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Objective

In this lesson, we’ll discover that God inspired Scripture through the Holy Spirit, making the Bible true and without error in all that it teaches.

Key Verse

2 Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

Introduction

When you write a letter to someone you care about, you reveal something important about yourself. Your words show your thoughts, your heart, and your character. Anyone who reads that letter learns something true about who you are.

The Bible works in a similar way, but on a much grander scale. It is God’s personal message to you and me. He chose to send His message through human writers who lived across many centuries, in different places, and wrote in three different languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Yet amazingly, all of Scripture delivers one unified message that reveals God’s heart and character to us.

This raises an important question: How can the Bible be written by human beings and still be the Word of God? The answer lies in understanding what we call the “inspiration” of Scripture. God inspired these human writers through His Holy Spirit, which means that when they wrote, they were recording exactly what God wanted us to know.

Understanding the inspiration of Scripture is not just an academic exercise—it affects how we read, study, and apply God’s Word to our lives. When we truly grasp that the Bible is God speaking to us, it transforms our approach to everything from daily Bible reading to making major life decisions.

In this lesson, we will explore four essential truths about the inspiration of Scripture:

• What inspiration means and how it works
• What the Bible teaches about itself
• Why we can trust Scripture as true and without error
• How this doctrine affects our daily lives

What Inspiration Means

The apostles Paul and Peter give us the clearest explanation of what inspiration means. Let’s examine their teachings carefully to understand this foundational doctrine.

Paul wrote his letters to Timothy to help this young pastor understand how to teach and handle God’s Word properly. In one of the most important passages about Scripture, Paul explains three vital truths about inspiration:

2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

When Paul says that Scripture is “God-breathed,” he’s using a word that literally means “breathed out by God.” Just as God breathed into Adam the breath of life, God breathed out His words through human writers. This tells us that the Bible is not human wisdom or religious philosophy—it is God’s own communication to us.

Paul teaches us three foundational truths about Scripture. First, God is the ultimate source of Scripture. It doesn’t matter how educated or uneducated the human writer was—the words came from God. This is why the Old Testament prophets consistently declared, “Thus says the Lord.” They understood they were delivering God’s message, not their own opinions.

Second, Paul emphasizes that all Scripture is inspired. From Genesis to Revelation, every part of the Bible comes from God. We cannot pick and choose which portions we consider to be God’s Word while dismissing others as merely human writings.

Psalm 119:160: All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

Third, Paul reminds Timothy that Scripture is profitable for our spiritual growth. The Bible teaches us what to believe, shows us where we’ve gone wrong, corrects our thinking, and trains us to live righteously. (Notebook Moment: Think about a time when reading Scripture changed your perspective on an important issue. How did God’s Word correct or guide your thinking?)

Because Scripture comes from God, we should approach it with both boldness and careful attention. We can teach God’s Word boldly because we’re not sharing human opinions—we’re delivering God’s truth. But we must also handle it carefully, as faithful stewards of God’s message.

2 Timothy 4:2: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Peter provides additional insight into how inspiration actually works:

2 Peter 1:20-21: Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter teaches us two crucial truths about the process of inspiration. First, God used human writers with their own personalities, backgrounds, and writing styles. When we read through the Bible, we can clearly see differences between writers. Paul was highly educated and writes with sophisticated arguments. Peter was a fisherman who writes with simple, direct language. Luke was a doctor who writes with careful attention to detail. God didn’t erase their personalities—He worked through them.

Second, the Holy Spirit guided these writers like wind moves a ship. Peter uses the same Greek word that describes how wind pushes a sailing vessel along its course. We see this word used elsewhere in the New Testament:

Acts 27:15-17: The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along… we were driven along by the storm.

This gives us a helpful picture of inspiration. Just as wind moves a ship in the direction it needs to go, the Holy Spirit moved the Bible writers to record exactly what God wanted us to know. The writers weren’t passive robots—they remained active participants in the process—but the Holy Spirit ensured that what they wrote was precisely what God intended.

What the Bible Teaches About Itself

The writers of Scripture understood that the Holy Spirit was inspiring them as they wrote. This is why the Old Testament prophets consistently began their messages with phrases like “Thus says the Lord” or “The word of the Lord came to me.”

2 Samuel 23:2-3: The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me…

Jeremiah 1:9: Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.”

