Inspired, revelation, source, and to stir up

Words about the Bible

When speaking of the Bible, what is the meaning of :
Inspired ?
to Animate, Cradle, to Enliven ?
to Evince, to Expose, to Invigorate, Nest ?
Prophecy, to Reveal, and Revelation ?
to Share, to Show, Source ?
to Stir or Stir Up, to Uncover, to Unveil ?
Plenary, Verbal, Wellspring?

Home > Words About the Bible > Inspiration and Revelation [ > PDF booklet of the site's pages on Scripture.]

The Bible is Inspired

Inspired : The Holy Spirit is in the Bible, makes the Bible possible, and makes it work. The Spirit inspired its writing; the Spirit inspired its interpretation over the years; the Spirit inspires us today when we read it with the eyes of faith, or hear it spoken or interpreted aloud, or see it truthfully portrayed and followed. The Spirit fills the whole process, from ancient event to you. One term for the Bible's inspiration is Greek theopneustia, "". Because it is so specially inspired, there is much literature, art, social conscience, personal experience, and patterns of relationship that are inspired by the Bible.

Other words that define in a like way to 'inspired' are :

• to animate (to make live, to give zest, passion, or interest to; to cause someone/something to take action)
• to enliven (to make live, breathe life into)
• to evince (to cause or prompt a response that is not automatic, instinctual, or habitual)
• to invigorate (to give energy or vitality to)
• moving (adv.) (evoking a deep or strong emotional response that leads to action)
• to stir (to put into motion by circular agitation, usually in order to mix ingredients) or stir up (to rouse from repose or indifference into action).

There is also the specific kind of divinely inspired speech known as 'prophecy', which is reviewed in greater depth on other pages at this site, including on prophecy itself and on prophetic history.

Verbal and Plenary

Two other words are sometimes used for describing how the Bible is inspired. 'Verbal' inspiration means that each word of the Bible is fully inspired by the Spirit. Most mainline Protestants hedge on this word, in that not everything in the Bible is equally inspired. Some of them even believe that some of the Bible is not inspired at all. Most experienced Bible readers understand that humanity's darker sides, even those of the Biblical authors themselves, have key lessons to teach us from the Spirit, and thus are part of its inspiration. The other word is 'Plenary' inspiration. It means that the Bible as a whole is specially inspired. Without using the term itself, many Reformers linked a similar kind of inspiration to the word that convicts our hearts of wrong (Law), and the message of Christ and of the salvation Christ gives us (Gospel). I think it's better not to use either 'verbal' or 'plenary' to describe inspiration, because most people don't know what they mean. Instead, say their most helpful meanings in another, more understandable way using other words.
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How does the Bible Reveal?

Revelation and to reveal.
There are matters we could only have any knowledge or understanding about if God told us. For instance, how could we really understand anything about God -- character, will, plan, being -- if God didn't show it to us? We lack the needed 'omniscience' to figure it out ourselves (that is, we don't even come close to knowing enough to do it). We'd be left with natural vague hints and intelligent wild guesses. We'd be on somewhat better ground about ourselves, but even there, we still can't seem to figure out for ourselves why we are unable to straighten ourselves out, and why it is that the better we become at doing things, the better we also become in ever-deeper evils (such as H-bombs, monopolism, mind manipulation, and ethnic cleansing). Learning about such things takes 'revelation' : the One who knows shares this knowledge with us. That's what the Bible is : God sharing these truths with us. That's what the prophets and apostles did. Most centrally, it is not just what Christ did, but what Christ is. Through these writings, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that God's already done God's part in restoring our relationship with God. The Spirit then goes on to reveal us so much more -- what God has given us, how God wants us to live and to treat each other, deepening our relationship with God, about love and fellowship and family and justice, and even about the time to end all time when the healing will be completed and all will be revealed. The Spirit , and thus frees us. The primary way for the Spirit to do this is by revealing it through the Bible

Christians are very unlike Muslims on this matter. To a mainstream Muslim, the Qur'an reveals God's will and message, but not God Himself - not character, not plan, not depth of love, and not His divine nature. In Islam, Mohammed is the messenger of God, not the revealer of His character.

There are words related to 'revelation' that are not hard to define :

• to expose (to remove protective cover, allowing outside forces to influence, affect, or damage.)
• to share (in the sense that friends or 12-step groupers tell each other close personal information, emotions, or experiences.)
• to show (to cause or allow to be seen, direct one's attention to.)
• to uncover (to remove cover from, which allows something to be seen.)
• to unveil (to remove a veil from, allowing something to be seen.)

God's not trying to keep any secrets. God's just looking for someone who will listen.
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The Bible As the Source

Source [ < Old French sourse < Latin surgere (to rise (from), surge)] Where it comes from.

The Bible is the source of the Christian way of thinking, the Christian view of the world, the Christian way of life, and the Christian teachings and beliefs. US liberal Christianity challenges this description, by saying that it is better to draw their way of life from the world around them and be open to seeing the world in ways very different from (even opposed to) what is found in the Bible. They hold that the Bible is 'a' source rather than 'the' source. This has been said before in Christian history. Those who hold this view, then and now, gradually become less and less recognizable as Christians. When you draw from the Bible, the Bible sends your focus back onto God. The Bible is the only reasonably accurate report of Jesus and the early Church. It is the only place you can find what those who lived with Jesus discovered about Him. Thus, it is the only source for finding out what makes a Christian a Christian. The more a person draws from somewhere else, the more they become something else.

There are other words whose definitions are in some way connected to viewing the Bible as 'source':

• wellspring or wellhead (a source of water for a stream, well, or spring)
• cradle (a low, small bed for infants, who are most precious -- thus also, what holds the precious communication from God. Also, a place of origin or starting-point.)
• nest (a shelter made by birds for their precious eggs. Also, a refuge or safe haven.)