The Inspiration and Preservation of Scripture

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A Ministry of Bible Baptist Church, P.O. Box 383, Martin, TN  38237

Lesson II


The Inspiration
and Preservation of Scripture

   In this lesson we will be dealing with the inspiration and preservation of scripture.  This is an important lesson because it establishes a final authority for future studies.  From where did the Bible come?  How long has it been around?  How do we know it's the word of God?  Such questions must be answered if we are to really appreciate and understand the Bible.
   The word "Bible" is from the Greek word "biblos", which means "book".  When we say "the Bible", we are simply saying "the Book".  That is, not just any book, but THE Book - the Book of all books - God's Book.

The Inspired Word

   The Apostle Paul tells us the following in II Timothy 3:16-17: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
   Notice in our text that Paul said all scripture is GIVEN by INSPIRATION OF GOD.  The scriptures aren't the work of men, as some suppose, but are rather given by inspiration of God.  The pagan writings of such people as Plato, Aristotle, Buddha, and Mohammed are not given by inspiration of God.  In fact, very few of them even profess to be inspired. 
   The word inspired means "God breathed".  The scriptures are given by the breath of God.  This means that the Bible is a LIVING BOOK, because the first time God breathed in the Bible He created a LIVING SOUL (Gen. 2:7).  Jesus said, "...the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."  (John 6:63)   You may also consider Job 33:4, Ezk. 37:9, and John 20:22.
The Spoken Word

   Notice that Paul said the scripture is "given" by inspiration.  He didn't say they were "written" by inspiration, but rather "given" by inspiration.  That is, the words were inspired by God BEFORE they were reduced to writing. 
   II Peter 1:20-21 says, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
   This is called Verbal Inspiration.  That is, the man of God would speak by the Spirit of God.  This makes God the real Author.  He was the GIVER of the spoken words.  The inspiration occurred in the speaking, not in the writing.  David once said, "The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." (II Sam. 23:2)  God inspired the words!  God only used David to pass His words on to others.  God was the real Author.  Notice Jeremiah's comments: "Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth." (Jer. 1:9)  See that?  They were GOD'S WORDS, not Jeremiah's!  God put the words into the prophet's mouth so others could hear, but they were not Jeremiah's words.  Luke 1:70 says that, "... he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:"
   You may also want to check Exodus 20:1, 25:1, Isaiah 1:2, Ezekiel 1:3, 3:4, Amos 1:1, Matthew 1:22, 2:15, and Mark 12:36.

The Written Word

   These inspired words that were spoken by the prophets were actually written down by scribes (II Sam. 8:17; 20:25; II Kings 19:2; 22:3; I Chr. 24:6; Ezra 7:6; Jer. 36:10, 12, 32; 37:15; Mat. 18:19; 15:1; 17:10; Luke 5:30; 11:44; Acts 23:9).  It was the actual inspired words themselves that were written down, not just the general message.  In Matthew 5:18, Jesus said, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."  Quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3, Jesus says in Matthew 4:4 that "... Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  How could we live by every word if the scribe only recorded the general message?  Friend, God said that every word was inspired and recorded for you and I to read.
   A fine example of this is found in Jeremiah chapter thirty-six.  In this chapter the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, and Jeremiah speaks the words.  Then Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch, writes down the words (vs. 4).  Later, in verse eighteen, Baruch is questioned about the manner in which he produced this written copy of God's word.  In no uncertain terms, he says, "...He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book."  Now that's clear!  Some of the Bible may be hard to understand, but that's clear as crystal.  The prophet spoke God's words, and the scribe wrote them down.  That's what the Bible says about it's own inspiration.

Other Proofs of Inspiration

   Christians generally believe that the Bible is inspired, but very few are capable of offering any convincing proofs.  It is important to not only know what we believe, but also to know why we believe.  The following are some of the reasons why we believe the Bible to be God's inspired word.

The Bible Is A Negative Book
   Why would man write a book to condemn his own race?  From cover to cover the Bible is NEGATIVE toward man.  It utterly condemns man (Psa 39:5; Isa 64:6; Rom 3:10-18; John 3:18; Jer 17:9; Psa 51:5).  Men everywhere speak highly of themselves, yet the Author of the Bible speaks of man as being a hopeless sinner.  The Bible HAD to be inspired by someone other than man.

