“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2Tim 3:16).
It’s pretty common for celebrities and other first time authors to use a ghostwriter. While the big name gets credit for the book, there’s another skilled storyteller behind the scenes doing most of the literary heavy lifting. Let’s get real. Do you really think Kendall and Kylie Jenner became published authors all by themselves? REALLY??
Did you know the human authors of the Bible had a Ghostwriter? Yup. You read that right. But there’s a HUGE difference between what went down with the Kardashians and the people who put pen to parchment to produce God’s Word. You see, there’s no secret Who’s really behind the composition of the scriptures. This Ghostwriter came up with the idea, story line, and even the Hero.
In a letter to his spiritual son, Paul discloses the true identity of the One behind it all. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (v16). Turns out the driving force behind every book of the Bible is none other than the Spirit of God. The apostle should know. He and the Holy Spirit have teamed up to write a huge chunk of what we call the New Testament. Paul would be lost without the Holy Ghostwriter.
A Letter from Prison
You might get the idea that somebody on the receiving end of divine inspiration must be some sort of seminary trained monk, detached from the real world locked away in their ivory tower. Wrong. Paul is in prison (2Tim 1:16; 2:9). Most likely, deep in the dungeon of Rome’s infamous Mamertine Prison. He writes from Death Row (2Tim 4:6-7). What’s labeled 2nd Timothy in our Bibles is actually the last letter from Paul just before his execution.
The apostle furiously fires off what he knows will be his final words with two important purposes. One, to pass the baton of telling people about Jesus to the young pastor in Ephesus (2Tim 2:1-4:5). Two, to beg for one final face-to-face visit from Tim before his last day on this side of eternity (2Tim 4:9, 21). The Holy Ghostwriter encouraging him with every stroke of his pen.
Paul didn’t compose this letter on his laptop before sending them off to his editor and publisher at LifeWay. Instead seeing these words as perfectly typeset on the page of your Bible, picture them in their original form. Hurriedly handwritten on some grimy piece of parchment. Sweat stains. Blood stains. These are the final words from the man God used to not only spread His Good News throughout the Mediterranean Rim but to write much of what we know now as the New Testament.
Paul is reassuring Tim that he can trust God’s Word. He grew up hearing it as a baby back in Lystra (Acts 16:1; 2Tim 1:5). His family stacked the biblical kindling around him so that once God set him on fire, he would burn brightly (2Tim 3:14-15). The more he grows in his understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for him, Tim’s trust deepens. The apostle wants his protege to keep swimming toward the deep end of the pool of the Gospel.
The Creative Constant
It’s at this point that we read some of the most important words found in God’s Word about God’s Word. “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (v16). Not some Scripture. Not certain parts. Not just the Gospels. Not just the red letters. All of it. The fingerprints of the Creator are on every single word of the original manuscripts. All. Scripture.
Think about that for a moment. God has been personally involved in everything from Genesis to Revelation. Approximately 40 human authors wrote 66 documents in three different languages over about 1,600 years. The one creative constant? Almighty God. Specifically, the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Ghostwriter weaves an amazing story about one and only Hero. Jesus. That shouldn’t be any surprise. The Third Person of the Trinity never stops making the Second Person of the Godhead famous (Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-14). The Son of God went out of His way to say that He’s the point of God’s Word (Jn 5:39, 46; Lk 24:27).
The First Graphic Novel
Meanwhile back in 2 Timothy, what does Paul mean when he drops the word “Scripture” (v16)? It’s a Greek word (Gr. γραφη/graphe) that generally describes any writing, drawing, painting, or picture. Something composed or created by hand. It’s where we get our English word “graphic.” Consider the Bible the world’s first and best graphic novel.
Anytime we see one of the human authors use “Scripture (Gr. γραφη/graphe)” in the New Testament, they’re always talking about God’s written Word. Almost every time, the NT writers are referring to the Hebrew Bible or what we call the Old Testament (Lk 4:21; Acts 8:32; Rom 10:11). For folks like Jesus, Paul, and Timothy, it was the ONLY Testament!
