Inspiration … (August2026 Update)
Times of war and crises require all kinds of heroes. But probably one of the most important heroes is not one that we usually think of. We quickly think about the outnumbered soldiers capturing a company of enemy soldiers by themselves. Or we remember the medic who crawls across enemy lines to rescue injured soldiers. But perhaps the most important hero in war often never directly sees combat. This is the leader who inspires the soldiers to fight and motivates the people to hang on in spite of relentless enemy attacks.
Winston Churchill did this in the Second World War. Against all odds and relentless attacks by Germany, Churchill’s speeches were encouraged both the population and the army to keep on fighting no matter how dim the situation seemed. Some might say that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has done the same for Ukraine over the last 4+ years. When Russia invaded and surrounded Kyiv in early 2022, President Biden offered to evacuate Zelensky from Kyiv. Zelensky replied, “I need ammunition, not a ride.” With that and many other selfless words, Zelensky has inspired the Ukrainian people to fight on against a larger and superior power.
But that’s not what the Bible means by inspiration. The dictionary definitions for inspiration are a lot like Churchill and Zelensky’s inspiring their nations. So, the most common meaning for inspiration is to be motivated by someone or something. Another definition for inspiration is to get a sudden creative idea. It’s a lot like the cartoons where someone is thinking about something and, all of the sudden, a light bulb comes on in their mind. They got an inspiration – a sudden creative idea.
However, the biblical or theological definition is totally different. The biblical idea of inspiration comes primarily from 2 Timothy 3:16 where Paul says that all scripture is inspired by God. And the word he uses for “inspired” is a unique word – Theopneustos – that literally means God-breathed. So, the biblical idea of inspiration is very different from the dictionary definition. It is not simply an inspiration that a person gets, but rather it is God breathing His words into the authors of scripture. So, we would define inspiration as the process of recording God’s revelation in writing. Let’s look at a number of aspects about this definition so that we can better understand what inspiration means in biblical and theological sense.
Before we can do that, we need to examine how inspiration is a unique part of God’s revelation. First, remember what we said about general and special revelation? General revelation focuses upon creation or we might say that it focuses upon the works of God. General revelation is something that comes to everyone and can be seen by everyone. But its content is so general that, by itself, it can only show us that there is a God who exists. It cannot tell us what He wants from us or how to be saved. That is why we need special revelation. Special revelation is when God speaks His words, plural, to someone. And then there is what we call scripture or inspiration. Scripture is God’s word, singular, to us. It might come to an individual but it is for all mankind for all time. We will talk more about this distinction – but inspiration is one type of special revelation. God has spoken in many ways and may even continue to speak today, but all special revelation is not inspiration – it is not included in Scripture. Inspiration is recorded so that it can be shared through all generations.
Here are two theological definitions for biblical inspiration. The first is by R. C. Sproul: “Inspiration is the process by which the Holy Spirit guided the writing of Scripture.” The second is by Millard Erickson. He says that Inspiration is “the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the writers of Scripture” to give an accurate record of the Word of God.
I have created a picture to show the various types of special revelation and how they are related to Inspiration or Scripture. The Funnel represents all kinds of special revelation. This includes dreams and visions, prophecies and angels, and perhaps many other ways that God communicates through special revelation. I put scripture at the neck of the funnel to show that all other forms of revelation must be measured and tested by scripture. We test everything by the Word of God because the Word of God is the inspired revelation that comes from God. As such, we can completely trust it to be true and so it is the measure that we use to test everything else to see whether or not it is true. Also, if anyone thinks they have received any other type of special revelation (for example, a dream), then that revelation must be tested by God’s clear, written Word to see if it can be trusted. God may communicate through other forms of special revelation, but everything must be tested to see if it agrees with God’s inspired Word. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
Another way we can look at this is to compare special revelation and scripture. Special revelation is for one person at one time. But inspired Scripture is for all people at all times. Revelation would be God’s call of Abraham. God spoke to one person at one time in history. But it becomes scripture when the Holy Spirit has it written down and recorded and preserved for us in the Bible. When that happens, it is no longer simply special revelation to one person; it has become inspired revelation for all people for all time.
Here is another way to state this. General revelation is how we know God through His Works (primarily creation). Special revelation is when God speaks to any individual (dreams, prophecies, etc.). These are God’s Words. But Scripture or the inspired Word of God is when the Holy Spirit has those words written down and preserved so that the people of God can know God’s Word.
So, what is biblical inspiration. To be clear, it is not like Churchill’s inspiration. It is not like Monet being inspired by a beautiful landscape. Biblical inspiration is God breathing His Words in such a way that the Holy Spirit will record them and preserve them for all people for all time. So, there are 3 parts to biblical inspiration. First, God speaks. Second, the Holy Spirit records them without error (this is called inerrancy – we will look at this later). Finally, the Holy Spirit preserves in so that all God’s people for all time can have access to this truth.
Perhaps the best passage to explain this is found in 2 Peter 1:16-21. Here, Peter begins by sharing an event from his own life where he experienced special revelation. In verses 16-18, he tells about a time when he even heard the voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration.
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”— and we ourselves heard this declaration made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
Then he quickly follows up with this amazing statement about the Word of God (inspiration/Scripture):
And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
What is more sure than even a voice from heaven? The prophetic Words of Scripture. These words are not just someone’s interpretation of an event in special revelation (a voice from heaven). But these words come to us because God spoke them and the Holy Spirit moved men to record them. This is what Peter tells us that we should pay more attention to – the inspired Word of God. That’s biblical inspiration! It is like “a lamp shining in a dark place.” It can give us hope and guidance and direction even in the darkest, most difficult times.
