One great objection to verbal inspiration has been to urge that it would make the various writers God chose to use into mere automatons, mere mechanical tools. This is not so. As we read the Scriptures we can gather a good deal of knowledge of the different writers by the way in which they present things. One can tell the great difference between Paul and Peter. Peter himself acknowledges this when he wrote of the epistles of " our beloved brother Paul... in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest... unto their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:15,1615And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:15‑16)). Peter was " ignorant and unlearned" as far as this world's learning was concerned. A fisherman from Galilee, with a dialect that betrayed him, he stands in vivid contrast to Paul.
When we read Peter's writings they are in accord with what we know of him as to style. As to matter he was an inspired penman in the hands of the Spirit of God. On the other hand, Paul was brought up at the feet of the well known Gamaliel. Evidently Gamaliel was a very prominent rabbi, for there is a saying in the Talmud, "Since Rabbi Gamaliel died the glory of the law has departed." When we read Paul's writings we discover the writer to be a man of culture, learning, personality, logically minded, in short an outstanding man.
So with Moses, "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians... mighty in words and in deeds" (Acts 7:2222And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. (Acts 7:22)). Yet the wisdom of the Egyptians could not tell him how the world was created, but God's inspiration saved him from perpetuating their strange fables as to the origin of this earth. Nehemiah, cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, was evidently a man of rapid decisions and bold actions. This we gather from the book that bears his name. Amos, the herdman of Tekoa, a gatherer of sycamore fruit, writes a book in character with his calling and social position.
How then are the characteristics of the different writers, their attainments, their personalities preserved and allowed their play, and yet verbal inspiration be true? How are their writings free from being simply mechanical? Our Lord clearly laid claim to verbal inspiration, when He said, " Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled י י (Matt, 5:18). Then there are Paul's words to Timothy, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness " (2 Tim. 3:1616All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:16)). Twenty times over in Leviticus we read, " The Lord spake unto Moses saying." All through Scripture is the claim made that it is God speaking.
An illustration will help us to understand how God did not put aside the personality of the writers employed, and yet fully ensured that what they wrote was His unalloyed message. Suppose you are a guest at a noble banquet. You notice a number of stately dishes on the table. You observe that they differ in size and shape. Some are small, others are large. Some have the shape of fruits, others of flowers, others again of a stately building, another is shaped like a bird on the wing, etc.
You ask yourself the question, Why do these tempting dishes differ in size and design? Of course, you reply, It is decided by the mold in which the material is put. Let me ask you a question. The mold decides the shape and design of the attractive dish you see on the table. How much of the mold is there in the material, or is it all pure material? You answer, There is no mold in the material. The mold determines the shape of the material, but the material is pure.
If man can do this with his humble powers, what can God not do? Moses was the mold. There is no Moses in the matter he writes. It is the pure unalloyed Word of God. Paul was the mold. There is no Paul in the matter he writes. That is the pure unalloyed Word of God. So with the whole of the Scriptures.