When establishing the authority of Scripture, we often look to verses like 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God….” But what does it mean to be inspired by God? It is important to have a solid understanding of this concept to understand Scripture and to represent God and His Word to a lost world.

We use the words “inspiration” and “inspired” to discuss great performances by athletes, actors, or musicians. Is this what is meant by inspiration of Scripture, that the writers of Scripture were moved with great intellect and emotion to write the words of God? The NIV translation of 2 Tim. 3:16 uses the phrase “God breathed.” This is a great translation because it gives a word picture of the concept, one where God is actively involved in the work. The phrase “God breathed” implies more than just emotional or intellectual influence; it implies purposeful direction. As 2 Tim. 3:16 says, God inspires all of Scripture. This view of the Scriptures is often referred to as verbal-plenary inspiration. Verbal inspiration means the inspiration extends to the words themselves, not just concepts or ideas. Plenary inspiration is the idea that the whole of Scripture is inspired, that it is complete.

Painters can be inspired by the beauty of a woman or a sunset when painting a masterpiece. But neither the sunset nor the woman have the painter’s painting in mind when displaying their beauty. God did have a purpose in mind when inspiring the writers. “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”–2 Peter 1:21 This verse uses the phrase “carried along.” Other translation use the word “moved.” This gives the picture of direction with a purpose. In Acts 25:15-17 we find the same word being used to describe Paul’s ship being driven by the wind. The ship is still a ship but was at the mercy of the wind. As you apply this to the inspiration of Scripture, God used men to write His words. They, like the ship had all their faculties and resources, yet God directed them. He used their personalities and writing styles, but within His sovereign purpose and plan. God moved men purposely to create a written revelation of His glory.

Although we have just scratched the surface in this short note, I would encourage you to dig deeper into this topic and see how important is was to our fathers in the faith.