1 God’s inspired word

What makes the 66 books of the Bible so special? Has God written any other books?
In this chapter we look at inspiration—the way God has caused the Bible to be written.

Focus passage: 2 Peter 1:12–2:3

Near the end of his life, the apostle Peter wrote his second letter
with some final instructions for the first century believers. He
particularly warned them about the false teachers (2:1) who
would arise in their midst and who would tell “stories they have
made up” (2:3). In contrast, the prophets and apostles spoke
the words of God himself. Peter explained that his message
rests on two solid foundations: his eyewitness account of Jesus
and the testimony of the prophets.
1. Which event is Peter referring to in 1:16–18?
2. The prophets were “carried along by the Holy Spirit”
(1:21). Does this mean they had no choice in saying and
writing the words they did?
3. Is Peter writing his own words or those of God?
4. How could the believers distinguish between the false
teachers and true apostles like Peter?

God’s words
The word inspiration literally means God-breathed. The Bible
is “inspired” because the words have been breathed by God
himself. The apostle Paul described the Scriptures like this:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that
the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)
So the Bible contains the writings of God, rather than the
writings of human authors. Those men who wrote them down
were not writing their own words—God was writing through
them. Therefore, Peter described the Psalms as “Scripture See also Hebrews 1:1
. . . which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of Acts 1:16
David”. Similarly, when Paul was quoting a passage in the book
of Isaiah, he introduced it by saying “The Holy Spirit . . . said Acts 28:25
through Isaiah the prophet . . . ”.

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2 The Way of Life

When we read the Bible we need to remember that these are

the words which God intended us to read. The Bible does not
only contain interesting words that help us to understand how
God has dealt with people in the past; it is also a book of divine
revelation. It teaches us the truth about God and about his
plan with the earth—in God’s own words.

The power of God’s word

The inspired Scriptures were produced by God’s power and so
they can have a powerful effect on the reader. In Hebrews, we
read
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than
any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul
and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Jesus said that the words he spoke “are spirit and they are life”. John 6:63
Paul said that the word of God “is at work in you who believe”. 1 Thessalonians 2:13
There is a dynamic power in the Scriptures. If we seek God, he
will work through his word to guide us and teach us.

How does inspiration work?

God appears to have inspired the Bible writers in a number
of different ways. Sometimes he seems to have inspired what
they said word for word to the point where they did not always
understand what they wrote. As Peter wrote
The prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to
you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to
find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit
of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the
sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
(1 Peter 1:10–11)
At other times, the writer seems to
have had more freedom of expression
although the thoughts expressed were
inspired by God. For example, the writ-
ings of Paul reflect his own distinctive
style and language, but they were still
inspired by God.
In whatever way the Holy Spirit worked
to inspire the writers, we can be sure
God did not allow them to make errors.
Jesus said that “the Scripture cannot
be broken” (John 10:35) and “the Scrip-
tures must be fulfilled” (Mark 14:49).
1. God’s inspired word 3

Some relevant passages

The word of God: Numbers 15:22–23; 23:26; 24:13; 2 Samuel 7:5; Isaiah 18:4;
Jeremiah 2:1; 20:9; Joel 1:1; Acts 1:16; 28:25; 2 Timothy 3:16;
Hebrews 1:1; 1 Peter 1:10–12; 2 Peter 3:15–16.
The power of God’s word: John 6:63; Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:4; 1 Thessalonians
2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Hebrews 1:3; 4:2,12.
Tests for false prophets: Deuteronomy 13:1–5; 18:21–22; Jeremiah 28:9; Acts 17:11;
1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1; Revelation 2:2.

Unfortunately, we no longer possess the original documents

that were written. Instead, each book of the Bible has been
copied many times and then translated into other languages.
In the process, there are a few places where errors have crept
in due to copying slips or translation mistakes.
A copyist may have written down an incorrect word or letter
which was subsequently reproduced by other copyists. This is
much less of a problem than was once thought. Strict rules for
copying the Scriptures were developed which meant they have
remained almost unchanged despite being copied for centuries.
In particular, the Dead Sea Scrolls prove that there have been
Dead Sea Scrolls:
very few copying errors
ancient scrolls including
Translation errors occur in every version as the translators the Old Testament and
inevitably select wording that tends to support their own doc- dating from about 100
B.C. to A.D. 100. They
trinal views. But these occasional slips can be identified by
were discovered near
checking other versions and by comparing what is written with
the Dead Sea in Jordan
other parts of the Bible. in 1947.

