The Lord Jesus Christ possessed the spirit of wisdom without measure, and came to bear wit ness to the truth. His works proved that he was what he declared himself to be—the Messiah, the great Prophet, the infallible Teacher. The faith which rests on him rests on a rock. As soon then as we learn how he regarded the Scriptures, we have reached the end of our inquiries. His word is truth. Now every one who carefully attends to the four Gospels will find, that Christ every where spoke of that collection of writings called the Scripture, as the word of God ; that he re garded the whole in this light ; that he treated the Scripture, and every part of it, as infallibly true, and as clothed with divine authority—thus distinguishing it from every mere human produc tion. Nothing written by man can he entitled to the respect which Christ showed to the Scriptures. This, to all Christians, is direct and incontro vertible evidence of the divine origin of the Scriptures, and is, by itself, perfectly conclusive.
But there is clear concurrent evidence, and evidence still more specific, in the writings of the Apostles. In two texts in particular, divine in spiration is positively asserted. In the first (2 Tint. iii :16) Paul lays it down as the character istic of 'all Scripture,' that it 'is given by inspira tion of God' (Oebryetnrros, theofi'neustos, divinely inspired) ; and from this results its profitable ness.
The other text (2 Pet. i:21) teaches that 'Proph ecy came not by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."1'his passage, which the Apostle Peter applied particularly to the subject of which he was speaking, may be considered as explanatory of what is intended by inspiration. For to say that all Scripture is divinely inspired, and that men of God wrote it as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, is one and the same thing.
The various texts in which Christ and the Apostles speak of Scripture as the word of God, and as invested with authority to decide all ques tions of truth and duty, fully correspond with the texts above considered.
From this view of the subject it follows that the attempt which has been made by a certain class of writers, to account for the production of the whole or any part of the Scriptures by the will or agency, the ingenuity, diligence or fidelity of men, in the use of the means within their reach, without the supernatural influence of the Spirit, is utterly at variance with the teachings of Christ and the Apostles as to the origin of the sacred writings.
(3) Inspiration of the New Testament. As the Christian dispensation surpasses the former in all spiritual privileges and gifts, it is reasonable to presume that the New Testament was written under at least an equal degree of divine influence with the Old, and that it comes recommended to us by equal characteristics of infallible truth.
But of this there is clear positive evidence from the New Testament itself.
In the first place, _resits Christ, whose works proved him to be the great unerring Teacher, and to be possessed of all power in Heaven and earth, gave commission to his Apostles to act in his stead, and to carry out the work of instruction which he had begun, confirming their authority by investing them with power to perform miracles. But how could such a commission have answered the end proposed, had not the Divine Spirit so guided the Apostles as to render them infallible and perfect teachers of divine truth? But, secondly, in addition to this, Jesus ex pressly promised to give them the Holy Spirit to abide with them continually, and to gttide them into oll the truth. He said to them, 'When they shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak ; for it shall be given you in the satne hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.' Storr and Flatt think this is the idea intended: 'The instructions which ye in general give are derived not so much from yourselves as from the Holy Spirit. Hence, when ye are called on to defend your doctrines, ye need feel no anxiety, but may confidently rely on the Holy Spirit to vindicate his own doctrines, by suggesting to you the very words of your defense.' If these promises were not fulfilled, then Jesus was not a true prophet. If they were fulfilled, as they certainly were, then the Apostles had the constant assistance of the Holy Spirit, and whether engaged in speaking or writing, were under divine guidance, and, of course, were liable to no mistakes either as to the matter or manner of their instructions.
In the third place, the writers of the New Testament manifestly considered themselves to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and their instructions, whether oral or written, to be clothed with divine authority, as the word of God.
'We speak,' they say, 'as of God.' Again, 'Which things 1.ve speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but in words which the Holy Ghost teacheth.' They declare what they taught to be the word of God, and the things they wrote to be the commandments of God. Now the Apostles, being honest, unassuming, humble men, would never have spoken of themselves and their writings in such a tnanner, had they not known themselves to be under the unerring guid ance of the Holy Spirit, and their instructions perfectly in accordance with the mind of God.