The Bible and the Inspiring God
The older I get, the more I appreciate the Bible. Scripture is my principle authority on matters of Christian faith and practice. God uses it to encourage and teach me.
One of my favorite passages is 2 Timothy 3:15-17. It’s probably the passage most cited as evidence for the high regard Christians have for the Bible.
Paul writes to his young friend, Timothy. He notes that from childhood, Timothy was taught “the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Of course, the sacred writings – scriptures – were not the Bible, as we know it. Paul was referring to Jewish writings, many of which make up what most Christians call the “Old Testament.”
Salvation
These scriptures teach us about salvation, says Paul. Despite being written long before Jesus was born, they tell us about the salvation Christ provides.
In the context of talking about salvation, Paul says,
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”
The verse identifies specific ways God uses the Bible to offer salvation. The salvation God offers involves our being taught, reproved, corrected, and trained in righteousness. The scriptures, therefore, are tools for the saving work God wants to do in us.
Inspiration
Many commentators say the word “inspire” means something like “breathed into.” Instead of thinking of God as one who makes and controls us like robots, God enlivens the words of scripture. God uses them as a source to spark abundant life in us.
Paul says God’s inspiration occurs in the present, as we read or hear the scriptures. The phrase, “is useful,” is present tense.
The inspiration mentioned here has less to do with God’s communication to writers long ago (although I believe it also speaks to this). It has more to do with God’s communicating, empowering, and calling us today — as we read the scriptures (both Old and New testaments).
I like the way the verse ends. The purpose of scripture is to promote well-being. God uses the Bible to equip us for doing good – which is what I think is the best way to talk about love!
In fact, there is an integral relationship between 1) God’s in-spiring, 2) salvation, and 3) doing good.
Ultimately, this verse seems to be saying that the Bible is not simply an end in itself. It is a means God uses to love us by offering salvation.
Thanks be to God!
Newsletter
For a 200-page book of Thomas Jay Oord's best-selling writings and to receive his newsletter, add your email address...
Comments
Tom:
Great thoughts! I like your conclusion describing the integral relationship between inspiration, soteriology, and holiness (good works).
Blessings,
Dave
Good thoughts. I’ve thought for some time now that what Scripture does in us is never really captured in any formalized doctrine of inspiration.
For me, there is an integral tie between God’s word and God’s Spirit. I believe that the Holy Spirit brings the words off the page and alive in our hearts – to the intended purposes you mention. Wonderful!
Hi Tom,
Good thoughts. We do need to expand our understanding of God’s dynamic Word. It is about Him communicating through language, (the universal means of communication) His love, grace and His means of (re)shaping us morally in the image of His Son Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, too many (even sincere) believers have squeezed the Bible through the eye of a needle, and as we all know, even camels have a hard time getting through that!
God bless
Roy
Wow!! My first introduction to your writings. I like it very much!
Well said and well explained, Tom. I have long been amazed at the amount of “salvation” that is revealed in the O.T.
Thanks,
Lon
Good point, Tom.
Your point about inspiration as a current event is echoed in 1 Corinthians 2:14…
“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Inspired. Useful. Thank you.
Excellent article, Tom. Thank you for the clear and compelling description of what inspiration is intended to do for us today!
Thanks, Tom,
I think you have something here. The nature of Scripture is closely bound up with God’s purposes in the world, and purposes in us. How many of our fights over interpretation and interpretive errors and quagmires stem from failure to use and be used by Scripture to the ends we and it are intended.
Just happened to preach on this passage Sunday Oct 19th. In our discussion of the message during evening church service, my people commented on the “life-giving” quality of Scripture (breath of God).It is similar to creation when God breathed into the form of man (Gen 2:7) and made him a living creature. The Word of God gives us life, the eternal kind, and “livens” us every day as we read and study it.
Tom: I love the way you keep your language simple yet beautiful, so that the simplest and most-educated can both interact with this and relate to it. Thank you. I really like the emphasis upon how the scripture speaks to us now, rather than having spoken in the past to a people long dead and gone.
I always found it significant that verse 15 shows the scriptures pointing toward faith in Jesus Christ, rather than faith in themselves, as the way to salvation. It seems to point away from itself rather than toward itself, which may work well with your emphasis on kenosis.
The older I get the more I see the great men and women of God’s Word, not as those who have taken a certain stand on inerrancy, but as those who make the Word become flesh through faithful obedience. Some have been scholars but others janitors, loggers,and children. The Bible is God-breathed—but God breathes into us.
