Paul, in speaking of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost: "But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things
of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of
God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not
the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might
know the things which are freely given to us of God, which things also
we speak, _not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the
Holy Ghost teacheth_, comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (1
Cor. 2: 10-13).

And what if one objects that this theory makes inspiration purely
mechanical, and turns the writers of Scripture into stenographers,
whose office is simply to transcribe the words of the Spirit as they
are dictated? It must be confessed that there is much in Scripture to
support this view of the case. Should we see a student who, having
taken down {174} the lecture of a profound philosopher, was now
studying diligently to comprehend the sense of the discourse which he
had written, we should understand simply that he was a pupil and not a
master; that he had nothing to do with originating either the thoughts
or the words of the lecture, but was rather a disciple whose province
it was to understand what he had transcribed, and so be able to
communicate it to others. And who can deny that this is the exact
picture of what we have in the following passage from Scripture: "Of
which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, _searching what, or
what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify,
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory
that should follow_; unto whom it was revealed," etc. (1 Peter 1: 10,
11). Here were inspired writers, studying the meaning of what they
themselves had written. If they were prophets on the manward side,
they were evidently pupils on the Godward side. With all possible
allowance for the human peculiarities of the writers, they must have
been reporters of what they heard, rather than the formulators of that
which they had been made to understand. How nearly this also describes
the attitude of Christ,--a hearer that he might be a teacher: "All
things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you" (John
15: 15); {175} a reporte