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. — 2 Peter 1:20-21
God Worked with Man
Peter, after explaining in 2 Peter 1:16-18 that he and the other apostles’ message is in line with reality and approved by God, goes on to explain the origin of what we call “The Bible”.
In writing about this, one of the things that Peter does is demolish the argument that men came up with these ideas all by themselves, wrote it down, and said it was from God. Peter also destroys the argument that God’s Word came down divinely from heaven on golden tablets with no intermediary.
In short, what Peter says is that Scripture, just like salvation, is something God worked with man to bring about.
Carried Along by the Holy Spirit
God pressed His Spirit on those who would be the writers, speakers, editors, and arrangers of the Bible and thus guided them. But here is the keyword: guided, carried along by—not overridden.
God used these people in such a way that they were fully conscious of what was going on. They were not surprised as if coming out of a trance and having no idea what they wrote. They were fully conscious even if at times they were amazed by what was going on (say like having a vision). They knew they had a word from God—because God had revealed that to them.
For example, nearly the entire book of Revelation is a vision that John received on the isle of Patmos and in its opening pages, John shows that he is aware of this vision he had and even notes several times through the book where Jesus or an angel tells him to write or stop writing down what he is seeing.
And not all Scripture came about in the forms of visions either. Throughout the Scripture, we see people of God literally hearing the audible voice of God and receiving instructions straight from Him or one of His messengers. Here is an example from the Old Testament where we see Moses writing down what God had told him earlier while he was on the mountain (Exodus 24:4)—and this was no vision either!
The history of Scripture even within Scripture itself is filled with notes about how men wrote down what God had told, showed, or revealed to them (Habakkuk 2:2, Jeremiah 30:2-3, Joshua 1:8, Exodus 34:27) and how those writings were to serve as a reminder of God’s message for the people.
God’s Interpretation of Events
Here’s one of the coolest things in the above passage in my opinion. While these men and women were experiencing real troubles in real life that can often seem random or without sense—such as a surprise flood, famine, or invasion—God gave them the ability to see things from His perspective.
Take famines in the Bible for instance. These unimaginable circumstances were often used by God to move people such as Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 1:6-7), Joseph and Israel (Genesis 46:1-7), and Jesus’s family (Matthew 2:13-23), into places of safety and provision for God’s people.
However, they could also be used by God as a means of punishment, to get the people’s attention by taking His hand of blessing off of the land and allowing the people to see the fruits of their labor without Him. So that they might repent and come back to Him.
Imagine being able to see through the troubles of life or even the good things in life to understand the reality behind them?!
Another thing worth noting is that they were human, just like us.
Human, just like us?
Now, you might be thinking, “Human, sure, but just like us? I don’t know about that.” But it’s true! The only thing that sets these people apart from us was not that they were braver or even more righteous-looking than we are—it’s that God chose them for this special task.
Some of them were rebellious like Jonah (Jonah 1:1-3), or unsure like Giddeon (Judges 6:11-15, 36-40). You might even be surprised to hear that Moses straight up told God to send someone else when God spoke to him out of the burning bush (Exodus 4:13).
These men and women, though called by God, were every bit as human as we are. And yet, The Holy Spirit chooses to use them to bring about His message to us.
If the Bible is made by such imperfect people, how can we trust it?
Because it has its foundation in the Only One who is perfect and fully trustworthy. The Only One who knows all things, God.
Knowing that Scripture has its foundation in God helps us to know we can trust what it says because ultimately it’s what He says and His Word is always true.
And what separates them from other prophets who claim to speak a message from God? Quite simply, the character of God. God’s message will always be consistent with two things: His character and His previous revelation.
For example, if we wanted to know if Jeremiah was indeed a prophet of God Almighty, we could examine what Jeremiah is saying in line with what has been revealed before say in the books of Moses. And does the character of God remain consistent? God, like us, has emotions, but His character never changes—and thus His message of justice and redemption will always be there.
One more factor to consider
Before we end, there’s one more thing for us consider when it comes to the trustworthiness of God’s Word and that’s its impact.
A Got Questions Q&A post wonderfully addresses the impact of the Bible this way:
“Another factor helping us trust the Bible is the life-changing impact the Bible has had for thousands of years. The Bible has withstood the attempts of kings, dictators, and whole societies to abolish it and still remains the top-selling book of all time. Its words contain a hope not found in any other religious writing and has transformed the lives of millions…The Bible promises what no other book does: life, hope, and purpose as a gift from Almighty God. Its words have transformed murderers, tyrants, and nations because the Bible resonates as truth in the deepest part of the human soul (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The Bible may be rejected, hated, or ignored, but its impact on those who heed it cannot be discounted.”
So the next time someone asks you where the Bible came from or how we can trust the Scripture, let us say with our brother Peter that “prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
For more from Tom, check out his book Logic Sanctity Deity
Is it rational to believe in God? Do we even need a God? If so, who is that God and where does Jesus fit into the picture?
It’s no use in denying that we as people are broken and that’s a problem we can’t fix on our own. However, a man named Jesus said He was God, claimed he came here to make things right again between us and Him; thus, mending what was broken inside us.
