The Inspiration of Scripture

Dr. Tony Evans: We got the Bible because the Holy Spirit moved upon the apostles to write what is written. What is true of the Holy Spirit's work in the biblical writers to record God's word is true in your Christian life to hear God's voice.
Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans says the same spirit who inspired scripture then helps you receive it now. This is The Alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. There's a difference between human opinion and divine truth. Today, Dr. Evans explains how the Bible wasn't just written by people; it was breathed out by God himself. Let's listen as he unpacks how inspired scripture equips us for everything God calls us to do.
Dr. Tony Evans: We've all known the feeling of being inspired. Perhaps it was hearing a choir sing and being lifted up because of the melodious voices that impacted us. Perhaps we know inspiration from a poem that was read or a speech that was spoken. Inspiration is that feeling of exaltation you get because something lifts your spirit from where it was to a higher level, and you find encouragement, motivation, and stimulation because you've been inspired. The Bible is inspired. But when the Bible talks about being inspired, it's not talking about simply a high level of human achievement. No, that word takes on unique, special meaning when applied to God's word. That's why I would ask you to join me in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. The first line is our focus. All scripture is inspired by God. First of all, what do I mean, what does the Bible mean, by inspired? The doctrine of inspiration, or the inspiration of scripture, refers to the process by which God oversaw the composition of scripture so that its message was recorded without error. Revelation is what God said. Inspiration is the recording of what God said so that it was kept, preserved without contamination. The Bible declares to be the statements of God through men, not merely man's statement about God. Psalm 147 says this about God speaking and God's word. Verse 15: He sends forth his command to earth; his word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool, scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth his ice as fragments; who can stand before the cold? He sends forth his word and melts them. He causes his wind to blow and the waters to flow. He declares his words to Jacob, his statutes, his ordinances to Israel. God speaks his words. The place, according to 2 Timothy 3, where these words were captured is called scripture. The Greek word *graphe*, and that referred to that which was written. Over and over again, we see that the word of God was written. 1 John 5:13 says, "These things have I written unto you." God is for writing because the Bible says in Deuteronomy 9:10 that the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God. The Bible was written so that there would be a record of the very words of God. Therefore, there is nothing in scripture that God did not say. It's scripture that God holds to. Another important verse in this regard is Romans chapter 16, verse 25. Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for a long time past, but now is manifested and by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the eternal God has been made known to all nations, leading to obedience of faith. He says the scriptures of the prophets came by commandment of the eternal God. So we start off by defining inspiration: the process by which God oversaw the composition of scripture so that its message was recorded without error. Now that raises a question: how did God do it? I want you to turn here to 2 Peter chapter 1, because the implications of this are not only implications for the scripture but for your life. Verse 20: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of the human will. In other words, John didn't get up and say, "Let me make scripture today." But men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. How did we get scripture? Here's how we got scripture. We got scripture because men were moved by the Holy Spirit to write it. What is true of the Holy Spirit's work in the biblical writers to record God's word is true in your Christian life to hear God's voice. So scripture didn't come because a man said, "Let me write the Bible." Scripture came because men were moved along, holy men, thus their sails were up. They were moved along so that they recorded scripture using their own styles, own vocabulary, own personality, but all expressing what God intended to be recorded from his revelation. It's sort of like electricity in your house. The same source, but each appliance uses it differently. A toaster uses it to heat bread and pop it up. A refrigerator uses it to cool things down or to freeze them. A stove uses electricity to heat things up. A can opener uses electricity to open something. In other words, all the appliances are different, but they use the same source to do what they were created to do. Paul is not Peter. Peter is not John. They're all different. Nehemiah is not Samuel, and David is not Solomon. But even though all the biblical writers were different, it was the same spirit that moved in them so that the uniqueness of their personality was reflected in the recording of scripture. Now, what's the application to your life? When the Holy Spirit moves on you, he's not going to move you to do what he's moving me to do because we have different roles. I'm a toaster; you're a can opener. So by application, you don't want to mimic me; I don't want to mimic you. Put your sail up. Let me put my sail up, because the Holy Spirit's leading us differently. But the Holy Spirit moves today in the application of divine truth so that you know exactly what he wants you to do. That's why in the Bible, there is this dynamic between what was written and the spirit. For example, the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3. It says that the word of God was told to John to write. And he was told by God's spirit to write in Revelation chapter 1, verses 10 and 11. And when he wrote, he wrote to the seven churches of Asia. But at the end of each church, he says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches." Because it was written, but it was the words of the Holy Spirit that got written. In other words, if it wasn't the Holy Ghost's words, it never got written, because he wouldn't remind them or guide them into something he didn't want recorded. So in the Bible, you only have what God wants you to know. Now, don't misunderstand this. You don't have everything in the Bible. God has not revealed everything about himself. Deuteronomy 29:29 says let the secret things of God remain secret. In other words, don't get into stuff you don't know nothing about. If he didn't tell you, guess what? He doesn't want you to know it. Eternity is going to be filled with new revelation. New revelation. You ain't seen nothing yet. You look at all that we praise God for, all that God has done, all the animals, all the different races. You look at the universe and the stars and the sun, and this thing has been going on for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. And to think that you can look at the universe, and science is still studying the universe, and you ain't seen nothing yet. You haven't seen a thing yet about the new manifestations of the revelation of God. But what he wants us to know regarding life, relationship with him, the spiritual realm, has been recorded in the word of God, and it is the word of the spirit. It's not only the word of the book; it is the word of the spirit, that which God desired to be recorded.
