JETS 3771 (March 1994) 99!

114

EVANGELICAL D E F I N I T I O N S OF INSPIRATION:
CRITIQUES AND A SUGGESTED D E F I N I T I O N

LOUIS IGOU HODGES*

The doctrine of the inspiration of Holy Scripture has been described as

1
part of the very essence of Christianity as well as the sine qua non of
2
evangelical theology. It is the major assumption behind the single ori-
ginal doctrinal affirmation of the Evangelical Theological Society. The
amount of material that has been published within the last two decades
either concerning the doctrine of inspiration, or building upon it (e.g. the
field of hermeneutics), evidences that it is a major watershed of contempo-
3
rary evangelicalism.
Such strong and consistent emphasis would lead the observer to expect
a uniform definition of inspiration. Yet a careful study of formal defini-
tions of inspiration offered by evangelical writers reveals a broad diversity
in content, emphasis and expression. A major dissonance becomes appar-
ent between the articulation of the doctrine on the part of evangelicals,
who build upon the profound and masterful presentation made by Β. B.
Warfield,4 and its formal definition. The reflective reader begins to suspect
the presence of theological obscurity, literary imprecision, or imprudent
carelessness surrounding the formal statement of this crucial doctrine.
The purpose of the present paper is to provide suggestions for overcom-
ing this inconsistency. First there will be a brief discussion of the impor-
tance and nature of definitions. Second, several important definitions of
inspiration selected from those collected (see Appendix) will be scrutinized
for ambiguities, weaknesses, and boundaries that are inadequate for pro-
tecting the doctrine from nonevangelical invasion. Third, a definition will
be proposed—not as the final word, but hopefully as an advancement to-
ward greater clarity of thinking and precision of expression. The intention

* Louis Hodges is professor of systematic theology at Columbia Biblical Seminary, Ρ O Box

3122, Columbia, SC 29230!3122
1
G Bromiley, "The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture," Eternity (August 1970) 12, cited
in C F H Henry, God, Revelation, and Authority (Waco Word, 1976!1983) 4 161
2
J F Walvoord, "The Pragmatic Confirmation of Scriptural Authority," The Bible The Liv-
ing Word of Revelation (ed M C Tenney, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1968) 180
3
See the authors cited on this point in Κ R Trembath, Evangelical Theories of Biblical In-
spiration A Review and Proposal (New York Oxford University, 1987) 74 η 5
4
"Inspiration," International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) The article is reprinted in
Β Β Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (ed S G Craig, Philadelphia Pres-
byterian and Reformed, 1967) 131!166
100 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

is not to fire heavy artillery at fellow evangelicals but to suggest that

some in!house tidying!up is in order.

I. D E F I N I T I O N S IN P E R S P E C T I V E

While definitions play a crucial role in every serious field of inquiry, they
are of particular importance in technical discourse. 5 Even those thinkers
who consider definitions to be theoretically superfluous have to admit that
meaning equations often convey more important information than is con-
tained in the propositions in which they are employed.6 The alternatives to
the use of well!crafted definitions are the semantic sectionalism illustrated
at the tower of Babel, 7 the verbal anarchism represented by Humpty
Dumpty who declares, "When I use a word it means just what I choose it to
mean—nothing more nor less," 8 and the obscurantism that makes precise
communication impossible. 9
In addition to aiding in clarity of thinking (including the elimination of
ambiguity and the reduction of vagueness) and precision in communication,
definitions also serve other important purposes. They increase vocabulary,
help to formulate a theoretically adequate or scientifically useful charac-
terization of particular objects, and influence the mind or stir the emotions
of one's audience. 1 0 Furthermore they are instrumental in safeguarding the
truth. It is reported that when Jonathan Edwards was asked how he man-
aged to win all of his debates he responded that at the outset he forced his
opponent to define his terms and then, throughout the remainder of the
contest, to operate in a manner consistent with those definitions. In fact
Perry Miller claims that Edwards' true genius was his defining of issues. 1 1
James Oliver Buswell, Jr., saw so much at stake in the definition of inspi-
ration that he wrote the editors of the then!current edition of Webster's dic-
tionary to criticize and suggest modification of their entry under that term.
In his interpretative treatment of definitions Ralph Borsodi suggests a
helpful distinction between a dictionary and a vocabulary. A dictionary
demonstrates the designations attached to various words in a language by
common usage. A vocabulary mandates which word should be used to com-
municate a specific idea. Unlike the lexicographer compiling a dictionary,
the lexicographer preparing a vocabulary must encourage the substitution of
recommended definitions for those in common parlance. Borsodi concludes:
"What we need are vocabularies in which the best possible judgment—a con!

