Verbal plenary inspiration is the view that the Bible is the authoritative, infallible, inerrant Word of God. This doctrine states that the Bible is inspired by God in its entirety, down to the very words themselves. Here is a 9000 word explanation of what verbal plenary inspiration means and what the Bible teaches about this doctrine:
The doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration holds that the original writings of Scripture were breathed out by God Himself. That is, the Bible is the Word of God, not merely the words of men. Every word came directly from the mouth of God and not from the men who penned them. The writers of Scripture were the means through which God produced His written revelation to humanity. However, the Bible is not just the word of men, but the very Word of God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21).
This means that the whole of Scripture – every single word – is inspired or “breathed out” by God. The word “plenary” refers to the entirety or fullness of Scripture coming directly from Him. The word “verbal” refers to the idea that inspiration extends even to the individual words themselves. Plenary verbal inspiration means the full inspiration of Scripture down to the very words. Thus, in the original manuscripts, we have the very words that God intended to communicate His message to us.
The doctrine does not mean that the human writers were passive tools or robotic transcribers. God did not dictate the Bible word-for-word. Rather, their writings reflect their own personalities, backgrounds, and styles. For example, the writings of John differ from those of Luke or Paul. Yet, while the writers expressed themselves in their own unique ways, the Lord sovereignly worked through their personalities to produce His inspired, authoritative Word (2 Peter 1:21).
Verbal plenary inspiration means that what Scripture says, God says. The Bible is infallible and inerrant because it came through the “breathing out” of God (2 Timothy 3:16). As a result, it carries God’s authority as His written revelation to humanity. Because God inspired the entirety of Scripture, it is authoritative and true in all its parts.
What the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration does not mean:
– It does not mean that God mechanically dictated the Bible word-for-word. As mentioned, He utilized the personalities of the human writers.
– It does not deny the humanity of the writers. They wrote with their own styles and vocabularies, while under the divine inspiration of the Spirit.
– It does not mean that Scripture appeared magically or miraculously. God inspired the words through Spirit-led men.
– It does not remove the human element from Scripture. Every word has divine authority while still coming through human means.
Some key biblical passages on the inspiration of Scripture:
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Here the Bible is called “God-breathed.” His breath or Spirit carried along the human writers to produce His written Word.
2 Peter 1:20-21 states, “No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” This indicates that Scripture did not come from man’s ideas but from God through the means of men moved by the Spirit.
There are many other verses that attest to the divine origin, authority, and inerrancy of God’s inspired Word (John 10:35, 17:17; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 19:7-11; Proverbs 30:5). The content of Scripture is called the “oracles of God” (Romans 3:2; Hebrews 5:12; 1 Peter 4:11). Over and over, the Bible claims to be the inspired Word of the living God.
Verbal plenary inspiration has been the orthodox doctrine of the church down through history:
Early church fathers like Augustine, Irenaeus, and Origen articulated their belief in the full inspiration of Scripture. Augustine wrote, “I have learned to yield this respect and honor only to the canonical books of Scripture: of these alone do I most firmly believe that the authors were completely free from error.”
Old Testament writers assumed the divine authority of their words (Exodus 4:12; Jeremiah 1:9) and sometimes directly claimed, “Thus says the Lord” when speaking or writing the words of Scripture.
The church councils that canonized Scripture in the 4th and 5th centuries did so with the understanding that it was the inspired Word of God.
This view was later affirmed by the Reformers. The Westminster Confession (1646) states that the Scriptures are “given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.” The 1689 London Baptist Confession says the Bible is “given by the inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life.”
Virtually all orthodox statements of faith have contained this doctrine through the centuries up to today. Verbal plenary inspiration has been the widespread position of Bible-believing evangelicals.
Objections to verbal plenary inspiration:
Despite the strong historical pedigree of this doctrine, some raise objections against it:
1. The Bible contains some difficulties, discrepancies or historical, scientific, or theological problems. If it was verbally inspired, why aren’t these details inerrant?
Response: Apparent biblical discrepancies virtually always have reasonable explanations. Scripture can be trusted in what it affirms. Just because we do not have all the details on some peripheral matters does not negate what the Bible clearly asserts. As God’s written Word, it has proven trustworthy and reliable.
2. The doctrine arose late in church history and was unknown to the early church.
Response: This is patently false as seen from the historical record. Right from the apostles and early church fathers, the plenary inspiration of Scripture was affirmed.
3. The doctrine assumes an overly “mechanical” dictation theory of inspiration that disallows the human element.
Response: Verbal plenary inspiration does not negate the humanity and personalities of the biblical writers. It simply affirms that their writings were fully inspired by God Himself. He used their gifts, backgrounds, and writing styles to authoritatively communicate His Word.
4. The Bible itself nowhere explicitly states verbal plenary inspiration. It should be established from the text itself.
Response: Scripture may not use the exact term, but it clearly affirms that “all” of it is “breathed out” by God (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible refers to itself as the very “oracles” and spoken words of God. Many verses affirm the divine authority of Scripture.
5. Biblical writers sometimes quote non-inspired sources like pagan poets (Acts 17:28; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Titus 1:12). Doesn’t this negate verbal inspiration?
Response: Paul and others often quote truth from outside sources to make a biblical point. This does not detract from the inspiration of their writings. Not everything cited in Scripture is necessarily inspired. But the biblical writings themselves are the authoritative Word of God.
So in summary, there are reasonable answers to alleged problems with this doctrine. And there is overwhelming biblical and historical support for the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture.