The Bible Is An Authoritative Book
   Most ancient writings do not even profess inspiration, but the Bible professes not only to be inspired, but to be the ONLY inspired writing (Isa. 8:20).  The central character of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, professes to be the ONLY way to Heaven.  Unlike the ancient philosophers, the men of the Bible are men who speak with great power, certainty,  and authority.  Wouldn't you expect God to speak with power and authority?

The Bible Is An Infallible Book
   Although many have tried, and are still trying, no one has ever proven that there are mistakes in the Bible (KJV).  All apparent errors and contradictions can be explained Scripture with Scripture and by closely studying the context.

The Bible Is A Prophetic Book
   While other ancient writings do not even attempt prophecy, the Bible attempts it and fulfills it!  One only has to consider a few Old Testament prophecies about the life of Christ to see this (Num.  24:17-19; Gen. 49:10; Mic. 5:2; Isa. 7:14; Dan. 9:25; Hos. 11:1; Isa. 53; Zec. 9:9; Psa. 69:21; Psa. 34:20; Psa. 16:10; Psa. 41:9; Zec 11:12; Psa. 35:11; Psa. 22).  How could man write such a book?

The Bible Is A Unified Book
   The sixty-six  books of the Bible were written by some thirty-five or forty different authors, on three continents, over a period of 1,900 years.  These men came from all walks of life, differing greatly from one another, but their writings never contradict.  These books COMPLIMENT one another.  Such an accomplishment would be impossible if the Holy Spirit were not the Divine Author.

The Bible Is An Interesting Book
   Unlike other books, the Bible is read by all classes of people.  A small remnant of people from all walks of life share an interest in the Bible.  It is read by the educated and the uneducated.  It is read by the rich and the poor, by the old and the young, by males and females, by all races, and in all places.  What man-written book has such wide appeal to people? 

The Bible Is A Best-Selling Book
   Over 800,000,000 copies of the King James Bible have sold since 1611.  That's over 2,000,000 per year, and over 5000 per day.  This is a very conservative estimate, and it  doesn't include those translated for missionary work.  The Bible is by far the best-selling book ever published.  Would you not expect God to have the best seller?

The Bible Is A Blessed Book
   It has changed more lives than any other book in world history.  Eighty-eight percent of the colleges in America were founded for the purpose of teaching God's word and training missionaries.  Many literary countries are the product of Bible-believing Christianity.  Nations and individuals always prosper when Bible principles are followed.  Is this a coincidence, or is this an indication that God blesses those who obey His word? If the Bible is only man's words, then why do so many prosper through obeying it?



The Bible Is A Preserved Book
   If the Bible is only a man-written book, then why does it still exist?  Satan has fought endlessly to rid the world of the Bible, yet it still exists today.  Everything that man accomplishes eventually falls apart (the wonders of the world, educational systems, governments, families, organizations, etc.), but the Bible lives on (Psa. 12:6-7; Mat. 24:35).  How did the Old Testamant survive the Babylonian captivity when God's people spent seventy years in a foreign land? How did the Bible survive the Dark Ages when Rome ruled the religious world in pagan tradition?  The Bible must be a supernatural book, else man would have destroyed it long ago!  We will consider this point further in the next section of the lesson.


The Preservation of Scripture

When the dust of the battle dies down we shall hear all sixty-six
books declare with the Apostle Paul, "Do thyself no harm, for
we are all here!"  (W.H. Griffith Thomas)

   God lives forever, so His Book shall live forever.  In Ecclesiastes 3:14 Solomon said "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it that man should fear before him."  We've learned about the inspiration of Scripture.  Now let's study the reasons and methods concerning the preservation of Scripture.
   