5
"Definition," Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1967)
6
Β Russell and A Ν Whitehead, Principia Mathematica (Cambridge Cambridge Univer-
sity, 1910) 1 12
7
R Borsodi, The Definition of Definition A New Linguistic Approach to the Integration of
Knowledge (Boston P o r t e r Sargent, 1967) 1
8
L Carroll, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (1871), cited in Bor-
sodi, Definition 40
9
Borsodi, Definition 75
1 0
Ι M Copi, Introduction to Logic (4th ed , New York Macmillan, 1972) 108!112
1 1
Ρ Miller, Jonathan Edwards (New York Meridian, 1959 [1949]) 7 2 ! 7 3 , 189
 EVANGELICAL DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION 101

sensus of authorities—is used to recommend a single designator and a sin-

gle definition for each concept or idea."12
Though the matter of definitions and their importance is much dis-
cussed, neither philosophers nor semanticists have come to unanimity
concerning the definition of a definition.13 Two suggestions, however, are
helpful. Hugh R. Walpole states: "'Definition' is nothing more nor less
than the use of a certain road to take your hearer from a common referent
to one which is new to him." 14 In a similar fashion Borsodi states that
definition is "the process (and the end-product of the process) of distin-
guishing what is sought to be conveyed by a particular word from that
conveyed by others, and of making clear and explicit the meaning to be at-
tached to the word being used." 15
A number of canons or rules for the formulation of definitions has been
proposed. These rules are certainly not absolute, and they do not make
possible the production of perfect definitions in human language. They are
helpful, however, in achieving a greater precision in both thought and
communication and evaluating definitions that have been proposed.16 It is
of course assumed that each statement will avoid self-contradiction (it will
be consistent and congruent with each of the propositions implicit in the
premises on which it is based) and ambiguity (it will be clear and not con-
fusing).17 (1) A definition should present the essential nature of what is
being described rather than its accidental properties. (2) It should give the
genus and differentia of the thing defined so that it is not confused with
other entities. (3) A definition should avoid the circularity that results
from the mere use of synonyms. (4) A definition should not be expressed in
language that is ambiguous, obscure, or figurative. (5) A definition should
not be attempted by negative terms or the articulation of antitheses. 18
(6) The statement should be impartial in that "no part or aspect of the ref-
erent of the word being defined should be enumerated or described so as to
give a partial and therefore a false, a biased, or a distorted conception of

12
Borsodi, Definition 7 4 - 7 7
13
H R Walpole, Semantics The Nature of Words and Their Meanings (New York W W
Norton, 1941) 121, "Definition," Encyclopedia of Philosophy Few scholars would w a n t to follow
A H S Korzybski, Science and Sanity An Introduction to Non Aristotelian Systems and Gen
eral Semantics (New York Science Press, 1933), to his extreme of advocating the abolition of
verbal languages for stating w h a t is scientifically t r u e and substituting for t h e m a m a t h e m a t i -
cal language See Borsodi, Definition 1 3 - 1 4
14
Walpole, Semantics 138
15
Borsodi, Definition 17 In a m a n n e r roughly parallel to the purposes for a definition, Copi
(Introduction 117-123) describes five types of definition (1) stipulative, in which a brand-new
term is first introduced, (2) lexical, in which an established usage is reported, (3) precising, a
definition which is capable of helping to decide a borderline case (particularly in jurispru-
dence), (4) theoretical (or analytical), in which a n a t t e m p t is made at formulating a theoreti-
cally adequate characterization of the objects to which it is applied (in effect, a theory is
proposed), (5) persuasive, which seeks to influence attitudes
16
"Definition," Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Borsodi, Definition 32, Copi, Introduction 136
Borsodi, Definition 53
18
These rules were first proposed by Aristotle in his Topica, cf "Definition," Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, Copi, Introduction 136-140 , Borsodi, Definition 32
102 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

the referent." (7) The definition must be sufficiently complete to make rec-
ognition and cognition of the referent possible. 19
Definitions are also classified in other ways. Although in one sense every
definition is unique, 20 semanticists have charted at least 25 different
routes or methods of definition.21 All the views of definition, however, can
be subsumed under three general types of positions. First is the essentialist
(Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant), which insists that knowledge conveyed by
definitions is descriptive knowledge of essences. Definitions provide de-
scriptive information about the objects to which they point. Statements are
therefore made that can be pronounced either true or false. Second is the
prescriptive (Bacon, Hobbes, Pascal, Russell, Whitehead), which transposes
definitions from the indicative to the imperative mood and assigns them as
the syntactic or semantic referee for linguistic operations. The result is that
definitions no longer convey any kind of knowledge. Third is the linguistic
(J. S. Mill, R. Robinson), which interprets definitions as descriptive knowl-
edge of language usage. By this standard, definitions serve as historical re-
ports of linguistic behavior. It is possible to combine partial insights of all
three positions and to employ definitions as indicators of how words ought
to be employed (in distinction from the way they happen to be used). In this
way definitions are understood as giving the rules that govern how a word
should be used and indicating how words may be employed accurately and
effectively.22

II. EXEGETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF INSPIRATION

The first step in attempting to define a critical concept such as "inspi-

ration" is a careful study of those Biblical texts that speak of the forma-
tion of the canonical literature. In this regard several passages are of
great significance. These have been noted and studied carefully in evan-
gelical literature. In Exod 34:27 Moses is told to write on tablets the
words of the covenant that God had spoken to him. The author of 2 Sam
23:1-2 records David's testimony on his deathbed: "The Spirit of the Lord
spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue." Jeremiah 36 relates God's
command to Jeremiah to write all the words that he had spoken to the
prophet in a book, Jeremiah's dictation to Baruch the scribe, and the
latter's recording of Jeremiah's words. In 2 Tim 3:15-17 Paul describes
the holy writings as theopneustos—breathed out by God. They are there-
fore useful or profitable for correct doctrine, for doctrinal reproof, for
moral correction, and for ethical instruction. Another important NT pas-
sage is 2 Pet 1:19-21 in which the apostle declares that the Scriptures
were not given by private epilysis, here meaning "investigation" or "inge-
nuity." Rather, they originated when holy men of God were borne along

