MIF 15:6 (Nov-Dec 1983)
The Virgin Birth and Inspiration
Any denial of the virgin birth of Christ is a denial of the veracity, inerrancy, and infallibility of the Bible. The belief that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16) demands that we give it credence not only in divine revelation but in accurate preservation of all historical records. The Holy Scriptures are God-breathed whether we accept this as in-breathing or out-breathing (inspiration or expiration); the source of the Bible is in God Himself. If one narrative be proved fictitious or even faulty, then the whole may be considered errant and fallible. Faith in the inspiration of the Bible involves the acceptance of it in whole and in parts as having been transmitted by God to man and preserved in its writing by a power beyond that of man.
God is the source, but He has used holy men as His mouthpiece. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The Word of God was not given by any personal or particular explanation, nor by the determination of anyone; the holy men who gave us the Book were impelled in their ministry by the Divine Spirit. Through these men God performed the miracle of inspiration; He used holy men, but fallible men, to write an infallible volume, the Holy Scriptures, the Bible.
The Bible is God’s witness to us of His presence working throughout human history. The record of the virgin birth given by Matthew and Luke are the revelation of God’s great work among men, for men.
—From the pen of the late James Gunn in his book,
CHRIST: THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD
(see “The Book Corner” for a review of this choice volume)