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Chapter 5 Preservation of Revelation Inspiration-
Theo-201
Theology Survey I (Liberty University)
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Chapter 5 Preservation of Revelation: Inspiration
Theo-201
The Two <I=s of Divine Revelation
1. Inspiration = Its Preservation (Ch.5)
2. Inerrancy = Its Dependency! (Ch.6)
2 Tim 3:16: All scripture is <breathed out= by God therefore it is reliable, profitable and able
to…
Which One of These 3 Statements Would You Be Comfortable with?!
1. We don’t have the original autographs of the Bible, so we can’t trust the versions that
we now have
2. God’s Word, properly interpreted for today, is absolutely true in all that it claims
and affirms
3. My English Bible translation is without any error and can be scientifically proven to be
the Word of God
What is it and Why is it Important?
- The <supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the scripture writers that rendered
their writing an accurate record of the revelation or that resulted in what they wrote
actually being the Word of God=
●The bridge between revelation and preservation
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●2 Peter 1:21
- The doctrine of inspiration ensures that what we have is true and authoritative
●God’s character demands trustworthy scriptures
Biblical Consideration
- The Bible assumes its own inspiration:
●2 Peter 1:20-21
●2 Timothy 3:16
- Inspiration crates a resource for righteousness
- Is the new testament inspired?
●2 peter 3:15
- 16 and 1 Timothy 4:18
●Jesus is John 14:26 and John 16:13
Towards a Robust Understanding of Inspiration
- Inspiration is trinitarian
- God the Father is the source, the Son is the content, the spirit is the means
o God revelation is always for redemption
- The five theories
Five Theories of Inspiration
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1. Intuition - the quality of inspiration is simply a result of the natural ability of
heightened insight on the part of the writers
2. Illumination - the Bible became inspired because the Holy Spirit supernaturally
heightened the spiritual abilities and understanding of the writers
3. Dynamic - the Spirit directed the thoughts of the writers though also allowed the
writer to decide how to record those thoughts
4. Dictation - the Holy Spirit literally spoke word for word what the authors of
Scripture were to write, and the authors then copied those words down exactly
5. Verbal - the direction of the writers of Scripture from the Holy Spirit was so
intense that every word and thought they used was the word and thought God
wanted them to use
Toward a Robust Understanding of
Inspiration
●The Intuition Theory
- Doesn’t set the Bible apart from other religious texts
●The Illumination Theory
- Creates nothing but a superhuman product
●The Dynamic Theory
- Doesn’t account for the proper extent of inspiration
●The Dictation Theory
- Ignores the Bible’s human characteristics
●The Verbal-Plenary Theory
o Let’s look into it!
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Verbal-Plenary Inspiration
●The authors were inspired, and the writings were inspired in a derived sense
●The biblical writers were NOT simply puppets
- 1 Peter 1:10-11
- Through sanctification, God used the biblical authors’ natural gifts,
personalities, and etcetera
- <Sanctification is not the obliteration or even the alteration of nature,
but God’s act of claiming, redeeming, renewing, and commissioning
nature for himself=
●The Bible is absolutely and entirely inspired
- Jesus’ use of Exodus 3:6 in Matthew 22:32
A Few More Qualifications
●In the strict sense, inspiration applies to the original manuscripts
●Revelation is vertical and inspiration is horizontal
●Belief in inspiration is not circular reasoning
●The reality of inspiration does not rely on experience or interpretation
●Integrative approach
●Know Hebrews 11:6
●Be familiar with the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
Application
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●The Bible is literally God’s Word
●Do we believe that the whole Bible is inspired or just parts of it?
●John 17:17
- <Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth=
