We believe that
the prophets and the Apostles did not write through their own human intellect
but rather through God’s inspiration.
He cleansed their souls, enlightened their reasoning and revealed to them
mysteries of faith and of the future, normally inaccessible
to the human mind. That is why their writings are described as
divinely-inspired: “For prophecy never
came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the
Holy Spirit,” says the apostle Peter (2
Peter 1:21). The apostle Paul calls the writings as divinely-inspired in 2
Timothy 3:16. Regarding the importance of the Holy Scriptures Jesus said, “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or
one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matt.
5:18).
Moses
and Aaron are examples of God’s revelations to the prophets. God sent to a very
reticent Moses, his brother Aaron as an intermediary. Being inarticulate,
Moses’s bafflement as to how he would expound God’s will to the people was
answered by the Lord: “Thou (Moses) shalt
speak unto him (Aaron) and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy
mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be
the spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee
instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God” (Exodus 4:15-16).
While
believing in the inspirationally divine qualities of the Bible, one must
remember that it is the Book of the Church. According to God’s plan, people
are called upon to save themselves not on an individual basis but as a society
which He guides and dwells in. This society is called the Church. By historical
definition, the Church is divided into the Old Testament which governed the
Jewish people, and the New Testament to which the Orthodox Christians belong.
The New Testament inherited the spiritual richness of the Old Testament, namely
the word of God. The Church not only preserved the word of God but has retained
its correct understanding. This is because, just as the Holy Spirit spoke
through the prophets and Apostles, He continues to live in the Church and to
lead her. Consequently, the Church gives us correct guidance for the
application of its written wealth: that which is more actual and important, and
those passages that have retained a historical significance only but are not
relevant to modern times.
How to Read the Bible by Archimandrite Justin Popovich
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