Page 35 - Ecclesiology revised short_Neat

3. Correction – This is the Greek word, epanorqwsis, which means “setting up straight or setting
something right.” It stresses the restorative nature of Scripture and the capacity of the words to set our
feet back on the right course. The Psalmists wrote, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul…
(Psalm 19:7a).

4. Training in righteousness – “Training” is the word, paidia, which means “instruction or discipline.”
From its root word we get the word disciple. It does not mean punishment for wrong doing, but more
the concept of training or guidance that produces character, strength, skills, etc. This demonstrates the
long-range effects of the Scriptures as through the years, as a person immerses his mind in them, He will
become more like Christ in attitude and behavior.

Verbal Inspiration

Verbal means that every word of Scripture is God-given. The idea is that every single word in the
Bible is there because God wanted it there. The idea behind verbal inspiration is that God
supernaturally guided the biblical authors to write the exact things that He wanted expressed, to the
very words and punctuation.

Plenary Inspiration

The word plenary, means “full or complete.” Plenary means that all parts of the Bible are equally
authoritative. This includes such things as the genealogies of the Old Testament. All parts of the Bible
are of divine origin.

We combine the two thoughts and say that the Bible is the verbal, plenary verbal inspiration of God.
It is verbal in that the Holy Spirit directly guided the exact words recorded by the biblical writers as they
wrote the Scriptures. It is the “full” (plenary) inspiration of the Scriptures, in the sense that the whole
Bible is inspired, not simply portions of it.

Verbal plenary inspiration stands in opposition to partial inspiration which limits the inspired quality of
the Bible in various ways whether it be restricting inspiration to doctrinal matters, or one author was
inspired where another was not, or there are mistakes in historical events and geographical locations,
but the main thoughts are correct. xxvii

Conclusion

So, the true church holds a historical orthodox position of inspiration as important:

(a) The Bible is the infallible Word of God.

(b) The Bible is the only rule of faith and practice.

(c) Human reason and knowledge are wholly subject to the Scriptures. As the Bible reveals to man God’s
view of everything – the correct view of everything. (See the point made in 1 John 2:15-17 where the
ways / views of the world are going to pass away, but the Lord and His children will continue with Him
forever.). xxviii

33