Discuss the view that teaches that meaning does not reside in the author but rather when the author uses a certain type of literature he intends for the rules of that literature to govern what is meant by his words. What effect does this have on your understanding of inspiration?
The view that teaches that meaning does not reside in the author but rather in the rules that govern the certain genre of literature implemented does have an effect on my understanding of inspiration. Yes, there is the understanding that God is the ultimate Author of Scripture, but if we examined the human authors He selected over a period of 1,500 years to communicate His message of truth to mankind, then it brings God’s sovereignty to a glorious scale.
Charles Ryrie makes the point in his book Basic Theology that Luke never witnessed the events surrounding the Lord Jesus. As a result, Ryrie writes, “…either God would have had to give him direct revelation of those events in order for Luke to write his gospel, or Luke would have had to discover them through research.”[1] He then goes on to support, through Luke’s own words, that he spent countless hours talking with people who were there and researching the life and ministry of Christ. This demonstrates the versatility with which God communicated the truth of His Word with man. God did not audibly voice these things to Luke as He did with some of the prophets. Rather, God worked through Luke in guiding and directing him in his research, investigation, interviews and ultimately his writing so that the canon of Scripture would contain this fourth Gospel further validating the person and work of Christ.
The apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”[2] Therefore, the meaning of Scripture does not reside in the authors such as Luke, Moses, Peter and Paul but rather in the Author Himself and in the Scriptures themselves. The Holy Spirit did not only move the men who wrote the Bible internally but also guided them physically in where to go and with whom to speak. In my specific example of Luke, the effect his testimony then brings on inspiration is a much higher view of God’s sovereignty in the way that God was orchestrating all of the interactions Luke would have and the places he would have visited.
God is a God of communication. He desires that man know Him and thus humbled the majesty and awe of who He is that He might be described and thus known through the lives of others and words on a page. God used nearly every genre to communicate with man: research, poetry, prophetic, historical, direct revelation, and others.[3] In each of those genres, He allowed the rules that we understand in order to effectively communicate with His creation. For example, when He used Luke’s genre of research, He knew that we would understand all the background and testimonies that would go into his book. The Holy Spirit moved Luke exactly where God had determined and placed in his path all of those who would faithfully contribute to this eternally impactful task. It is amazing to think that God is able to use anyone He desires to accomplish any of His purposes. Clearly the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ryrie, Charles, BASIC THEOLOGY: A POPULAR SYSTEMATIC GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING BIBLICAL TRUTH, Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL, 1999
2 Peter, NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Foundation Publications, Inc., Anaheim, CA, 1998
