6. _The Holy Spirit in the Apostle taught not only the thought (or __“__concept__”__) but the words in which the thought was to he expressed._ We read in 1 Cor. ii. 13, A. R. V., “Which things also we speak not _in words_ which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth combining spiritual things with _spiritual words_.” This passage clearly teaches that the words, as well as the thought, were chosen and taught by the Holy Spirit. This is also a necessary inference from the fact that thought is conveyed from mind to mind by words and it is the words which express the thought, and if the words were imperfect, the thought expressed in these words would necessarily be imperfect and to that extent be untrue. Nothing could be plainer than Paul’s statement “_in words_ which the Spirit teacheth.” The Holy Spirit has Himself anticipated all the modern ingenious and wholly unbiblical and false theories regarding His own work in the Apostles. The more carefully and minutely we study _the wording_ of the statements of this wonderful Book, the more we will become convinced of the marvellous accuracy of the words used to express the thought. Very often the solution of an apparent difficulty is found in studying the exact words used. The accuracy, precision and inerrancy of the exact words used is amazing. To the superficial student, the doctrine of verbal inspiration may appear questionable or even absurd; any regenerated and Spirit-taught man, who _ponders the words_ of the Scripture day after day and year after year, will become convinced that the wisdom of God is in the very words, as well as in the thought which the words endeavour to convey. A change of a word, or letter, or a tense, or case, or number, in many instances would land us into contradiction or untruth, but taking _the words exactly_ as written, difficulties disappear and truth shines forth. The Divine origin of nature shines forth more clearly in the use of a microscope as we see the perfection of form and adaptation of means to end of the minutest particles of matter. In a similar manner, the Divine origin of the Bible shines forth more clearly under the microscope as we notice the perfection with which the turn of a word reveals the absolute thought of God.
But some one may ask, “If the Holy Spirit is the author of the words of Scripture, how do we account for variations in style and diction? How do we explain for instance that Paul always used Pauline language and John Johannean language, etc.?” The answer to this is very simple. If we could not account at all for this fact, it would have but little weight against the explicit statement of God’s Word with any one who is humble enough and wise enough to recognize that there are a great many things which he cannot account for at all which could be easily accounted for if he knew more. But these variations are easily accounted for. The Holy Spirit is quite wise enough and has quite facility enough in the use of language in revealing truth to and through any given individual, to use words, phrases and forms of expression and idioms in that person’s vocabulary and forms of thought, and to make use of that person’s peculiar individuality. Indeed, it is a mark of the Divine wisdom of this Book that the same truth is expressed with absolute accuracy in such widely variant forms of expression.
7. _The utterances of the Apostles and the prophets were the Word of God. When we read these words, __ we are listening not to the voice of man, but to the voice of God._
We read in Mark vii. 13, “Making _the word of God_ of none effect, through your tradition, which ye have delivered; and many such like things do ye.” Jesus had been setting the law given through Moses over against the Pharisaic traditions, and in doing this, He expressly says in this passage that the law given through Moses was “_the word of God_.” In 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, we read, “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and _His word_ was in my tongue.” Here again we are told that the utterance of God’s prophet was the word of God. In a similar way God says in 1 Thess. ii. 13, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye _received the word of God which ye heard of us_, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is _in truth, the word of God_, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” Here Paul declares that the word which he spoke, taught by the Spirit of God, was _the very word of God_.