May 11

“Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” —2 PETER 1:21

The Bible is both human and divine in its source, but the divine source does not override the human source. It was through people God gave us the Scriptures, and with the unique dispensation of the writers’ personalities giving us different perspectives and all of them are accurate.

Moses, for instance, was a lawgiver. His emphasis in writing was that sin offends God and must be judged. Jeremiah had a different view; that sin makes God angry and being a prophet who would never preach to a godly people, Jeremiah knew about anger. Hosea suffered hurt from an unfaithful wife and his emphasis was that sin hurts God. 

In the writing of the four Gospels, each author had their particular purpose with their own understanding as God had directed them. Matthew wrote to Jewish people and presents Christ as King, with the theme being ‘the Kingdom of Heaven’. Mark writes to the Romans and presents Christ as a servant. Luke, a Gentile, writes to the Gentiles and presents Christ as the ‘Son of Man’. John writes to Christians, particularly those who have been influenced by Judaism. He goes back before space and time, and records, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” (John 1:1). John presents Christ on the biggest canvas of all as the ‘Son of God’.

God knows intimately the mind and emotions of His authors, but it was His Spirit that provided the substance and insight which imparts to us the message of the Gospel. We cannot detach the Spirit of God from the Word of God because it is the Spirit who ministers to us through the Word. When the Word of God dwells in us richly, the Spirit of God fills us, dominates us and directs our lives. One of the reasons why Billy Graham’s ministry was so successful was because he drew the people’s attention with three noteworthy words, “The Bible says… the Bible says…”

Apart from Jesus Christ, the Bible is the greatest gift God has given to the human race. It reveals the heart and mind of God, and is our complete authority, not because we like its content, but because of its origin.

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for using people to write the Scriptures so that your Word could be heard from different perspectives. It allows me insight into the authors and their circumstances, giving me a greater understanding of the Gospel as revealed by your Spirit.

TO REFLECT UPON: Have I ever given thought of why God used people to write the Bible? What purpose do I think that serves, both for God and for me?