3. Testimony to Old Testament Inspiration
God equated with His Word.
Galatians 3:8
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." See with what holy reverence the apostle speaks of the words of God. He gives to the Scriptures the quality of a person. Books don't "see." Books don't "preach the Gospel." But this one does. This Book is the breath of God, and the breath of God cannot be separated from the one Who breathes that breath. It was God who saw that He would be saving Gentiles. It was God who spoke to Abraham a Gospel message, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." We find the record of that statement in Genesis 12 and elsewhere. But as you read those words, you are experiencing the very inner life of the Spirit of God!
See also,
Romans 9: 16
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." This passage that Paul quotes from Exodus is the record of God's words to Pharaoh. But Paul says that "The Scripture" said those words. We often like to say, when quoting God or one of God's men in the Bible, the "Bible" says. We don't really mean that the Book has a mouth and talks, but the Bible does seem to be exuding God's own breath as we speak.
God equated with writers of Scripture.
Hebrews 3:7,8
quoting a portion of Psalm 95: 7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: 8 "Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness..." [Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice,8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,] Who was the human author of Psalm 95? Most likely David, per Hebrews 4:7. But Paul, quoting the psalm, tells us that the Holy Ghost was the true author! This is, in a nutshell, what we mean by Biblical inspiration. David's pen, God's breath.
Acts 4: 24
So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? Here the apostles and people of God are reacting to persecution in the first days of the church. Notice that God is quoted as the source of the words of the psalm (2:1). But those words are placed in the mouth of David. The pattern continues. God is speaking, though we hear a man's voice.
Hebrews 1:7
And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire." Here the writer of Hebrews is making a case for the exalted Nature of Jesus, the Son of God. He quotes "He" or God, from Psalm 104:4. But the Psalms were written by men. Or were they?
God has indeed revealed Himself in the Scriptures. With man, He wrote the Scriptures.
Men Moved by the Spirit.
2 Peter 1:16-21
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
The "we" of this passage is Peter, James, and John. He speaks of their experiences at the transfiguration of Jesus. Eyewitnesses. Audible voice. In this passage Peter asserts that what happened on that mountain was a confirmation of "the prophetic word" , a phrase he uses in a different form later in the text, "prophecy of Scripture."
Peter is saying that what the prophets wrote was true and was confirmed at the mount of transfiguration. He then directs his readers to keep looking at that Light of Scripture, until God in His mercy shines that light in their hearts, and the word becomes flesh in them. He concludes his thought by making a general statement about how that prophecy and all Scriptures have come down to us. First he tells us how Scriptures did not come, namely from some private, personal, human source. He clarifies further by calling that source "the will of man."
The word "interpretation" in verse 20 is a little misleading. He is not talking about what people do with the text after it comes to them. He is speaking of the originator of the words. He is telling us that the words of Scripture were not first decided upon, or determined, or released, due to the ideas of some man.
No, in fact, men were only the pipeline, the conduit. That which filled the vessel was purely God. Men could have used their own styles, even research, even collusion with other writers, as Peter and Jude for example. Or in some cases the word could have been purely dictation. But when all is said and done, it is God saying and man simply opening his mouth and taking pen, and being moved by and filled by the Holy Ghost. This is God's Word. Written by men. The mystery here approaches that of the living Word, the Son, Himself. All God. All man. Who can explain it?
Boice brings out that the word for "moved" is the same word used by Luke in Acts 27:15, to describe what happened to the doomed ship when all controls of men were taken away and it was left simply to be "driven." It was still a real ship, and it was really moving, but it was moving because the wind was now in control.
