Dr. Dan Hayden •

The phrase “given by inspiration of God,” is one word in the Greek text. It is the word  theopneustos, which means “God-breathed.” Theopneustos is a compound word, with theo the Greek word for God, attached to the word pneustos which means “wind, or spirit, or breath.” We have this word in our English word pneumonia – a disease of the breath, or lungs.

So, this verse literally says that all scripture is “God-breathed.” When you think about it, that’s what words are. They are breath resonated over the vocal chords and shaped by the tongue and lips and teeth. When we speak – it is our breath.

Therefore, all Scripture is God’s breath, or God’s spirit. When the human authors like Moses, or David, or Isaiah, or Paul, wrote Scripture – that Scripture was God’s inspired Word. These men were guided in such a way that what they wrote was exactly what God wanted them to write. God actually spoke through them so that the result was a book that was really written by God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” It is “God-breathed.”

So – The next time you see your breath on a cold day, think about this verse. The Bible is seeing God’s breath.

http://www.awordfromtheword.org/god-breathed

For further study, read: BackTrack – Correcting our Course