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

To me, this verse inspires Believers to not only use Scripture to further their own relationships and knowledge of God, but to use their knowledge and experience of God to begin others to Him.

I think you did a great job at breaking down what each part of this verse means in that you stressed that God empowers, rather than overpowers us. Through salvation, God is giving us the chance to live eternally in Heaven with Him and to live a blessed life here on Earth. If that doesn’t express what a loving God He truly is…nothing will.

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).

Dr. Oord-
The language you used here demonstrates the relational aspect of the scriptures that we often fail to include when debating over the authority, fallibility and other aspects of the Bible. Scripture seems to become a place of head knowledge, rather than a contributing factor in our relational experience with God; it becomes secondary to prayer in the sense that we feel sometimes that God only communicates about our present lives through prayer and other “experiential” matters, such as means of grace and that scripture is more of a history text, rather than a live and empowering document. I think you illustrated well a more thoughtful method to approaching the scriptures in light of the deep relationship that can be developed through God’s continual presence in our present lives and that is enriched through a seeking out of God’s communication, empowerment and call that can be found, not only in, but in a unique way, through scripture.

Dr. Oord,
I completely agree with your comments. My understanding is that people often use this verse to argue a stance on inspiration. I agree with you, though! More importantly, this verse is about the fact that God uses Scripture to speak to us daily. I really appreciate your comments.

This blog kind of reminded me of the topic of inerrancy we have been having in Theology of the Church in Senior Theology. If God inspired the Word then it must not have errors, right? Well, I actually agree that the Bible does not have errors. I believe the Bible has inconsistencies. I personally think that those two words differ from one another. Just because there is a war spoken in one book of the Bible where so many people were killed and in another book the number is different doesn’t mean that there is error in the Bible. It’s an inconsistency.
The Gospels are pretty different from each other too, but they all tell the same general story. That’s just it. People who helped write the Bible saw the same things but perceived it in different ways, hence inconsistencies.
I liked how you talked about how God is communicating, empowering, and calling us today. He is inspiring us with the Word that He inspired other people who wrote it so many years ago. Each time we read the same passage we are going to get something different out of it because Christ inspires us and inspires the words that were written. How wonderful it is that God loves us so much that He gives us an awesome inspired Word to live our lives off of. God is love. We are blessed.

I love the way that the Holy Spirit breathes life into the scriptures and is actively involved in our reading of them. God uses the Bible as a way to guide, teach, and love us. I very much agree with the way God inspires through scripture and the way scripture was inspired. Life breathed into people and breathed into words. It’s such a beautiful thing.

Dr. Oord:
The understanding that the Bible is a tool that Christians can use in a present tense is a hard idea for some to grasp (especially with Old and New testaments). I would agree with Erika, I love how the verse is so present and that it can remind us that the Bible is the Living Word of God. I think that sometimes we forget that the Bible is relevant and was meant to be relevant for our salvation and to show the love of God. 
-Jacey

This blog triggered an interesting thought for me. With Scripture being God breathed is it not possible for the individual to, in their stubbornness, deaden Scripture? A sad concept that this would occur but at the same time if we seek after our own way of thinking we are in a sense pushing the Spirit aside and rejecting the inspiration of God that brings Scripture to life.

I really enjoyed your blog. One thing that really captured my attention was when you said, “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.” This caught my attention because I have been hearing Romans 12:2 almost everywhere I go, which says “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This, I believe is what you are talking about, the salvation God offers involves our being transformed by God, and we are transformed through Scripture and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Too often we try to transform ourselves which leads to conforming rather than transforming. The difference is that conforming is more us trying to imitate what we believe God wants us to be, rather than allowing God to transform our entire being into the being God wants us to be.

I think that to often we like to put the scriptures in a box and along with them God. As Christians we see scripture as a means to an end and not a inspired text that God can use as a means to a relationship. We hurriedly focus on understanding as others understand rather than attempting to gain an understanding within our own context and community.

Dr. Oord,
Nice comments. That really is a comforting verse, and I like what you said.“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.”
What you said about God offering salvation through being taught, reproved, corrected, etc. is interesting. I don’t think I have heard that put that way. I will have to think more on it.