Tom,
I appreciated the fact often ignored you point out in your article that Paul is speaking primarily of the Old Testament. It would seem odd then to make this text a proof of a the perfection of 66 books. This also seems to be making a stretch to make this verse place faith in the Scriptures themselves instead of Jesus.
Thanks for a simple reading of the text….something that often gets missed when this verse is thrown out in polarized discussions.
Thanks
Tom,
I really liked this blog post. It is a great reminder of God’s love for us. Its been a while (besides in class) that i have read that verse and let it sink in. I love how the verse is so present. It reminds me that the Bible is an essential tool for Christians.
Erika
Tom
To me what is interesting here is that Paul makes it clear that no man is able to receive salvation simply knowing Scripture even though the Scripture (all 66 books)are holy by Divine inspiration.
It is also true, as the Apostle points out, Timothy was trained in the Old Testament writings of Moses which in itself was inadequate to save but pointed to our Christ to come.
In the OT Jesus was not mentioned by name as we know Him today. Therefore there was a reason Paul made it clear whom Timothy accepted as his Savior (tying together the Old and New), as we all must if we are to be saved despite what some teach.
A Jewish Rabbi once told me for Christians to really know Jesus of the NT, they must first know the OT. His logic was Jesus was born a Jew, raised a Jew and died a Jew. I took this to mean that Jesus fulfilled all prophecy about Himself described by His lineage.
Lige
Thanks Tom. I appreciate the image of the inspiration of God as the breathing into the word. This image is useful for the reader in “breathing in” the scriptures and, to complete our respiration, the breathing out of the message as a response filled with the co-mingled breath of God and the reader.
Tom (and my old room-mate Jon):
I couldn’t tell whether Jon was disagreeing with me or not, since he said the very opposite of what I said, and then called it a stretch. (And if he was trying to disagree, that’s perfectly okay.) But the truth is, it is quite truly a “stretch” and a faith-claim to say that the OT points to Jesus. And, of course, it is a stretch the NT makes over and over again, as well as most of early Christian literature. Which raises in my mind several questions:
1) Can we with integrity make that stretch in the modern or postmodern era?
2) If we cannot, then does the OT have anything of significance to say concerning salvation after all, and can we safely set it aside?
3) If we can make that stretch, then how?
4) If we can, how do we respond to our Jewish neighbors who would just as soon we leave our Jesus out of their Bible, and who can interpret their scriptures perfectly well without referring to Him?
I’m a newcomer to reading your blog, of course. If you addressed all this already, or if I’m out of line, please forgive me.
Dear Tom:
Your articles was sound. However, unless we can accept the historicity of all scripture (including and especially Genesis 1-11) then inspiration has no meaning and we are left with a “dead” word. The Bible was be historically true and accurate if it is to be inspired.
Tom, we have talked quite a bit about Paul’s words to Timothy, regarding scripture being inspired. Is there any reasonable objection to extending the truth of these words to the words of the New Testament? If not, then would you say that the New Testament is not “inspired”?
Tom,
You got me thinking again. (Thanks).
I think we are being very narrow if we limit inspiration to the “Scriptures.” In my view, the Holy Spirit is the source of inspiration. It comes from a dynamic presence of God in the life of one who possesses the Holy Spirit. Inspiration does not come off the page, it comes from within. It is God’s conversation with us as we make as we observe all that is around us. (God, ”Check out that sunset!” Me, “ Thanks God”)
To illustrate let’s look at sources of inspiration. To begin let’s look at the “Scriptures.” On the one hand it is said, “All scriptures are inspired.” Paul was addressing the Septuagint (LXX), which includes the Apocrypha. Yet we don’t even have it in our modern bibles. Besides, I do not know anyone who functions as if “all Scripture is inspired by God.” We all have a “canon within a canon.” If we were to accept all of the LXX as inspired why do we ignore major sections of it? As for the NT, I do not think Paul would have ever included his letters in the statement yet the church does. When he wrote the letter to Philemon was he under inspiration? On the other hand one can be inspired by a Sermon, a sunset, an act of goodness by another, looking at the stars, even reading Readers Digest. The Scriptures are surely a better source of inspiration because they were written by people who were inspired by the observations and experiences they had.
In my view inspiration is God having a conversation with us, not a static collection of documents. To prove my point, think how many have read the Bible and NOT been inspired. Then think how simple events and observations have drawn attention to God. That happens to me every time I look to the sky, day or night.
Thank you, Tom, for this good word. It affirms the Scripture and it’s place in our faith journey. Thank you!
