“Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 NET).
We often use the word “inspired” to describe an artist, musician, or author who creates an emotional or thought-provoking work. However, the Biblical concept of inspiration goes far beyond anything created solely by a mere human being.
The word translated “inspired” is taken from the word theopneustos (literally, ” God- breathed”) in the original language of 2 Timothy 3:16. Much like the human act of respiration, the idea behind this passage is that God “breathed-out” His Word through the pen of each Biblical author. This concept also extends to God’s absolute oversight, guidance, and direction over each Biblical writer.
One author provides us with a useful definition of this word when used in a Biblical context…
“Inspiration, therefore, can be defined as the inward working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men whom God chose to write the books of the Bible. This guaranteed that the final result would be exactly what God intended. Thus, the Bible is the written Word of God to humanity, and, when originally written, was without error. It is the final authority for all matters of faith and practice.” (1)
Another Biblical scholar offers further clarity on this passage…
“God-breathed does not mean that God somehow took over their bodies or pushed them out of the chair and took up their pens…. Rather, inspiration means that God breathed his own words through their personalities and pens. He gave them the insight and understanding, so that the finished literary product had two authors, one human and one divine.” (2)
It is this unique two-part authorship that makes the Bible different from any other book. God is completely responsible for the content of the Scriptures while the Biblical authors wrote what they received from Him. Yet, as the quotation above implies, Biblical inspiration does not mean that these mortal authors acted as human word processors, copy machines, or stenographers.
Instead, God elected to use each Biblical writer’s personality, cultural background, vocabulary, and writing style to communicate the Scriptures in a precise and errorless manner. For example, the Scriptures display the humanity of each human author through such things as human research (Luke 1:1-4), human emotion (Nehemiah 13:25), and even human memories that were fragmentary and incomplete (1 Corinthians 1:15-16).
The Scriptures provide us with an excellent word-picture to describe this process, and we’ll examine that illustration in greater detail next.
(1) Stewart, Don “In What Sense Is the Bible the Inspired Word of God?” Retrieved 16 August, 2021 https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/bible-authoritative-word/question2-is-the-bible-the-inspired-word-of-god.cfm
(2) Sproul, R. C. (1994). Before the face of God: Book 4: A daily guide for living from Ephesians, Hebrews, and James (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House; Ligonier Ministries.