The inspiration of the New Testament is an exceptionally important question, because it determines the significance and authority of the New Testament books and sets them on the same level as the rest of the sacred Scriptures. If a given book is God-breathed, then it contains a message from God to humanity, and by extension a message personally to us as part of the human race. If a given book is not God-breathed, it may be interesting and useful, but it is not a standard for faith and conduct. And the New Testament books are precisely that — the rule by which we are to live, the measure by which we are to measure our faith in God, words of life that lead to salvation from sin and to receiving eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
THE INSPIRATION OF THE GOSPELS
The divine inspiration of the New Testament rests, on the one hand, upon the divine inspiration of the Old Testament, and on the other, upon the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles. In Hebrews 1:1–2 we read:
1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (Hebrews 1:1–2)
Yes, the beginning of revelation came through the patriarchs and the Hebrew prophets (Romans 9:3–4). In Romans 3:2 it says:
1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. (Romans 3:1–2)
Notice, this speaks of the very words of God. According to the apostle Paul, these were entrusted to the Jews. But with the coming of Jesus Christ comes the new, perfect, complete, and up-to-date revelation of God — the revelation of the New Testament.
On the one hand, concerning the Law the Lord Jesus said (Matthew 5:18):
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:18)
And on the other hand He added (Matthew 24:35):
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
Elsewhere, in John 2:22, we read:
22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:22)
Notice, this speaks both of “the scripture” — the Jewish Scriptures, which constitute our Old Testament — and of “the words that Jesus had spoken” — the words of Jesus, a great many of which are included in the New Testament.
We find a similar placing of the Old Testament and the teaching of Christ side by side in 2 Peter. At the beginning of his letter the apostle Peter says (2 Peter 1:20–21):
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20–21)
And at the end of his letter he adds (2 Peter 3:2):
1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. (2 Peter 3:1–2)
Here again the text speaks, on the one hand, of the God-breathed words spoken by the holy prophets, and on the other of “the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles” — a command recorded in the Gospels.
All these verses lead us to consider the progressive nature of God’s revelation. Yes, God reveals Himself and His plan little by little. The revelation in the Old Testament is like a light shining in the darkness, while the revelation in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the New Testament is like the sun rising at daybreak. In 2 Peter 1:15–19 the apostle Peter says:
15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1:15)
According to some theologians, here the apostle is speaking of the Gospel of Mark, which contained Peter’s preaching of the good news.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1:16)
The Gospels are not works of fiction. They are not fantasy or the product of someone’s runaway imagination. They are the trustworthy account of eyewitnesses concerning the ministry, the sacrifice, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, for example, the apostle Peter mentions only one of the great moments of which he was a personal witness — how on the mountain of transfiguration he heard with his own ears God’s words about Jesus Christ:
17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:17–18)
That is why, in this letter, the apostle Peter urges believers to “pay attention” to the Old Testament Scriptures, but at the same time not to forget the apostolic teaching about the ministry and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. This encourages us to read both the Old and the New Testament.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)
At the beginning of His ministry Jesus chose twelve men, whom He called apostles (Luke 6:13). They were specially selected and appointed to be the stewards of Jesus’ teaching after His ascension into heaven. On the night when Judas Iscariot betrayed Him, He gave the rest important instructions concerning their future role as apostles. After His death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit would come upon them, sent by the Father, to give them insight and revelation regarding Christ’s mission, ministry, and teaching.
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)
26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26–27)
12 I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. (John 16:12–14)
All these words of Christ are the foundation for the writing of the New Testament, and in particular of the Gospels. According to His own statements, the Holy Spirit would teach the disciples and remind them of everything He had said. This is how we can know that the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospels are truly the words of Christ, and not words placed in His mouth by the evangelists in order to make use of His authority. It was the Holy Spirit who, according to Christ’s promise, would “guide them into all the truth” and “tell them what is yet to come.” These unique promises establish a particular and special bond between Jesus and the apostolic circle. Through the apostles He chose to give the revelation of Himself to the generations that followed. After His coming, the Holy Spirit Himself would confirm in their hearts the truth about who Jesus is and what He accomplished. The apostles had already been established in His teaching and were witnesses of His miracles and His resurrection. But it was the Holy Spirit who gave them the strength, gifts, and abilities to produce those unique and authoritative records of the good news which we call the Gospels.
Unlike other religious leaders, Christ never wrote anything, but from these words of His in the Gospel according to John we can conclude that His express intention was that His history and His teaching should be preserved precisely in this way — first through the testimony of the apostles, and later through their writings. The final result of these promises of Christ can be seen in the collection of books that make up our New Testament.
THE INSPIRATION OF PAUL’S LETTERS
The apostle Paul likewise underscores the authority of his letters. For example, in Galatians 1 he states quite directly and plainly that his gospel is not human, but comes straight from God (Galatians 1:11–12):
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11–12)
In 1 Corinthians 2:6–13 the apostle Paul shares that this revelation came from the Holy Spirit:
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. (1 Corinthians 2:6–13)
When in these verses the apostle Paul speaks of “God’s wisdom, a mystery,” he has in mind his gospel of the crucified Christ. This saving gospel was revealed to him “in words taught by the Spirit.” In writing his letters, the apostle Paul was fully conscious of the authority of his words. For example, in 1 Corinthians 14:36–37 he says:
36 Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. (1 Corinthians 14:36–37)
The apostle Paul is so certain that what he speaks and writes bears God’s signature and seal (Romans 1:1–6) that he warns his hearers that on the Day of Judgment people will be judged according to their acceptance or rejection of his words (Romans 2:16).
16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. (Romans 2:16)
The authority of Paul’s words is confirmed by the apostle Peter as well. In 2 Peter 3:15–16 he brings the Old Testament Scriptures and Paul’s letters under a common denominator — he places them on the same level of divine inspiration.
15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:15–16)
The difficulty of Paul’s letters is due to the depth of “the wisdom that God gave him.” What is also important for us to grasp is that by the time this letter was written — no later than A.D. 67 — Paul’s letters were already regarded as Sacred Scripture on the same level as the Old Testament.
In what way are all these facts important for our faith? As we reflect on them all, we ought to arrive at the conviction that the whole Bible — both the Old and the New Testament — is God-breathed. It is God’s revelation to humanity. Knowing all this, we will be bold and courageous to turn to it on every question that touches our faith and conduct. We will be confident that when what we say or do is in agreement with the Bible, it is also in agreement with God’s will.
From the divine inspiration of the New Testament it follows that we must submit to it. We must know it. It is our spiritual weapon. We must believe it. And we must also preach within the bounds of the New Testament. When I preach the New Testament, I am convinced that what I am saying is truly the Word of God. Not because of my own authority, or because I have heard directly from God, but because I strive to keep what I say within the bounds of the New Testament. And you as a church have this responsibility too — to test what is preached from the pulpit. Whether I am speaking or someone else, you are obliged to test whether what is being said is the apostolic teaching. And how will you be able to test it if you do not know the New Testament? Every one of us must read the Bible. If you know it, then when you hear something from it, you will recognize it. You will say, “Ah, this is familiar to me. This is what the apostle Paul says, this is what Matthew says, what John says. These are the words of Jesus, and I know them…” For when you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit gives you illumination on what you read, and the spirit of the New Testament enters into you. Then, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, and what our mouth speaks governs the whole course of our life. So then we will be able to apply the New Testament to our lives and to live it out. For this is the ultimate goal of it all — to live out what we believe, to be Christ’s disciples. To be Christ’s disciples means to live out the teaching of Christ, and it is given on the pages of the New Testament, the God-breathed New Testament.