)?{15}



Humanity: The Bible’s insight into human nature and the solutions it provides to our fallen condition are also evidence of its divine source. In addition, the Bible’s honesty about the weaknesses of even its heroes is evidence that it isn’t just a human book. By contrast, we tend to build ourselves up in our own writing.



Endures the Test of Time: As further evidence that the Bible is God’s word, we can note its survival and influence throughout the last two millennia despite repeated attempts to destroy it.



Archaeology: The archaeological evidence continues to support the historical and geographical background the Bible describes. As one person said, "the more we dig; the more it proves."



Our Experience: What Scripture proclaims about itself finds confirmation in our experience. For example, the practical changes it brings in individuals and societies are evidence that it is true.

Big Idea: The Bible is the inspired Word of God. Conclusion: As I noted earlier, we frequently hear questions such as "Many religions have their own holy books. Why should we believe the Bible is special?" When this objection comes from someone who holds to religious pluralism, no amount of evidences or arguments for the Bible will make a bit of difference if the person believes that there is no right or wrong when it comes to religion. It’s easy for us to rely primarily on their arguments when responding to critics, which is something even Paul wouldn’t do (1 Cor. 2:3-5). What we learn from Scripture is the power of Scripture itself. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword," (Hebr.4:12). So, where am I going with this? Before we launch into a lengthy defense Scripture, it might be good to get them to read it and let the Spirit open their minds to see its truth (1 Cor. 2:6-16). Am I tossing out the entire apologetics enterprise and saying, "Look, just read the Bible and don’t ask so many questions"? No. I’m simply trying to move the conversation to more fruitful ground. Once the person learns what the Bible says, he can ask specific questions about its content, or we can ask him what about it makes him think it might not be God’s word. Even with all this evidence, however, we aren’t going to be able to prove the inspiration of the Bible to anyone who either isn’t interested enough to give it serious thought or to the critic who only wants to argue. But we can share its message, make attempts at gentle persuasion and answer questions as we

wait for the Spirit to open the person’s mind and heart. As Jesus says, "To him who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says." Message sources: Rick Wade, The Inspiration of the Bible; Dr.Heinz Lycklama, Is the Bible God's Word?