Inspiration and the Book of Luke
What does Luke say about how his Gospel came into existence, and what does this tell us about inspiration? Luke 1:1–4.
In writing his Gospel, Luke doesn’t seem to have relied on dreams or visions. Neither was he an eyewitness to the events he describes. Instead, he worked from what he had learned from others, all, no doubt, under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, which ensured that what he wrote down was in harmony with the historical events and God’s will.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul not only received information orally from others (1 Cor. 1:10, 11) but in a few places quoted from the writings of pagan authors. For example, in Acts 17:28 he quotes from the Cilician poet Aratus (c. 315-240 b.c.) who wrote, "It is with Zeus that every one of us in every way has to do, for we are also his offspring" (Phaenonlena 5; emphasis supplied). See also 1 Corinthians 15:33 and Titus 1:12, where Paul quoted other sources, all in order to teach inspired truth.
Ellen White from time to time used other books as sources for her own works. In the introduction to The Great Controversy she wrote: “The great events which have marked the progress of reform in past ages are matters of history, well known and universally acknowledged by the Protestant world; they are facts which none can gainsay. . . . In some cases where a historian has so grouped together events as to afford, in brief, a comprehensive view of the subject, or has summarized details in a convenient manner, his words have been quoted; but in some instances no specific credit has been given, since the quotations are not given for the purpose of citing that writer as authority, but because his statement affords a ready and forcible presentation of the subject. In narrating the experience and views of those carrying forward the work of reform in our own time, similar use has been made of their published works.”—Pages xi and xii. Prophets using other sources? Many people find that disturbing. What does this tell us, though, about how inspiration can work? If you think about it, what’s wrong with prophets under the guidance of the Holy Spirit going to other sources as a way of helping express truth?
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