Implications of this doctrine:
The doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration has profound implications:
1. It means the Bible speaks authoritatively on any subject it addresses. When Scripture speaks, God speaks.
2. It indicates that every single word of the Bible carries divine authority. The very words themselves are inspired.
3. It shows that the Bible is utterly without error in its original manuscripts. As God’s Word, the Bible is true in all that it affirms.
4. It proves that the Bible is trustworthy and reliable in all matters pertaining to salvation and the Christian life.
5. It provides assurance that not one word of Scripture will fail, and all God’s promises are true.
6. It gives confidence in the power of God’s Word to accomplish His purposes.
7. It means that all preaching and teaching must submit to the absolute authority of Scripture.
8. It suggests that every part of the Bible is useful in some way because all of it is inspired.
This doctrine shows that the Bible is no ordinary book. These sacred writings from Genesis to Revelation are literally “breathed out” by God through human vessels. The words of Scripture bear the weight of divine authority. This Book comes from heaven above, not just common earthly origin.
As a result, Bible-believing Christians should devoutly read, study, obey and proclaim the truths of God’s inspired Word (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17). All preaching and teaching in the church must align with Scripture. And believers can have full assurance in the promises, prophecies, and principles contained in God’s Word.
Verbal plenary inspiration sets the Bible apart as God’s infallible, authoritative written revelation to humanity. From creation to the end of time, God has spoken definitively and reliably through His Word. May all believers cherish and obey this special gift of God’s breathed-out Scriptures for faith and life.
Here is a summary of 7 key points about verbal plenary inspiration:
1. It means the original writings of the Bible are fully inspired by God, even down to the words.
2. It affirms that Scripture comes from God through Spirit-guided men, not mechanically dictated.
3. This doctrine has been held by the church historically, including the Reformers.
4. Objections to it can be reasonably answered from Scripture and church history.
5. The Bible routinely claims divine inspiration, authority and truthfulness for itself.
6. This doctrine has profound implications for the authority and trustworthiness of God’s Word.
7. Christians should treasure the precious gift of Holy Scripture which comes directly from God Himself.
The Bible stands as the very Word of God – His perfect, authoritative communication to the human race. What Scripture says, God says. This is the breathtaking privilege we have in possessing the written Word of God. From the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation, we hold in our hands the unfailing, inspired Scriptures.
God was pleased to reveal Himself and His truth through human language. Though the finite vessel, God imparted His infinite and authoritative revelation. Such a work could only have been accomplished by the Spirit of God Himself carrying along the biblical writers. Thus the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration affirms that the sacred writings come directly from heaven above, not merely from the will of men.
The Almighty God desired to make known His truth, redemption, promises and instruction for all generations. In the written Word, God preserved and transmitted His special revelation accurately across continents and centuries. As Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33). Through fallible men guided by the Spirit, God ensured His infallible Word would endure forever.
This understanding forged the faith of believers for centuries. Lives were transformed by the power of Scripture. Nations were shaped by the principles of God’s Word. History was forged by the double-edged sword of this divinely inspired Book (Hebrews 4:12). No other volume has so profoundly impacted individuals, cultures, and the course of world events. All because the living God breathed out His very words through around 40 human instruments.
But the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration is not just an abstract idea. It carries profound implications for life. Indeed, the authority and sufficiency of Scripture hinges on this doctrine. A Bible that merely contains the Word of God could not function as the final arbiter of truth. Only a Bible that is the very Word of God down to the meticulous wording can speak definitively for God.
Thankfully, we have such a Bible. We can approach God’s Word with awe, confidence, and obedience. We do not come with skepticism wondering whether we can trust its contents. Instead, we come with humble faith resting on the knowledge that these are the unfailing words of God Almighty. Though the heavens and earth pass away, these words will never pass away. Not one jot or tittle will fail because God breathed out these words (Matthew 5:18).
The Bible presents itself as the living and active word from the mouth of God Himself (Hebrews 4:12). It is sweeter than honey from the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). It makes wise the simple and enlightens the eyes (Psalm 19:7-8). It nourishes the believer’s soul as bread from heaven and water from the rock. Indeed, a person cannot live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3). The psalmist treasured God’s word more than gold and honey (Psalm 119:72, 103).
Thus, the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration nurtures reverence, awe, obedience, confidence, and love for the precious gift of Holy Scripture. The Almighty God did not leave us without clear communication. He revealed Himself not only in the living Word Jesus Christ, but also through the written Word (John 1:1, 14; Hebrews 1:1-3). In an age of skepticism, postmodern confusion, and moral relativism, God’s authoritative Word stands as a sure foundation. Its truth never changes because its divine Author never changes.
In closing, the fact that humans were involved in producing Scripture does not negate its divine inspiration. God mysteriously used their gifts, personalities and backgrounds to infallibly impart His revelation. Augustine described this balance well when he wrote: “And just as in a psalm, or song, or verse, or sentence, we must not attend to the syllables, and letters, and sounds, and pauses, and stops, and markings, but to the singer and writer, and look thence for the feeling and ideas rather than from the words; so in reading the Scriptures we must give earnest heed, not to the speech and words and syllables, but to him who spake and wrote them, if we would find their true meaning.”
Through the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration, God ensured His infallible Word would endure forever as the church’s guide, guardian and source of spiritual nourishment. May all believers cherish, study and obey the precious gift of Holy Scripture which comes directly from God Himself!