By: Brian G. Chilton, Ph.D., M.Div. | October 19, 2023

S7E7 Theopneustos and Biblical Inspiration on YouTube





What Do We Mean by Biblical Inspiration?

On "S7E7 Theopneustos and Biblical Inspiration," let's talk about what we mean by biblical inspiration. By biblical inspiration, we mean to say that God inspired the writers of Scripture to accurately convey his message in all that it says, while also permitting the writers to incorporate their own words, styles, and personalities when writing out the text. As such, the Bible is the ultimate rule and guide for the Christian faith. This corroborates with what Dr. Deanna Huff said last week when she defended the verbal plenary theory of biblical interpretation. God guided and directed the writing of Scripture, but he also permitted the biblical writers to interject their own words and thoughts in God’s revelation.

Norman Geisler offers the following definition for biblical inspiration, “Inspiration is the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit, who through the different personalities and literary styles of the chosen human authors invested the very words of the original books of Holy Scripture, alone and in their entirety, as the very Word of God without error in all that they teach or imply (including history and science), and the Bible is thereby the infallible rule and final authority for faith and practice of all believers” (Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1: Introduction, Bible, 241).

When considering the nature of biblical inspiration, it is helpful to remember the three “I’s”: inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy. As already noted, biblical inspiration speaks of God’s guidance and direction of the biblical texts. Biblical infallibility means that the Bible is trustworthy in what it says concerning matters of God, faith, and salvation. It does not necessarily speak to historical events, per se, but it rather speaks to the spiritual and theological principles found in the text. Biblical inerrancy takes the trustworthiness of Scripture to another level. Inerrantists hold that the Bible contains no errors whatsoever. Thus, the Bible is true in everything it says historically, theologically, and philosophically. Even still, inerrantists maintain that the biblical autographs are inerrant, not translations of the autographs.

What Does Theopneustos Mean?

On "S7E7 Theopneustos and Biblical Inspiration," let's also talk about the term theopneustos. The term Theopneustos is found in 2 Timothy 3:16 , which we will examine in just a moment. Paul said that the Bible is “inspired by God.” The word in Greek translated as “inspired” is the term Theopneustos. It literally means “God-breathed.” B. B. Warfield in 1900 argued that the Theopneustos is passive in 2 Timothy 3:16 , meaning that God did not breathe through Scripture, and the Scripture did not breathe out God. Rather, God breathed out Scripture.

Therefore, the writing, composition, and formulation of the biblical canon was a divine act. Scripture is not only inspiring. Scripture is a divine product that flowed from God himself. If this is true, then it behooves the Christian to take seriously the truths of Scripture and to accurately interpret it as best they can. For the life of me, I do not see how a biblical-based Christian could be against biblical education, especially seeing how valuable accurately interpreting Scripture is to the life of the believer.

What Do the Biblical Writers Say About the Inspiration of the Bible?

There are several Scriptures that we need to consider when answering this question. But the Bible itself tells us four things about the inspiration of Scripture.

Biblical Inspiration Requires the Act of Being God-Breathed (2 Timothy 3:16 )

2 Timothy 3:16 –17 (CSB): All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,