The Inspiration of Scripture | 3 Views

Type of Doctrine: Debated

"For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

-2 Peter 1:21 ESV

Why Does It Matter?

Did God write the Scriptures? Did he dictate the words? Did he influence people? How? This article will cover the doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures.

This doctrine is debated. Some may consider this doctrine a primary issue since it involves the words of God and clear teaching of Scripture. However, others may consider it a secondary issue. Regardless, Scripture seems to be exceptionally clear that God worked through human authors to produce the Scriptures. Jesus's high view of Scripture in Matthew 5 (shown below) should be considered very seriously.

What Is It?

In theology, the word "inspiration" is derived from the idea of the Scriptures being "God-breathed." In 2 Timothy 3:16, this concept comes from a single Greek word: θεόπνευστος (theopneustos). The two words are "God" and "breathe". In other words, God breathed out the Scriptures. He inspired them in their original languages.

But how did he breathe out the Scriptures? Additional Scriptures provide more details. Here are some of the key Scriptures from which we get the doctrine of inspiration:

• Matthew shows Jesus's high view of Scripture.

  • [Mat 5:18-20 ESV] 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

• Paul comments that the Scriptures written in the past instruct us and help us have endurance, encouragement, and hope.

  • [Rom 15:4 ESV] 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

• Paul claims that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable. (This is likely a reference to the Old Testament Scriptures, however, Peter refers to Paul's writings as Scripture. Therefore, by extension, it applies to the New Testament Scriptures as well. 2 Peter 3:15-16 is shown below.)

  • [2Ti 3:16-17 ESV] 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

  • [2Pe 3:15-16 ESV] 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

• Peter demonstrates that the Scriptures are from God through human authors by the Holy Spirit.

  • [2Pe 1:21 ESV] 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The following chart gives the three main views concerning the doctrine of inspiration. The three basic views are: (1) dynamic view (God was not very involved); (2) mechanical dictation (God was highly involved dictating every word); and (3) concursive operation (God worked through fallible people to produce the infallible Scriptures).

The chart has been adapted from the information found in Kevin DeYoung's book Daily Doctrine (pp. 26-27).[1]

3 Views of Inspiration

Views	Description
Dynamic View	The biblical authors were influenced by God to write writings of religious insight. God did not directly influence the biblical authors, but instead he generically illuminated them. (Those who hold this view are typically considered theologically liberal. Many do not consider the words of Scripture to be divine. Moreover, many reject that the Scriptures are infallible or inerrant.)
Mechanical Dictation View	Scripture was written down by the biblical authors as one would write down dictation (transcribing God's words). This view can be considered the extreme at the opposite end of the spectrum, compared to the dynamic view.
Concursive Operation View	Though there are moments in Scripture where God spoke and the words were recorded (e.g., Ten Commandments, words given to the prophets, the words from heaven at Jesus's baptism, Paul's conversion), that does not seem to be the typical manner that God used to compose the Scriptures. Instead of God moving their pens and directly speaking the words, in this view, God worked through the minds and personalities of the fallible human authors to produce the infallible Scriptures. This is the most common view by Evangelical theologians. This view lands somewhere in between the other two views on the spectrum.

Application

If we believe Jesus to be the Son of God, then surely we should listen carefully to his view of Scripture:

18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

- Matthew 5:18-19 ESV (emphasis mine)

In other words, Jesus is saying that the smallest dot in the language of Scripture should be believed and will come to pass. Even the least commandment should not be relaxed!

To do them and teach them, as Jesus says, we must believe as he did that they are God's very words. Then, we should study them down to the last "iota" and "dot" to discern the meaning. Finally, as Jesus said, we should do them and teach them. Many of us may not view ourselves as teachers of the Scriptures, but you can share what you're learning with others (e.g., friends, family members, children, small groups, etc.).

While some err on the side of neglecting the Scriptures, others learn them but don't apply them to their lives. Scripture shows us that we are to do both! Let's do both. Remember the warning from James: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).

I hope this infuses a fresh sense into your devotional times when you read the Scriptures. God is speaking his very words to you!

Where Can I Learn More?

End Notes:

[1] Kevin DeYoung, Daily Doctrine: A One-Year Guide to Systematic Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024), 26-27.