9
Borsodi, Definition 33
20
Walpole, Semantics 127
21
Cf ibid 128-136, Borsodi, Definition 18-32
22
"Definition," Encyclopedia of Philosophy
 EVANGELICAL DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION 103
23
(pheromenoi) by the Holy Spirit. Also in 1 Cor 2:6!16 Paul writes of the
Spirit's taking possession of the personality and processes of the human
authors so that the otherwise impenetrable wisdom of God is made known
24
through that which is written.
The evangelical understanding of inspiration involves several impor-
tant caveats. (1) Evangelicals do not worship the Bible. Rather, it is the
authoritative instrument, inerrant in the original manuscripts, that God
25
uses to make known his truth to his people in the present age. (2) Divine
inspiration is limited to a small company of messengers whom God specifi-
cally chose to use in the communication of his Word to mankind. It is not
a universally shared experience but one that is phenomenologically dis-
tinctive. 2 6 Therefore inspiration does not continue in the present day,
even on a sporadic basis. The canon was completed with the appearance of
27
the final book written within the apostolic circle. (3) The uniqueness of
inspiration rules out the possibility of either a partial inspiration of Scrip-
ture or degrees of inspiration. All of Scripture is equally inspired by the
28
Holy Spirit. (4) Differences in Biblical genre, which must be recog-
29
nized, mean that the relation between the divine and human participa-
tion is not always the same. 3 0 For this reason a distinction has been
suggested between the prophetic mode (e.g. Jeremiah) and the scribal
mode (e.g. Luke) that is similar to the distinction made by Aquinas be-
tween the speculative judgment and the practical judgment exercised by
31
the authors of Scripture. Behind many texts there is the possibility of a
complex contributory process, 32 which includes the relating of historical
incidents (Job, Ruth), the selection and collection of hymns and words of

2 3
Warfield, "Inspiratio n "
2 4
See W C Kaiser, J r , "A Neglected Text in Bibliology Discussions I C o r i n t h i a n s 2 6!16,"
WTJ 43 (Spring 1981) 3 0 1 ! 3 1 9 Biblical texts focus on t h e resul t of inspiration, not t h e process
See W A Grudem, "Scripture's Self!Attestation a n d t h e Problem of F o r m u l a t i n g a Doctrine of
Scripture," Scripture and Truth (ed D A Carson and J D Woodbridge, G r a n d Rapids Zonder!
van, 1983) 3 9 ! 4 0 , 58
2 5
Henry, God, Revelation 4 139
6
Ibid 4 152 J Goldingay is certainly wrong when he writes "But it is doubtful w h e t h e r
within t h e Bible itself t h e Spirit's involvement with its a u t h o r s is seen as phenomenologically
distinctive, it is not t h e inspiration of Scripture which is t h e grounds for its unique authority "
("Models for Scripture," SJT 44/1 [1991] 34)
Henry, God, Revelation 4 154, Β M Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament Its On
gin, Development, and Significance (Oxford Clarendon, 1987) 271, 274, S Τ Kistemaker, "The
Canon of t h e New T e s t a m e n t , " JETS 20 (March 1977) 12!13
2 8
Henry, God, Revelation 4 145!160
2 9
Goldingay, "Models" 3 4 ! 3 5 , V S Poythress, "What Does God Say Through H u m a n Au-
t h o r s 9 " , Inerrancy and Hermeneutic A Tradition, A Challenge, A Debate (ed H M Conn,
Grand Rapids Baker, 1988) 85
3 0
Poythress, "What Does God Say" 85
3
R M Price, The Crisis of Biblical Authority The Setting and Range of the Current Evan
gehcal Crisis (dissertation, Drew University, 1981) 172 Particularly within t h e scribal mode
there is t h e possibility of drafts a n d revisions in t h e production of t h e final product See E J
Young, Thy Word Is Truth Some Thoughts on the Biblical Doctrine of Inspiration (Grand Rapids
E e r d m a n s , 1957) 80
3 2
Henry, God, Revelation 4 147
104 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

wisdom (Psalms, Proverbs), observation and reflection (Ecclesiastes), or

the critical study and use of many sources (Luke). (5) The mode of inspira-
tion involves a great mystery. Scripture does not provide a full explana-
tion of the way in which the divine and human authors interact in the
production of the sacred books. Therefore no theologian can pen the abso-
33
lute and final word on the subject.

I I I . ANALYSIS O F S E L E C T E D D E F I N I T I O N S

In the light of these factors, particularly the mystery involved, there

have been three types of response to the matter of defining inspiration
among those who classify themselves as evangelical. (1) A few scholars
have argued against any attempt at a formal definition of inspiration. 3 4
(2) Others avoid the issue by leaving the doctrine undefined in their dis-
cussion. (3) A good many writers, however, do include a definition in their
treatment of the doctrine, although a clear!cut distinction between defini-
tion and description is not always maintained. From this category several
recent suggestions have been selected for careful scrutiny.

