[Pastor Ralph]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

[JanMary]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean?
The men who penned Holy Scripture, were filled with the Holy Spirit, and wrote as He awakened, enlightened, and gave revelation of His Word to and in them, writing according to His leading and guidance..

What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture?
I have always loved that phrase...it brings to mind the picture of God breathing His breath and life into Adam, as portrayed on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. God Himself is the source, and is why Scripture interprets Scripture, without contradiction though there were dozens of authors or "scribes"...That's the other thing I think of....a scribe writes not his own words, but preserves faithfully and exactly the words given to him to for future reading. God's Breath means the Word is alive, and is able to quicken the dead spirits of mankind into life eternal, and to teach, train, correct, and inspire believers in His ways.

Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?
The fact that it is God's Word, gives it the authority and inerrancy to be believed and to know with assurance that the Lord Himself is speaking through it when it is read. From God's Lips to my eyes or ears!

[masika]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?
Inspiration of scripture means that; God directed the men who wrote it what to write, and how to write it, that as a rule of faith and practice for men it might be perfect.
It means that Scripture is completely trustworthy because God was in control of its writing. Its words are entirely authoritative for our faith and life.
The doctrine of inspiration of Scripture is important because:
-It teaches the will of God, and it points out Jesus Christ till he should come.
-It convinces men of the truth; and to confound those who should deny it
-For restoring things to their proper uses and places, correcting false notions and mistaken views

[iam4-1god]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

The Bible itsself says that every word in it is God-inspired-that means that God was dictating! The Holy Spirit moved certain men to write down what God was saying.

We can believe that the Bible is the word of God because it says it is! If it weren't, why would we believe? I know that God's Word is in the Bible, and I know that He meant it for us. I thank God that it is this way-otherwise, how could I believe? How would I know that I am saved, and forgiven?

[Jen]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

The inspiration of scripture means that scripture was written ,as it were, by the Holy Spirit. Maybe men were the hands used
for the actual writing on parchment but the words and the truth of them were from the Holy Spirit.


The term God-breathed tells us the source and authority of Scripture is God Himself not the instruments (men) used.

The doctrine of inspiration: I am going to quote the footnotes from my Bible:
The eighth admonition, which is most precious: A Pastor must be wise by the word of God only: wherein we have perfectly delivered unto us, whatsoever pertaineth either to discern, know and establish true opinions, and to confute (prove to be) false, and furthermore, to correct evil manners, and to frame good.

God Bless!!
Jen
Numbers 6:24-26

[JustJeff]

Inspired scripture is God's Word (God breathed) revealed to us by and through the Holy Spirit. God breathed the Word and there is no doubt about the Word's authorship. It is the only source of authority and if it is not inspired it is profane. The Holy Spirit will always confirm the Word to be truth.

[Elwood C O'Dell]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean?

It’s hard to improved on what Millard J. Erickson said. “By inspiration of Scripture we mean that supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers which rendered their writings an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God."453”

What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture?

That all scripture is inspired by God or given by the inspiration of God. It comes from God directly and can be considered His breath, His Word, His communication to us.

Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

It gives validity to the author and source of that which we believe.

[Snaps]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean?

I looked up the word inspiration, and found it had to do with brainchild, intuition, divine guidance, stirring and arousal to the unusual, and inhalation of air as in a deep breath. In particular, comments on the word inspirational were helpful, emphasising as they did the idea of taking in breath. To inspire is to take in breath, to gasp. It suggests that the breath comes from elsewhere outside humanity, but is essential for life.

When God breathed life into Adam, Adam initiated nothing, but his body responded to the breath from God by inspiring (a powerful ability given him already by God), and he drew LIFE.

So I think "inspiration" refers to something 'in the air' to which a man is able to respond, to be stirred up, aroused, elevated. It doesn't come from the man, but the man is able to respond to it, to be inspired, elevated, excited, motivated, activated.

