JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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In the New Testament it is made clear that divine authority extends to the whole of the
Old Testament. Jesus shows His disciples "in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself"
(Lk 24:27). The psalmist speaks "in the Spirit" (Ps 110; Mt 22:43). And
". . . men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
(2 Pe 1:20-21)
This linking of the biblical writings with the Holy Spirit means that they are brought into
direct relationship with the work of the Spirit of God to bear witness to Jesus Christ. This is
true of the Hebrew Scriptures with its prophetic testimony since Jesus Himself said of these
writings: "These are the Scriptures that testify about Me" (Jn 5:39).
This is also true of the New Testament as the apostles looked back on the events they had
witnessed and testified to the centrality of the person and ministry of Jesus. John points out in his
gospel that the Holy Spirit would bring to the remembrance of the apostles all they had learned
from Jesus (Jn 14:26). In fact, the Holy Spirit is their coworker (Ac 2:4; 4:8). Peter classifies the
epistles of Paul with the Scriptures which certifies the divine authority of this written testimony.
In 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 Corinthians 3 Paul develops the point that the Holy Spirit who
gave the Scriptures is the living Lord, whose voice must be heard in and through Scripture if
its message is to be understood and received. If the message is really from the Holy Spirit, it
cannot be received merely by the natural understanding. Without the Holy Spirit it can be read
only on the level of human writings. What is given by the Spirit must be read by the help of the
Spirit ("in the Spirit"). To the objective inspiration of Scripture there corresponds the subjective
illumination of the understanding.
The word "inspired" then, is not to be confused with the common usage of the word
where we may say Shakespeare was "inspired" to write great plays, or when we may refer to
Beethoven as having to be "inspired" to be able to compose such great symphonies. Inspiration,
in the biblical sense, is unique.
"Men spoke from God," says Peter, "as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." The
Bible is the product of God Himself. Here are not mere human words and ideas, but God's divine
character and will revealed through words.
The word "inspired" (theopneustos) comes from a Greek word meaning "breathed out by
God" or "God-breathed." The origin of the words of Scripture is God Himself. John Stott
explains:
"The meaning, then, is not that God breathed into the writers, nor that He somehow
breathed into the writings to give them their special character, but that what was
written by men was breathed out by God. He spoke through them. They were His
spokesmen."6