Is the Bible the Word of God?

Translated by AI.

Our answer to this question reveals how we view the Bible, how important it is in our personal lives, and, ultimately, its eternal effect on our lives. If the Bible truly is the Word of God, then we must treat it as important, follow its principles, and finally put our trust in it. If the Bible is God's true Word, then any disregard for it amounts to disregard for God.

In 2 Timothy 3:15-17 we read:

"…and how from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

What is inspiration?

The Holy Spirit guided the writers of the Bible in choosing the subjects and the words they wrote. God placed in the writers' minds what He wanted them to write. The core of the message was from God, and they wrote it down under the control of the Holy Spirit.

It is worth noting that God used the personality, circumstances, knowledge, and understanding of the writers in the composition of the Bible. That is why the style and vocabulary of each book of the Bible is its writer's own. For example, God moved Luke to investigate all the eyewitnesses of the life of Christ so that he could write an accurate and reliable account of it (Luke 1:1-4).

Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16 that Scripture is God-breathed.

Peter, too, declares in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus also promised further revelation of truth through the Holy Spirit (John 16:13-14).

It should be noted that the two main criteria by which the official canon of the New Testament was determined are:

• The text had to possess the spiritual qualities needed to identify it as divinely inspired.
• It had to be accepted by the churches as divinely inspired.

If the Bible is inspired, it has authority over our lives. But what evidence is there that the Bible is inspired?

Internal evidence:

Internal evidence refers to facts found within the books of the Bible themselves that testify to its inspiration.

1- The unity of the Bible. This is the first internal evidence that the Bible is truly God's Word. Although the Bible consists of 66 books, written on three different continents, in three different languages, by 40 people from different walks of life, over a span of 1,500 years, it still possesses an astonishing unity. This means that in its core, foundational teachings there is no contradiction anywhere in the Bible. This unity proves that the writers of all the books of Scripture were guided by one divine source to write only the error-free Word of God.

2- Prophecies and predictions. Another internal evidence proving that the Bible is God's Word is the prophecies recorded in it. The Bible contains hundreds of prophecies, foretelling even the details of the future of particular nations (such as Israel), of specific cities, of humanity, and of the coming of the Messiah. The Bible's prophecies go into precise detail and have always been fulfilled completely. The Old Testament alone contains more than 300 prophecies about Jesus Christ. It was foretold not only where He would be born and from what family line He would come, but also how He would die and rise again. The fulfillment of all these prophecies leads us to the logical conclusion that they all flow from one divine source. No other religious book contains anything like the number of prophecies found in the Bible.

Like the internal evidence, external evidence also confirms the truth of God's Word.

1- History in the Bible is one such evidence. The Bible describes many historical events in detail, so (as with any historical document) we should examine its accuracy. Archaeological excavations and discoveries, and other historical writings, have repeatedly confirmed the accuracy of the Bible's accounts. Indeed, archaeology and the manuscripts that have been found have proven the Bible to be the most complete and most accurate historical document of the ancient world. The precise, correct recording of historical events in the Bible shows that it is God's true and trustworthy Word. Therefore every teaching of the Bible can be trusted, because it is the true Word of God.

2- The unique power and authority of the Bible. This is another external evidence that the Bible is a divine book. It may seem a weak point, or one made out of bias, but the fact is that no book carries the authority of the Bible. Countless lives have been changed through reading it. The Bible has freed and healed addicts from their habits and bondages; it has restored the suffering and the outcasts of society; it has inwardly transformed hardened criminals; it has brought sinners to repentance and freedom; and it has turned the inner hatred of many into love and forgiveness. This very fact proves that the Bible is God's authoritative Word. The Bible can bring about such changes because it truly is the Word of God.