Bible, Inspiration of
The inspiration of the Bible is the work of God by which He guided the human authors of Scripture so that what they wrote is His truthful Word. Scripture is therefore fully authoritative in all it affirms.
At a Glance
The inspiration of the Bible is the work of God by which He guided the human authors of Scripture so that what they wrote is His truthful Word. Scripture is therefore fully authoritative in all it affirms.
Description
The inspiration of the Bible is the doctrine that Scripture is “God-breathed,” meaning that God acted by the Holy Spirit through chosen human authors to give His Word in written form. This inspiration applies properly to the writings themselves, not merely to the writers as persons, and it affirms both divine authorship and genuine human participation. The biblical books were written in real historical settings and reflect the vocabulary, style, and concerns of their human authors, yet God so superintended the process that the Scriptures faithfully communicate what He intended to say. Conservative evangelical theology therefore treats the Bible as truthful, trustworthy, and fully authoritative in all it affirms, while distinguishing this doctrine from mechanical dictation on the one hand and merely human religious reflection on the other.