Inspired, potent, source, supreme, sufficient, striking, trustworthy, true, unique, and ' word of God ':

Words about the Bible

ver. : 20 February 2008

When speaking of the Bible, what is the meaning of :
Inspired,
Potent,
Source,
Striking (and related words forceful, impactive, and impressive)
Supreme,
Foremost,
Sufficient,
Timeless,
Trustworthy,
True/Truthful,
Unique,
Word.

There's also a PDF booklet of all the pages on Scripture, including all of the word definitions found here on spirithome.com.

The Bible is Inspired

Inspired : The Holy Spirit is in the Bible, makes the Bible possible, and makes it work. The Spirit inspired its writing; the Spirit inspired its interpretation over the years; the Spirit inspires us today when we read it with the eyes of faith, or hear it spoken or interpreted aloud, or see it truthfully portrayed and followed. The Spirit fills the whole process, from ancient event to you. One term for the Bible's inspiration is Greek theopneustia, "God-breathed". Because it is so specially inspired, there is much literature, art, social conscience, personal experience, and patterns of relationship that are inspired by the Bible.

Verbal and Plenary

Two other words are sometimes used for describing how the Bible is inspired. 'Verbal' inspiration means that each word of the Bible is fully inspired by the Spirit. Most mainline Protestants hedge on this word, in that not everything in the Bible is equally inspired. Some of them even believe that some of the Bible is not inspired at all. Most experienced Bible readers understand that humanity's darker sides, even those of the Biblical authors themselves, have key lessons to teach us from the Spirit, and thus are part of its inspiration. The other word is 'Plenary' inspiration. It means that the Bible as a whole is specially inspired. Without using the term itself, many Reformers linked a similar kind of inspiration to the word that convicts our hearts of wrong (Law), and the message of Christ and of the salvation Christ gives us (Gospel). I think it's better not to use either 'verbal' or 'plenary', because most people don't know what they mean. Instead, say their most helpful meanings in another, more understandable way using other words.
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The Bible as Potent

Potent : [ < Latin potens, pres. part. of posse (to be able) < potis (able) + esse (to be) < assumed Indo-Europ. poti- (a root word indicating ability or power to accomplish)] Strong, vigorous; able to get a task done; exerting strong influence, control, or authority; able to cause reproduction.

The Holy Spirit, as God, has the power to touch people through the Spirit's tool of choice, the Scriptures. Touch, heck -- often the Spirit really lays the hammer down, smashing to pieces your strongest resistances and shaking your worldview at its foundations. That's what being 'potent' is about. Through the Bible, the Spirit has moved many people at roughly the same time, with ideas whose time has come or a new awareness of what's really at stake. Even after thousands of years, the Bible still causes its readers to give birth to new ideas, expressions, and angles on the challenges of life. It exerts an influence over each Christian's life.

You can also check the dictionary.

The Bible As the Source

Source [ < Old French sourse < Latin surgere (to rise (from), surge)] Where it comes from.

The Bible is the source of the Christian way of thinking, the Christian view of the world, the Christian way of life, and the Christian teachings and beliefs. US liberal Christianity challenges this description, by saying that it is better to draw their way of life from the world around them and be open to seeing the world in ways very different from (even opposed to) what is found in the Bible. They hold that the Bible is 'a' source rather than 'the' source. This has been said before in Christian history. Those who hold this view, then and now, gradually become less and less recognizable as Christians. When you draw from the Bible, the Bible sends your focus back onto God. The Bible is the only reasonably accurate report of Jesus and the early Church. It is the only place you can find what those who lived with Jesus discovered about Him. Thus, it is the only source for finding out what makes a Christian a Christian. The more a person draws from somewhere else, the more they become something else.
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The Bible is Striking

Striking (adj) : also forceful, impactful, impressive. One of the most common occurences people have when reading the Bible is when they're busily reading, plugging ahead with nothing happens, and then they come across something that hits them like a baseball bat. They get stunned, can't get it out of their mind, and are caught in a eureka moment where they see things differently. This is done by the Spirit. Not that all the Spirit does through the Bible has "pow!"; most of what happens is gradual, adding up, accreting. But "pow!" happens quite a bit, and lives get shook by it.

The Bible Is Sufficient

Sufficient [ Latin sufficere (to be or have enough) < sub- (secondary, beneath) + facêre (to make)]. enough; to meet the needs of right now (or today)..

When said about the Bible, 'sufficient' refers to the belief that what is found in the Bible is all that is needed to be saved. This word is especially important for Anglicans. Some extremists have stretched this term beyond all sense by claiming that the Bible is 'enough' for designing one's life, and that what isn't there doesn't belong in a Christian's life. Get real. The Bible only directly covers a small part of life's doings. It wasn't meant to cover everything; it was meant to convey God's love and God's good news. It has guidance for your life, but it takes thinking and praying and doing to find out what that is. Yes, shape your life by it, but in God-given freedom. Serve God, not a book. All the foundational stuff is in there, but you have to work it through.
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Supreme and Foremost

Supreme : The biggest, highest, most powerful, and most commanding of all sources for understanding or living the faith -- and not by just a tiny bit. This term is used in the churches of India, and also parts of the Anglican tradition. The word 'foremost' means something like supreme : 'fore' is an early English word for saying 'out front', 'at the head of the line', 'top of the list' -- more than anything else.

Timeless

Timeless : what the Bible teaches transcends the eras in which it was written or edited, is still true and important today, and will continue to be true and important tomorrow. This does not mean that every aspect of it is 'timeless'; for instance, what was important about the widow giving money was not its specific value in Roman currency -- that is dated and of its time -- but that she gave for God's purposes from what little she had -- something true of the faithful poor in any era. As with anything else eternal or supernatural, and as God lived here as Jesus, the truths of the Bible show themselves through the natural and time-bound. So each Bible story is very much a part of its time, but its message is very much a part of ours, and for our children.
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Trustworthy

Trustworthy: You can rely upon the Scriptures.. The Spirit is working through the Bible, thus you can turn to it and trust that you're not being tricked. You can set your life on it.

Truthful

Truthful: It tells the truth. God will not deceive us, therefore neither does the Bible. We can trust the Bible to lead us down the right path, because the Spirit speaks through it for that purpose.

Is Unique What You Seek ?

Unique [ Old French < Latin ûnicus]. Unlike anything else; distinctive, alone in kind.

The Spirit operated in a unique manner to create the Bible. The Spirit operated in a unique manner to spread it around. The Spirit acts in a unique manner on you when you read or hear it. The Spirit will keep doing so, literally "'til Kingdom come". The Bible is unique just as each person is unique. These things are all true in a way that is true of no other book.
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Word!

Word : what God says and does. God spoke, and the universe, light, earth, and life were created. God spoke loudest, clearest, and most transcendently by coming among us in Christ Jesus, being executed and being arisen from death. Word up! People who use the term are usually talking about the Bible, which is the central witness to Christ. They often speak of the Bible as "God's word". It's God's Word for you, but it is more a we-Word than an I-Word. More Christians today are shaping some form of a three-fold description of what is meant by 'Word', in order to try to do justice to how the Bible itself uses the term. Some mainline-renewal Protestants speak of God's word as written (the Bible), spoken (preached, taught, borne in witness), and tangible (Christ as God-with-us, and in sacrament). ELCA Lutherans, in their church constitution, speak of the Word of God as being Jesus, the Gospel message, and the Scriptures. But why are so many people not listening to any word God says in the Word?
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