Inspiration

The doctrine of inspiration affirms what Scripture self-affirms that "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16, NIV). The adjective in Greek is theopneustos, which most English translations render "inspired by God," though here the NIV & ESV is more literal, translating it "God-breathed." Inspiration provides the theological foundation for the authority of the Word of God. With this special divine inspiration biblical authority becomes simply a matter of arbitrary decision.

In speaking of the inspiration of Scripture, two important points must be kept in mind.

1) Two errors regarding what inspiration involves must be rejected. Such inspiration of Scripture by God, however we understand it took place, should not be taken to suggest, first, that God was simply dictating the worlds while the human authors who wrote down the books of the Bible were mere "typewriters." If inspiration was not dictation, neither was it a matter of God accomodation so that in the process all the effects of human sinfulness came to find expression in their products so that Scripture may be flawed in some matters of fact and/or divine intention. The concept of inspiration that have found most acceptance in the Christian Church is a dynamic process of the Spirit of God acting in such close illumination and supervision of the Spirit in the hearts, minds, and lives of those writers that they were kept from errors of what the Spirit intended.

2) It is not just some parts of Scripture that are inspired but that "all Scripture" (pasa graphe) is. We cannot pick and chose what we like to believe are inspired, leaving out the more difficult and demanding passages, or passages that do not suit our palate.

One also hears in discussions about biblical inspiration two adjectives: verbal and plenary. Plenary, which normally means 'complete,' 'full,' affirms that every part of the Bible is to be understood as "breathed by God," while verbal (i.e., 'relating to words') inspiration affirms that the words of Scriptures are themselves as God intended them to be.

Resources:

[Beginners' Guide: Start with Bruce (1946), follow up with by Bloesch (1980)]

F. F. Bruce, “What Do We Mean By Biblical Inspiration?” Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute 78 (1946): 120-139.
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John H. Gerstner, "The Church's Doctrine of Biblical Inspiration," in The Foundation of Biblical Authority, ed. by James Montgomery Boice (London: Pickering & Inglis, 1979), 22-58.
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Donald Bloesch, "The Sword of the Spirit: The Meaning of Inspiration," Themelios 5.3 (May 1980): 14-19.
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Geoffrey W. Bromiley, "The Church Doctrine of Inspiration," in Revelation and the Bible. Contemporary Evangelical Thought, ed. by Carl F. H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958/London: The Tyndale Press, 1959), 205-217.
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Nigel M. de S. Cameron, "Inspiration and Criticism: The Nineteenth-Century Crisis," Tyndale Bulletin 35 (1984) 129-159.
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Jeremy Begbie, "Who is This God?—Biblical Inspiration Revisited," Tyndale Bulletin 43.2 (1992): 259-282.
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Ian Rees, "Exegesis 19: Revelation and Inspiration," Foundations 34 (1995): 14-18.
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Hywel Jones, "Focus: 2. Holy Scriptures," Foundations 14 (1985): 2-9.
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Kern R. Trembath, "Biblical Inspiration and the Believing Community: A New Look," Evangelical Quarterly" 3 (1986):245-256.
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Robert I. Bradshaw, "The Main Theories of the Inspiration of Scripture," BiblicalStudies.org.uk
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Alan, M. Stibbs, "The Witness of Scripture to Its Inspiration," in Revelation and the Bible. Contemporary Evangelical Thought ed. Carl F.H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958/London: The Tyndale Press, 1959), 107-118.
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For more resources on this subject see BiblicalStudies.org.uk