Guest (Male): Dr. Evans will point us to a powerful verse that ties all those scriptural relationships together when he continues in just a moment. Don't go away. When everything feels louder, faster, and more divided by the day, where do you find real peace? We live in a very frayed world. On the Unbound podcast, Dr. Tony Evans explores timeless truth for today's toughest realities. Faith that doesn't escape the world but speaks directly into it. Praise changes the chemistry of the brain. The Unbound podcast with Dr. Tony Evans: biblical truths in real life. Listen to the Unbound podcast anytime of the day or night on your favorite podcast streaming platform. Now, before we return to today's message, I want to quickly remind you that what you're hearing is part of Tony's eye-opening series, *The Glory of God's Word*. This 10-part audio set unpacks how scripture reveals God's heart, his authority, and his power to transform lives. And right now, we are offering the complete series as our gift when you support the ministry of The Alternative. We'll also include Tony's book, *The Power of Knowing God*, a highly practical resource that encourages you to make knowing God personally your greatest pursuit. This limited-time offer won't be around much longer, so visit tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222 to get all the details. Again, that's tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222. Now, let's rejoin Dr. Evans for the second part of today's lesson.
Dr. Tony Evans: A great verse that brings these concepts together of the word and the spirit and the human author and the divine author is Acts chapter 1, verse 16. I'll read it to you. Acts 1:16: "Brethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus." The scripture, the Bible, had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold. Well, how did the Holy Spirit talk? I can't see him. Through David. He used a man. When you come to church on Sunday, here's your request. Your request is: Lord, use the preacher for the Holy Spirit to talk to me. That's your request. What you want is God use the human mouth to talk to me about what the Holy Spirit wants in me, in my life, for my direction. I want to hear from the Holy Spirit, not just a human mouthpiece. Anybody can preach a sermon. You need to hear from the Holy Spirit so that you know God was talking to you. And so it says when it came to recording of scripture, David said it, but it was the word of the Holy Spirit. So sometimes the scripture says the Holy Spirit said something, then another time it says that a person said it, and it's talking about the same statement. Who said it? The Holy Spirit or the person? Both said it, because the Holy Spirit said it through a person, because men were borne along by the spirit. The lesson of this is you ought to know when the Holy Spirit catches a hold of you, you're going somewhere. So then, what is the result of this scripture that we have? What's the bottom line? Number one: because of inspiration, the Holy Ghost was the project manager of the recording of scripture, you have a perfect and complete text, a perfect and complete Bible. Proverbs chapter 30, verses 5 and 6 says, "Every word of God is tested. He is a shield of those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he reprove you and you be proven a liar." Don't be adding no more books to the Bible, verses to the Bible, or thoughts. Everything he wanted said, he tested it, and it got in just like he wanted it. So don't add to his words, or you're going to be the one proven wrong. Another benefit of scripture or nature of scripture: all of scripture is equally the word of God. Now I know some of you got your red-letter versions. The red-letter versions, for those of you who don't know, are versions of the Bible that highlight all the words of Jesus in red. In other words, they make the words that came directly out of the mouth of Jesus kind of like super-special words. But all scripture is inspired by God. So whether Jesus said it or Paul said it, or Peter said it or David said it, or Esther said it, it is an accurate rendition of what God wanted recorded. Or to put it in the words of John 10:35, the scripture cannot be broken. You can't take part of it and skip the part you don't like. The bottom line is when God has spoken, it is the final word. All other words must adjust to that word because it is the final word, because every word was important that God chose to make the points that he makes in scripture. When we say that all scripture is inspired, it's like saying all ducks waddle. That means ducks used to waddle in the old days; ducks waddle now, and the ducks that aren't born yet will waddle. It's just the nature of ducks to waddle. Well, just as all ducks waddle, all scripture is inspired. If it was in the Old Testament, it was