While the Bible is certainly inspired by God, some like to put demands on inspiration that the Bible doesn’t. There is more to inspiration than God moving someone to put their hand to a pen.

We must remember that God inspired real people to write His thoughts. These people spoke a variety of languages and performed various occupations. Many lived in different times, cultures, and parts of the world. They had distinct personalities and backgrounds. God was able to use their unique identity in inspiration. 

Some Things That Inspiration Does Not Demand

  • It does not demand that a person forfeit their identity.
    • God used the author’s background and personality in inspiration.
    • If someone was educated, their style of writing would be highly intelligent. If they were Hebrew or Greek, they would write in a way that indicated that. If they were historians, their writings would include references to research and personal interviews with eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1-4). Being inspired did not mean that God stripped them of their emotions and turned them into programmed robots!
  • It does not demand that a writer know the entire will of God.
    • What did the Old Testament prophets write about (1 Peter 1:10-12)?
    • What did Paul not have while under inspiration (1 Corinthians 1:16)?
  • It does not demand that the writers answer every trivial question we might have.
    • What did the Holy Spirit reveal to the apostles (John 16:12-15)?
    • What does Moses say about the “secret things” (Deuteronomy 29:29)? What are the “secret things?”
  • It does not demand that the writers be sinless.
    • Only Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life (Romans 3:23; 1 Peter 2:21-22).
    • Peter was caught up in hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-14).
    • Moses disobeyed God (Numbers 20:8-12).
    • David committed adultery and murder (Psalm 51:1-4).
  • It does not demand that all their statements be true.
    • While all statements in the Bible are accurately recorded, some of those statements are not true.
    • Examples include Psalm 14:1a, Matthew 27:63, and 2 Samuel 1:10.

Application Questions 

  1. Give an example of God using someone’s personality in inspiration.
  2. List some ways in which God could have inspired men.
  3. How could men prove that they were inspired (1 Corinthians 2:3-5; Hebrews 2:3-4)?
  4. How can we determine whether an inspired statement is true or false?

What should the inspiration of the Scriptures ultimately drive us to do?