While looking for the source of the quote in the previous post, I came across the entire text of Vernard Eller’s compilation of the writings of Johann Christoff Blumhardt and Christoff Heinrich Blumhardt, Thy Kingdom Come: A Blumhardt Reader. This excerpt from the section entitled “The Bible” is relevant and interesting:
People speak much these days about “the inspiration of scripture”; and this is good. However, I prefer to speak of “inspired people.” God be thanked that we have scriptures that came from those through whom God’s Spirit spoke the truth. Yet it is the prophet who is inspired, not the letter of scripture. And if the letter is to lead to the truth, so must you also be led by the Spirit of God as you read.
Conversely, today’s natural man knows nothing of the Spirit of God and so gets himself quite confused regarding the words of the inspired prophets. But thus, also, a man like Luther could, for his time, personally witness to the God-intended truth of that for which other writers of his time could find no meaning nor make any sense. He was ruled by God and the Spirit, not by biblical texts. But if we all attend only upon the revealed life of God, and if each person is zealous only for his own gifts regarding God’s truth and steadfastness, then we do not need to be in conflict over the inspiration of scripture. We then can find ourselves in reciprocal agreement.
This quotation resonates so perfectly with our discussion the other night. All truth is revealed by God through the spirit, so let’s give Him his job back.
A new book of Blumhardt readings has just come out, "Thy Will Be Done: Sickness, Faith, and the God Who Heals." It is available as a free ebook at http://www.plough.com.