The Power of Theo-Pneumatics
But not for long. The Holy Spirit is at His creative best during the First Century. He’s Holy Ghostwriting a boatload of new Scripture. So just how did God get this done? According to Paul, every single bit of God’s Word is “breathed out by God” (v16). This entire phrase is just one word in the original language (Gr. θεοπνευστος/theopneustos). It’s a compound term that literally means “God (Gr. θεο-/theo-) breathed (Gr. -πνευστος/-pneustos).” That’s “theo-” as in theology, the study of God. And “-pneustos” like pneumatic, or air powered. I guess we could say the Holy Ghostwriter uses the power of theo-pneumatics!
Paul’s buddy the Apostle Peter explains it further. “No prophecy of Scripture (Gr. γραφη/graphe) comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2Pet 1:20-21). In other words, some folks will blow a lot of smoke telling you they’ve heard straight from God. It’s nothing but hot air. Only those directly inspired by the Holy Ghostwriter are legit.
Creativity that Takes Your Breath Away
In order to see the amazing creativity of the Third Person of the Godhead over the centuries, we need connect the dots between a couple of Hebrew and Greek words. “Spirit” in Hebrew is ruach. In Greek, it’s πνεθμα/pneuma. Both terms also mean breeze or breath. Remember the roar of the rushing wind at Pentecost when God’s Spirit made His spectacular entrance (Acts 2:2-4)?
With that in mind, it should be no shock at the innovation and innovation when God’s Spirit starts blowing! He was right there hovering over the waters at Creation (Gen 1:2). When Yahweh molded Adam’s body from the dust, He then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen 2:7). One of the ancient worship songs describes how God used a similar method to create the stars and planets. “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host” (Ps 33:6).
Piling up the Godliness
So if God’s Spirit can create an entire universe out of nothing, He can certainly create something in you and me through His Spirit-breathed Word. That’s why Paul says it is so incredibly “profitable” (v16) to us. The apostle uses a word here (Gr. ωφελιμος/ophelimos) that we can translate as beneficial, valuable, or advantageous. It comes from a root word that means to pile up or accumulate. Just check out how the Holy Spirit can stack huge piles of godliness in Jesus’ followers through Scripture.
Showing Us Truth
First of all, Scripture is of tremendous value “for teaching” (v16). In other words, there’s no better lesson plan for learning about our incredibly giving God. Or as the Message puts it, for “showing us truth” (v16 The Message). Specifically, the truth about who Jesus is and what He has done. He is THE Hero of THE Story! Not just the New Testament but the entire Bible. Don’t believe me? Take it from the Savior Himself (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 45-46). The Holy Ghostwriter has come up with an incredible curriculum!
A Holy Mirror
Next Paul tells us how God’s Word is of great benefit “for reproof” (v16). This is the idea of using facts to prove someone has done wrong. The point here is NOT to embarrass anyone, win an argument, or prove you’re better than somebody. Scripture points out where we fall short of God’s holy standard. Jesus’ kid brother James compares looking into a mirror that reveals all our zits and pimples (James 1:23). It stops us in our tracks and keeps us from doing any further damage.
Back on Track
In order to get us going again, Scripture is awesome “for correction” (v16). The Greek term here is επανορθωσις/epanorthosis. It paints a picture of restoring someone or something to an upright state. God’s Word picks us back up after it knocks us down and points us back in the right direction. Think of SNL’s legendary life coach Matt Foley. “What’s it gonna take to get you…BACK…ON…TRACK?!?!?” According to Paul, the answer is the truth of God.
Living God’s Way
Finally, the Holy Ghostwriter comes alongside human authors to compose Scripture “for training in righteousness” (v16). While we’ll never be perfect on this side of Heaven, God’s Word shows us to live lives of integrity. Or as we read it in The Message, “training us to live God’s way” (v16 The Message). This isn’t just some sort of external behavior modification that lasts no longer than that New Year’s resolution about dropping 20 pounds. Scripture changes us from the inside out. Paul calls it being “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2).
We can totally trust Scripture because of One behind it all. It has the seal of approval of God’s Spirit as “breathed out by God” (v16). It teaches us about God and the rescue we find in His Son. It exposes our sin and stops us in our tracks. It picks us back up and makes sure we’re headed the right way. It also trains us to shine God’s light and spread His salt. All the credit goes to the Holy Ghostwriter.
