“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16

God Breathed Language

Inspired – Our translation “inspired” comes from the Latin Bible, not the Greek New Testament.  In the Greek New Testament, the word is theopneustos, literally “God breathed”.  What does that mean?  The word is used only once, in the verse, so it’s not possible to find other contexts.  It is not used in the Old Testament either.  Paul made up the word for this occasion.  But there is another similar word, theodidaktos in 1 Thessalonians 4:9 where the translation is “God taught”.  The similarity shows us that what is involved in “God breathed” is an essential connection between the language used by men and the meaning and thoughts of God.  The words (graphe) are certainly human words but they are not just human words.  They carry with them God’s breath.  These words are the clothes that God wears when He walks with us.

One of the tragedies of modern Christianity is the plethora of translations and marketing versions.  There is a Bible for every possible target market today.  Women’s Bibles, men’s Bibles, youth Bibles, twenty versions of study Bibles, Bibles for bikers, leadership Bibles, seeker Bibles – the list goes on and on.  Confusion reigns!  Since many versions translate the text differently, how can we ever be certain that we really know what words God wanted us to hear?  Profit motives have pushed aside context integrity.  And the church has stopped teaching the only text that matters, the one that was written first.  If God asks you to keep His commandments, you better know what they really are.  If your English Bible doesn’t give you a word for word translation, go to one that does.  Not everything is inspired.  “God breathed” is Greek.

When God speaks He expects us to listen.  The fact that He spoke to men in Hebrew and Greek does not mean we can play fast and loose with the transition to English.  God is His own tailor and we are not entitled to re-dress Him.  These words are important.  They carry life in them.  To overlook one, to alter another, to ignore or add to any of them is to risk missing an appointment with God.