Inspired Scripture (part 1)

Every Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17  (NET)

A powerful statement indeed!  Too often, however, we get focused on the first part of the statement, that of Scripture being inspired by God, and though we always go on to quote the last part, we see it as something of an add-on, proving the fact of its inspiration, because it provides teaching, reproof, correction, and training.  In addition to that, we generally reference the verse in a post-Reformation context, using it as a proof text for the infallibility of Scripture, which was proposed in response to the doctrines of the infallibility of Pope and church.  This, of course, while certainly worth considering when we contemplate the value of our sacred text, is entirely anachronistic and not really worth pursuing if we desire to hear the letter speak on its own terms and within its own setting. 

There is a movement here in what is found in the text.  Naturally, there is a movement in the sense that this is not designed to be heard in isolation.  Prior to the sixteenth verse, we hear/read “You, however, must continue in the things you have learned and are confident about.  You know who taught you and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (3:14-15).  By this we are reminded that there is no reference being made here to anything that we would consider as part of the New Testament.  At the time at which this letter is written, if indeed composed by the Apostle Paul and forwarded on to Timothy during the Apostle’s lifetime, the only New Testament writings that can be safely and confidently presumed to exist would be the letters of Paul.  While it is possible, and indeed probable, that the letters of James and Peter are in existence at that point, it certainly cannot be said that Paul was referring to his own letters as “holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 

By no means would Paul, based on what we know about his disposition through his letters, and though they were certainly meant to be impactful for their recipients, have considered his letters to the churches as being inspired Scripture on par with the writings of the law and the prophets.  We do see Paul offering words from the Lord in contrast to words that come from him, and we do see find Paul speaking confidently and tersely at times, but this does not allow us to presume that Paul thought extraordinarily highly of his own writings.  Any attempt to make this insistence on his part is only due to the preservation of the writings and the value of the teaching and instruction contained therein, as Christians have studied and preserved the writings for well nigh two thousand years, but that does not allow us to go well beyond that which is warranted.  It is undeniable, however, that God has most certainly worked through the New Testament writings, which actually goes towards proving the point of this study. 

On a wider scale, the movement contained here in the third chapter of the second letter to Timothy goes beyond the instructional movement of the letter, as encouragement is conveyed to the recipient.  The movement draws from a long-established understanding about God, the nature of God, the work of God, and yes, the movement of God.  In order to hear the words as part of the movement, we must address that word “inspired.”  The Greek word here translated “inspired” is “theopneustos.”  There are two parts to this word.  The first, “theo,” is “God.”  The second, is “pneustos,” or generally speaking, “breathed.”  The root word for “pneustos” is “pneuma,” which, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures primarily employed by the authors of the New Testament) and in the New Testament, while also used formally as a stand-in for the Spirit, is routinely translated as “breath.”  It is the suffix of the word that allows us to understand it as “breathed.”  An acceptable rendering of the word would then be “God-breathed.” 

With the equivalence that is created between breath and Spirit, it could be said that the word, and therefore the concept being communicated by the word, could be understood as “God-Spirited.”  This would seem to reinforce the common notion of “inspiration,” meaning that God placed His very Spirit in the words of Scripture, therefore forcing us to see the Scriptures themselves as that which have been inspired by God.  There is no need to dispute this assertion, but stopping there would cause us to fall short of grasping the bigger picture of what the author has in mind when these words are penned.  Stopping at that point, which only allows us to see as far as an assertion about the words of Scripture, would leave us short of the understanding about God conveyed throughout all of Scripture.  The Scriptures, first and foremost, are designed to teach us about God, so that we might effectively reflect His glory---as through them we are taught, reproved, corrected, trained, and equipped to serve God’s purposes.  To presume that Scripture teaches about itself as being Scripture takes us down an awkward and most likely unintended path towards idolatry.