When we dive into the Bible, the orthodox approach has been to view the text through the lens of verbal plenary inspiration.
In the simplest terms, verbal plenary inspiration means that everything in the Bible is true and inspired by God. The historic view of the church is that the Bible is divinely inspired and inerrant.
Let’s dive deeper into what that means.
What Is Verbal Inerrancy?
The first part of verbal plenary inspiration to parse is the word “verbal.”
Verbal refers to the words themselves. The idea here is that each word written in the Bible is exactly and specifically the word God chose to use.
2 Peter 1:20-21 explains, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus spoke about each part of the Scriptures being inerrant in this way: “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18).
This part of verbal plenary inspiration is important. It means that when we study the original Greek or Hebrew, we can analyze each word as specifically the word God chose. We are able to dive into the context and definition of the word and glean from it new depths of meaning that we might not otherwise have learned if we had only received a general idea or translation.
What Is Plenary Inspiration?
Plenary means complete, full, or absolute.
Plenary inspiration means that every part of the Bible is divinely inspired, from the genealogies to the miracles of Christ, to the letters of Paul.
This means that we don’t have to wonder what parts of the Bible are of human origin, and what parts are from God. Each word is from the Lord. And though some of those words might be in the form of history, some of prophecy, some of metaphor or allegory, they are all from the Lord.
The Bible stresses that every part of Scripture is inspired. Psalm 119:160 states, “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal” (emphasis added).
2 Timothy 3:16 echoes, “All scripture is God-breathed” (emphasis added).
What Is Theopneustos?
The third part of verbal plenary inspiration is the word “inspired.” This is the idea that God Himself supernaturally guided the writers to write exactly what He wanted.
Interestingly, our English word “inspire” also means “to breathe in.” It comes from the Latin root “inspirare,” meaning “to breathe or blow into.” This gives us a look into what we mean when we say the Bible was inspired by God.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
The word translated here as “God-breathed” is “theopneustos,” from the Greek “theós,” meaning God, and “pnéō,” meaning “breathe out.” It’s likely that Paul coined this term himself to convey his meaning. The idea here is of God breathing out Scripture into being.
When we say the Bible is inspired, we mean it was breathed out by God. He didn’t just give the writers inspiration how we might say we were inspired by a sunset to write a poem, or by literature to paint a picture. The inspiration of Scripture doesn’t mean God simply spurred the writers on toward writing it. It literally means that God supernaturally guided the precise words.
Is Every Word in the Bible Holy?
When we discuss how God inspired every word of the Bible, we end up with some auxiliary questions.
First, is every word that appears in the Bible holy? No, not in and of itself. These words may be used in other ancient texts as well, and those are not holy. Rather, when we speak of “verbal” plenary inspiration, we mean that all of the wording was part of God’s divine intention to convey exactly what He meant to convey.
Second, if everything in the Bible is from God, does that mean everything in the Bible is encouraged and condoned by Him? No, this also is not the case. The Bible records tales of murder, rape, and other terrible sins, but from context, it is clear that these are portrayed negatively. Just because the Bible records that someone did something does not mean God condones or promotes that action.
Does Verbal Plenary Inspiration Extend to Translations?
The original manuscripts of Scripture are of course perfectly inspired and fit the idea of verbal plenary inspiration. However, most of us don’t know how to read Greek or Hebrew. So, does verbal plenary inspiration apply to the Bibles we read today, thousands of years later, translated into our native languages?
Our Bible translations, whether NIV, ESV, NKJV, or other, were translated by biblical scholars studying copies of the original manuscripts to the best of their ability. An enormous amount of scholarship and prayer went into these translations, but some translation work will inevitably be a matter of interpretation, trying to find the best words in our language to convey the meaning of the original.
The doctrine of preservation is the idea that if God gave us His divinely inspired Word, He would also take measures to ensure this Word remained available to us. Throughout history, we see that as the scriptures were transcribed, they have remained virtually unchanged from ancient texts we continue to find. We can assume that today’s copies are, in any meaningful sense, equally as inspired as the originals.
Since most of us read translations, however, we cannot say with certainty that each individual word is exactly what God intended. So, if we are unsure, we can compare multiple translations and consult the original Greek or Hebrew. But, for our everyday reading and preaching purposes, most modern translations are sufficiently trustworthy and accurate representations of the divinely inspired Scriptures.
Why Is It Important for Christians to Know This?
Verbal plenary inspiration gives us assurance. We can always return to the absolute truth of the Bible. We may be uncertain about how we feel God leading in specific areas of our life, but we can always compare our thoughts, actions, and feelings to the absolute of the Bible.
The Bible is a unique gift that God gave to His people. Through it, He speaks clearly to us. We, as humans, are able to return to the text to learn exactly what the God of the universe wants us to know.
It is also important for us to know about verbal plenary inspiration since the Bible covers so many diverse topics, is written by so many authors, and was written in so many different styles. We might be tempted to pick and choose what parts of the Bible to believe, but we can’t do this.
Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”
Revelation 22:18-19 adds, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”
The Bible is the complete, accurate, true Word of God, given to us from the Lord. This is the meaning of verbal plenary inspiration.
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