ARE THE SCRIPTURES INSPIRED ?
By Francis M. Wilcox
THE question as to the precise position to be accorded the Scriptures in the literature of the world, and in the realm of Christian faith, has been a vexed problem, to a greater or less degree, in all ages of the Christian era. Nor is the question at the present time one in which there is concurrent agreement of opinion and judgment, even among the Christian students of the church. Positions which a decade ago were regarded as impregnable are now assailed as ingenious fabrications, designed to deceive the unwary and unsuspecting devotees of scriptural inspiration. While the claims of archeological research would tend to strengthen primitive faith in the sacred Scriptures, the higher criticism of the present century demands a revision of old beliefs and fixed notions regarding at least a portion of the Sacred Writings. There are not a few, however, whose faith still holds the Bible to be the Word of God. In this connection, the following remarks by Prof. J. H. Murphy, in the introduction to his commentary on the book of Genesis, is to the point: 'If the Scriptures are not the Word of God, then the writers of these Scriptures, who directly and indirectly affirm their divine origin, are false witnesses; and if they have proved unworthy of credit in this fundamental point, they can be of no authority on other equally important matters. But neither before examination, nor after an examination of eighteen centuries, have we the slightest reason for doubting the veracity of these men, and their unanimous evidence is in favor of the divine authorship of the Bible. All that we have learned of the contents of these books accords with their claim to be the Word of God. The constant harmony of their statements, when fairly interpreted with one another, with general history and with physical and metaphysical truth, affords an incontestable proof of their divine origin. The statements of other early writers, have invariably come into conflict with historical or scientific truth. 'But still further, these books communicate to us matters concerning God, the origin and the future destiny of man, which are of vital importance in themselves, and yet are absolutely beyond the reach of human intuition, observation, or deduction. It is impossible, therefore, for mere human beings, apart from divine instruction and authority, to attest these things at all. Hence, these books, if they were not traceable ultimately to a Divine Author, would absolutely fail us in the very points that are essential to be known, namely, the origin of our being, the relation in which we stand to God, and the way to eternal happiness, on which neither science nor history affords us any light. But they yield a clear, definite, and consistent light and help, meeting the very askings and longings of our souls on these momentous topics. The wonderful way in which they convince the reason, probe the conscience, and apply a healing balm to the wounded spirit, is in itself an independent attestation to their divine origin.' I. Simple Evidences of Inspiration.
That the Bible bears the stamp of High Divinity, its study will demonstrate. It possesses many characteristics which serve to point to an authorship higher than man. Evidences both external and internal show that 'He who spake as never man spake' has traced in the Holy Scriptures His own divine will concerning the children of men. Viewing the Bible as we would any other book, merely as a contribution to the literature of the world, I am impressed with many features it possesses that are to be found in no other production. For convenience these characteristics may be enumerated in the following order: 1. The Unity of the Scriptures.
There is no discord nor dissonance in their utterances. In the sixty-six great divisions of the Bible, not one of its writers utters sentiments contrary to the teachings of his fellows. Some are historical in their work, others exegetical, and still others deal with futurity. In the work of all, many great questions of philosophy and morals are considered; but all of these principles, these utterances of many minds, form a beautiful and harmonious whole. This is all the more remarkable when we come to consider that these writers lived in different ages, in separated countries, and under greatly varying conditions so far as their civil, social, and religious environments were concerned. The fact that men scattered all along the stream of time from Moses, the writer of the Pentateuch, to John, who penned the Revelation, a period of about 1,600 years, should write on such a variety of topics, preserving in all of their work such unity of sentiment and teaching, shows that One Master Mind directed the utterances. The unity of the Word points to God as its author. 2. Its Simplicity and Sublimity.
