Was the Bible written by men or God?
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Bible is the most widely read and translated work and holds the title of the most famous book in the world. More so, while wide circulation and fame can be said about the Bible, it is also true that it has also attracted the same measure of hatred as it has received love. The varied emotions are a reaction to the message contained in the book. The Bible claims with certainty to know the origin of creation, the source of truth, the true nature of man, the true nature and character of God, and the only exclusive way to God. Moreover, other than it claiming with certainty these things, it also contains supernatural events, which it claims did happen. Therefore, the Bible claims certainty and exclusivity in all that it addresses, and in no way is it influenced by any religious relativism or bias, or human subjectivism. As such, it evokes such extreme emotions depending on whether one believes it or not. It is evident that the Bible is not a mere piece of literature for the Christian but authoritative in all it says and commands. Because the Bible claims to have such a high level of authority, the natural tendency is therefore to ask who is its author?
Man Wrote the Bible
Anyone who has a copy of the Bible bears witness that it is written in an intelligible language; that is to say, it is not written in a mythical language or an alien language. Although we have the Bible in our different languages, it was originally written in ancient Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek languages. People spoke the languages in the ancient era and some even in modern times. As a literature piece, the Bible is also written in different literary forms such as poetry, historical narrative, letters, etc. The Bible was also written over many years by various authors who lived at different times and lived in various geographical locations. All these are knowable and understandable through a simple reading of the Bible by anyone. To have certainty, the Bible records in many instances that the words do not appear mysteriously but are written by human authors (1 Kings 11:41; 2 Kings 13:8; Ezra 6:1-2; Luke 1:1-4; John 21:24). Consequently, it cannot be denied that human authors wrote the Bible, and one can see the different literary skills of the authors, their personalities, and diverse perspectives in the texts they wrote. However, the Bible writers do not claim to have come up with whatever they had written, but they claim to have received it from God.
God wrote the Bible
With the exception of some portions of Scripture, we see God directly intervening or telling the author what to write (Exodus 32:16; Isaiah 38:4-6; Revelations 1:11). We do not see much of what we would call mechanical dictation or God’s direct authorship. What is meant by mechanical dictation is to say that God directly dictated word for word what the author was to write in the text. However, to suggest that for God to write the text of Scripture, He would have to use mechanical dictation, is to contradict the very Scriptures themselves and even what is evident from the different literary forms and stylistic differences occurring in Scripture. For example, the Gospels all share the life and ministry of Jesus, but they do so from different perspectives. Additionally, we can also see the author’s emotions displayed in the text they write, such as the Psalms (Psalm 88), wisdom literature (Job 3), and epistles (Romans 9:1-3). Thus, the use of different literary styles, depicting different personalities, and stylistic differences in Scripture text would certainly not occur if God were to dictate the words to the authors mechanically.
Furthermore, in the reading of the Old Testament Prophets, one sees repeatedly in different wording that “the word of the Lord came to the prophet” to signify that the author received their message from God. Paul (Galatians 1:11; 1 Timothy 3:16) and Peter (2 Peter 1:21) use similar language in the New Testament, indicating that every word of Scripture did not originate from those who wrote the text, but from God, as it was revealed to them. Therefore, it is proper also to state that God also wrote Scripture.
Both God and Man as the Author
It is evident that man wrote the text of Scripture, but what is also apparent is that God divinely inspired the Bible. God’s authorship would mean that God inspired the very words that the authors recorded for us in the Scripture without violating the writer’s intellect, stylistic abilities, and personality. Nonetheless, while the Bible does not directly answer how the inspiration occurred, we can confidently assert that God worked through and in the authors by the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver the inerrant and infallible text of Scripture as a true record of His Word (John 17:17). These two realities are what is called the dual authorship of Scripture. In summary, God never took possession of any author or mechanically dictated word for word the text of Scripture. Without violating any personality or literal ability, he worked through the divine instrumentation of the Holy Spirit in the writers to deliver His Word. So, to answer the question of man’s or God’s authorship, we can confidently assert that both man and God authored the Scripture. The implication of this is that the Bible has authority not because of fallible man but because of the infallible God who is its Chief author. As the Westminster Confession of faith says, Scripture is our sole rule of faith and practice. It is the foundation for our Christian life.
