θεόπνευστος: Encountering God’s Breath in Scripture

theopneustos: God-breathed, inspired by God

​This week’s Greek word is theopneustos, famously used in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is God-breathed.” It comes from two words—Theos (“God”) and pneo (“to breathe”).

This is where we get the doctrine of inspiration- that scripture has Divine authority and is infallible. (It is "God's Word".) But, theopneustos doesn’t just mean “inspired,” it literally says it's from the very breath of God Himself. This is an allusion to something else that scripture tells us comes from God's breath- man.

Gen. 2:7 tells us God breathed into the dust of the earth to make man, so also does He use that same man to record the Word which is also breathed out by God. I believe Paul was making a clear allusion here that we don't want to miss. This allusion means every time we open our Bibles, we’re not just reading ancient words recorded by ancient flawed humans—we’re encountering God’s living voice, that's not limited by flawed men or records.

Paul's emphasizing that just as we have life from God, so does the Word bring life. Just as God breathed a heart beat into the dirt of the earth, scripture has its life (Heb 4:12), His heart, and His authority. Run to His Word, because He's breathed this life into your lungs and His Words are the very Words of life(John 6:63 & 1 John 1:1).