Divine Inspiration

Most Excellent Theophilus,¹

            I am writing to you in order to discuss how the inspiration of the scriptures has come about. This is going to touch on a difficult and possibly dividing subject. It will, by necessity, contain some content concerning free-will and Calvinism. This is an important subject which needs to be discussed openly, and one which I hope to write to discuss with you at a later date. For now, however, I urge grace and charity in all things. In Ephesians 4:1-3 Paul admonishes the church in Ephesus, and now the modern church also, saying “I…urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”² You see Paul knew that there would be disagreement within the church, Paul even disagreed with Peter (Cephas)³. Therefore, calling for a spirit of unity, just as Christ had done⁴, he urges the church to treat each other with love, humility, and gentleness even in our disagreement. Also, I am eager to hear your thoughts regarding this matter. Now, I will discuss different theories of inspiration with consideration towards multiple views of free-will and Calvinism.

            First, I find it prudent to review 2 Peter 1:19-21⁵. In my previous letter I focused mainly upon verses 19 and 20; now, however, I want to train our focus on verse 21. Here Peter highlights and centralizes the role of the Holy Spirit in the inspiration and writing of the Scriptures. He makes clear that the authors of Scripture were “carried along by the Holy Spirit.”⁵ This seems very clear at first blush, yet given the context of the entire Bible, we find it could take on several different meanings.

            Now, first we will discuss what is called Divine Dictation. This is a way in which the human authors could produce an inspired text. It entails that all of scripture was dictated to the authors and they simply wrote it down. Thus, on this view, all of Scripture is inspired in virtue of it being directly spoken by God. Thus, the authors were indeed carried along by the Holy Spirit by simply writing down those words he gave to them.

            This view of Divine Dictation has fallen out of favor in the modern church, and with good reason. When we look through the text of the Scriptures, we find that it seems the authors did have an influence on what was written down. Take for example 2 Timothy 4:19-22.⁶ Here Paul sends greetings from those he is with and informs us of some of the life events that are taking place. It would seem then that this was the writing of Paul and not a Divine Dictation. It would seem perfectly acceptable for Paul to not include the greetings from someone or to include more greetings. Either way, the letter is still doctrinally the same. Furthermore, in Pslam 139:22⁷ the author expresses hatred for his fellow man. Certainly this is not God expressing hatred; that would be contrary to his character, his very nature. Therefore, it seems that the Divine Dictation of the scripture falls short in producing the inspired texts that we find in Scripture.

            How then can we say that the inspired scriptures came about? Well, for those who are Calvinist it seems there is no problem at all.  God simply decreed that those authors would write an inspired text and they simply had no choice in the matter. They are carried along by the Holy Spirit and his absolute decree; thus, inspired texts are produced. But, for those who do not find Calvinism compelling, how are you to consider the Scriptures?

            This is somewhat more difficult. First, we need to consider the nature of God himself. God, being an omnipotent creator with free-will, has a perfect understanding of the free-will with which he has endowed his creatures. In fact, he understands our free-will so well that he knows what each of his creatures would do in any circumstances. This is called “middle-knowledge,” and is something that I will write more to you about in a future letter.

            Now, consider that if God knows what each of us will do under any circumstances then he knew exactly what each of the authors of Scripture would write in each of the circumstances he placed them is. God knew that Paul would write his letters, and God knew exactly what would be in each letter in every circumstance. Now this is an important point and is worth rephrasing and repeating for the sake of clarity. God knew the decisions that Paul would make in any circumstances. Therefore, if Paul had been placed in modern New York, God knows what he would or would not have freely chosen to write. Thus, God, through his middle knowledge, was able to engineer the circumstances in which an author wrote. Thus, Scripture is the free product of the author, but also the Word of God. It reflects the culture and personality of the author and yet is “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”⁸

            I hope that you find this letter helpful O Theophilus.⁹ Again, I hope that you will approach this with grace and humility as we attempt to discern the truth. I hope to have a more in depth discussion of God’s omnipotence and middle-knowledge with you soon. However, for now if you have questions regarding this then please feel free to write to me. I will conclude my series of letters on the Scriptures soon. I am anxious to hear from you about what areas of Christianity you wish for me to address next. As always I wish that you will always keep the faith and direct the glory and honor to God.

In Christ,

1.      Luke 1:3 - it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, (NIV)

2.      Ephesians 4:1-6 - I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (ESV)

3.      Galatians 2:11-21 – I encourage you to look this passage up. However, because of the length I have not included the passage here as I normally do.

4.      John 17:22-24 - I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. (NIV)

5.      2 Peter 1:19-21 - We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

6.      2 Timothy 4:19-22 – Again I encourage you to look up and read this passage. However, I will again not be including it here.

7.      Psalm 139:22 - I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. (NIV)

8.      2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (NIV)

9.      Acts 1:1 - In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, (ESV)