The Writing of Scripture

We believe that the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are the infallible Word of God, dictated word by word to the soul and spirit of the writers by the Holy Spirit to become the only true Living Word of God (check our article: The Canon of Scripture). The entire Bible contains no copied portions; all of it is given by the Holy Spirit as the Living Word to each of its writers. The writers did not copy from each other; they wrote down what the Holy Spirit dictated to them, and that is why the Bible is called the Living Word of God. No human opinion, knowledge, or feeling is involved in the process of Scripture writing. The writers of their own will were under complete control of the Holy Spirit while they wrote the Scripture. We believe in a very personal God-human relationship between the soul and spirit of the writers of Scripture and the Holy Spirit. Every word in the Scripture is directly from God, dictated word by word by the Holy Spirit to the soul and spirit of the writers. Our view is not a purely mechanical dictation view of Scripture; instead, it is a God-human relationship view, where the human element is the willingness of the writers to obey and listen to God, allowing God to use them to write Scripture. We believe in a very personal relationship between the soul and spirit of the writers and the Holy Spirit. Every word is dictated by the Holy Spirit Himself, which dwells within the heart of the writers. Furthermore, there is a word-by-word translation process between what the Holy Spirit speaks in the writers’ understanding and their human language when the Holy Spirit dictates the Scripture to the writers. Hence, the Scripture is one hundred percent dictated by God.
(For more information on this topic, please refer to our article: Bible Dictation).

Holy Spirit Dictated Versus Holy Spirit Inspired

So, what do we really understand by ‘Holy Spirit dictated’ and what is the difference between ‘Holy Spirit dictated’ and ‘Holy Spirit inspired’?
Holy Spirit Dictated: The Holy Spirit works straight to give the understanding; the Holy Spirit speaks directly to the soul and spirit of the writer, then from the soul and spirit, the understanding goes to the heart and from the heart into the head. When the Holy Spirit dictated, the writer would have only one understanding to write down. The dictation from the Holy Spirit works directly to the writer’s understanding, to give the words to write down, then that understanding (the words written down), when meditated on by someone else, that meditation will guide the heart by the Holy Spirit to understand for themselves. The question that arises on this topic is: how does the Holy Spirit communicate directly with the soul and spirit of the writer? The writers of the Scripture are specially chosen servants of the Lord who are blessed with a special gift of the Holy Spirit. In the spiritual world, when the Holy Spirit dictates to the writer’s soul, He will block all other interferences, and the soul of the writer will receive only one direction; there will be no confusion or interference from the writer’s memory for what the soul hears. Additionally, the writer will not have their own understanding, as the Holy Spirit will also block that thought.
Holy Spirit Inspired: The Holy Spirit gives the understanding to convince the heart of the person, and becomes the understanding in this way, different from Holy Spirit dictated. ‘Inspired’ is the understanding in the heart and from the heart to the head; the meditation of the Word gives the understanding; in this case, there is no direct communication between the Holy Spirit and the soul and spirit of the writer.
In conclusion, in the case of “Holy Spirit dictation,” the Holy Spirit is the giver and the receiver at the same moment. In the case of “Holy Spirit inspired,” the Holy Spirit is the giver, and the soul of the believer is the receiver.

The Composition of the Bible

Two main points need to be emphasized regarding the Word of God, the Bible. First, the composition of Scripture is done by the will of God alone, and the Lord used willing men full of the Holy Spirit to do His work. Men by themselves alone cannot write Scripture. The writers must allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in them and be completely under His control, so that He can dictate Scripture word by word. All of the disciples chosen to write Scripture have asked the Holy Spirit to dwell in them and use them. The willingness of these disciples to be one hundred percent under the control of the Holy Spirit is the key to their being chosen to write Scripture. (Check our article: Holy Spirit Baptism for a Christian). The Bible verses below affirm the Holy Spirit’s revelation to the writers of the Bible.
“For we did not follow cleverly devised fables, when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a Voice to him by the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; and this Voice we ourselves heard borne out of heaven, when we were with Him in the holy mountain. And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; to which you do well that you take heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spoke from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” -- 2 Peter 1:16-21 (ASVh)
“Every Scripture God-Breathed is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, having been fully equipped toward every good work.” -- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ASVh)
“For I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.” -- Galatians 1:11-12 (ASVh)
Second, the Bible is not just words dictated by God to the writers, but it is alive and everlasting, and it is the only true Living Word of God. If God-breathed into the ground and made man alive, and the human race endures until now, how much more His breath that is in His Word to be alive and have life and power in itself? We are just a piece of clay that received God’s breath, and yet we are alive. His Word carries much more than we carry in our own lives. His Word carries all the knowledge of God and our souls. What you think has power on earth cannot compare to the power of His Word. The Word has life and power in itself and can go further and further; life has no end in the Word. If God can give life, His Word shall be the place where life can flow. God never has an ending, and His breath cannot be limited. Man cannot make the Word live; only the Holy Spirit can make the Word alive. The Bible is the Living Word because it is from the Lord through the Holy Spirit, who dictated every word to have that living life in the Word. (Read our article: The Trinity of God). The following Bible verses affirm that the Word of God is alive.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This was in the beginning with God. All became on account of Him, and apart from Him, nothing became that has been made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not seized it.” -- John 1:1-5. “But answering, He said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every spoken-word coming out of the mouth of God.” -- Matthew 4:4. “For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks through you.” -- Matthew 10:20. “Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone that drinks from this water will thirst again; but whoever may drink from the water that I will give him will never thirst to eternity; but rather, the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” -- John 4:13-14. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and also, the bread which I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world.” -- John 6:51. “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden before Him; but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” -- Hebrews 4:12-13 (ASVh).

Conclusions

In conclusion, we believe that the Bible is God’s only true Living Word. The Holy Spirit dictated the words of the entire Bible to the souls and spirits of the writers; the Bible is unique, flawless, unalterable, unchanging, and eternal. We uphold all sixty-six books which form the “Canon of Scripture,” compiled in many current Bible translations, as dictated in their original script by the Holy Spirit to willing writers. For further information about the composition of the Bible, please read our article, The Canon of Scripture.