Journal: Grace Journal
Volume: GJ 06:1 (Winter 1965)
Article: The Doctrine of Revelation and Inspiration in the Old Testament
Author: Gilbert B. Weaver

---

GJ 6:1 (Wtr 65) p. 16

The Doctrine of Revelation and Inspiration in the Old Testament

Gilbert B. Weaver

Instructor in Bible, Greek, and Philosophy
John Brown University

Introduction

In the study of Old Testament theology an important place belongs to what the Old Testament teaches about God’s self-revelation. Likewise, it is essential that we know what the O.T. discloses about its own inspiration and authority as a revelation from God. Clearly, these two subjects, revelation and inspiration belong together, as revelation pertains to that which God makes known at a particular time, and inspiration refers to the divinely controlled process of recording that revelation, so as to make an accurate record available to others who were not present at the time of revealing.

Definitions

For the study of this important subject, then, revelation may be defined as “God’s witness and communication of Himself to the world for the realization of the end of creation, and for the re-establishment of the full communion of man with God.”1 Inspiration has been defined as “a supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit upon divinely chosen men in consequence of which their writings became trustworthy and authoritative.”2 While this latter definition is not the best possible in light of New Testament emphasis on verbal inspiration, it is adequate for O.T. theology purposes, especially if stress is placed on the terms trustworthy and supernatural, so that inspiration as extending to the very words of Scripture is implied. Indeed, a complete definition of inspiration is quite lengthy and involved, as seen by the fact that Gaussen took an entire chapter to define what the term theopneustia means.3

The authority of the O.T. is a correlative of inspiration. If the O.T. is a divinely given revelation to man which is so controlled in its process of recording as to be the very Word of God, then it bears the very authority of God Himself. If it is any less than inspired in such a sense, then its authority is diminished, in spite of modern attempts to have an authoritative Bible without verbal inspiration.

Divisions of the Doctrine of Revelation

The doctrine of revelation has two well-recognized divisions, general revelation, and special revelation. The former is termed “general” in that it is available to all men (cf. Romans 1:19–21 and John 1:9). It is sometimes designated “natural revelation” because its source is in �...

visitor : : uid: ()