So the inspiration of scripture is not in the ability of man to engineer it, but in the ability of man to respond to something sent by God. (Is intuition the neglected ability God gave men to respond to reality, to His Truth? Children have it clearly, but in adulthood it seems to get lost somewhere). So, men given to drawing on God have been able to write words inspired (sent) by God, words that would normally be beyond the ability of man to write. Thus such men have written words that come from God, and as such are consistent with God's character, although they have been written by many, across many generations. These men have been produced for this purpose, by God, within a culture developed for precisely this task - a priestly tribe prepared to bring Truth to the nations.


What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture?

God-breathed tells us the scripture is sourced from God and not from men. Historians might have the talent for writing events - usually with the particular slant of the writer. However, Scripture is written with the particular slant that God desires, namely TRUTH. Luke (Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1) exemplifies this when he declares to Theophilus that he was well positioned to, and has gone to great lengths to check all the stories and write a truthful account for him. He is writing under the inspiration of the Spirit of Truth, or the Spirit of God that hovers over the world from the beginning of time, whom God re-breathed into mankind at Pentecost, and for whom we Christians can and need to be in constant search.

To diverge for a moment, I think it is the same Spirit that gave rise to the inspirational concept of the repeatable experiment in science, and the whole development of science on this basis. Without this exercise in truth we would be back in the dark ages with witchcraft running everything! End of diversion!

Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

It is important that we understand the God is the one who inspired all of scripture, and gives it His authority, consistency, and trustworthiness. Therefore we can trust everything it says (well tested by those who collected the scriptures to assemble the books of the Bible in the first place). Trusting, we will be obedient, become knowledgeable, and can lock into the Spirit Truth personally, for ourselves and our time, which is the whole purpose of everything. The Spirit of Truth, who gave us the Scriptures, unites us in spirit and in truth as, in obedience, we meet the wonderful world of brothers and sisters in Christ, the fellowship of the Spirit of Truth, and, together, give witness to the Truth in a hostile world.

[sahala p.s.]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

Inspiration of Scripture means divine guidance or influence of the Holy Spirit exerted directly on the mind and soul of the Scripture writers

About the source and authority of Scripture, the term "God-breathed" tells us that all scripture comes from God and creates the Word

The doctrine of inspiration of Scripture is important because without firmly holding it we can be doubt or not be confident of all verses written in Scripture and if we doubt that the Scripture come from God we will doubt to believe, be useful for us of, and do what is in Scripture

[kenny]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

My understanding of the word inspired when looking at the scriptures, goes beyond even what the dictionaries say. What do I mean? Well in this case to simply say the word means one of the following doesn’t do it for me. (enthused;stimulated;moved;encouraged etc) I believe it to mean “TOTALLY GIVEN” only from or as quoted by. Why do I believe this? The Bible was written by about 40 people of whom most never knew one another, over a period of about 1500 years to form a complete record of events without contradiction. Apart from this it is a timeless instruction manual for man, which shows us where we came from and tells us where we are going to.

The term God-breathed affirms what I have just said, that the scriptures are the word of God and the writers were the scribes. Through Gods word and all of His creation He speaks to us with all power and authority.

Why is the doctrine of inspiration so important? Because without it the scriptures would be just another book, and our salvation another pipe dream.(Praise be to God for His inspired word )

[hanks]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16)
What does inspiration of Scripture mean?
What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture?
Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?
In some miraculous way, God communicated His word to men and got them to write it down. What they wrote was the very words of God, inspired and infallible. Every word used was the words given to them by the Holy Spirit. Thus we read in 1Cor 2:13 : “These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” So we see that the inspired writers used words which the Holy Spirit taught. At the same time the individual literary style of the writer was not destroyed. We also note in 2Peter 1:20-21 that the writers of the Bible did not give their own private interpretation of things, but wrote the message which was given to them by God. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2Peter 1:20-21). So we know that the Scriptures are God-breathed; and it is false to say that God simply gave the thoughts to the individual writers and allowed them to express these thoughts in their own words. The truth insisted on in the Scriptures is that the very words originally given by God to men were God-breathed. Knowing that the Bible is the word of God, we know that it is written without error and is our guide to Christian living – our instruction manual.

