Source: The Great Doctrines of the Bible by William Evans. Revised. Chicago: Moody Press, 1949.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES. THE BIBLE ITS NAMES AND

I. 1.

TITLES.

"THE BIBLE."

Our English word Bille comes from the Greek words (Matt. 1:1) and

mean

"'book!

9

libloa

(diminutive form) (Luke 4:17), which Ancient books were written upon the biblns or papy"biblion

rus reed, and from this custom came the Greek name bibles, which finally came to be applied to the sacred books. See Mark 12:26; Luke 3:4; 20:42; Acts 1:20; 7:42. The Bible is not merely a book, however. It is THE BOOK the Book that from the importance of its subjects, the wideness of its range, the majesty of its Author, stands as high above all other books as the heaven is high above the earth. 2.

"THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS."

See Luke 22 :20 1 Cor. 11 :25 ; 2 Cor. 3 :6, 14 Heb. 9 :15 ; 12 :24. The word Testament means Covenant, and is the term by which God was pleased to designate the relation that existed between HimThe term Covenant was first of all applied to self and His people. ;

;

the relation itself, and afterward to the books which contained the record of that relation. By the end of the second century we find the "Old Covenant" and the "New Covenant" as the established names of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures; and Origen, in the beginning of the third century, mentioned "the divine Scriptures, the so-called Old and New Covenants." The Old Testament deals with the record of the calling and history of the Jewish nation, and as such it is the Old Covenant. The New Testament deals with the history and application of the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, and as such it is the

New

Covenant. 193

THE GEEAT DOCTEINES OF THE BIBLE

194 3.

"THE SCRIPTURE," AND "THE SCRIPTURES."

The Bible is also called "The Scripture" (Mark 12:10; 15:28; Luke 4:21; John 2:22; 7:38; 10:35; Kom. 4:3; Gal. 4:30; 2 Pet. 1 :20) and "The Scriptures" (Matt. 22 :29 ; Mark 12 :24 ; Luke 24:27; John 5:39; Acts 17:11; Kom. 1:2; 2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pet. 3:16). These terms mean that the Scriptures are "Holy Writings." ,

the early Christians the most Bible was "The Scriptures."

By

4.

common

designation for the whole

"THE WORD OP GOD,"

Of all the names given to the Bible, "The Word of God" (Mark 7:13; Eom. 10:17; 2 Cor. 2:17; Heb. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:13) is It is doubtless the most significant, impressive, and complete. It gathers sufficient to justify the faith of the weakest Christian. up all that the most earnest search can unfold. It teaches us to regard the Bible as the utterance of divine wisdom and love as

God speaking

IL 1.

to

man.

THE INSPIRATION OP THE WHAT IS MEANT BY THE TERM

BIBLE.

"INSPIRATION."

This question is best answered by Scripture itself. It defines its own terms. Let us turn, then, "to the Law and to the Testimony/'

In 2 Tim. 3 :16

"All Scripture

The word "inspired" means

given by inspiration of God." literally "God-breathed." It is comis

=

to breathe. God; and pnein posed of two Greek words fheos The term "given by inspiration" signifies, then, that the writings of the Old Testament, of which Paul is here speaking, are the result of a certain influence exerted by God upon their authors.

The meaning of the word "breathed,"

as here used, is brought out of the two other words translated in very forcibly by comparison the same way. The one is the Greek word psuchein to breathe gently, while in % Tim. 3 :16 the term denotes a forcible respiration. The other is the Hebrew word ah-ayrh to breathe unconsciously,

=

=

while 2 Tim. 3 :16 denotes a conscious breathing. Inspiration, then, as defined by Paul in this passage, is the strong, conscious inbreathing of God into men, qualifying them to give utterance to truth. It is God speaking through men, and the

Old Testament

is

therefore just as

much

the

Word

of

God

as though

THE DOCTEINE OF THE SCBIPTUBES

195

Ood spake every single word of it with His own lips. The Scriptures are the result of divine inbreathing, just as human speech is uttered by the breathing through a man's mouth. at

2 Pet. 1 :21 "For not by the will of man was prophecy brought any time, but being borne by the Holy Spirit, the holy men of

God spoke." (This is a literal rendering, and brings out the sense more clearly.) The participle "moved" may be translated