The canon of Scripture

The “canon of Scripture” means those writings that are in-
spired. How do we know which books are part of inspired
Scripture and which books are not? Some Bible writers stated
explicitly: “This is what the L ORD says . . . ”. Other books do e.g., Jer 2:1; Joel 1:1
not claim to be inspired but they quickly became recognized as
inspired because the person who wrote them was accepted as
a prophet of God.
The Bible provides two tests for deciding whether a prophet is
inspired:
1. he should predict the future accurately; Deuteronomy 18:21–22
2. he should not teach people to turn away from God. Deuteronomy 13:1–5
Men such as Moses, Isaiah and Ezra had visions from God
and made prophecies that came true. Therefore what they said
4 The Way of Life

and what they wrote were accepted as the work of God. The
books they wrote formed the Old Testament which was well-
established by the time of Jesus.
It did not take long for the New Testament writings to be
considered “Scripture” also. For example, the gospel of Luke
was considered Scripture by the time Paul wrote his first letter
to Timothy. Similarly, the writings of Paul were considered see 1 Timothy 5:18
Scripture by the time Peter wrote his second letter. see 2 Peter 3:15–16

Because the Bible provides God’s instructions for us, we can

be confident that he has also ensured that it contains all the
books we need.

Summary
• The 66 books of the Bible are the inspired word of God.
• God inspired the writers to give a message without errors.
• As the Bible has been copied and translated, some minor
errors have been introduced.
• The word of God is powerful, providing direction in our
lives and a vision for the future.

The Apocrypha

Most Bibles contain 66 books. But some Bibles contain several additional Old Testament books.
Most Roman Catholic Bibles will contain an additional seven books in the Old Testament and
several additions to other books. Some Bibles include up to seventeen extra books or parts
of books. These additions to the Old Testament are known as the “Apocrypha” (meaning
“hidden” books). They were written between about 200 BC and AD 100, well after the Old
Testament was completed.
Some of the books of the Apocrypha are mainly historical; for example, 1 Maccabees describes
the history of the Jews about 100–150 years before Jesus. Other books are pure fiction: Tobit
tells the story of a man named Tobit who travels with his guardian angel, Raphael, and fights
off the demon Asmodeus with the organs of a fish! Another fictional story, Judith, contains
major historical blunders: for example, it says Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Assyria in
Nineveh instead of the king of Babylon. Many of the books falsely claim to be written by
people mentioned in the Bible. For example, Baruch claims to be written by Jeremiah’s friend
but was certainly written much later. Similarly Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon were
written hundreds of years after Solomon, not by Solomon himself.
None of the books of the Apocrypha came from prophets and so they were never accepted as
inspired. The Jews sometimes quoted from the Apocrypha, but in the same way that we would
quote Shakespeare—interesting literature but definitely not the work of God.
1. God’s inspired word 5

Thought provokers
1. How would you respond to someone who says “How could
you believe the Bible? It is full of errors and contradic-
tions!”?
2. In 1 John 4:1, we are told “do not believe every spirit, but
test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because
many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
(a) What sort of tests were they to apply?
(b) If someone today claims to be inspired, what sort of
tests should we apply to test their claims?

Further investigation
1. The prophets gave short-term prophecies to demonstrate
that they were inspired by God. One of Ezekiel’s short-
term prophecies is in Ezekiel 12:12–13. How was this
fulfilled? [Hint: see 2 Kings 25.]
2. Does God speak to us in any way other than through the
Bible? Give Bible references to support your answer.

Want to know more?

• Bible basics by Duncan Heaster, Study 2.2 (4th ed. pub-
lished by Gospel News Publishers, 2001). 8 pages.
• God’s truth, by Alan Hayward (Printland Publishers, re-
vised ed., 1983). Chapter 14.
• God’s living word: how the Bible came to us by D. Banyard
(published by the Christadelphian, 1993). 214 pages.
• The journey from texts to translations, by Paul D. Wegner
(published by BridgePoint Books, 1999). A well-written
comprehensive and illustrated account of how the “canon”
of Scripture came about, and how the Bible was transmit-
ted through the years. It also provides a detailed account
of the history of English translations to 1999.

See also: 2. Reasons to believe the Bible

4. Does it matter what you believe?
5. Bible reading
8. The Spirit of God
30. Old Testament prophecies of Jesus