[Stan]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

It means that men were in the Holy Spirit and spoke the words that they were given by the Holy Spirit not their own. It tells us that the scripture were first spoken by God and then retold by the prophets. All Scripture comes from God and His Spirit gives us understanding and we grow in His will. It is Important because it had to come from God to be the truth and Holy to lead us to our faith in Jesus. We weren't there to see Jesus so God gave us the Scripture,word spoken by Him that we could come to know Him and His love for us not the word of a man but the very word God.

[Patricia A]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

Inspiration of Scripture means that God guided man in some way as the words were written. "God-breathed" tell us that the source and authority for these words came from God. The doctrine of inspiration of Scripture is important because this doctrine says that the Scripture is directly from God--His message to us.

[Soomee]

In the case of Prophets, God told them what to write (mostly dictating). But the others, I prefer to think that they were obedient to God and God put the concept in their mind and they used their own words or construct to write and pass those on to us.
“God breathed” gives me a picture of the Holy Spirit. That means Holy Spirit is the Author of all the 66 books in the Bible and hence there is continuation even it was written by so many human beings lived over thousands of years from Moses to John. So when we read the Bible and sincerely ask Holy Spirit’s guidance to understand what we read then we have this great privilege of the author Himself standing next to us and explain everything. So we will get a divine perspective in to it. Not a human mind trying to put everything together.
If it is not inspired by God then it will be like any other book. There won’t be power and authority in those words. We will not take them as the divine truth.

[charisbarak]

who inspired the scriptures to be written

his breath in the form of the h.s. moved men to write as he "dictated"

it proves the authenticity


sorry--broken wrist

[spazzo47]

When I'm writing a play or a narrative piece of fiction, there's this image in my head and these voices that guide me in what I write. I instinctively know what's right for the characters and the plot and through the wrting, I figure out what the message I'm trying to convey is. I think that's how it was for the writers of the Bible. I think there was first this internal need to get the things on their mind out on paper (in some cases God directly said "write this down"). And based on what God was saying to them, they wrote. And they wrote in the style that they were most comfortable with or that made the most sense (Paul used letters, David used poetry, Luke was more academic). They wrote for a particular audience. I hestitate to call it a dictation, even though that's probably the slosest word I know for what it is. If I'm telling a story, it's going to come from my heart and head. It might (and hopefully) be placed there by God, but it's going to come out the way I would tell it. But writing, when you're doing it right or are on the right track, is a lot like taking a dictation. The characters are telling you what they're doing and saying and you just have to try and keep up.

So both these terms means that God was very much the One that prompted the writing of Scripture and guided it. But, He also chose to work through humans, which means that there was some human choice (Besides having the choice to say no to God about writing in, the writers usually got to say what they needed to say in a way that made sense to them).

This doctriine is important because it shows where ultimately it came from.

[McCollum]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

Inspiration of Scriptuer means "God breathed", Paul teaches that God was actively involved in the revelation of His truth to the apostles and prophets, who wrote it down.
Doctrine is teaching. Paul highlights correct teaching first and always.

[servant for Christ]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

The inspiration of Scripture means that supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers which rendered their writing an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God. God-breathed tells us that all scripture comes from God directly and can be considered his breath, his word. It is important because it is God's way of communciating with us.

[nerraw20]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

Inspiration means God breathed, which is a supernatural influence from the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of inspiration is important because it sets it apart from just being the opinion or knowledge of man.

[Mrstoler]

Q1. (2 Timothy 3:16) What does inspiration of Scripture mean? What does the term "God-breathed" tell us about the source and authority of Scripture? Why is the doctrine of inspiration of Scripture important?

Inspiration of Scripture means that God inspired the Scriptures through a supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit while men that God chose would write down what they were inspired by God to write. God-breathed means that it comes from the very depth of God’s being. To me it means that what He breath out is a part of His existence. The doctrine of inspiration of Scripture is important because it comes from God to be a tool we use to walk in His sight as His holy people. It is our instructions on how we should live a holy life before the Great Creator of our very existence.