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Several years ago while browsing in a used book store (one of my favorite habits) I found an old out-of-print Church of God book by one of earliest pioneers. Many of us know him from the Heritage Hymn we still sing, “Back to the Blessed Old Bible.” Published in 1918 in Anderson, The Bible and How to Interpret It, surprised me with the “progressive” thinking of this Church of God pioneer. For instance, early in the book he wrote, “The Revised Version of our Bible [is]--probably the most perfected version of revealed truth ever given to man . . . !” He is careful to “distinguish between revelation and inspiration,” noting that “by ‘revelation’ we mean a direct communication from God to man.” “Inspiration,” however refers to “the actuating energy of the Holy Spirit in whatever degree or manner it may have been exercised.” Not so “progressive,” you say. Well, Teasley then spends a number of pages citing difficulties Bible students who believe in a rigid verbal inspiration often encounter in their study, and concludes, “These difficulties . . . vanish on the dynamical theory which we adopt.”
This brings me to the text where Paul tells Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (NIV), or “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (KJV) (2 Timothy 3:16). What did Paul mean by “inspiration”? Did he mean the same thing Peter did when he wrote that the “prophecy of Scripture . . . had its origin [when] . . . men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”? Let’s put our text in its context (vss. 1-15) to see what the apostle meant.
In verse 10 he states a very simple truth: You know all about my teaching because you know my way of life, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance. Our real teaching is what we do and are. Even this simple statement has its own setting, verses 1-11. Paul speaks of the terrible times that would come because men would be self-lovers instead of God-lovers and he listed many sins (none of which the world thinks is so terrible, but Paul did). He speaks of false teachers who appeal to the evil desires of their listeners and who oppose the truth. These were the original “professional students,” because they are characterized as “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” One Greek scholar, writing well over a hundred years ago said this is “a graphic picture of a large class by no means extinct, who are caught and led by the instructions of itinerant religious quacks.” As a result they “are rejected.” Paul is saying then, that Timothy can guard against these quacks by remembering and continuing in the Scriptures which are able to make us wise for salvation. That is, the Scriptures don’t save us, but they teach us how to be saved through faith in Christ Jesus.
We can be sure the Scriptures are reliable to bring us this knowledge because they are God-breathed. Now, the words “Holy Scriptures” and “Scripture” literally mean “Holy writings” “writing,“ or some would say “learning.” But these were terms used in Jesus’ day by scholars who studied the Old Testament, and they used the terms to mean just that—the Old Testament writings. Peter seems to equate Paul’s New Testament writings with these Old Testament Scriptures when he classes them together in 2 Peter 3:13, calling them (i.e. the Old Testament), “the other Scriptures.”
The Scriptures are “God-breathed,” or “given by inspiration of God.” How did God “breathe” these Scriptures into the prophets? That’s like asking, “How did God create something out of nothing?” If we restrict ourselves to what the Bible says, we have to admit we don’t know. How much of Holy Scripture is inspired? Paul tells us simply, “All Scripture is God-breathed.”
Then he tells us it is so reliable that it cannot only make us wise for salvation, but it can do a number of other things for us. It is useful for teaching. It is the basis of any rebuking that needs to be done in the body of Christ. It alone can correct and train us in righteousness—that is, in the right way to live and do things. This covers every aspect of our lives, from marriage and child-rearing to friendships, business practices, and church order and worship. It is able to equip us thoroughly for every good work. That certainly is great evidence of its inspiration!
It is no accident that Paul begins the very next chapter of this letter to Timothy with the instruction, “Preach the Word,” and with it correct, rebuke, encourage and give careful instruction. You see, this Book is given to us by means of what Teasley called “dynamical inspiration.” “Dynamic” means “powerful and active.” Is this not what Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is living and active” (NIV), or “For the word of God is quick and powerful” (KJV)? Why quibble over formulas when we can just accept the Book for what it is: a reliable revelation from God, inspired and preserved by Him through millennia of time for our good. If we will allow the plain teachings of the Bible to speak to us, for it was written for common people to understand, we will not have to worry about being led astray by Vincent’s “itinerant religious quacks.”
1. D. O. Teasley, The Bible and How to Interpret It (Anderson, IN: The Gospel Trumpet Co., 1918) 45 2, Teasley, 312 3, M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament (Mclean, VA: Macdonald Pub. Co., n.d.) Vol.IV, 313
The Word of God
By the word of God the worlds were made, And are held in place by His commands;
Oh, the precious Bible, Counsel for the soul,
--Clara M. Brooks, 1907
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