1. K. R. Trembath. In his study of inspiration Trembath writes:

" 'Biblical inspiration' refers to the enhancement of one's understanding of
God brought about instrumentally through the Bible, rather than to the
mysterious and nonrepeatable process by which 'God got written what He
wanted' in the Bible. In others words, 'the inspiration of the Bible' refers to
the enhancement which the Bible instrumentally causes in persons and not
to the Bible itself as the terminus or locus of that enhancement." 3 5 This
definition is proposed after the author's critical analysis of both what he
calls the deductivist theories of inspiration (C. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, J. W.
Montgomery, E. J. Carnell) and the inductivist theories (A. H. Strong,
B. Ramm, W. J. Abraham) and his admission that he is defining the doc-
trine in a way that calls to task "nearly every theologian, evangelical or
not, who has thought and written about biblical inspiration in the last sev-
eral thousand years." 3 6 Though Trembath pays tribute to the influence of
Roman Catholic theologian K. Rahner, it is difficult not to discern the
ghosts of neo!orthodox Protestant writers such as K. Barth and E. Brunner
walking through Trembath's pages.

3 3
Young, Word 71, S Β Ferguson, "How Does t h e Bible Look a t Itself 7 ," Inerrancy (ed
Conn) 56, Τ C Van Kooten, The Bible God's Word (Grand Rapids Baker, 1972) 45, H R Boer,
Above the Battle? The Bible and Its Critics (Grand Rapids E e r d m a n s , 1977) 109, Warfield, In-
spiration and Authority 420
3
Β Ramm, Special Revelation and the Word of God (Grand Rapids E e r d m a n s , 1961) 117,
147, Τ F Torrance, Reality and Evangelical Theology (Philadelphia Westminster, 1982) 1 6 2 !
163 J U r q u h a r t also cautions a g a i n s t trying to speak of how t h e Spirit operates to give man-
kind t h e Scriptures (The Inspiration and Accuracy of the Holy Scriptures [London M a r s h a ll
Brothers, 1895] 15)
3 5
T r e m b a t h , Evangelical 103
3 6
Ibid 7 0 ! 7 1
 EVANGELICAL DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION 105

According to this construction inspiration belongs to a hermeneutical

rather t h a n a revelational category. 3 7 A particular work becomes "inspired"
when, subsequent to its composition, God mysteriously breathes into it in
such a way t h a t it affects the reader subjectively for supposed holy purposes.
Under the pressure of modern philosophical and linguistic theories the Bib-
lical representation of God's original breathing out the words t h a t form
divine revelation (with Scripture viewed objectively), so t h a t they are the
product of his unique creative activity, is changed into an internal working
within the reader's consciousness (with Scripture viewed subjectively). 38
The personal encounter experienced by the reader is substituted for the ob-
jective textual authority t h a t issues from an exegetically-based understand-
ing of propositional revelation. In the place of the normative written record
are "cognitively ambivalent historical disclosure-situations." 3 9 Since neo-
orthodox theologians assume t h a t the n a t u r e of language—huma n language
necessarily distorts divine t r u t h as light is refracted when it passes through
a stained-glass window—makes it impossible for divine t r u t h to be commu-
nicated through h u m a n instruments without error, there is also no place for
inerrancy. 4 0 Any possibility of a middle ground between a fallible Bible and
a doctrine of mechanical dictation is summarily dismissed on these supposed
lingui-philosophical grounds. 4 1 As a result what Trembath defines is de
facto "illumination," not "inspiration." 4 2

2. Robert Preus. The conservative evangelical u n d e r s t a n d i n g of inspi-

ration is more evident in the definition suggested by P r e u s when he writes
t h a t inspiration "is the act by which God conveyed to men both the content
of t h a t which He wished to be written for man's sake and the very words
expressing t h a t content." 4 3 On the positive side this s t a t e m e n t correctly at-
tempts to describe t h a t objective divine disclosure t h a t is at the h e a r t of
the evangelical doctrine. It also emphasizes the divine initiative put forth
and speaks of both divinely-conveyed content (thought) and words. On the
negative side, however, this definition could easily be interpreted as de-
scribing mechanical dictation, a charge t h a t is often made against evangel-
ical formulations. 4 4 While it m u s t be conceded t h a t certain s t a t e m e n t s

37
Cf Goldingay, "Models" 32
38
Henry, God, Revelation 4 148-149, 162
39
Ibid 4 155
40
Ibid 4 149, see also Trembath, Evangelical 9 0 - 9 1
41
Cf e g Trembath, Evangelical 91
42
See M J Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids Baker, 1983) 1 252 "Illumination''
has been defined as "the s u p e r n a t u r a l help granted by the Spirit of God to the reader of holy
Scripture, to enable him to lay hold on t h e divine message" (R Pache, The Inspiration and Au-
thority of Scripture [Chicago Moody, 1969] 199) It h a s also been defined as "the ministry of the
Spirit by which the meaning of Scripture is made clear to the believer" (Evangelical Dictionary
of Theology [ed W Elwell, 1984]) Cf Henry, God, Revelation 2 1 4 - 1 5
43
R Preus, The Inspiration of Scripture A Study of the Seventeenth Century Lutheran Dog-
maticians (London Oliver and Boyd, 1955) 27
44
Price, Crisis 5 4 - 5 5 , R L Evans and I M Berent, Fundamentalism Hazards and Heart-
breaks (LaSalle Open Court, 1988) 25, Trembath, Evangelical 45, 5 1 , 91
106 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

made by conservatives do lend themselves to being interpreted as denying

the conscious participation of the human writers, evangelicals emphati-
45 46
cally do not teach such a doctrine. It is, rather, a straw man. In the
statement of Preus the word "convey" is not sufficiently unambiguous to
guard against such an interpretation. In fact the whole definition fails both
in that the essential nature of inspiration is not presented and in that it
contains only a partial statement of the reality that should be indicated, on
Biblical grounds, by the term.

