I just finished reading Words of Life by Timothy Ward.
It's an academic theological book I had to read to for seminary, and it prompted some incredible thoughts and understandings I wanted to share.
One being:
The human authors of the Bible and God's "speech act" through them.
The first thing we must grasp is that the Bible is indeed God's Word. When he speaks, he acts. When we are reading the Bible, we are experiencing his presence by way of his action through the written word. Just as if I wrote you a letter, as you read it, you aren't just reading words on a paper, you are reading what I have written, therefore part of me is in the letter itself.
We can struggle with the idea of humans being the ones who were the physical authors of the Bible and the Bible also being the infallible and the inerrant Word of God, but when we understand that the Holy Spirit has not only spoken through these men as they penned the Word, the Spirit has also been shaping them for that moment their entire lives.
We are no different. We were meant for each moment. Our entire lives have been shaped by the Spirit as believers in Christ, for God knew before the foundation of the Earth that we would be his. Therefore, our lives have been orchestrated through our own actions by way of the Spirit to form us into who we are. We are continuously being shaped by the Spirit when we are in Christ, so know that every millimeter of life lived is orchestrated by God for you to become more and more like is his Son, Jesus, through sanctification.
What are y'all's thoughts on this? I'd love to hear!