When we examine the Bible, there have been some emphases through the centuries that have been considered incorrect. One of these is thinking that God produced the Bible with so little ‘stain’ from humanity, that it can barely be called the product of humanity at all.
The other, has been thinking that God has had no part to play in the bringing about of Scripture. Thus, it is only the product of humanity.
The classic Christian perspective is that the Bible is truly the product of God and truly the product of humanity. The language of “truly” is important here, because if we start to use percentages we will run into contradictions or other troubles. If it is 100% God and 100% humanity, then that does not make sense. Moreover, if it is 50% and 50%, then we still have some portions that are neither God nor humanity. It is best to let percentages disappear.
The classic Christian Church took the perspective that the human agents who brought forth the pages of the Bible used their brains and their hands in a way that was completely theirs. Namely, when Matthew was writing his Gospel, he was not merely some kind of secretary, only writing down the things that God verbally spoke to him. Moreover, he was not overwhelmed by the Spirit’s power in such a way that God just wrote with Matthew’s hand. Truly, the Scriptures are the product of humanity.
And yet, God has been happy to work through the characteristics of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic languages (and minds) to bring forth a work that primarily points us to Jesus Christ (John 5:39). There are plenty of ways that the Bible can be said to be the product of God, which I will get into in the weeks to come. Until then, I just wanted to lay out the classic Christian perspective on its own belief in the Bible. Which includes that the Scriptures are also truly the product of God.
Ask yourself the questions.
Do I give enough weight to the Bible being the product of human beings in my overall assessment?
Do I give enough weight to the Bible being the product of God in my overall assessment?
-Pastor Isaac