3. Harold Lindsell. A statement similar in many respects is the one

made by Lindsell when he writes: "Inspiration may be defined as the in-
ward work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of chosen men who
47
then wrote the Scriptures so that God got written what He wanted."
Certainly the divine purpose is highlighted, but there are significant
drawbacks. In addition to the clumsy grammatical effect, divine initiative
is stressed to the near exclusion of human activity, thus leaving vulnera-
bility to dictation charges. The criteria demanding freedom from ambigu-
ity and partiality are not satisfied. Furthermore exegetical data allow a
greater precision than is attained in this definition.

4. Herman R. Ridderbos. Another serious attempt at defining the

term is made by Ridderbos when he states: "Inspiration consists in this,
that God makes the words of men the instrument of his word, that he uses
human words for his divine purposes. As such the human words stand in
the service of God and participate in the authority and infallibility of the
Word of God, answer perfectly God's purpose, in short, function as the
Word of God and therefore can be so called." 48 In its favor are the stress
on the divine initiative, the authority of the final product, and the attempt
to recognize the role of the human agents. But the expression "function as
the Word of God" has Barthian overtones. The conservative neo!orthodox
theologians allow Scripture to be called the Word of God as it affects the
individual subjectively but refuse to equate Scripture with the Word of
God (consistently and universally). This statement also does not present
the distinctive genus and differentia of inspiration. It would not strain the
definition considerably to apply the description to a particular hymn or
sermon of a godly person that God sovereignly uses to bring conviction,
encouragement, or edification to a given audience. The sermon that is
crafted carefully with sound exegetical and hermeneutical principles and
is properly applied could be said "to participate in the authority and infal-
libility of the Word of God," to function as the Word of God, and could in a

5
Warfield, Inspiration and Authority 422, Henry, God, Revelation 4 128, H Jones, The Doc-
trine of Scripture Today (London British Evangelical Council, 1969) 9, Grudem, "Self!Attesta-
tion" 53 η 76
46
Young, Thy Word 65
47
H Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible (Grand Rapids Zondervan, 1976) 30
48
H Ridderbos, Studies in Scripture and Its Authority (Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1978) 25
 EVANGELICAL DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION 107

sense be called the Word of God (Lutherans in particular stress the power
of the preached Word). While Ridderbos no doubt did not intend for his
statement to be read in this light, it is not articulated in a manner that
prevents such an interpretation.

5. Millard J. Erickson in his recent systematics asserts: "By inspira-

tion of the Scripture we mean that supernatural influence of the Holy
Spirit upon the Scripture writers which rendered their writings an accu-
rate record of the revelation or which resulted in what they wrote actually
being the Word of God."49 In this affirmation the second part qualifies the
first but the synthesis is not clear. The statement could be taken to mean
that part of Scripture is an accurate record of the revelation and part is
actually the Word of God. Furthermore the words "influence" and "record"
are sufficiently polysemous to permit endorsement by extremes as wide-
spread as Barthianism and dictationism. While conservatives can well
sympathize with the intent of the statement, it neither expresses precisely
nor adequately safeguards the evangelical doctrine.

6. Carl F. H. Henry, the highly respected and in some ways the leading
evangelical theologian, writes similarly: "Inspiration is a supernatural
influence upon divinely chosen prophets and apostles whereby the Spirit of
God assures the truth and trustworthiness of their oral and written proc-
lamation." 50 This statement emphasizes the truthfulness and the integrity
of that content which was communicated through the specially chosen
prophets and apostles. Both oral and written proclamation is specified.
But at least three weaknesses become evident under careful examination.
(1) The terms "influence" and "assures" both fail the test of nonambiguity.
The latter could be interpreted as indicating either dictation or that the
Spirit served as the proofreader after a particular book was composed—
that is, he placed his imprimatur on a previously written document. It is
probably loose enough not to cause the conservative neo-orthodox great
difficulty. (2) In referring specifically to prophets and apostles, the state-
ment fails to provide the latitude that has traditionally been exercised in
including writers like Mark, Luke and Jude, who were within the apostolic
circle though not apostles in the strictest sense. (3) The statement could be
taken as implying that everything uttered or written by a Biblical author
was inspired. The evangelical position, however, is that while the Holy
Spirit preserved the human authors from all error in their official teaching
(the times when they were borne of the Spirit), outside of this realm they
remained mortal, nonomniscient and fallible, having personal opinions
and prone to mistakes. 51 Examples of the fallibility of the human authors
are David's letter ordering that Uriah be killed (1 Sam 11:14-15) and

49
Erickson, Christian Theology 1 199
50
Henry, God, Revelation 4 129
51
Young, Thy Word 8 0 - 8 1 , M Silva, "Old Princeton, Westminster, and Inerrancy," Iner-
rancy (ed Conn) 7 0 - 7 1 , cf Henry, God, Revelation 4 151-152, 408
108 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Peter's having to be rebuked by Paul (Gal 2:11-14). Therefore the genus

and the differentia of inspiration are not set apart in such a way as to
avoid confusion by this attempt.

