Over the last several articles, we’ve explored the biblical doctrine of inspiration—specifically the inspiration of the Bible. Our study led us to conclude a couple things:
- God’s Word is both divine and human. God directed the writing and compilation of His Word so that all of it is as He wants it to be. But He used human writers who brought their own perspectives, knowledge, and experiences. He orchestrated those writers so that the message of Scripture as delivered to us is exactly what He intended for His people to have.
- All of God’s Word is inspired. 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21 both make that clear. There are some who try to divide the Word into inspired and uninspired segments or who create levels of inspiration, but neither of those fit with the Bible’s own testimony about itself. Every book, every word, every letter is exactly as God wanted it to be.1
This leads us to a specific definition: plenary, verbal inspiration of Scripture. Plenary means the entirety of something; in using it we say that all of the Bible is inspired. You may be familiar with the term in connection with a conference or gathering. The plenary sessions are those when everyone is together—all of the attendees are present. In the same way, the plenary inspiration of Scripture means that all the parts are inspired. Every piece is from God.
The term verbal has to do with the words of the Bible. Though the term can be used in a variety of ways, when used in this context it means “of, relating to, or consisting of words.”2 So, verbal inspiration includes the words. Others have come up with various understandings of the scope of inspiration (see the previous articles on inspiration, especially part two), but I don’t find that they fit with what the Bible actually says about itself. Based on the Bible’s own testimony, we hold to verbal inspiration.
And, by way of reminder, the term inspiration means to fill up or breathe into. The fact that Scripture is inspired means God actually breathed out each word contained therein. These aren’t just pious writings. They aren’t just accurate records of men. These are God’s words to men—those alive when the Bible was written and every person today. When we read the Bible, we read the words of God.
Plenary, verbal inspiration is more than a theological construct; it’s a definition of how the faithful Christian views the Bible. These terms shape how we explain what we believe and why we believe it.
The Importance of Inspiration
One of my overarching goals in this column is to make theological concepts understandable and tangible. I strongly believe that good theology is more than just an intellectual activity; good theology impacts our lives. In fact, we need good theology if we want to be faithful Christians. We must rightly understand God before we can rightly worship or serve Him.
To that end, I’d like to look at why a right understanding of the inspiration of Scripture is important. This can be summed up in one word—authority. The authority of Scripture relates the fact that what the Bible says actually matters. The Bible has the right to dictate what we think, what we believe, and how we live, because it’s from God.
If Scripture is truly inspired (and it is), if it is truly from God (and it is), then what it says is important. A perfect Word from a holy God has every right to command our lives. Inspiration means the words of the Bible aren’t just man’s words on a page; those words are divine, directly from God. If so, then does it not make sense that God’s people would direct their lives based on what the word says? And if the God of the universe says something, does it not make sense that we would be obligated to obey? The word has the right, the power, the authority to govern our lives.
We will explore the authority of Scripture more in the future, but here at the conjunction of inspiration and authority I want to look at the significance of these doctrines. Why do they matter?
Anabaptist Roots
While Anabaptists have not typically been theological people, we have historically been characterized by a commitment to the Word of God. If the Bible says it, we believe it and obey it. I’m afraid that conviction has faded in recent years, and our beliefs have been defined more by what Anabaptists believe than what the Bible teaches.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m deeply indebted to my Anabaptist heritage. And I still hold to many of the convictions I was taught—some stronger than ever. But I also see things we believe because they are Anabaptist distinctives (non-resistance, head covering, strong community, etc.) rather than because they’re taught in the Bible. If, when these issues are discussed, we appeal to the traditional Mennonite/Amish/Brethren understanding rather than checking what Scripture teaches, I think we have it backwards. The Bible has to be our source for all truth. When we lose that mooring, our churches and homes quickly deteriorate into cultural enigmas rather than biblically faithful communities. We look strange to the world because we do things differently, we’re separate and, in a sense, outcasts, yet we don’t live biblically grounded lives. That, my friends, is not as it should be.
So I think we need to find our place with the original Anabaptists, who were ostracized and rejected because they believed the Bible and lived the Bible. The Bible held absolute reign over their lives—not as a cold, hard list of rules and regulations, but as words from a loving Father who revealed His character and will through His Word. We obey the Word because it is God’s Word. In submitting to it, we submit to our God.
Understanding the Gospel
The second reason the inspiration of the Scriptures is important is because a right understanding of the gospel comes from a robust appreciation for the Word of God. The Bible is clear about the gospel, and it doesn’t mince words when it tells us about our problem. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” What were we? The Bible says, “dead.”
