Writing about Session: 7 Proving Inspiration, Candice Smock shares her thoughts on proving inspiration of Scripture.
So the Bible was written by God 100% and by man 100%? All of the books of the Bible were inspired by God? A complete and perfect message from God in the exact way He wants us to know it? Prove it!
The Bible has had to jump through many hoops of criticism over the years to get where it is today- bound together in one piece on our bookshelves. Who wrote it, is it true, can we trust it, is it the same as the original, what does it mean, is it complete, is it perfect, was something left out? Uh, I didn’t even know to ask these questions, let alone have the answers to them.
As explained in the two previous blog posts, inspiration is defined as God, by various means, directing the writers in the content of His message while employing their personalities and knowledge in the way that content is communicated in the writings. But how can we be certain of that? Haven’t we seen other religions make similar claims? What evidence do we have for a God inspired book?
- Scripture self-attests to being inspired in many different places and ways, exactly what you would expect from a book that has ultimate authority from God. You could hardly trust something to be authoritative if it claimed itself to be insignificant.
- The Bible is exceptionally unique in it’s coverage of topics, people, places, inclusion of authors in different places, and languages written over a period of 1,500 years! This may not seem a big deal, but considering the unlikely consistency with the inclusion of so many hands and the unequaled popularity over thousands of years one, at the very least, has to admit that it is indeed unique!
- There is significant historical evidence internally (i.e. Events and claims made within the writings) and externally (i.e. Archeology and attestation from other historical documents).
- What other book foretells the future in detail, in several instances, from days to thousands of years, while challenging you to test the authority of the message? None! A self-fulfilling prophesy if you will.
- Jesus Christ himself fulfills prophesy through events of His entire life, from birth (who can control where they are born?), all the way through His death, burial, and resurrection! Not to mention He also validated Scripture as being from God and true with His dialogue but also in His gift of authority to the apostles for the New Testament to be written (and in some cases, exact words to be written).
- The Bible exhibits the characteristics of wisdom, discernment, and divine conviction. Enough to change the life of the reader and for others to notice. And not one life, but millions. The kind of conviction every human expects to have from the one true God. What’s the secret to unleashing this ability? Next.
- The Holy Spirit. When God baptizes you in the Spirit, the Spirit testifies to your heart, mind, and soul that the message is true. You want it? You gotta ask for it. But I have to warn you, God might break you before you genuinely desire it. And once you do, nothing else will suffice.
But what do I know personally? Not much. I can’t read the Bible in Koine Greek, I can’t tell you who wrote Hebrews, I don’t know what else that guy burned when he was in possession of the Dead Sea Scrolls. But what I do know is #7. In May of 2013, God broke me. On June 6, 2013, He baptized me with the Holy Spirit. #6, this last year He has changed my life and my husband’s life through His wisdom, discernment, and conviction of the divinely inspired Word. #5, Jesus’ testimony proves Scripture to be accepted by God, but more amazingly proves that we are accepted by God.
#4, like the foretold prophesies, we can depend on fulfillment of His plans for us. #3, these evidences are something to hold dear when I am feeling weak and may strengthen the weaknesses of others. #2, this point is making me fall in love with Bible, which shows me how from the very beginning everything points to Jesus. And #1, the Bible claims to be God’s very words. And He tells us to read it, to put it on our hearts, wear it on our bodies, and adorn our houses with it (Deut. 6)! Will you be one to say no?
Candice Smock