As the Holy Spirit Says
by Terry Wane Benton
When the topic of “inspiration” (breathed of God) is brought up, some will argue that we don’t know how the Scriptures are “breathed of God,” but we do know that the words of the Scriptures were delivered from God’s mind to the mind of the writers of the holy Scriptures. Whenever we read the Scriptures of the Holy Bible, we listen to the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. When we turn away from the Scriptures, we resist the Holy Spirit. The mind of God is revealed in the Scriptures so that we can know the thoughts God wanted us to know. Paul said, “We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (I Corinthians 2:12). He said, “by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I wrote before in a few words, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Ephesians 3:3-5). He said it has “now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:5). So, when we read the Bible, we read what was revealed by the Spirit. These are not mere words of human origin and mere human wisdom but words that pass from the mind of God to the mind of specially chosen men to reveal God’s mind and wisdom to us.
In Hebrews 3:7f, the prophet related that Psalm 95:7-11 is what “the Holy Spirit says.” In other words, the Holy Spirit still speaks to us in that and all other scriptures. Therefore, “inspiration” in II Timothy 3:16 means “God-breathed” because God said it. He spoke the words that passed through the writers' minds; they wrote them down, and the Holy Spirit moved them along to ensure the words were indeed what God wanted said with divine authority and approval. In Hebrews 10:15-16, the writer says, “The Holy Spirit also witnesses to us,” and he quotes the Holy Spirit from Jeremiah 31:31f. That scripture in Jeremiah is the testimony or “witness” of the Holy Spirit. When we quote the scriptures, we are giving the witness or testimony of the Holy Spirit. The testimony of Moses in giving the Tabernacle is “the Holy Spirit indicating” or necessarily implying some things. So, the Scriptures are indications from the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 4:12 says the word of God is “living and powerful” because it never ceases to be relevant; it remains the voice of the Holy Spirit to us. Times and people may change, but the word of God lives and abides forever. It is still what the Holy Spirit says to us.
When John penned the letters to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3, he kept repeating that if you “hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” you will be blessed. If they turned away from John's message, it is the same as resisting the Holy Spirit. I have presented here in this article what the Holy Spirit says about the divine origin and authority of the Scriptures. I did not write anything based on my own desires or mere human wisdom. I have related what the writers of the Bible conveyed. If you reject their words, you have not rejected men only. You have rejected the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and the Father. You reject God when you try to rationalize away His words of inspiration and Holy Writ! Stephen related the history of Israel, which was revealed and preserved by the Holy Spirit. Stephen pointed out that the Israelites were “stiff-necked” and stubborn and that “You always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51). They stoned him, but by doing so, they showed that they were rejecting God. Let us be careful not to resist the Spirit by disagreeing with His words in the Scriptures.