inspired. In the New Testament, it was inspired, because it was overseen by God. And then finally, from this passage, 2 Timothy 3, we find one of the great statements. All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Scripture is sufficient for all of life. Teaching: it'll tell you what you need to know. Reproof: it'll tell you where you've gone wrong. Correction: it'll tell you how to get it right. Training in righteousness: it will tell you how to live life as God intended it to be lived. That the man of God, or woman of God, the person of God, may be adequate—have enough—equipped—have all the tools—for every good work, all that God wants you to do. There is nothing related to your life God didn't cover in scripture. You say, "But I don't know what scripture to turn to. I don't know where to look." That's the job of the Holy Spirit. If you listen carefully, you'll hear things from the spiritual realm. You may turn on Christian radio and be listening to a preacher, not knowing that God had that program that day for you. Many of you have already experienced that because you knew God was responding to your question at that time, in that place, by his spirit. Everything you need to be all God wants you to do is already in scripture. When I was a kid, we had these three alleys in the back of my house. And this was where we cut our teeth athletically. You had to be able to perform in the alley. If you couldn't perform in the alley, you didn't get to the big field. You started off in the alley. And our great dream in the alley was knocking out somebody's window. We lived for that. Because in order to knock out somebody's window, that meant you hit a home run over the garages to the houses on the other side of the garages and to hear that glass crack. Of course you were running, but to hear it, to hear that glass shatter. I'll never forget the first time I hit my first home run, and it went over the garage and right through the upstairs window. I was running the bases, I was jumping, "Yeah, yeah, yes!" The thought that I hit the ball that far. Well, I was outside playing one day and my brother came and said, "I'm up at bat. I'm up at bat." It was like the ninth inning and the winning run is on base or I'm the winning run or something. And so it's the count like two and two, and my brother comes. And he says, "Mama said stop what you doing and come home right now." Now, this isn't no mama situation here. I'm out there with my boys. I'm at bat. The game rides on my shoulder. So I gave a response. I said, "I'm coming." He said, "Mama said come right now." And to tell her whether you stopped what you were doing. Now, Mama wasn't out there. That was baby brother out there. That wasn't no Mama; that was baby brother. So I'm going to hit my home run, you know. Yeah, I did. I'm going to hit my home run; I'm going to win this game. So I go home. Mama said, "You punished for the rest of this week. You can't go out in the alley and play." I said, "But Mama, why not?" She said, "Because you didn't do what I told you. I told you to stop what you were doing and come home right away. You late." I said, "But Mama, I was..." She said, "I don't want to hear that. I don't want to hear that. You didn't do what I told you." I said, "But Mama, could I argue? You didn't tell me. My brother told me. If you were out there, I'd have responded differently. But since you weren't there and it was my brother, that doesn't carry the same weight." If my brother accurately communicated, he was the messenger of Mama's word. When my brother talked, even though he didn't have Mama's authority, he had Mama's word. And because he had Mama's word, he carried Mama's authority. He didn't have Mama's power, but he had Mama's authority. The scripture is the Holy Spirit's word. And when you've got the word, you've got the authority of the author even if you weren't there when the author wrote it. Because if you have the accurate word of the author, you have the authority of the author, and you have to obey the author just as though the author were there. Because of inspiration, you've got God's word, and God's word is God's authority. And if you obey the word, you obey the author. And if you disobey the word, you disobey the author, because the word is the accurate communication from the author of your life. All scripture is inspired by God. Every word of it is tested. Every word of it is true. And every word of it carries the authority of the one who said it. If we approach the word as the communication of God to us, and we let the Holy Spirit guide us into the application of that word, then we'll find that it is indeed profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. And you'll find that you are indeed adequate, equipped for every good work that God has for you. Let's stand on the glory of God's word together.