As a non-theologian, this blog and following comments are appreciated. To me, as a Christian, the words of the Bible are a tool that can be used by the Holy Spirit to convict, challenge, inspire, encourage and save. It depends on approach used as we read, either seeking answers or looking for more questions.
“The Bible … is a means God uses to love us by offering salvation.” What a wonderful way to view the Bible! God is love, and everything God does comes from God’s love. Reading the Bible is a way that God can pour love into us. I like the thought that God continues to inspire us when we read the Bible even today.
Hi Bro
Great thought and I wanted to make a comment about how daily the Bible becomes more of a living manual. I was reflecting on fruit and how it goes bad, and made the connection between the Fruit of the Spirit, and am pondering if it ever can go bad. Fruit does have a life span, as we all know. Being from an orchard background, you and I know that fruit is cultivated and ripens in season. Must we reprune, fertilize, spray, and wait for the Fruit of the Spirit to reripen?
Last night walking with my recently married wife I realized I was “working out my salvation” with her for our marriage by the little things we were doing. No hint of a problem or needing to “talk something out” but thinking together, pondering what God has been saying to both of us, planning for the future, and creating love milestones. All of this being inspired, I believe, by God and his word. As I read John Dally’s words above it made me appreciate what I have, and understand why so many in our present world have so many problems.
Tom,
The present tense of ‘useful’ is key to my own understanding of Scripture and salvation as well. It presents the idea that God is ‘in this moment with us.’ Which, as you have noted elsewhere also denotes a measure of risk. What I find most fascinating here is that we/Timothy are/was taught the scripture for salvation. What is salvation in this picture? The ability to become people of God. Certainly. Perhaps in this case, Salvation also includes being put to the task and completing God’s good business in the world.
There are two things of note that I take away here. (1) As leaders and as Christians, we should be teaching the scripture first. This is so that people will be exposed to the work of God in the world. The hope being we would recognize God and salvation when we see it. Has preaching and use of scripture gotten away from doing this? (2) The word inspired, the concept of God’s breath, all have to do with the Spirit. I think Mr. Dally’s comment has some serious merit here. It is not the scripture or the words themselves that doing anything at all – but God. God or God’s Spirit right here in this moment with us. The bible then is a control or something that we can both be inspired from and use to confirm God’s revelation and salvation at work.
This means we both the ability to become the people of God, and are equipped to do and complete the good work of God!
The Bible and the Inspiring God content, Paul says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”
God is teaching us to be holy missionaries, to go out and spread His word for all humanity. Though scripture can empower us to spread the Word it is also teaching us the history of scripture and the lifestyle of Jesus Christ. For the scripture to inspire us we need to invite the Holy Spirit into self to have a great understanding of the message to be spread.
Blessings to all who are touched and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
I really like how you explained this. It is a good reminder of how God is always at work in our lives and how we can be learning and growing each day through scripture.
Hi Dr. Oord,
I love the idea presented in this post about the doublesided nature of the inspired Scriptures.
So often the “inspiration” conversation focuses primarily on the implications and meanings behind the events of its construction. All the while, we miss the true gem about the inspired Scriptures, and that is, that God continues to significantly inspire and move persons through the testimony of Scripture today.
This is my favorite theological “double.”
Double inspiration.
Hi Dr. Oord,
I love the idea presented in this post about the doublesided nature of the inspired Scriptures.
So often the “inspiration” conversation focuses primarily on the implications and meanings behind the events of its construction. All the while, we miss the true gem about the inspired Scriptures, and that is, that God continues to significantly inspire and move persons through the testimony of Scripture today.
This is my favorite theological “double.”
Double inspiration.
I think this is a lovely explanation of the importance of Scripture in each of our daily lives. I particuarlly like the way you express how God use the Word to speak to us now in present day. I find this is what I need more and more. I want more truth; to be trained in it and corrected with it so I can know God more and so He can live through me. The more I give to Him everyday, the more He lives through me in every moment for His will. It’s a beautiful journey.
Laymen, as a general rule, may not get the subtlety of faith statements on the reliability of the Bible for faith and practice. It is subtle enough to leave someone room to say, “great for faith and practice but not necessarily God speaking to us.” In the post modern thought of some, God could just easily use some other Scripture to lead us to salvation. Some would include other scriptures as part of prevenient grace. It seems to me that God draws people to himself “in spite of” the competing messages in the world.Sorry, I am not there yet because of my field experience. In fact I will probably never get there. I have a problem with “God uses the Bible” as if the sacred Scripture is disconnected from “God speaking his Word.” I tend to view the Scripture as God speaking to us and that its very presence as his “Word” is a miracle ( if we still believe in them) accessable to us all. Some miracles are for individuals(such as healing). Others are corporate for the church to experience with the world as spectator (such as Penticost). But the mircle of Scripture – God speaking to us is accessable to all (evangelist and the persons object of evangelistic effort).