It’s pretty common for celebrities and other first time authors to use a ghostwriter. While the big name gets credit for the book, there’s another skilled storyteller behind the scenes doing most of the literary heavy lifting. Let’s get real. Do you really think Kendall and Kylie Jenner became published authors all by themselves? REALLY??
Did you know the human authors of the Bible had a Ghostwriter? Yup. You read that right. But there’s a HUGE difference between what went down with the Kardashians and the people who put pen to parchment to produce God’s Word. You see, there’s no secret Who’s really behind the composition of the scriptures. This Ghostwriter came up with the idea, story line, and even the Hero.
In a letter to his spiritual son, Paul discloses the true identity of the One behind it all. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (v16). Turns out the driving force behind every book of the Bible is none other than the Spirit of God. The apostle should know. He and the Holy Spirit have teamed up to write a huge chunk of what we call the New Testament. Paul would be lost without the Holy Ghostwriter.
A Letter from Prison
You might get the idea that somebody on the receiving end of divine inspiration must be some sort of seminary trained monk, detached from the real world locked away in their ivory tower. Wrong. Paul is in prison (2Tim 1:16; 2:9). Most likely, deep in the dungeon of Rome’s infamous Mamertine Prison. He writes from Death Row (2Tim 4:6-7). What’s labeled 2nd Timothy in our Bibles is actually the last letter from Paul just before his execution.
The apostle furiously fires off what he knows will be his final words with two important purposes. One, to pass the baton of telling people about Jesus to the young pastor in Ephesus (2Tim 2:1-4:5). Two, to beg for one final face-to-face visit from Tim before his last day on this side of eternity (2Tim 4:9, 21). The Holy Ghostwriter encouraging him with every stroke of his pen.
Paul didn’t compose this letter on his laptop before sending them off to his editor and publisher at LifeWay. Instead seeing these words as perfectly typeset on the page of your Bible, picture them in their original form. Hurriedly handwritten on some grimy piece of parchment. Sweat stains. Blood stains. These are the final words from the man God used to not only spread His Good News throughout the Mediterranean Rim but to write much of what we know now as the New Testament.
Paul is reassuring Tim that he can trust God’s Word. He grew up hearing it as a baby back in Lystra (Acts 16:1; 2Tim 1:5). His family stacked the biblical kindling around him so that once God set him on fire, he would burn brightly (2Tim 3:14-15). The more he grows in his understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for him, Tim’s trust deepens. The apostle wants his protege to keep swimming toward the deep end of the pool of the Gospel.
The Creative Constant
It’s at this point that we read some of the most important words found in God’s Word about God’s Word. “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (v16). Not some Scripture. Not certain parts. Not just the Gospels. Not just the red letters. All of it. The fingerprints of the Creator are on every single word of the original manuscripts. All. Scripture.
Think about that for a moment. God has been personally involved in everything from Genesis to Revelation. Approximately 40 human authors wrote 66 documents in three different languages over about 1,600 years. The one creative constant? Almighty God. Specifically, the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Ghostwriter weaves an amazing story about one and only Hero. Jesus. That shouldn’t be any surprise. The Third Person of the Trinity never stops making the Second Person of the Godhead famous (Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-14). The Son of God went out of His way to say that He’s the point of God’s Word (Jn 5:39, 46; Lk 24:27).
The First Graphic Novel
Meanwhile back in 2 Timothy, what does Paul mean when he drops the word “Scripture” (v16)? It’s a Greek word (Gr. γραφη/graphe) that generally describes any writing, drawing, painting, or picture. Something composed or created by hand. It’s where we get our English word “graphic.” Consider the Bible the world’s first and best graphic novel.
Anytime we see one of the human authors use “Scripture (Gr. γραφη/graphe)” in the New Testament, they’re always talking about God’s written Word. Almost every time, the NT writers are referring to the Hebrew Bible or what we call the Old Testament (Lk 4:21; Acts 8:32; Rom 10:11). For folks like Jesus, Paul, and Timothy, it was the ONLY Testament!
The Power of Theo-Pneumatics
But not for long. The Holy Spirit is at His creative best during the First Century. He’s Holy Ghostwriting a boatload of new Scripture. So just how did God get this done? According to Paul, every single bit of God’s Word is “breathed out by God” (v16). This entire phrase is just one word in the original language (Gr. θεοπνευστος/theopneustos). It’s a compound term that literally means “God (Gr. θεο-/theo-) breathed (Gr. -πνευστος/-pneustos).” That’s “theo-” as in theology, the study of God. And “-pneustos” like pneumatic, or air powered. I guess we could say the Holy Ghostwriter uses the power of theo-pneumatics!