Serving and Teaching …
I have an online class coming up at the end of September (September 28-October 2). I will be teaching the Evangelism class again. This might be my last full class for KTS online. We are still trying to find someone to teach this class in person. Pray for my preparation and for the students who will be participating in the class. It is often very difficult for these students. They are awakened multiple times each night with air raids from Russian missiles. And, at times, they will be without electricity. So please pray for them as they study and prepare for this class.
We are also making some progress in providing theological education for GlobalServe missionaries. The new director of Church Relations is planning to let every new candidate know about the opportunity to work with me on theological education. We will also be talking with missions pastors in are area this fall and with missions pastors from GSI churches at our Sender’s Forum in February 2027. Pray that we can get prepared to help these missionaries be trained theologically before they leave to work with unreached people groups.
Family …
Our summer has been filled with some very interesting girl’s activities. First, Kristina and Nadia decided to put together their own dance recital. They made it very clear that they did not want our help. They included Haven and Harlie in the dance routines. The girls developed their own routines and practiced them for over 2 months. They made invitations and tickets and invited friends to the performance. They did all the decorations and even prepared refreshments for intermission. They all did a really spectacular job!
Another friend of ours invited the girls to join a summer book club. They had a great time reading the book, Strawberry Girl. The club also included refreshments and was a wonderful time for them all. They are looking forward to the next meeting and the next book later this month.
They also had a special birthday party with two friends, Anna and Lucy, that they met when we lived at Lightbearers. They had a wonderful pool birthday party!
We also had a special party with Cass Cooper (youngest grandson) turning 3 years old. He is really cute and very active!
It has been a busy month, and we are looking forward to a family reunion in the Smokies next month. This summer’s harvest has been better than last year’s. Last year, Arkansas bugs got almost all our vegetables during the summer. This year, we have worked really hard at dealing with the bugs to try to reduce the damage, and we’ve done pretty good. We especially love preserving our vegetables in different ways. One of our favorite ways is pickling. It is simple and gives some interesting flavors. But most of all, it can be really pretty! So, we do canning, and pickling, and dehydrating everything we can. Last year, even with all the bugs, we did not need to buy hardly any vegetables until the end of spring! Also, our chickens have finally started to give some eggs too. All of this is a lot of work, but it really helps us financially.
Retirement (?) and Health
I’m still trying to sort through possible retirement plans. I honestly struggle and go back and forth as to what to do. On one hand, I need to think about reducing what I’m doing to spend more time with family. On the other hand, I want to continue to be useful in ministry. Lately, I’ve been leaning back toward working longer. I have so many years of experience that might be helpful for others in missions and ministry. So, please pray for me. This is really one of the most difficult decisions I have ever faced.
My health issues are not serious like they were in Ukraine, but I continue to have some difficulties with the hiatal hernia and also with an irregular heartbeat. The hernia is causing so much discomfort that I have decided (reluctantly!) to get it repaired. Right now, we have surgery scheduled for September. Hopefully it will not interfere with my class. Also, I have another meeting with my cardiologist next week to talk about a pacemaker. In conversations after the halter monitor, they think I will need this eventually, but they are hoping I can wait a little longer. Right now, the irregular rhythms are not frequent enough for the pacemaker. So, in general, I feel pretty good, but I will need to do something soon to fix these two problems.
Pray for Ukraine …
Please remember to pray for Ukraine. Ukraine has really been hurting Russia with its attacks on Russian oil storage and refineries. As a result, Russia has increased its use of ballistic missiles targeting residential areas. There is no military value in these strikes except to weaken Ukrainian resolve to continue resisting Russian attacks. This year, August 24, 2026, marks 35 years of independence from Russia (USSR). When a referendum was held in Ukrainian oblasts (like states) confirming their independence from Russia, over 90% voted to become independent. As you can see from the map, every region, including the Russian speaking east, voted overwhelmingly to leave the USSR and become separate from Moscow. Only in Crimea was the vote even close. Even there, over 54% voted to become independent. Since then, Russia has tried everything from economic coercion to outright war (from 2014 until the present) to try to force Ukraine back under its control. The people of Ukraine have steadfastly resisted all of Russia’s attempts.
Putin loves to blame NATO, but the majority of Ukrainians opposed joining NATO until after Russia took Crimea and started the war in Donbass in 2014. Before 2013, less than 13% of Ukrainians wanted to join NATO. In 2014, that number jumped to 45% after Russia began its attacks in the east. After the full Russian invasion in 2022, up to 75% of Ukrainians say they favor joining NATO. So, Ukraine continues to resist Russia’s attempts to take over their country even though it has meant over 4 years of continuous war with Russia (actually over 12 years if we count from 2014). Someone has put it very accurately: If Russia stops attacking, the war will end. If Ukraine stops defending, Ukraine will end. Please pray for Ukraine and the people there – and for peace! No one wants peace more than the people of Ukraine – but not at any cost.
Also, pray for our students. They continue to study and minister even with missiles interrupting sleep multiple times each night. In fact, their ministries have increased because of all the refugees and emotional suffering that Ukrainians are dealing with. Pray that these difficult times will open even more doors for sharing the gospel.
Thank you for helping us to minister in Ukraine and train and support the Ukrainian church. I have now been teaching students in Ukraine for over 31 years! It has been an unusually special joy that I would not trade for anything. All of this has been done because “we have the prophetic word made more sure” – the inspired Word of God. What a joy to be able to teach and preach this Word for so many years! May the Lord grant us many more years so that His Word can be faithfully taught and preached in many nations, tongues and tribes!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
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