I enjoyed your thoughts on God breathing into Scripture, resulting in the life being breathed into the words. The first thing that came to mind with your comment was Genesis, when God breathes into the nostrils of man in order to make him living. I know that for someone to be close to another person’s nostrils, they have to be really close! I wonder if this image can be used for the life that God breathes into us through Scriptures. It is as when we let Scripture to be close, we are breathed into the same way that God breathed into man’s nostrils. It’s just a thought.
When Paul states in second timothy that all scripture is God breathed, the image that pops to mind is when God breathed life into man. The breathe of God in both instances (the OT and the NT), illustrates that it is the breathe of God that brings life to all things. So because scripture is God breathed (inspired) it is meant to bring life to those who read it. I believe that just as God has inspired scripture, he also inspires those who read it. I believe that there are multiple functions found in 2 Timothy 3:15-17, one major function that it illustrates is the scriptures authority in our lives as Christian. From the following ways in which we can encounter God: Tradition, Experience, and Reason; Scripture is the primary source of theological authority.
Hardly do we hear most Christians referencing to the Old Testament to proclaim the salvation that God offers. The idea that integrating Jesus Christ into the Old Testament seems to be a red-flag in theological circles. But like you mentioned, Paul was referencing the Old Testament, not the New Testament, let alone the Bible as a whole. I think this article challenges me to study deeper with the text to understand in profound ways the language of love, as you mentioned through salvation.
I think the last major statement in this post speak volumes to what the Church needs to hear. “[The Bible] is a means God uses to love us by offering salvation.” Often times the Bible is used for what I think to be in absurd and twisted ways such as condemning another person or proof-texting to make a point. This being said, we have to be careful with how we use the Bible. However, we should not be afraid to use it because it is necessary to the faith of the body of Christ. In the Bible we find not only laws and rules on how we should live, but we find hope in a God of love and grace and mercy and in those things salvation. It is because of the Bible that we have any record of Jesus and his teachings and so it must be a vital part of our faith.
In terms of the inspiration of the Bible, I don’t believe it is important to say that it is inerrant and otherwise invalid. What is important is that in reading and study of Scripture we come to salvation and knowing the person of Jesus Christ.
This is an enjoyable article. I think the way you present scripture being “God breathed” is refreshing, but it is God being active in someone’s life. Scripture should be God’s words being breathed into our lives, and something that is affecting everything we do. Because of this, I think God can inspire/encourage scripture to be written down without it being dictated.
I also think a persons view on how scripture was inspired comes from their understand of free will or predestination. If you say we are predestined, or are among the elect, then you would probably side more with God divinely dictating scripture. If you are on the side of free will, you are probably more like to say that people wrote scripture down because God was active in their life. This may have nothing to do with how scripture was inspired, but it’s a thought worth entertaining.
This understanding of 2 Timothy 3:15-17 isn’t something new to me. Although I am very intrigued by the idea of the Old Testament being used for teaching us in all things pertaining to our salvation when it seems like today, in most theological circles, that the only thing they are willing to use for teaching about salvation is found in the New Testament. I hope that in the future more people will access the Old Testament to find scriptures to preach and teach from.
Tom,
Some pretty good stuff. I think for me in particular this is helpful because living in a academic setting for so long means it can be hard to read scripture in anything other than a critical method. It is a helpful to remember that scripture does more than just inform us but that is also forms us.
I have grown to appreciate all that is the Word of God. Including the Old and New Testament. I love that you mention that God is inspiring those he breathes into. It is a great foundation of love because God took time out to form this into happening. I believe all aspects of scholarly religious writing is beneficial and what we hold in our cannon now and what was written then and maybe not included could still have some elements of inspiration. God allowed this to be so that readers could live actively and it truly is a beautiful concept.
Dr. Oord,
I absolutely love the idea of allowing scripture to be used as a tool for teaching others. What is cool about the Bible is that it applies to all people. I understand there are certain parts of the Bible that are purely cultural and are not looked at the same anymore, but overall, the Bible is written for people and it still applies to our lives today.
I like how you wrote, “God enlivens the words of scripture. God uses them as a source to spark abundant life in us.” I agree. I know from experience that the word of God is alive and is NOT dead. The scriptures are alive because God is alive in and through them. And it is our opportunity to embrace the life and abundance that we receive when we encounter God through the Bible.
