We often refer to the Bible as the Word of God because God chose to speak to us through a written revelation, but one thing many fail to realize is that the Bible is actually inspired word for word by God himself. Many today have the false impression that the Bible is an inspired book of thoughts or ideas. This could not be further from the truth. Each and every word of the Scripture was given to the Bible writers from the Holy Spirit. The apostle Peter said, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:20,21). So, it was the Holy Spirit that inspired the context of the Scriptures, but how do we know the Holy Spirit gave the writers each and every word? Paul told the Corinthians, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (1 Cor. 2:12,13). Paul is telling us in this text that the Holy Spirit revealed God's word to them in actual words. This is what is referred to as "verbal plenary word" inspiration.
Some may say, "why does it matter that much anyway?" Look at it this way. Say you were writing a deed contract or a legal will. Would you want the contract to be paraphrased according to your thoughts, or would you want it to say specifically what you wanted? The answer is obvious. If we desire specificity in legal contracts dealing with money or property, wouldn't we desire the same when it comes to the salvation of our souls. If a surgeon was preparing for your surgery, would you want him to list out in detail the equipment and medications the nurses need to prepare, or would you prefer he just generalize? We would want specifics, wouldn't we? This is why we must be careful what Bible translations we use. Some translations use what is referred to as "thought translation" where the general idea is translated instead of translating the Greek text word for word into English. The New International Version (NIV) is one example of a Bible translated with "thought translation". This type of translation leaves too much wiggle room for translators that may be partial to a particular theological stance. The NIV Bible has a strong sway toward the incorrect "faith only" doctrine, because those who translated it believed in that false teaching.
We must always be conscious of the fact that the Holy Spirit put each and every individual word in the Bible the way He did for a specific reason. If man supplemented any of the individual words of the Bible, we would not be able to trust the Book as a whole. The inspired apostle Paul wrote, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16,17). If the Bible truly is the Word of God, and we know that it is, then Paul's statement must be accepted as being true. It is either "all Scripture", or it is not.
We should all be able to find great comfort in knowing that God has given us a word by word inspired revelation that we can depend on to guide us through this life on to Heaven. -Ed