Chapter 2— The Human Instrument

The divine-human communication, as the term itself implies, requires a combination of divine and human characteristics that make the prophetic message unique unto itself. To be able to be understood by human beings, even our Lord Jesus had to combine both characteristics. “The Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, represents a union of the divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the Son of God and the Son of man.” ^{1The Great Controversy, vi.}VOTS 25.1

The relationship between the divine message (perfect, infallible, eternal) and the human messenger (imperfect, fallible, mortal) is not always perceived in proper perspective. To recognize and to accept the differences is an important step in our understanding of the divine-human communication system.VOTS 25.2

When communicating His message, God not only chose human beings but human language as well. Both human beings and human languages share characteristics that are often far from perfect. How do these imperfect instruments affect the perfect message of God? The primary purpose of the current chapter is to answer this question, a question basic to our understanding of the divine message.VOTS 25.3

First, a word of explanation; to look for human weaknesses in the life, work, and language of the prophets may seem irreverent and disrespectful. However, if we want to understand the divine dynamics of inspiration, we have to take a look at the instruments that God chose to communicate His message.VOTS 26.1