God’s Words

God’s Words

When you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’?”

Matthew 22:43

If you wanted to get a message to someone you couldn’t see in person, how would you do it? Would you call on the phone? send an e-mail or text message? write a letter? ask someone to deliver the message for you? Well, God had something he wanted to tell us, and that message was recorded before the days of phones and computers. His words are written down for us in the Bible—recorded by more than forty writers over a 1,500-year time span.

God used a variety of ways to communicate to the writers of the Bible what he wanted written. In some places he seemed to use dictation—telling the writers directly what to write. For example, near the end of John’s life, Jesus spoke these words to him: “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write . . .” (Revelation 2:1, NIV, emphasis added). We know that Luke used ordinary historical research for writing his Gospel, which says, “Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you” (Luke 1:3). In some cases Scripture writers speak of having dreams or visions, or hearing the Lord’s voice. In other cases people who were with Jesus observed his life, and they documented his words and deeds based on personal experiences and the perfecting work of the Holy Spirit. This was just as Jesus had promised it would be: “When the Father sends . . . the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you” (John 14:26).

Ultimately, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can believe that the words of the Bible are God’s words. The Holy Spirit speaks in and through the Bible to our hearts and gives us an inner assurance that it is God’s Word.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Who are some of the people who wrote books of the Bible?

How did Jesus show that he viewed Scripture as God’s Word?

When have you sensed God was speaking to you through the Bible?