The Verbal Inspiration of Scripture
As taught in the Pentecostal / Charismatic tradition
Understanding the Bible as the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The doctrine of the Verbal Inspiration of Scripture stands as the immovable cornerstone of the Pentecostal faith, providing the necessary objective anchor for a movement that rightfully prizes subjective experience with the Holy Spirit. Within the Pentecostal tradition, the question this subtopic answers is one of ultimate authority: How can a believer know with absolute certainty that the "still small voice" of the Spirit today is in harmony with the eternal counsel of God? The answer lies in the "God-breathed" nature of the written Word. For the Pentecostal, the Bible is not merely a record of past religious experiences or a collection of human insights into the divine; it is the Verbal, Plenary Inspiration of God.
By the end of this lesson
- Identify the linguistic and theological meaning of *theopneustos* as "God-breathed" and its implications for the origin of the biblical text.
- Distinguish between "Mechanical Dictation" (which overrides human personality) and "Verbal Plenary Inspiration" (which uses human agency under divine superintendence).
- Explain the role of the Holy Spirit in the process of inspiration as "carrying along" the human authors, ensuring the preservation of truth.
- Articulate the Pentecostal distinctive that the Spirit and the Word are inseparable, where the Word provides the objective boundary for all subjective experience.
- Trace the historical necessity of Article 1 in the Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths as a response to theological liberalism.
- Defend the doctrine of inerrancy as a logical necessity following from the divine authorship of the original autographs.
- Apply the doctrine of verbal inspiration to the practice of "Scripture-driven" prayer and spiritual warfare, recognizing the Bible as the "Sword of the Spirit."
- Compare the Pentecostal view of inspiration with the Neo-Orthodox view (Scripture "becomes" the Word) and the Liberal view (Scripture "contains" the Word).
Scripture
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