All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-171
The word inspiration brings many different thoughts to mind. Today we sometimes think of inspiration as a motivating or energizing force. An artist feels a flash of inspiration for his next painting, a musician is inspired to compose a new song, or I search for inspiration to write this article.
Yet inspiration also carries a deeper meaning. The word comes from the Latin inspirare, which means “to breathe or blow into.”2 It was carried over to English and came to mean “to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural influence or action.”3 The phrase “the inspiration of Scripture” indicates that God actively empowered the writing of the Bible we hold today. He breathed life it to it, energizing every word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 is the main text supporting this truth. A key word in this passage is theopneustos, translated “breathed out by God.” This is the core of the doctrine of inspiration—God breathed out Scripture.
The Bible is not man’s work; it is from God. He wrote it. He exhaled it. It is not just another book to collect dust on the shelf. It is categorically distinct, a level above every other book written since it is the only one written by God. When we read the Bible we hear directly from the Lord of the universe! We see His great work through history and His magnificent grace given in the gospel.
A couple other words help us understand this concept. First, graphē, here translated “Scripture.” The New Testament writers used the word exclusively to refer to the Old Testament, so we could assume that graphē only includes that portion of the Bible. But when these writers used the word, they were referencing the entire known and accepted Word of God at that time. Since each piece of the New Testament became a part of that Word the moment it was written, it’s natural for us to extend this statement to include the New Testament letters as well. This word, graphē, refers to the entire Word of God—both Old and New Testaments.
“All” also shapes our understanding of theopneustos. Each Psalm, each historical account, each epistle is God-breathed. You may hear the term plenary inspiration to describe this (plenary = entire, total, complete4). All of the Bible—the entire canon—is inspired by God. This clearly contradicts the idea that it is inspired in levels or that only pieces are inspired. Every book of the Bible is equally from God, and every piece is exactly as He intended it to be.
Theopneustos teaches us that the Bible is God’s Word to us. It is His gift to us. All of it is from Him, and it is our duty and our privilege to study and obey it.
- The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2011.
- “Inspire,” Merriam-Webster, accessed June 30, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inspire.
- Ibid.
- “Plenary,” Merriam-Webster, accessed August 29, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plenary.