Inspiration, Inerrancy and Infallibility

Inspiration
God through his Spirit inspired every word penned by the human authors in each of the sixty-six books of the Bible in the original documents (i.e., the autographs). Inspiration describes the process of divine causation behind the authorship of Scripture. It refers to the direct act of God on the human author that resulted in the creation of perfectly written revelation. It conveys the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit whereby he used the individual personality, language, style and historical context of each writer to produce divinely authoritative writings.

Source: Biblical Doctrine, John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, Crossway, Wheaton Illinois, 2017, page 77-78

2 Peter 1:3 says that God’s divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness. We see this truth by the very gift of His written Word.

2 Peter 1:20-21 – But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

External Proofs
Evidence of the Bible’s inspiration exists in historical documents, archaelogical artifacts and scientific discoveries.

Internal Proofs
There are self-authenticating evidences within the scriptures themselves. The Bible states in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work”. Inspired here in the original language means “God-breathed”. In other words, it was the very breathe of God upon the human writers, superintended by the Holy Spirit.

There were about 40 human authors that wrote the Bible. They did not merely take dictation from God when writing what He wanted them to say. God used their personalities, education, experiences, and historical and cultural contexts to providentially pen the inspired Word.

Verbal, plenary inspiration. “By “verbal”, it is meant that every word in the Bible is there because God permitted it by the direction of the Holy Spirit. By “plenary” (from the Latin, plentus-full), it is meant that each and every part of the Bible is inspired, with nothing omitted. In other words, by employing what we today call verbal (word-for-word), plenary (full) inspiration, God ensured that the writings were correct and consistent with His will. This view holds that men wrote exactly what God wanted them to write, without errors or mistakes, yet with their own individual characteristics in evidence in their writings”.

Source: In Defense of the Bible’s Inspiration, Bert Thompson, Ph.D., Apologetics Press, Montgomery Alabama, 1998

Inerrancy

Inerrancy means exactly what it sounds like it means: without error. The Bible is without error in the original copies. It is free from affirming anything that is untrue (when interpreted correctly).

Infallibility

Infallibility means that the Bible is unable to mislead or misguide us. It means it will never fail to accomplish its divine purpose (see Isaiah 55:10-11). In its original autographs, it is entirely true and entirely complete.

Disclaimer
Inerrancy and infallibility do not apply to the copies or translations. Scribal mistakes (transposing numbers, misspelling a name, etc) or scientifically imprecise statements do not equate to errors since they do not change the meaning of the text.

Authority

Authority is correctly defined as the right to issue commands and demand obedience. It is power exercised by rulers or others in high positions by virtue of their position. Because of God’s supreme position over all of creation, His Word, the Bible, has ultimate authority.

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy – “We affirm that the Holy Scriptures are to be received as the authoritative word of God”. (Article 1, 1978)

The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics, a later statement from the same council, added: “We affirm that the normative authority of Holy Scripture is the authority of God Himself, and is attested by Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church”. (1982)

The authority of God’s written Word hinges on inerrancy and infallibility. If the scriptures are incomplete and/or mixed with errors, then it surely is not reliable. “The trustworthiness of the Scriptures lies at the foundation of trust in the Christian system of doctrine, and is therefore fundamental to the Christian hope and life.
Benjamin B. Warfield

The Apostles affirmed the authority of Scriptures, quoting from the Old Testament in their preaching (Peter’s sermon in Acts 2) and in making their case for the Gospel from frequent Old Testament citations (Matthew 1:23-34; 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21; 13:35; 21:4-5; John 12:38-41; 19:24; Romans 1:16-17; 3:9-20; 4:1-12; 9:6-13, 15-17, 25-29, 33).

Jesus Himself affirmed the authority of the Scriptures, quoting from the Pentateuch (Matthew 4:1-11, John 3:14; 5:45-47), the Psalms (Luke 20:41-44) and the prophets (Matthew 12:39-40; 13:13-15).