THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT #2
Biblical Inspiration

INTRODUCTION
A. Often you hear a preacher say, “The Holy Spirit through the pen of Paul writes,” and quotes the verse.
1. Their aim is to convey that the Bible was written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
2. How did this happen? How did we get the Bible?
3. Was the Bible written by God-inspired men?

B. We know who did not write the Bible:
1. The devil did not – it condemns everything he stands for
2. Unfaithful men did not – it condemns their unbelief
3. Ungodly men did not – it condemns their lascivious lifestyle
4. False teachers did not – it condemns every religious error ever taught
5. Unaided good men did not – it commands too much of what men are reluctant to do, and it condemns too much of what men are determined to be and do

C. The Bible is far above what man could ever produce – Isaiah 55:8-9

D. The Bible is the work of the Holy Spirit – He inspired 40 men to write it
1. 32 in the Old Testament and 8 in the New Testament
2. Yet the Holy Spirit is not the originator of truth but the revealer of truth
3. The Holy Spirit conveyed what he heard from His fellow members of the Godhead and then transmitted it to faithfully selected scribes – Note John 16:13-15

DISCUSSION
A. WHAT TYPE OF INSPIRATION WAS IT?
1. Not like Shakespeare…
a. Not through mere human genius
b. This would reduce the Bible to a humanly produced book and there for a hoax
c. Bible writers claimed they were writing the very words of God

2. Not mere thought inspiration
a. Many claim that God only provided the thought and that man was at liberty to write God’s words in their own words
b. Yet, Bible writers said they wrote the words of God – not the thoughts of God

3. The Bible was written through verbal plenary inspiration
a. Plenary means complete and entire
1) It is all God breathed
2) 2 Timothy 3:16 … θεόπνευστος
b. Verbal to words – the very words were inspired of God
a. 2 Samuel 23:2
b. 1 Corinthians 2:13

B. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND OLD TESTAMENT INSPIRATION
1. Old Testament penmen claimed to speak the word of God – 2 Peter 1:21
a. Exodus, written by Moses, has 40 chapters. 161 times he attributes what he wrote to what God said…averages to 4 times per chapter
b. Jeremiah wrote two books containing 57 chapters and nearly 500 times attributes his message to God…9X per chapter
c. Ezekiel in 48 chapters attributes his message to God 309 times…6X per chapter
d. Zechariah, in 14 chapters, 84 times says his words came from God…6X per chapter
e. Haggai in two chapters attributes his word to the Lord 25 times…12X per chapter

2. All of these refer to what the Holy Spirit was doing for these men of God as they were being “moved by the Holy Spirit”

3. David representative of all Old Testament writers said…
a. 2 Samuel 23:2
b. When we read the Psalms we are reading the words the Spirit supplied David

4. The New Testament fully supports David as an inspired writer of the Old Testament
a. Jesus referred to what David wrote in Palm 110 … Mark 12:36
b. David wrote by Holy Spirit inspiration – David said he did and Jesus said he did

5. Acts 1:16 … David wrote Psalm 41:9 a 1,000 years before

6. 32 men, who penned the Old Testament wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
a. This was we accept without question the creation account of Genesis 1-2
b. The fall of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3)
c. The universal flood (Gen. 6-9)
d. The crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 14)
e. Manna supplied for 40 years in the wilderness (
f. the swallowing of Jonah by a great fish…and all the rest

7. Without question the Old Testament is the work of the Holy Spirit

C. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NEW TESTAMENT INSPIRATION
1. The Old Testament and the New Testament are so interrelated that they either stand together or fall together. If one is inspired so it the other
a. Malachi 4:5-6 are the final words of the Old Testament – these last words are a curse
b. Something was surely destined to follow. That something was the New Testament
c. If we did not have the New Testament there would be no substance toward which the Old Testament shadows pointed. It all pointed toward that which was to come
d. If we did not have the New Testament there would be no Savior to fulfill the hundreds of Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament

2. Jesus promised Holy Spirit inspiration to the Apostles – Matthew 10:18-20

3. Jesus promised them the “Comforter” – the Holy Spirit
a. John 14:26
b. John 16:13

4. Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit baptism
a. Luke 24:48-49
b. Acts 1:5-8
c. In Acts 2 they were the recipients of Holy Spirit baptism, were filled with Him, and spoke as He “gave them utterance” (Acts2:1-13)
d. Peter’s sermon was a Holy Spirited inspired sermon. Notice Acts 2:39
1) Those “afar off” is in reference to the Gentiles
2) That would not happen for another 8 years in Acts 10

5. Paul claimed Holy Spirit inspiration
a. Romans 9:1
b. 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
c. 1 Timothy 4:1

6. Notice what Peter says…1 Peter 1:12

7. Notice the words of John:
a. Revelation 1:10
b. Revelation 4:2
c. Revelation 14:13

8. Eight men penned the New Testament, and they could not have given us…
a. A perfect Christ without Holy Spirit inspiration
b. A perfect plan of pardon without Holy Spirit inspiration
c. The Church, and its worship without Holy Spirit inspiration
d. The 27 books of the New Testament without Holy Spirit inspiration

CONCLUSION
A. The Bible is not the product of unaided human minds but the product of the unerring Spirit who was Perfection—the Holy Spirit

B. Without question the Bible is the inspired word of God

C. Why would anyone reject the only Word we have from God – the very word that can save the soul for eternity?