Motivation or Declaration

The inspiration of God is a topic that is very interesting to think about. When people speak about the inspiration of Scripture, what they really mean to say is that Scripture is “God-breathed.” If you know much about the authority and inspiration of Scripture, you will surely know that “God-breathed” does not mean that it was merely motivated, or that the writers were merely moved in one way or another, but that God-breathed means Scripture comes from God, is originated from God, and is produced by God.

With all that being said, I think it is yet still true that the very words I am writing are inspired. What I mean by that is not that what I am saying is infallible, or inerrant, or perfect, but rather that my words are motivated by God. I think the difference between Scripture and the words that I or other Christian writers have written is the difference between motivation and declaration. The words inspired in Scripture are originated from God and are the product He exactly intends, whereas the words inspired in the writings I produce are not originated from God but are originated from myself. I make the product, and the product originates out of my knowledge and wisdom. The words in Scripture are not merely motivated but communicated. The words I am speaking are motivated by God, as in a push from God in the heart, but are not communicated or revealed to me directly by God.
So the main point I am trying to make is that scripture is inspired in the sense of communication whereas the words I am writing are inspired in the sense of motivation.

If I could sum up my thought, Scripture is inspired in the sense of communication, whereas the words I am writing are inspired in the sense of motivation. The words I am writing are not "Testimonium Divinum" as in a "Testimony from the Divine" (which would be God) but rather are more of a "Testimonium hominis de Deo" which is "man's testimony about God".

Jake Campbell