7. Charles Ryne puts forth a more carefully worded definition when he

maintains that inspiration refers to that which happened when "God super-
intended the human authors of the Bible so that they composed and re-
corded without error His message to mankind in the words of their original
writings." 52 This attempt is certainly strong in its assertion of inerrancy,
which is wisely restricted to the original documents. Evangelicals do not as-
sert that the copies of the originals were spoken by the Spirit. 53 It also is
praiseworthy in its affirmation of the use of human personalities by the
Spirit. But the extent of human participation is not clarified. The word
"superintended" could imply more than evangelicals intend (dictation) or
less in that it is God's message that is recorded in the original manuscripts.
It is not specified that the revelation is coterminous with the Biblical docu-
ments. According to the neo-Protestant assessment, divine revelation comes
through the words of Scripture but is not identical to those words.

8. Kenneth Kantzer formulates one of the most studied definitions in

the literature when he writes: "Biblical inspiration may be defined, there-
fore, as that work of the Holy Spirit by which, without setting aside their
personalities and literary or human faculties, God so guided the authors
of Scripture as to enable them to write exactly the words which convey His
truth to men, and in doing so preserved their judgments from error in the
original manuscripts. Or, inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit by
which He employed the instrumentality of the whole personality, literary
talents, and various faculties of their human authors to constitute the
words of the Biblical autographs as His written Word to men and, there-
fore, of divine authority and without error in faith (what we ought to be-
lieve) and practice (what we ought to do)."54 The author's careful attempt
at articulating the specific genus and differentia and avoiding a statement
that is partial or distorted is obvious. The affirmation is strong in its as-
sertion of both the authority and inerrancy of Scripture and in the effort
expended to take into account the reality of human involvement in the
production of Scripture. Inspiration is restricted to the Biblical authors
and to the autographs. Furthermore the words of Scripture are identified
as the Word of God. Nevertheless a number of improvements is possible.
(1) The presence of two statements that are not synthesized allows for
some degree of confusion: It is not clear whether the author is describing

52
C C R y n e , Basic Theology (Wheaton Victor, 1987) 71 In an earlier work R y n e states
t h a t inspiration is "God's superintendence of the h u m a n author s so t h a t, using their own indi-
vidual personalities, they composed and recorded without error His revelation to m a n in the
words of the original autographs" (A Survey of Bible Doctrine [Chicago Moody, 1972] 38)
53
Young, Thy Word 56
K S Kantzer, "The Communication of Revelation," Bible (ed Tenney) 75
 EVANGELICAL DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION 109

two aspects of inspiration, two different ways of viewing the doctrine, or

two different processes involved. (2) Words like "guided" and "employed"
are ambiguous. (3) In the second sentence the connection between "em-
ployed" and "constitute" is not specified. A wide range of interpretations
could be seen in the establishing of that connection. (4) Inerrancy is cir-
cumscribed to faith, practice, and judgments, allowing the inference that
outside these areas, errors might be present.

IV. A S U G G E S T E D D E F I N I T I O N

The examination of these particular definitions illustrates the difficulty

involved in formulating a definition of inspiration that meets all of the
established criteria, expresses the evangelical understanding of the doc-
trine, and necessarily disallows nonevangelical interpretations. Though
the task is not easy, it is one that needs to be undertaken if the whole
counsel of God is to be taught (Acts 20:27) and the faith is to be properly
defended (Jude 3).
A definition that is worthy of consideration and hopefully an advance in
striving after greater precision and clarity is the following formulation:
Graphic (written) inspiration is the activity by which that portion intended
by God of his special revelation was put into permanent, authoritative,
written form by the supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit, who normally
worked concurrently and confluently through the spontaneous thought pro-
cesses, literary styles, and personalities of certain divinely!selected men in
such a way that the product of their special labors (in its entirety) is the
very Word of God (both the ideas and the specific vocabulary), complete, in-
fallible, and inerrant in the original manuscripts.
Framing the doctrine in this way has a number of advantages. (1) It
focuses on the inspiration of the written words of inspired men rather than
their spoken words, to which there is no remaining access apart from what
is recorded. (2) It ties inspiration to revelation as its primary source.
Though the use of human knowledge and reasoning is often involved to
some degree, the authority of Scripture is necessarily harnessed to the
reality of divine revelation, which is preserved within Scripture. 5 5 God re-
vealed information beyond the grasp of the natural resources of all the
human agents. 5 6 (3) This articulation recognizes that not everything that
God revealed was inscripturated. We have only a fraction of the words ac-
tually spoken by Jesus during his earthly life (John 20:31), and most of
these are Greek translations (and probably summaries) of what were most
likely Aramaic words. It is possible that one or more of Paul's epistles was
not preserved. Furthermore Biblical authors were sometimes commanded
not to record what had been revealed to them (1 Cor 12:1!14; Rev 10:4). 57
(4) "Normally" takes into account the occasional, but not regular, use of

5 5
See Young, Thy Word 80, Β Κ Waltke, "Oral Tradition," Inerrancy (ed Conn) 134!135
5 6
Henry, God, Revelation 4 155
5 7
Cf ibid 4 408
110 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

dictation by God (Exod 20:1!17; Rev 2:1!3:22). (5) The statement attempts
to affirm the full presence and conscious operation both of the omnipotent
Spirit and the chosen human instruments. The final product is brought
about by virtue of the Spirit's working through the voluntary, internally
generated production of the holy men of God. It attempts to do justice to
the manifold evidences of human personality found throughout Scripture,
not only in style but also in content. 5 8 (6) The expression "special labors"
implies that not every word written by a Biblical author is necessarily in-
spired but only that which God intended to be part of Scripture. (7) "Prod-
uct" also allows for the possibility of drafts and revisions. (8) This same
articulation also makes room both for the various types of literary genres
within the Biblical corpus and the corresponding kinds of literary activity
that were necessary for the composition of those genres. (9) This definition
affirms the inspiration of both the concepts and the words of Scripture as
well as the authority and complete inerrancy of the Bible in its original
manuscripts. (10) Scripture is equated with the Word of God, thus ruling
out neo!orthodox assertions and presuppositions. (11) "Complete" and "was
put" imply that the canon is closed and that nothing more is admissible
within Scripture.

