Inspiration

If you have been following the current Winter Olympics in Sochi, you most likely have heard commentators of the artistic events, describe the performances at times as being particularly inspired. This is usually a comment on a situation where an athlete shows some particular creativity, choice of maneuver, or even of the accompanying music. This description of being inspired is used so loosely today it is applied to virtually any artistic endeavor from painting, music, writing to even cooking. But what did God mean with this phrase?

What the apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:16–21 about the inspiration of Scripture, he clearly declares that in the Bible believers have an accurate, written revelation of God’s truth. In his second epistle, Peter wrote to believers barraged by false teaching that sought to undermine their trust in Scripture and thus destroy the Christian faith. In chapter 2 he would describe in vivid terms the proponents of such error so his readers could understand and better recognize the danger they posed. But it is not enough merely to be aware of false teachers; believers need to know how to defend against their errors.

If Inerrancy Is Denied, we must Begin to wonder if we can really trust God in anything He says.If We Deny Inerrancy, we essentially make our own human minds a higher standard of truth than God’s Word Itself. If we deny inerrancy, can we do what we want, whenever we want? (Wayne Grudem. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY. This book is published jointly by Inter-Varsity Press, 38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP, Great Britain, and by Zondervan Publishing House, 5300 Patterson Avenue S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. 2000)

A sure light in a sea of wandering opinion is the inerrant, infallible word of God. In 2 Peter 1:16–21, the apostle references both his own 1) Eyewitness Experience of Revelation(2 Peter 1:16-18) and God’s 2) Supernatural, Written Revelation(2 Peter 1:19-21) to define Biblical Inspiration.

1) Peter’s Eyewitness Experience (2 Peter 1:16-18)

2 Peter 1:16-18 [16]For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17]For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," [18]we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. (ESV)

For is the causal term linking this passage to the previous one and explaining why Peter reminded his hearers of the truth. He was absolutely convinced of the truth he taught because he had personally experienced it.

As a starting point in our examination of what inspiration is, it is helpful to look at it now with a working definition. “The inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact. This definition focuses on the question of truthfulness and falsehood in the language of Scripture. The definition in simple terms just means that the Bible always tells the truth and that it always tells the truth concerning everything it talks about. This definition does not mean that the Bible tells us every fact there is to know about any one subject, but it affirms that what it does say about any subject is true. (Wayne Grudem. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY. This book is published jointly by Inter-Varsity Press, 38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP, Great Britain, and by Zondervan Publishing House, 5300 Patterson Avenue S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. 2000)

Peter spoke for the other apostles, New and Old Testament authors when he asserted, we did not follow cleverly devised myths/tales. Peter is not only a pastor who speaks personally to the members of his church; he also belongs to the body of the apostles. With the other apostles, he speaks with authority about the veracity of the gospel.All of the Apostolic authors received supernatural revelation (John 1:51; 1 John 1:1–3) verifying that what they were taught and were subsequently preaching was the truth (Matt. 13:11, 16–17; cf. Matt. 11:25–26; 1 Cor. 2:10).What is a myth? A myth is a story which man has formulated to express his own desires without any reference to reality. Because of its mancentered focus, a myth is devoid of redemptive power (see 1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14).53 By contrast, Scripture originates with God. The Bible is divinely inspired, rooted in history, and unquestionably true. (Simon J. Kistemaker. Exposition of Peter, and Jude. Baker New Testament Commentary. Baker Books. Grand Rapids, MI. 1987).

Please turn to 1 John 1 (p.1021)

It is very probable that those who denied the Second Coming were claiming that Jesus had never promised a return. The very idea of Jesus coming back, they would say, was a creation of some very imaginative and clever people. While we know less than we might wish to know about these false teachers, we do know that even in the first century there were a number who claimed to be Christian who flatly denied the doctrine of resurrection (and, by implication, Jesus’ future return). Remember, the early Christians had no New Testament on which to rely. They had to rely on what they heard from church leaders. Second, many came out of a pagan Greek thought-world in which life after death was ridiculed. They may have reasoned that Jesus could not have been resurrected and therefore could certainly not come again. Many of the earliest Christians expected Jesus to return during their lifetimes. When he failed to do so, they became disillusioned and therefore became more susceptible to the Greek thinking about the future. Fourth, then just as now, immoral living helps to create false teaching. Those who did not want to give up their sinful lifestyles had to discover ways of justifying or at least living with their sin. One way to do so was (and is) to deny those teachings of Christianity which would restrict their desired activities. (MARK C. BLACK. 2 Peter. The College Press Niv Commentary. COLLEGE PRESS PUBLISHING COMPANY . Joplin, Missouri. 1998)