We often treat the Bible as a collection of general ideas. We think God inspired the concepts but left the details to human writers. However, the writers of the Bible did not view Scripture this way. They believed that God inspired every single word and letter.

This is the doctrine of plenary inspiration. It means the Holy Spirit directed the specific words of the text.

The Apostle Paul built entire theological arguments on a single letter. In his letter to the Galatians, he focused on the difference between a singular and a plural noun.

"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ."Galatians 3:16 (NKJV)

Paul did not argue from a general concept. He argued from the absence of the letter "s" at the end of a word.

Jesus did the same. When He defended the resurrection to the Sadducees, He pointed to a single verb tense. He quoted God's words to Moses: "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Because God used the present tense "am" instead of the past tense "was," Jesus proved that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still alive.

Every word in your Bible matters. God chose the words with precision. When you read Scripture, pay attention to the specific terms, the tenses, and the details. God speaks through the details.

God did not just inspire the ideas of Scripture; He chose the very words.