Paul’s buddy the Apostle Peter explains it further. “No prophecy of Scripture (Gr. γραφη/graphe) comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2Pet 1:20-21). In other words, some folks will blow a lot of smoke telling you they’ve heard straight from God. It’s nothing but hot air. Only those directly inspired by the Holy Ghostwriter are legit.
Creativity that Takes Your Breath Away
In order to see the amazing creativity of the Third Person of the Godhead over the centuries, we need connect the dots between a couple of Hebrew and Greek words. “Spirit” in Hebrew is ruach. In Greek, it’s πνεθμα/pneuma. Both terms also mean breeze or breath. Remember the roar of the rushing wind at Pentecost when God’s Spirit made His spectacular entrance (Acts 2:2-4)?
With that in mind, it should be no shock at the innovation and innovation when God’s Spirit starts blowing! He was right there hovering over the waters at Creation (Gen 1:2). When Yahweh molded Adam’s body from the dust, He then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen 2:7). One of the ancient worship songs describes how God used a similar method to create the stars and planets. “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host” (Ps 33:6).
Piling up the Godliness
So if God’s Spirit can create an entire universe out of nothing, He can certainly create something in you and me through His Spirit-breathed Word. That’s why Paul says it is so incredibly “profitable” (v16) to us. The apostle uses a word here (Gr. ωφελιμος/ophelimos) that we can translate as beneficial, valuable, or advantageous. It comes from a root word that means to pile up or accumulate. Just check out how the Holy Spirit can stack huge piles of godliness in Jesus’ followers through Scripture.
Showing Us Truth
First of all, Scripture is of tremendous value “for teaching” (v16). In other words, there’s no better lesson plan for learning about our incredibly giving God. Or as the Message puts it, for “showing us truth” (v16 The Message). Specifically, the truth about who Jesus is and what He has done. He is THE Hero of THE Story! Not just the New Testament but the entire Bible. Don’t believe me? Take it from the Savior Himself (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 45-46). The Holy Ghostwriter has come up with an incredible curriculum!
A Holy Mirror
Next Paul tells us how God’s Word is of great benefit “for reproof” (v16). This is the idea of using facts to prove someone has done wrong. The point here is NOT to embarrass anyone, win an argument, or prove you’re better than somebody. Scripture points out where we fall short of God’s holy standard. Jesus’ kid brother James compares looking into a mirror that reveals all our zits and pimples (James 1:23). It stops us in our tracks and keeps us from doing any further damage.
Back on Track
In order to get us going again, Scripture is awesome “for correction” (v16). The Greek term here is επανορθωσις/epanorthosis. It paints a picture of restoring someone or something to an upright state. God’s Word picks us back up after it knocks us down and points us back in the right direction. Think of SNL’s legendary life coach Matt Foley. “What’s it gonna take to get you…BACK…ON…TRACK?!?!?” According to Paul, the answer is the truth of God.
Living God’s Way
Finally, the Holy Ghostwriter comes alongside human authors to compose Scripture “for training in righteousness” (v16). While we’ll never be perfect on this side of Heaven, God’s Word shows us to live lives of integrity. Or as we read it in The Message, “training us to live God’s way” (v16 The Message). This isn’t just some sort of external behavior modification that lasts no longer than that New Year’s resolution about dropping 20 pounds. Scripture changes us from the inside out. Paul calls it being “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2).
We can totally trust Scripture because of One behind it all. It has the seal of approval of God’s Spirit as “breathed out by God” (v16). It teaches us about God and the rescue we find in His Son. It exposes our sin and stops us in our tracks. It picks us back up and makes sure we’re headed the right way. It also trains us to shine God’s light and spread His salt. All the credit goes to the Holy Ghostwriter.
Great one Jay! Love how you pulled in so many references on God breathing - have read several of them of late, cool to see them intertwined and pulled through in 2 Tim. Appreciate the use of the Greek to clarify and illustrate key terms.
ReplyDeleteThanks, my friend. This is one power-packed passage!!
DeleteAmen!
ReplyDelete