God Himself has put contradictions into His Own Word. But God's contradictions are actually paradoxes which indicate higher truths. Jesus revealed Himself to be wholly God and wholly human at the same time, a paradox indicating a higher truth that humans cannot understand but which Christians accept by faith. God put a direct contradiction into Proverbs 26:4-5. But this paradox indicates a higher truth that believers must be guided by the Holy Spirit as to whether or not to answer a fool in a particular situation. In fact, the entire Bible teaches that believers must be guided by the Holy Spirit in seeking God's truth. One should not read the Bible like a newspaper. One should read the Bible with prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit to guide one to its truth. John 15:26; John 16:13. Sometimes, the Bible teaches truth directly and sometimes indirectly. That which the Bible teaches directly in John 16:13, it teaches indirectly in Proverbs 26:4-5.
In order to defend the inerrancy of the Bible, some contend that the Bible speaks only truth. The real truth is that the Bible makes many statements that are not true. The Devil's statement to Eve in Genesis 3:4 was nothing but a lie. Solomon's statement in Ecclesiastes 1:2 cannot possibly be true. All is not vanity. This is the philosophy of nihilism. God allowed much of the Bible to be written from man's point of view. The Bible is inerrant in that it accurately records how Solomon felt at the time he wrote this. Psalm 137:9 merely records how the poet felt at the time he wrote this psalm. Much of the Bible inerrantly records all the errors that men can make in how they feel and act. One should always pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit whenever one reads God's Word. The Bible accurately describes man's condition in order to show us that we are helpless sinners in need of a Savior.
God wrote the Bible for believers, not unbelievers. Whenever a sinner reads the Bible with his heart open to its truth, the Holy Spirit will convict him of its truth. Rebellious sinners will never see the truth in God's Word.
God certainly inspired the whole Bible as II Timothy 3:16 relates. But this verse also states that God gave the inspiration, not necessarily that he directly inspired every writer. Acts 23:25-30 contains a copy of a letter written by a heathen Roman soldier to Felix, the Roman governor of Judea. It is significant that this letter contains an ingratiating lie that this soldier wrote to Felix. The soldier told Felix that he rescued the Apostle Paul from a mob because he was a Roman citizen, when in fact, he did not learn that Paul was a Roman until after he had rescued him. Yet, God allowed this letter to be included in His Word when Luke wrote Acts. God must have included this letter, not just for historical purposes, but to demonstrate the subtle cleverness to which humans sometimes resort when they sin. The Apostle Paul directly quoted two pagan poets in Acts 17:28. The book of Ezra contains copies of letters from the enemies of the Jews to Persian kings, and copies of letters from these kings to the Jews. The Bible contains other such examples. All of this goes to show that God gave His inspiration of His written Word in His Own way. The Bible is inerrant and infallible in its teachings about the lost condition of mankind and his need for a spiritual reconnection to fellowship with God. Certainly, the Bible "...is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:...," just as II Timothy 3:16 teaches.
The written Word of God cannot be the whole Word of God. God knows that the Bible is limited in scope by the limited understanding of man. The purpose of the Bible is to reconnect fallen man to fellowship with the Infinite Living Word of God. John 1:1-14 teaches that God's Infinite Word is the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 147:5. Proverbs 3:19 teaches that God used His wisdom when He created everything. Hebrews 11:3 teaches that God used His Word when He created everything. God's Wisdom and His Word is infinite. This means that when God spoke everything into existence, He structured and planned it all by His use of mathematics and the laws of nature derived from His Infinite Word. God based all His creations on good ideas and systems derived from His Infinite Set of Perfect Ideas which is the Lord Jesus Christ. God's Infinite Consciousness and His Infinite Set of Perfect Ideas are one and the same. John 10:30. Everything is real, and every part of it reveals some aspect of the Infinite Word of God. Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:19-20.
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