HIS INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.

HIS INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.
We have seen that the Spirit of God is a person, and that He is divine in the fullest sense of the term; we will now look at His gracious operations with regard to the Scriptures.
It is an unspeakable mercy in such a scene as this, with the Babel of human opinions on every hand, that our God has given us a perfect revelation of His mind and will in His own precious word. Where else could we turn for divine certainty? Where besides is there a solid rock for our feet? And whither, if not to scripture, could we turn for a sure and settled resting place? Possessing the word of God, we are thoroughly furnished; we have food for our souls, and light for our path.
Scripture is the work of the Holy Spirit. He it was Who guided each writer, whether in the Old Testament or the New, filling and taking possession of the vessel, holding in check all that would be of man, that we might have the mind of God in its perfection and purity without adulteration or alloy. Let us hold this firmly. Lack of decision is serious in such a matter. This is a day of loose thoughts as to Inspiration. Never was Satan more determined to wrest the Scriptures from souls than at the present time. Ritualism on the one hand places a priest between the word of God and the soul; Rationalism on the other, throws doubt on all that is revealed. Both systems, though in different ways, would rob us of the priceless treasure God has given.
1 Corinthians 2:10-14 furnishes valuable instruction concerning the connected subjects of Revelation and Inspiration. The Apostle reminds us of the word of Isaiah that "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him;" adding, "but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit." Here he asserts divine revelation is the source of the vital truths he taught. See also Ephesians 3:3-5 : By revelation he made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit." The Apostle was the administrator of blessings not made known by God until his day. Such a truth as the union of the saints with the glorified Head in one body was hid in God until the Lord Jesus went on high and the Holy Ghost came down. Paul was the honoured vessel used for its communication — he had "visions and revelations of the Lord." It was his to fill up the word of God, i.e., to complete the subjects of which it treats (Colossians 1:25-26). Now no one can reveal the things of God but the Spirit of God. The Apostle asks, "What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no one but the Spirit of God." As no one knows my things (or thoughts) but my own spirit, until I utter them or reveal them, so no one knows God's things but God's Spirit.
Nothing can be more degrading than the notion that God cannot reveal His mind to man. This is to lower God painfully. If the creature can communicate his thoughts to another, is it to be supposed that the Creator cannot do so?
Some men speak much of reason in connection with the word of God, but where is their reason to suppose such a thing of our God? The truth is that the Spirit has revealed the mind of God, and we have it in the Scriptures. Thus the apostolic writings are the standard whereby truth and error may be tested. As John says, "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6).
But, as is often remarked, revelation does not go beyond the person receiving it; to pass the truth on in its perfection, to others requires divine Inspiration. Such is man, that even the favoured recipients of divine revelations could not be trusted to communicate them to others without marring them.
Here, therefore, the Spirit of God comes in again. Hence Paul tells us, "which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, communicating spiritual things by spiritual means" (1 Corinthians 2:13; compare J. N. Darby's translation). This is inspiration.
Here, too, we may see how far inspiration extends; concerning which many have vague thoughts. Some have taught that the doctrines of Scripture are inspired of God, but that the writers were allowed to express them in their own language; others, as Burnet, that the reasoning so often found, particularly in the epistles, was left to the writer; and yet others, as Paley, think them to have used their own illustrations, and to have selected their own O.T. references to confirm their words.
All such thoughts are below the truth, and the Scriptures are injured thus by those who sincerely desire to be its friends. The fact is, nothing was left to the vessel — the words, not merely the truths or doctrines, were given by the Holy Ghost. Were it otherwise, we could have no divine certainty. Where should we draw the line between the human and divine? And is it likely that all would agree as to the line to be drawn? Not that a human element is altogether denied. Paul has his style, and Peter his; for the Spirit took up the men as He found them; nevertheless, every word thus written was from Himself.
No one would be so foolish as to contend for the inspiration of a translation, unless it were the Trent fathers. In such efforts there may be (and are) blemishes, for God does not work perpetual miracles; and here the study of languages comes in as an important and valuable work. All that is asserted is, that the original writings, as sent forth by Matthew, etc., were inspired every word by the Spirit of God.
Just a few scripture proofs. As to the Old Testament, Peter says, "Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Also, he tells us that the Spirit of Christ was in them, testifying beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow (2 Peter 1:21; 1 Peter 1:11). Paul says in Acts 28:25, "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers," etc. Joel is quoted in Acts 2:17, as follows, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith God. In Acts 3:18, we are told that God showed by the mouth of all His prophets that Christ should suffer. As to the Psalms, we find, "Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said" (Acts 4:25). And the Psalmist said of himself, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue" (2 Samuel 23:2). The Books of Moses are declared to be divinely inspired in such passages as Matthew 15:4, "For God commanded, saying," etc.
The New Testament, as well as the Old, is vouched for in the general statement of 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." The word "Scripture" I admit, merely means "writing," but it is the technical term for the sacred books, and understood as such. We are quite understood when we say "the Bible," which, after all, simply means "the Book." Consequently whatever comes under the heading of "Scripture" is inspired of God. Thus Paul's writings are vouched for, including (and I suppose specially referring to) the epistle to the Hebrews, in 2 Peter 3:16. Paul calls his epistles "Scripture" himself in Romans 16:25-26, where read "prophetic Scriptures," not "the Scriptures of the prophets." And in Timothy 1 Timothy 5:18, he quotes from Luke 10:1-42, and says "The scripture saith."
The book of Revelation is a singular one among the New Testament writings, but its character is clearly indicated in Revelation 1:2 : John "bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ — all things that he saw." Omitting the "and" before "all things," we learn that the visions vouchsafed to John were the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Let none, therefore, despise the book because of its symbolism.
These are but a small part of the proofs. Let the diligent soul search it out, and the more deeply the subject is investigated, the deeper will be the soul's confidence in God that He has given us by His blessed Spirit His unerring word in all its fullness and beauty.
In conclusion, one more thought remains to be noted in 1 Corinthians 2. We have seen that the chapter speaks of Revelation and Inspiration; it also lays down that the help of the Holy Ghost is needful in order to receive and understand the things that have been given.
This is why enemies stumble. Man's wit fails here. His learning is at fault, his powers are unavailing, apart from the Holy Ghost. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The soul must be born of God, and the Spirit must be the teacher; then all is simple and plain. He has come down from above to guide the saints into all the truth, and He never disappoints or fails the humble waiting soul.