Amos 3:7: Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

The New Testament writers also recognized the Holy Spirit as the author of the Old Testament:

Mark 12:36: David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘

Acts 1:16: Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas…

Hebrews 3:7: So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice…”

The New Testament writers also understood that their own writings were inspired Scripture, not just human letters or historical accounts. Paul clearly stated that his message came directly from God:

Galatians 1:11-12: I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:13: And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

Peter acknowledged Paul’s writings as Scripture, placing them on the same level as the Old Testament:

2 Peter 3:15-16: Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Paul also demonstrated that there was no difference between Old Testament and New Testament inspiration. In one remarkable verse, he quotes from both the Old Testament and the New Testament and calls them both “Scripture”:

1 Timothy 5:18: For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

The first quote comes from Deuteronomy 25:4, while the second comes from Luke 10:7. By calling both passages “Scripture,” Paul shows us that the New Testament writings carried the same divine authority as the Old Testament. (Notebook Moment: How does knowing that the entire Bible—not just parts of it—comes from God change the way you approach difficult or challenging passages?)

Why We Can Trust Scripture

Because the Bible is inspired by God, we can completely trust its truthfulness. The Bible is true and without error in everything it teaches because God Himself is the source of all truth.

Truth is an essential characteristic of God’s nature:

Numbers 23:19: God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Titus 1:2: In the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.

Romans 3:4: Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

Since God cannot lie or deceive, His Word must also be completely truthful:

John 17:17: Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Psalm 119:142: Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.

Psalm 119:151: Yet you are near, Lord, and all your commands are true.

Psalm 119:160: All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

Revelation 21:5: He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

This doesn’t mean that every statement recorded in the Bible is true—for example, when the Bible records Satan’s lies or human deceptions, it accurately reports what was said, but the lies themselves are not true. What it means is that the Bible truthfully and accurately records everything God wants us to know about Himself, salvation, and how we should live.

When people question the reliability of Scripture, they often misunderstand what “truth” means in this context. The Bible is not primarily a science textbook or a history book, though when it speaks about scientific or historical matters, it speaks truthfully. The Bible’s main purpose is to reveal God’s character and His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Scripture and Our Daily Lives

Understanding the inspiration of Scripture should dramatically impact how we approach God’s Word in our daily lives. When we truly believe that the Bible is God speaking to us, several important changes take place.

First, we should approach Scripture with reverence and expectation. We’re not just reading ancient literature or human wisdom—we’re listening to the Creator of the universe speak directly to us. This should fill us with both excitement and humility as we open God’s Word.

Second, we should study Scripture diligently and systematically. Since all of Scripture is inspired, every part deserves our careful attention. We shouldn’t just read our favorite passages or skip over parts that seem difficult or less interesting.

2 Timothy 3:15: And how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:5: The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Third, we should obey what Scripture teaches. When we understand that God is speaking to us through His Word, obedience becomes not just a good idea but an essential response to divine authority.

Fourth, we should share God’s Word with others. Just as Timothy was taught the Scriptures from childhood and then taught others, we have a responsibility to pass on God’s truth to the next generation.

1 Peter 4:10-11: Each of you should use whatever gift you have to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

(Notebook Moment: How might your daily Bible reading change if you truly approached each session expecting to hear God speak to you personally through His Word?)

Conclusion

When we teach or share God’s Word with others, we are not presenting human opinions or religious philosophy. We are communicating the inspired Word of God, which has the power to transform lives. David beautifully describes how God’s Word works in our lives:

Psalm 19:7-9: The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

God’s Word converts the soul, makes wise the simple, brings joy to the heart, gives light to our spiritual eyes, and purifies our lives. These are not the results of human wisdom—they are the supernatural effects of God speaking to the human heart through His inspired Word.

This truth should fill us with confidence as we read, study, and teach Scripture. We can trust completely in what God has revealed because He cannot lie, and His Word will accomplish exactly what He intends. In a world filled with conflicting opinions and uncertain voices, we have the privilege of hearing from the One who knows all things and loves us perfectly.

When we gather together as believers to study God’s Word, we can expect these qualities to be produced in our lives and in the lives of those we teach. The same God who breathed out Scripture through human writers continues to work through His Word today, transforming hearts and building His kingdom one life at a time.

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