V. CONCLUSION

Since evangelicals are responsible for proclaiming the truth of God be-
fore a world in darkness, it is imperative that they speak as accurately
and precisely as Scripture permits on major issues. Clear expression will
also be in accord with Paul's instructions to Timothy: "Retain the stan-
dard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love
which are in Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 1:13 NASB). It is vitally important that
evangelicals hold to sound patterns when speaking of all important doc-
trines such as the inspiration of the Word of God.

VI. APPENDIX: DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION SUGGESTED BY EVANGELICALS

1. Inspiration is "the energizing power of God in the lives, discourse,

and writings of his servants so that from these writings men can see life
with God as supreme." 5 9
2. "We affirm that inspiration was the work in which God by His
Spirit, through human writers, gave us His Word. The origin of Scripture
is divine. The mode of divine inspiration remains largely a mystery to us.
We deny that inspiration can be reduced to human insight, or to height-
ened states of consciousness of any kind." 6 0

58
Poythress, "What Does God Say4?" 83, Henry, God, Revelation 4 142, 159!160, Warfield,
Inspiration and Authority 422
59
A Β Mickelsen, Biblical Authority (ed J Rogers, Waco Word, 1977) 84
60
The "Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy," JETS 21/4 (1978) 291
 EVANGELICAL DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION 111

3. "The inspiration of the Old Testament refers first of all to the divine
activity which prevailed when the authors of the Old Testament books
committed their thoughts to writing. In the second place it refers to the
inspired quality of the Old Testament. Due to the inspiration in the active
sense, the Old Testament now possesses divine authority and trustworthi-
ness, which amounts to saying that it possesses inspiration in the qualita-
61
tive sense."
4. "Inspiration is that influence of the Spirit of God upon the minds of
the Scripture writers which made their writings the record of a progres-
sive divine revelation, sufficient, when taken together and interpreted by
the same Spirit who inspired them, to lead every honest inquirer to Christ
62
and to salvation."
5. "Inspiration was an influence of the Holy Spirit on the minds of cer-
tain select men, which rendered them the organs of God for the infallible
communication of His mind and will. They were in such a sense the organs
63
of God, that what they said God said."
6. "Inspiration is that extraordinary, supernatural influence (or, pas-
sively, the result of it,) exerted by the Holy Ghost on the writers of our
Sacred Books, by which their words were rendered also the words of God,
and, therefore, perfectly infallible." 64
7. "Inspiration is to be defined as a supernatural, providential influ-
ence of God's Holy Spirit upon the human authors which caused them to
write what He wished to be written for the communication of revealed
truth to others." 6 5
8. "Inspiration is a supernatural influence upon divinely chosen proph-
ets and apostles whereby the Spirit of God assures the truth and trust-
66
worthiness of their oral and written proclamation."
9. "By inspiration of the Scripture we mean that supernatural influ-
ence of the Holy Spirit upon the Scripture writers which rendered their
writings an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in what
they wrote actually being the Word of God." 6 7
10. Inspiration is "a special act of the Holy Spirit by which He guided
the writers of the Holy Scriptures so that their words would convey the
thought He wished to convey, should bear a proper relationship to the
thought of the other inspired books, and would be kept free from all errors
of facts, of doctrines, and of judgment." 6 8
11. "By graphic inspiration we understand that guidance given by the
Spirit of God to the minds of the writers, compilers and editors of the Holy

6 1
M H Woudstra, "The Inspiration of t h e Old Testament, " Bible (ed Tenney) 124
6 2
A H Strong, Systematic Theology (Valley Forge J u d s o n , 1967 [1907]) 196
6 3
C Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids E e r d m a n s , 1968 [1871]) 1 154
4
Warfield, Inspiration and Authority 420
5
J I Packer, "Fundamentalism" and the Word of God (Grand Rapids E e r d m a n s , 1958) 77
6 6
Henry, God, Revelation 4 129
6 7
Erickson, Christian Theology 1 199
8
A MacRae, cited in Κ Kantzer, "Syllabus for Theology 511," Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School (1967!1968) 8 1 ! 8 2
112 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Scriptures, by which these sacred writings have assumed such a form as