Sept 5, 2014.
I also really like this verse. To me, knowing that the Bible is inspired and breathed by God reminds me that the Bible is not just a book, it is a powerful way that God communicates to us today. It is amazing how timeless Scripture is. I can open my Bible and be encouraged by verses written thousands of years ago. I agree, Scripture is not an end in itself. It is a source of life where God speaks righteousness into our lives.
I find it encouraging to think of the Christian faith as a dance between intellect and emotion. Scripture is emotionally encouraging to me as well as intellectually stimulating for me. When I think about how scripture was put together and how it was God breathed I find it encouraging that God did not find it necessary to erase all human fingerprints from the text. God left them their because God wanted to use the child God loves. Because their are inconsistencies and errors I am encouraged to allow God to use me. The inconsistencies remind me of the genuineness of Scripture and the realness of the people who were used in order to speak God’s message of love to creation.
It has become apparent in both my observation and experience that as human beings we heavily influenced by what we read, what we look at, who we hang out with, and who or what we listen too. That being said, the more time we spend reading scripture, the more Christlike we will become. Scripture is not the end all and it’s not god, but it reveals to us like no other media the desire God has for relationship with humanity and it inspires and guides us into life abundantly. I don’t believe we should worship anything other than the triune God, but I do believe that a life committed to transformation, knowledge, and revelation in partnership with the written word of God will allow us to more fully be who God has created us to be and give us the freedom to reveal the glory and light of God to the world around us.
I like that this article has a particular emphasis in scripture in relation to the present, as opposed to just saying that the Bible says good things and they are to be followed, etc. It is great to remember that scripture is being used-currently-in our lives and the lives of those around us, inspired by God. If we want to achieve this well being, we have to listen to what the scripture says and apply that to how we live on a daily basis like you are implying; being used by God through His scripture for His intended purposed. Great article.
It was interesting for me to read 2 TIm. 3:16 in the context of God’s inspiring nature. I have experienced many dull interactions within the walls of Christianity and have struggled to watch the Bible lose its credibility simply because someone does not feel educated enough to make an adequate attempt to wrestle with its true meaning. Here in this verse we find a God who, in addition to His revelation of His son Jesus Christ, has given the gift of salvation to all of His people. This gift is clearly not just those who may have been trained in and set apart to read and interpret it to the masses. He has given us, all of us, everything we will need to do what needs to be done in the Book He has already provided.
It is interesting to me to think about the idea of the Hebrew Scriptures as the ones that offer salvation. It is so often preached that Jesus is the only way through which salvation comes, which I believe to be true, but it is intriguing to think of how the Old Testament can speak to this truth. It makes me wonder if Christianity and some Christians would be different if they were to remember the guidance and teaching that the Old Testament offers.
The idea that God inspired the writers and continues to inspire readers is exciting. It is a great testament to how much God loves us and wants us to understand that. He is not a God of confusion or secrets. This article was a needed reminder of that truth.
I particularly love the bit about inspiration and the fact that we were “breathed into.” This brings the fact of free will to the forefront. I love the notion that we were not created to be controlled but to be inspired. In this sense, I agree that the Bible is incredibly relevant to today. We are being inspired, encouraged, and taught today by this book that has been around for centuries. The idea of inspiration creates an environment conducive to love and growth where control would only foster rebellion and hate.
In reality, the evidence for the divine inspiration of the New Testament is quite poor. Here are the facts:
https://lutherwasnotbornagaincom.wordpress.com/2019/07/10/best-evidence-against-the-divine-inspiration-of-the-new-testament/
A lot depends on what we mean by “inspiration,” doesn’t it?
Protestants are great about denouncing the “infallible” pronouncements of Catholic popes…except when it comes to the inspiration of the New Testament, then they appeal to the pronouncements of “pope” Peter and “pope” Paul. The truth is, there is no good evidence that the New Testament is divinely inspired. Jesus left no letters nor did he commission anyone to write his message for him. Muslims and Mormons have much better evidence for the divine inspiration of their holy books than do Christians.
https://lutherwasnotbornagaincom.wordpress.com/2021/11/15/the-alleged-divine-inspiration-of-the-new-testament-is-a-joke/
Thanks, Gary. I guess it all depends on what it means for God to “inspire.” I think it means God communicates to creatures who in turn try to express this communication. There’s no reason why the Book of Mormon or Qu’ran should be dismissed as not inspired. Surely a good God can inspire what is good in both and good in the Bible. Or at least I think so. We might have reasons to think some scriptures more accurately relay God’s communication than others, however.