The loftiest ideas are expressed in the simplest terms; the grandest truths are told with a simple directness that appeals to the heart of either child or sage; the lives of its characters are described without false coloring or prejudice. It has truly been said that the two sublimest utterances ever expressed are the words found in the first chapter of Genesis, 'And God said, Let there be light; and there was light,' and the prayer of our Saviour on Calvary's cross, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' The style employed throughout is worthy of a divine being. In it there is no cheapness. The language is simple and free from affectation. A simple, positive directness permeates the Word which leads the thoughts of the reader to the Divine Being instead of to fallible man. Altho written in part more than three thousand years ago, it is as applicable to the present inhabitants of the earth as when first bestowed upon man as a heritage. It is adapted to all ages, to all conditions of society, to all nationalities, to high and low, to rich and poor, to learned and illiterate, all of every nation under heaven may find instruction precisely suited to their needs. It has among men no heroes, nor heroines, whose misdeeds are glossed over. The sins of the noblest and the best are pointed out. Unlike profane history, its writers exhibit no national prejudices. The sins of David, the king of Israel, are revealed and rebuked. The faltering weakness of the wise man is faithfully portrayed. The sin of the one who talked with God face to face, as friend talks with friend, is not passed by in silence. In its impartial, but faithful record, it stands without a peer in all the literature of the ages. Its depths are unsearchable; no amount of study can fathom its broadest meaning. David, the shepherd; Amos, the herdsman; and Peter, the fisherman, have written truths so wonderful that the science and wisdom of all the ages have been unable to fathom their full significance. In these mysteries is enshrouded Divinity. They reveal not the feeble intellect of man, but the mind of the great Infinite One. Finite man can not fathom the wisdom of Infinity. As man's character is expressed in his word, so the Word of God is but an expression of His mind and character; hence the fact that the Word of God can not be fully understood, and that there are mysteries in that Word beyond the ken of human understanding, are evidences, rather than otherwise, of the divine authorship of the Scriptures of truth. Closely akin to the mysteries of the Bible are— The prophecies of the Scriptures stand as unimpeachable evidence of its Heaven-born origin. No man, or any company of men had ever mind so great, or perception so clear, as to correctly forecast the future. None living to-day can predict with certainty the events of the morrow. Not so with God. To Him the past and the future are as the present. He can declare the end from the beginning. Prophecies pertaining to the past have faithfully met their fulfilment; prophecy pertaining to present events is turning to history to-day. God only could look down the stream of time and predict with exactitude the rise and fall of nations, and the important changes in the history of the race, such as are brought to view in the Sacred Writings. '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 forever.' God, the Author of the Word, has put within it His own enduring nature. For ages it has stood the assault of bigoted fanatic and infidel zealot, but still it lives. Rome burned it; France crushed it in the dust; but the Word of God's witness arose, as it were, from its own ashes, to wield a more mighty influence than ever before. In it is the power of Infinity, and that power exists as long as eternity. After this external view of the Bible as a literary production, we come now to consider what the Bible says of itself. Do the Scriptures claim for themselves5an authority higher than that of man? Says the great apostle to the Gentiles: '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.' 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. Reference is here had to the Old Testament writings, as when Paul penned these words, the New Testament canon was not compiled. None of the prophets are excluded; all that was embraced in the Scripture up to that time is declared to be inspired—'God-breathed.' The apostle Peter emphasizes this point. In speaking of the salvation that comes to us through our Lord and Saviour, he tells us: 'Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you; searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.' 1 Peter 1:10, 11. Here is revealed the manner in which the Scriptures were given. The Spirit of Christ in the prophets testified through them. Then it was not David alone who spake, not Isaiah, not Daniel, but Christ speaking through them. Nor was it the instrument through which the message came that was inspired; it was the message itself. Indeed, as proved in the above scripture, the prophets oftentimes failed to understand their own prophecies, and with others, had to search what God had revealed through them, to find that salvation of which they prophesied. The Spirit carried them out of themselves and beyond their own finite understanding. The prophets prophesied not at will. The Spirit of Christ was not theirs to use at pleasure. Simon Magus thus sought to use the Spirit's power, but suffered rebuke for his blasphemous audacity. See Acts 8:9-24. Again the apostle Peter 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.' 2 Peter 1:20, 21. If the prophecy came not by the will of the prophets, but they spake only as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, then it was not they that spake, but the Spirit of Christ speaking through them. They might be sinful men, and the circumstances under which they labored might be most forbidding, but that did not invalidate their message. It makes the rarest pearls none the less precious if they are encased in worthless caskets; so with God's message; it has been given through instruments of clay, but the message is of God, however frail may be the instrument. See 2 Cor. 4:7. The New Testament Scriptures.
The same general principles adduced for the Old Testament Scriptures apply with equal force to the New. It is safe to conclude that the same Spirit of Christ which was with His prophets would likewise direct His apostles, and that if God directed in the prophecies pertaining to Christ's mission, He would likewise guide in the writing of the history of His Son's earthly work. The truthfulness of the Gospel record is attested by the concurrent and harmonious agreement of the four evangelists, who wrote at different times and from different points of view, and probably without reference to each other's work. In many respects the Revelation is so nearly parallel with Daniel that to believe the one must be to accept the other. Paul wrote the larger part of the epistles, and of him Peter says he wrote 'according to the wisdom given unto him,' and classes his epistles with the 'other Scriptures.' 2 Peter 3:15, 16. And of his own epistles the apostle Paul says, 'Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.' 1 Cor. 2:13. Then, as we turn to the Sacred Book of God, we do not read merely the words of Paul, or Peter, or Samuel, or any of the prophets; we read the word of the Lord through them. Each in the giving of his message could truly say, as did David, 'The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue.' 2 Sam 23:2. No, it is not David that has spoken, but, as Peter declares in Acts 1:16, they are the words 'which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake.' The Word of the Most High.
Luke wrote the history of Christ's ministry and the chief events connected with the work of the apostles and the early church. Daniel, in prophetic vision, saw the rise and fall of nations, and recorded many years before their occurrence the events to transpire. Was the prophecy more inspired than the history? In other words, are there degrees in inspiration? I can not concede an affirmative answer; for I conceive as great a necessity of divine guidance in leading the one to write a correct history, recording the essential and omitting the non-essential happenings, as had the other in predicting future events. Absolute infallibility and perfection would require the direction of the Divine Spirit in the one as well as in the other. While we may not be able to explain the precise mode of inspiration, we can not doubt its possibility. God, in His Word, has revealed to man His own divine will. May we take that Word as the man of our counsel, the lamp to our feet, and the light to our path. By so doing, we shall not stumble in darkness, but shall walk in the light of life.