The Inspired Word

by McCormick, F. | Category: General | Jun 1954

Inspiration is an act of divine omnipotence, producing through imperfect agents, a perfect work, by which the mind of God is accurately conveyed. The Scriptures therefore are in themselves a miracle. The perfection with which divine thought is conveyed, faultless and pure, through human channels without admixture of error, is both a wonder and a mystery. Only God Himself could produce such a work, and the Scriptures themselves bear the stamp and seal of divine origin, from beginning to end.

The incarnation of Christ reveals the Divine Being of the Son of God in human form. "The Word became flesh." This mystery cannot be fathomed by the human mind, it cannot be reasoned out, we do not know how it came to be. It is a revealed truth which we must accept by faith, for God has spoken.

Likewise, "inspiration" is a revealed fact which cannot be analysed by the human mind. The process of the divine inbreathing we cannot explain, but we know the Scriptures are God-breathed, because the inspired word is living and capable of reproducing life. Although electricity is incapable of explanation, yet we know some of its characteristics by reason of its power manifested when applied to various uses. The word of God applied to our unregenerate condition in the power of the Holy Spirit, produced life; by it we were born again "not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth" (1 Peter 1.23). "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth" (James 1.18).

These words are God-breathed, inspired. Every word is charged with divine power and is living, like seed, wherein is life. Life proceeds

from life, and herein is the great gulf between the words of men, and the words of God. It is the difference between life and death. No human words, however well chosen, profound in thought though they be, can ever impart eternal life. The stream cannot rise higher than its source. Only the words of God are the words of eternal life, which life becomes ours by faith; they are like the Divine Breath, breathed into the dead sinner, causing him to live.

In the Scriptures we find God's written revelation to men. The books of men contain and convey only that which is the result of their own, or other's investigations, or is the accumulated knowledge of human experiences. (We write not here of" novels.") To venture to write with authority about things or events altogether outside the scope of human experience and knowledge is to men the height of folly. Yet the Scriptures give the actual and historical account of things and persons pertinent to the subject matter, and also give a revelation of what is to men unknown and unknowable. This is an important fact for only God Himself could so speak with certainty and authority 'and if these statements be proved by history to be true, we must 'conclude that these words are, in fact, inspired. There can be no other way to explain the minute accuracy of fulfilment.

"Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: ... that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them ; or shew us things for to come" (Isaiah 4i. 21, 23).

"I am God, and there is none like Me; declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure" (Isaiah 46.9, 10).

The inspired writers wrote of things altogether beyond the powers of their minds to grasp. They testified to a coming Saviour and salvation, "Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently .... searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto" (1 Peter 1.10, 11). It was revealed unto them that what they ministered was for a day and a people, to them, yet future. What could they know of that coming day of salvation, or of the sufferings and glories of Christ? The words they spoke or wrote in prophecy were the result of the movement of the Spirit of Christ which was in them. The Spirit possesses all knowledge, they were the channels through whom it flowed. Let us refer to a few of these prophecies concerning the Christ.

THE MANNER OF HIS BIRTH.

"A virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7.14). Matthew 1.22 refers to that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, and quotes from the above scripture, written about 750 years before. Could it be within the range of possibility, or probability, that any human mind could conceive of this stupendous and unique miracle of the incarnation of the Son of God in this particular, and precise way? The answer is-Never! God alone knew, and He alone could speak with certainty through the prophet Isaiah.

THE PLACE OF His BIRTH.

This was revealed in the answer of the chief priests and scribes to Herod when he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. Strange request! How were they to know? To the nation of Israel were committed the oracles of God, and therein are found words which have absolute authority and certainty.

"And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah out of thee shall come forth a Governor, which shall be Shepherd of My people Israel" (Matthew 2.4-6; Micah 5.2). Could they have found such information in the writings of the philosophers or historians of the past? No! Only God knew, and He alone could inspire the prophet Micah to write such words about 700 years before.

THE CALL FROM EGYPT.

Did Hosea know when he wrote "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My Son out of Egypt" (Hosea 11.1) that he was writing concerning the Christ? Probably not. Was it speculation or inspiration which caused him so to write? It can only be answered by the words of Matthew 2.15, 740 years after: "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call My Son." So then, it was God speaking by inspiration.

THE PRICE OF THE MASTER.

Who among men could have prophesied the exact number of the pieces of silver which would be determined in the hearts of the sons of Israel as the price for the betrayal of the Christ by Judas? Who could predict with such exactitude a bargain to be made nearly 500 years afterwards? None but God Himself, who knows the thoughts and intents of the hearts, to whom all things are naked and open, past, present and future; hence, He alone could cause such words to be written by inspiration,

"So they weighed for My hire thirty pieces of silver" (Zechariah 11. 12).

The price of Him that was priced ... of the children of Israel"

(Matthew 27.0).

McCormick, F. | Jun 1954
General