Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with his Maker;
but since man separated himself from God by transgression, the human race has
been cut off from this high privilege. By the plan of redemption, however, a
way has been opened whereby the inhabitants of the earth may still have
connection with heaven. God has communicated with men by His Spirit, and divine
light has been imparted to the world by revelations to His chosen servants.
"Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:21.
During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there was
no written revelation. Those who had been taught of God, communicated their
knowledge to others, and it was handed down from father to son, through
successive generations. The preparation of the written word began in the time
of Moses. Inspired revelations were then embodied in an inspired book. This
work continued during the long period of sixteen hundred years--from Moses, the
historian of creation and the law, to John, the recorder of the most sublime
truths of the gospel.
The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human
hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the
characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all "given by
inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of
men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and
hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions, symbols and figures;
and those to whom the truth was thus revealed have themselves embodied the
thought in human language.
The Ten Commandments were spoken by God Himself, and were written by His
own hand. They are of divine, and not of human composition. But the Bible, with
its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the
divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the
Son of God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the Bible, as it was of
Christ, that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1:14.
Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and
occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the Bible
present a wide contrast in style, as well as a diversity in the nature of the
subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are employed by different
writers; often the same truth is more strikingly presented by one than by
another. And as several writers present a subject under varied aspects and
relations, there may appear, to the superficial, careless, or prejudiced
reader, to be discrepancy or contradiction, where the thoughtful, reverent
student, with clearer insight, discerns the underlying harmony.
As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out in
its varied aspects. One writer is more strongly impressed with one phase of the
subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his experience or with his
power of perception and appreciation; another seizes upon a different phase;
and each, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presents what is most forcibly
impressed upon his own mind--a different aspect of the truth in each, but a
perfect harmony through all. And the truths thus revealed unite to form a
perfect whole, adapted to meet the wants of men in all the circumstances and
experiences of life.
God has been pleased to communicate His truth to the world by human
agencies, and He Himself, by His Holy Spirit, qualified men and enabled them to
do this work. He guided the mind in the selection of what to speak and what to
write. The treasure was entrusted to earthen vessels, yet it is, nonetheless,
from Heaven. The testimony is conveyed through the imperfect expression of
human language, yet it is the testimony of God; and the obedient, believing
child of God beholds in it the glory of a divine power, full of grace and
truth.
In His Word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary for
salvation. The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative,
infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the
revealer of doctrines, and the test of experience. "Every scripture inspired of
God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete,
furnished completely unto every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, R.V.