Because we know the Bible is from God, and every word is as He wants it to be, we can’t simply redefine this deadness as sickness, though that’s what we like to think. When describing our spiritual condition, the Bible calls us lifeless. Not diseased. Dead.
Several weeks ago, I was at my grandfather’s funeral in Dundee, New York. He had battled 5 months of cancer, but his aged body was unable to hold out any longer. While we visited around the casket, the last thing anyone expected was that he would pick himself up and resume normal life. Dead people don’t do that.
I’m not trying to be rude or disrespectful, but I think it makes the point. Ephesians 2 says that’s exactly what we were before Christ—dead in trespasses and sins.
This deadness requires that the first part of this verse also be true. Paul says, “You He made alive.” This isn’t something we do, but something that’s done to us. Who is the “He” here? God. And who is doing the action? God. He made us alive. We were dead, without life, and God made us alive. Indeed, in the entirety of Ephesians 2:1-10 we are the ones acted on, not the actors. God is the Actor, making us alive, loving us, raising us up, seating us with Jesus. We are His workmanship. Salvation begins, not with us, but with God.
I realize this doesn’t fit with how we Anabaptists typically look at ourselves. But a commitment to the Word of God requires that we at least consider what it says. If we redefine the words of Scripture to fit what makes us comfortable, we inadvertently reject the inspiration and authority of Scripture. God didn’t just suggest what He meant; He said what He meant. We must not disregard that.
But the same commitment to the words of the Bible keeps us from the error of some of our Calvinist brothers. Romans 10:13 says, “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” This “whoever” is every bit as exclusive as the “dead” in Ephesians. Just as we are all hopelessly dead, God also says all have the ability to be saved through Christ. We need only ask, and God will save.
And, just as there are no conditions on our deadness, there are no conditions on the reach of the gospel. Whosoever calls will be saved. The same truth is underscored in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Whoever believes. The offer of the gospel is available to all who are willing to receive it.
Some laugh at this dichotomy, saying it’s impossible to believe that God is sovereign in salvation and still allow man to have the freedom to receive or reject salvation. But we can’t always boil biblical truths down into neat little packages. Sometimes we simply believe the words of the Bible for what they say. And, I’ll add, that’s not illogical. Faith is not opposed to reason. But it stands to reason that a God greater than us just might be able to understand things that our feeble minds cannot. Though we don’t understand everything about God and His ways, we accept that what He says is true.
Conviction on Current Issues
Our conservative evangelical culture is currently locked in several debates. These are not new debates, but they have arisen again recently. The Southern Baptist Convention, which holds a long history of faithfulness to the written Word of God, is divided over the issue of women in ministry. The central question is, “Can women preach or serve as pastors?”
Anabaptists have historically believed that God assigned men the responsibility of teaching and leading the local church, an understanding that hasn’t always put us in favor with the watching world. So we ask, “Is this biblical?”
How we answer this is again determined by how we view Scripture. If it is inspired and authoritative, then we must start there in our search for answers. So, when we read in 1 Corinthians 14:34 that women are to keep silent in the church, we believe that God means exactly that. That doesn’t mean we fully understand why and how this should be practiced, but it is what God says.
If we say we’ve submitted to God, we must also submit to His Word. If you have not submitted to His Word, you have not submitted to God. According to the Bible, unless you have submitted to God, you don’t love Him. You don’t know Him. You don’t understand the weight of the gospel. You haven’t been changed by the gospel if you don’t, at the very core of your being, want to serve and obey God. And that obedience begins by understanding and obeying His Word.
So, we must not answer the question based on popular opinion, nor based on what makes us comfortable, nor based on our own traditions or opinions. On issues like this one we ask the question, “What does the Word of God say?” Then we bend to it, believe it, and obey it. We have no right to twist Scripture to make it say what the culture wants it to say. We have no right to take the easy way out when the Bible teaches another way. And we have no right to stand over the Word and choose our own opinions and perspectives over the clear teaching of the Word.
This principle encapsulates many other issues, whether specifically Anabaptist (headship covering, non-resistance), evangelical (women in ministry, social justice or the social gospel), or cultural (abortion, LGBTQ+). Where we land will largely be defined by our view of Scripture. And our view of Scripture is quickly revealed when we’re under pressure for these very things. Whether we stand or fall—indeed, whether we are faithful Christians or not—rests on whether we accept the Bible for what it says and allow that to govern our lives.
- Remember, this is true only of the original manuscripts. And the ones we have today are still entirely trustworthy, though they show the marks of 2 millennia of scribing and copying. Compared to any other manuscript, the Bible is still remarkably sound and consistent. No major doctrinal truths are affected by these minor discrepancies.
- “Verbal,” Merriam-Webster, accessed October 29, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verbal.