Is The Bible From God Or Man?

Robert Meredith

Is the Bible from God or man?  The Bible claims to be from God.  One can find statements like, “Thus saith the Lord,” “the Lord spake,” etc., over 2500 times in the Old Testament and over 1300 times in the prophets alone.  Certainly, the Bible claims to be from God.  David proclaimed, “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2).  Jeremiah wrote, “And the Lord said unto me, behold I have put My words into thy mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9).  Too, Moses related how God said to him, “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say” (Exodus 4:12).

  The New Testament also is from God.  Jesus told the apostles, “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak:  for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.  For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matthew 10:19-20).  Here Jesus promised the apostles (not everyone) that the Holy

Spirit would guide them in what they taught.  (See also:  Matthew 18:18; Matthew 19:28; John 14:26; John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13)  Because the Holy Spirit guided them, the apostle Paul could write, “Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4).

  The Bible is full of “Internal Evidence” that it is from God.  There are passages which show scientific foreknowledge.  In Psalm 8:8, David wrote concerning the “paths of the seas.”  David lived about 1000 years before Christ and a very long time before anyone knew about the ocean currents that modern shipping uses today.  Also, the scriptures are in complete harmony (i.e. no contradictions).  The Bible is made up of 66 Books written by about 40 writers over a period of 1600 years, and yet is one in form, purpose and goal.  This could not be the case if it were simply a product of man.  Too, God’s Word has anticipated and foretold of departures from the faith (1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4).  How could the writers have known of these departures if God did not direct them in what they wrote?  Some of the greatest internal proofs of the inspiration of the Bible are the hundreds of prophecies found therein.  Man would tend to shy away from making prophecies because it would prove him wrong if they failed to come to pass.  However, not a prophecy has failed (see Joshua 6:26 with 1 Kings 16:34 and 1 Kings 13:2 with 2 Kings 23:15-20 for examples).

  Truly the Bible is from God.  Paul wrote, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).