We see that Scripture as revelation is breathed out by God. Typically, one of the more technical descriptions used to refer to God’s breathing out of Scripture is verbal plenary inspiration. Inspiration refers to the way in which God led the writers of sacred Scripture, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to write down exactly what He desired them to write. While this did not strip them of their individual personalities or writing styles, divine inspiration insists that the words of the Bible are truly God’s words.
Article III: “WE AFFIRM that the written Word in its entirety is revelation given by God. WE DENY that the Bible is merely a witness to revelation, or only becomes revelation in encounter, or depends on the responses of men for its validity.”
When The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy was being prepared, the framers of this statement recognized in article III that the doctrine of the Bible’s inerrancy is directly tied to the doctrine of the Bible’s divine revelation. Only if the Bible is the inspired and revealed Word of God can it also be said to be inerrant, perfect, and without fault. The question that must be asked, however, is what exactly does it mean to affirm that the Word of God in its entirety is given by God?
Affirmation of Scripture as Revelation
We must first determine what is meant by revelation. When the term is used in reference to sacred Scripture, revelation refers to God’s supernatural disclosure of knowledge to the creation. It is perhaps of some interest that the book of Revelation is itself derived from the Greek title given to the book, Apokalypsis. This word means to unveil or reveal something. Thus, we can conclude that to say the Bible in its entirety is revelation given by God means that the Bible is God’s direct word to mankind revealing who He is, who man is, and what the purpose of the creation is. As revelation, it tells man what God expects of him, how he is to live, and what he is to do upon the earth.
Probably the most famous biblical text relating to the concept of revelation is 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which states, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” This text gives us both a helpful definition of what revelation is, plus a few practical ways that biblical revelation directs our lives.
In the first case, we see that Scripture as revelation is breathed out by God. Typically, one of the more technical descriptions used to refer to God’s breathing out of Scripture is verbal plenary inspiration. Inspiration refers to the way in which God led the writers of sacred Scripture, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to write down exactly what He desired them to write.