Reasons for Preservation
   The first reason for the preservation of Scripture is the logical reason.  Just as it makes no sense that you would fool around and lose your birth certificate, your high school diploma, or your marriage license, it makes no sense that God would inspire and record His words and then lose them!  This is totally against His nature.  As much effort as God has put into giving man His words, it would be foolish to lose them. 
   From the very beginning God has delighted in preserving various people, places, and things for His own glory.  God preserved man through the fall in Eden.  God preserved Noah and his family through the flood.  God has  preserved the Jewish people until this very day, in spite of their many captivities and servitudes.  God has preserved Jerusalem, in spite of the many aggressive attacks against her.  It is logical to assume that God would preserve the Book that He inspired.
   Another argument for the preservation of Scripture is the fact that preservation is needful. Jesus said, "...if a man love me, he will keep my words."  (John 14:26)  How can you keep His words if God didn't preserve them for you?  In II Timothy 4:2 Paul exhorts Timothy to "Preach the word..."  How could young Timothy preach the word if the word hasn't been preserved? The Lord Jesus prayed in John 17:17 and said, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."  Friend, you can't even be sanctified if God didn't preserve His word, because it is the word which sanctifies!
   God's word can keep us from sinning (Psa. 119:11).  God's word gives us wisdom and spiritual discernment (Pro. 22:17-21; I Cor. 2:12-14).  The word brings success (Jsh. 1:, and gives us light for the path of life (Psa. 119:105).  Most of all, God's word is essential for a person to be born again!  I Peter 1:23 says, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."  Friend, it has been needful for God to preserve His words.
   Finally, the best reason for believing that God would preserve His words is promise.  GOD SAID HE WOULD PRESERVE THEM.  Note the following:
   "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." (Psa. 12:6-7)
   "For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psa. 100:5)
   "As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever." (Isa. 59:21)
   "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Mat. 24:35)
   "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." (I Pet. 1:24-25)
   God never said once that man would preserve His words, but that HE would preserve them.  Our responsibility is to be faithful and believe what God has said, and ignore what the skeptics are saying.  God promised to preserve His words, so He has preserved them.


Method of Preservation
   The Bible is GOD'S Book, so God can preserve it in any way He chooses.  Since the very beginning, God has used MEN to carry out His work on this earth.  It should surprise no one that God uses His people to preserve His words.
   Many scholars agree that since Christians still have a sin nature (the flesh) that God cannot rely on them in matters of preserving His holy words.  Well, God doesn't rely on anyone for anything.  God, in His sovereign authority,  chooses to USE certain individuals to accomplish His will. 
   For example, Moses and David had a sin nature just like you and I, but Jesus Christ still considered their writings to be Scripture (Mat. 4:4; 19:4; Luke 24:44; 20:42).  God wouldn't allow Moses to enter the promised land (Deut. 32:48-52; 34:4), but He still used him to write the first five books of the Bible!  David committed adultery (II Sam. 11), sinned by numbering Israel (I Chr. 21), and acted like an idiot before the king of Gath (I Sam. 21), but God still used him to write over half the Psalms!  Peter denied Christ three times and then went on to write two epistles. The one who penned the words of Romans 7:18 also penned a third of the New Testament (Paul).  If God could only use sinless people, then He would  have to do everything Himself!

   The preservation of Scripture is GOD'S responsibility, and He is quite capable of overruling man's faults and sins in order to get the job done.  Since most scholars worship their education rather than God, they'll never understand or accept this important truth.
   God's method of preservation is to use His people.  Before the time of Christ the Scriptures were given to the Jews (Acts 7:38; Rom. 3:2).  It was the priestly tribe of Levi who was responsible for the actual handling and copying of the Scriptures (Deut. 17:18; 21:5; Ezra 7:11; Neh. 8:7-13; II Chr. 29:30).   Today (until our Lord returns) the Levites have been replaced with Christians, a spiritual priesthood (I Pet. 2:4-10).  So the church now has the responsibility of handling and copying the Scriptures faithfully.  In fact, we are given severe warnings about handling the Scriptures faithfully (Rev. 22:18-19).  God's method of preservation is to use Spirit-filled believers in the body of Christ to faithfully copy and pass His words on to future generations. 
   In lesson four we will see why the King James Authorized Version is the product of faithful preservation, while modern versions are the product of Satan's attempts to destroy God's word.