was, in the counsel of salvation, predestined by God among the means of
69
grace for His Church."
12. In the narrower sense inspiration is the operation of the Holy
Spirit in the various human authors "whereby they wrote in just the way
and at such a time and in such a form as was necessary for the delivery of
that part of Scripture for which each was responsible, finished and
adapted to the canonical linking together of all the parts, to that one har-
monious whole which the Lord God had foreseen and foreordained for
Holy Scripture." 7 0
13. "Divine inspiration is the mysterious power put forth by the Spirit
of God on the authors of Holy Writ, to make them write it, to guide them
even in the employment of the words they use, and thus to preserve them
from all error." 71
14. "Inspiration refers to the miracle of conservation whereby the
Spirit has preserved and conserved divine revelation (cf. Is 30:8)." 7 2
15. "In the composition of the original manuscripts, the Holy Spirit
guided the authors even in their choice of expressions—and this through-
out all the pages of the Scriptures—still without effacing the personalities
of the different men." 7 3
16. "The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His
supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, com-
plete in its revelation, final in its content and without any error in its
teachings." 7 4
17. "Inspiration may be defined as the inward work of the Holy Spirit
in the hearts and minds of chosen men who then wrote the Scriptures so
75
that God got written what He wanted."
18. Inspiration is "the act by which God conveyed to men both the con-
tent of that which He wished to be written for man's sake and the very
words expressing that content." 7 6
19. "We understand the inspiration under which the Scriptures were
written to mean that intimate relation between the Holy Spirit and the
minds of the sacred writers of which we are justified in saying that the
77
words of Scripture are the words of God."
20. Inspiration is "the work of the Holy Spirit of God in causing the
writers of the Scriptures to give forth the Word of God without error. The

6 9
A Kuyper, Principles of Sacred Theology (Grand Rapids Baker, 1980 [1898]) 545
7 0
A Kuyper, Dictaten dogmatiek, cited in R Β Gaffin, J r , "Old A m s t e r d a m a n d Iner-
rancy V WTJ 44 (1982) 268
S R L Gaussen, "Theopneustia" The Plenary Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures (4th ed ,
ed B W Carr, K a n s a s City Gospel Union, 1912) 87
7 2
C H Pinnock, Biblical Revelation (Chicago Moody, 1971) 35
7 3
R Pache, Inspiration 71
7
Columbia Bible College a n d Seminary, doctrinal s t a t e m e n t , p a r a g r a p h 1
7 5
Lindsell, Battle 30
7 6
P r e u s , Inspiration 27
7 7
F P a t t o n, The Inspiration of the Scriptures (Philadelphia P r e s b y t e r i a n Board of Publica-
tion, 1869) 123!124
 EVANGELICAL DEFINITIONS OF INSPIRATION 113

writers were inspired in the sense that the Holy Spirit worked through
them. The writings are inspired in the sense that they are the product of
the work of the Holy Spirit through the writers." 7 8
21. Inspiration is used "in the single sense of God's continued work of
superintendence, by which his providential, gracious and supernatural
contributions having been presupposed, he presided over the sacred writ-
ers in their entire work of writing, with the design and effect of rendering
that writing an errorless record of the matters he designed them to com-
municate, and hence constituting the entire volume in all its parts the
word of God to us." 7 9
22. "Inspiration is the supernatural act by which without setting aside
the personalities and literary faculties of its human authors, God consti-
tuted the words of the Bible in its entirety as His divine written word to
men, and therefore inerrant in the original manuscripts." 8 0
23. "Biblical inspiration may be defined, therefore, as that work of the
Holy Spirit by which, without setting aside their personalities and literary
or human faculties, God so guided the authors of Scripture as to enable
them to write exactly the words which convey His truth to men, and in do-
ing so preserved their judgments from error in the original manuscripts.
Or, inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit by which He employed the
instrumentality of the whole personality, literary talents, and various fac-
ulties of their human authors to constitute the words of the Biblical auto-
graphs as His written Word to men and, therefore, of divine authority and
without error in faith (what we ought to believe) and practice (what we
ought to do)." 8 1
24. "God superintended the human authors of the Bible so that they
composed and recorded without error His message to mankind in the
words of their original writings." 8 2
25. "Inspiration is a superintendence of God the Holy Spirit over the
writers of the Scriptures, as a result of which these Scriptures possess
Divine authority and trustworthiness and, possessing such Divine author-
ity and trustworthiness, are free from error." 8 3
26. "The inspiration of the Bible is an extraordinary (supernatural)
operation of God's Spirit, by which men produced writings that could
serve as an authentic self!revelation of God." 8 4
27. "Inspiration consists in this, that God makes the words of men the
instrument of his word, that he uses human words for his divine purposes.
As such the human words stand in the service of God and participate in
the authority and infallibility of the Word of God, answer perfectly God's

J O Boswell, J r , A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion (Grand Rapids Zonder!

van, 1962) 1 184
7 9
A A Hodge, Inspiration (Grand Rapids Baker, 1979 [1881]) 17!18
8 0
Kantzer, "Syllabus" 82
1
Κ Kantzer, "The Communication of Revelation," Bible (ed Tenney) 75
8 2
R y n e , Basic Theology 71
8 3
Young, Thy Word 27
8 4
Van Kooten, Bible 24
114 JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

purpose, in short, function as the Word of God and therefore can be so

called."85
28. Inspiration is a "divine afflatus'' or "breathing upon"; it is "an influ-
ence exercised by God upon the biblical writers whose effect is to preserve
the inerrancy of the Bible in its spiritual prophecies and . . . historical
judgments." 86
29. "'Biblical inspiration' refers to the enhancement of one's under-
standing of God brought about instrumentally through the Bible, rather
than to the mysterious and nonrepeatable process by which 'God got written
what He wanted' in the Bible. In other words, 'the inspiration of the Bible'
refers to the enhancement which the Bible instrumentally causes in persons
and not to the Bible itself as the terminus or locus of that enhancement."87

85
Ridderbos, Studies 25
E J Carnell, An Introduction to Christian Apologetics (Grand Rapids E e r d m a n s , 1948)
110
87
Trembath, Evangelical 103