The Air We Breathe
All Scripture is inspired by God 2 Timothy 3:16
Inspired – Shakespeare’s Hamlet is inspired. So are Mozart’s concertos and Beethoven’s symphonies. The Taj Mahal is inspired architecture. Is that what we mean when we say that Scripture is inspired? Do we really mean that it is exceptional, uplifting, energizing and invigorating? Is Scripture inspired because it has a certain effect on me? Or is there something else here?
If English were not such a broad brushstroke language, we would have another word for the Greek theopneustos. Inspired? Yes, maybe. But that is not its literal meaning. This Greek word literally is “God-breathed.” It’s not about how it makes me feel. It’s not about reaction to it. It’s about the source of the text; the authority that accompanies the words. Scripture doesn’t really care how I feel about its message. Whether I am encouraged or enraged is not the point. The point of God-breathed language is who speaks, not how I respond to the speech.
This is the only occurrence of the word theopneustos in the Bible. That makes it more difficult to understand exactly what Paul meant when he made up this word. But we can take a clue from a similar Pauline construction found in 1 Thessalonians 4:9. There the word is theodidaktos (God-instructed). We translate this as “taught by God.” The idea is that there is a direct, intimate, personal relationship between the believer and God and in this relationship, God instructs the believer in proper behavior. If Paul had the same relational idea in mind when he constructed the word theopneustos, then “God-breathed” means that there was a direct, intimate, personal relationship between the writers of the text and the author of the text, God Himself. Scripture is the record of God’s careful and deliberate message, communicated in human language, context and culture, but sufficient for any of us to know who God is and what He desires.
There are plenty of theological debates over the exact nature of how God breathed His word into Scripture. But this much is clear. Jesus, Paul and the disciples accepted the Scriptures as the absolute authority for their lives. So did the faith community of the Jews. Makes you wonder why we debate the issue, doesn’t it? Do you suppose that Jesus just wasn’t well informed on the matter since he did not have all our modern scholarship?
Of course, if you decide that Jesus probably knew the truth on the subject, then you are led to John 17:17. That demands commitment, submission and obedience. Funny thing about theopneustos. It was always about commitment, submission and obedience anyway.
Is all Scripture “God-breathed” for you, or do you pick and choose what God has to say?
