The Integrity of the Word
Part I

Read Time: 15  Minutes

The Word of God is a vast resource of truths and wisdom that God has given to us so that we may live a more-than-abundant life. It is important for us to know how we got the Word and by what authority. We need to know for a certainty and be assured that these truths are vital and trustworthy. The Word of God needs to be examined thoroughly to answer these questions.

II Timothy 3
:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
    and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
    for instruction in righteousness:

All

The very first word in this verse is "all." There are two usages of the word "all" in the word of God. We use the words "all" and "every" in our daily living the same way. "All" can be without exception or with distinction. "All" can mean including every possible one or all of those of a specific group. 

Understanding the usage of the word is very important when rightly dividing the Word of truth.

Hebrews 2
:9 But we see Jesus, 
        who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, 
        crowned with glory and honour; that he 
        by the grace of God 
    should taste death for every man.

We need to ask ourselves; is the word "every" all without exception or all with distinction? Did Jesus Christ taste death for all of mankind? God sent His son to be a payment for all of mankind to redeem us, buy us back from the adversary. Jesus Christ was the sacrificial lamb that redeemed all of mankind without exception so that anyone who chooses to call on his name can be saved. 

Let us look at John 12:32

John 12
:32 And I, [Jesus Christ] if I be lifted up from the earth, 
    will draw all men unto me.

The question here is, will all without exception be drawn unto Christ or will all with distinction be drawn unto him. From Hebrews 2 we know that Christ died for all mankind but has everyone responded to him? Does everyone believe that Christ is their lord and that God raised him from the dead? No, not everyone has believed. All those that are drawn unto him are those that believe. This word "all" is all with distinction, all that have believed on him, not all of mankind without exception.

In II Timothy 3:16 the word "all" means all without exception. That means all scripture from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.

Is

The next word is the word In II Timothy 3:16 is "is" (All scripture is given by inspiration of God). In the King James Version (KJV) "is" is italicized. The KJV is translated from the Stevens Greek text and when the translators added a word or words in the English version that didn't correspond to the Greek text they italicized it. The reason why I use the King James version is so that I know when the translators added words. Sometimes they are appropriate for our understanding, other times they should have been left out because they distort the Word of God.

The word "is" was added to the text; it is not in the original manuscripts. There are two things we must understand here. If I remove an italicized word, a word that was not in the original text, do I still have the Word of God? Certainly, I have not touched the Word at all. When you come across the italicized words in the KJV remember that they are added to the text.

The second thing we must know is that in the Hebrew or Aramaic there is no word "to be" of which "is," "was" and "were" are forms. There is a good example of this in Genesis.

Genesis 1
:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
:2 And the earth was without form, and void; 
    and darkness was upon the face of the deep. 
    And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Look in verse 2, the first "was" is not italicized whereas the second one is. There is a corresponding Hebrew word for the first "was" but the second one was supplied by the translator. However, there is no Hebrew word for "was." We must find out what that word is. in the Hebrew text it is hayah ; to become. The earth became without form and void, God didn't create it that way. By leaving the word "was" in there the translation is incorrect. The earth became without form and void.

The words "without form" is tohuw in the Hebrew text and we can find mention of this Isaiah also.

Isaiah 45
:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; 
        God himself that formed the earth and made it; 
        he hath established it, 
        he created it not in vain [tohuw], 
        he formed it to be inhabited: 
    I am the LORD; and there is none else.

God created the earth "not in vain,"  tohuw; He didn't create it " without form." It became without form. Now the Word fits like a hand in a glove.

So far we understand that:

II Timothy 3
:16 All [without exception] scripture is  . . .

Given by inspiration of God

The next five words "given by inspiration of God" is one word in the critical Greek text, theopneustos. This Greek word theopneustos  is made up of two root words theo meaning God and pneo (the root word of  pneustos), to breath. So, theopneustos means God-breathed. Those five words "given by inspiration of God" mean God-breathed. All scripture God breathed .

This leads us to another question. Does God breath? 

John 4
:24 God is a Spirit . . .

Spirit does not have a form like our bodies. Spirit doesn't breathe. So, what does God mean when he says that all scripture is God breathed? 

In language, when a statement is made that is not true to fact, not literal, it is a figure of speech. Figures of speech are legitimate grammatical usages of words which depart from the norm. Why are figures of speech used? They are used to draw attention to, to emphasize that which it refers to. For instance, we can say the ground is dry. That is a literal statement. If we say the ground is thirsty we are giving the ground human characteristics, as the ground cannot thirst as we do. The statement paints a picture in our  minds of the ground being hard and cracked open because it hasn't seen water in so long. Which statement is more emphatic? The one in which the figure of speech is used.

God has used figures of speech in the Word of God to emphasize what He wants emphasized. The figures in God's Word are set with divine design and precision. I have no right, nor does any other mortal, have any right to say what is important and what needs emphasizing in the Word of God. God used figures of speech to mark His Holy Word. 

The figure of speech used in II Timothy 3:16 is called condescensio in it's Latin term or anthropopatheia in the Greek. The root words used in anthropopatheia are anthropos, meaning man and patheia, meaning "ways or desires" or "the ways of man." Whenever God is given human characteristics it is this figure anthropopatheia or condescensio. It is very important that we realize and believe that the Word of God is God breathed. It is given by inspiration of God literally and figuratively and emphatically it is God breathed. Part of understanding the Word of God is understanding the figures of speech used in it. They are used with mathematical exactness and scientific precision. When you understand figures of speech your understanding of the Word increases.

The only person that has done considerable work on figures of speech used in the bible is E. W. Bullinger. He has cataloged over 212 different figures of speech that have been used in the Word of God. His book, "Figures of Speech Used In The Bible"¹ is a tremendous asset to your biblical research library. 

Profitable

II Timothy 3
:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
    and is profitable for doctrine, 
    for reproof, for correction, 
    for instruction in righteousness:

"All Scripture God breathed and profitable for" . . . All scripture from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is God breathed and profitable. Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines profit as "a valuable return."² All scripture is God breathed and provides a valuable return.  

What is the scripture profitable for? It is profitable for doctrine, reproof and correction which is instruction in righteousness. Doctrine how to believe rightly, reproof is to reprove us in areas where we are not believing rightly and correction is to get us back to right believing. These three are instruction in righteousness. This will be expounded upon next week because there are some necessary truths that we must see regarding doctrine, reproof and correction if we are to rightly divide the Word of Truth.

How did we get the Word?

We have answered the question "by what authority did we get the Word of God?" All scripture is God-breathed. That it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof and for correction which is instruction in righteousness gives us it's benefit. Now we need to know how we get the God-breathed Word?

II Peter 1
:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: 
    but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The context of this verse is the prophecy of the scripture. Prophecy can be defined in two ways; it has two usages: foretelling and forthtelling . Most people think of prophecy as foretelling of events in the future. Isaiah prophesied of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. John spoke of end times after Christ's return in Revelation. These are prophecies of future events. This is one usage of the word prophecy. Prophecy can also mean forthtelling, to speak forth or declare. The Word of God is either foretelling or forthtelling and the majority of it is forthtelling, the telling forth of the wonderful works of God and His promises toward mankind.

"Holy of men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Now, who did the speaking? The holy men did the speaking. It doesn't say the Holy Spirit did the speaking, the holy men did the speaking as they were inspired by God.

We also learn that the scripture did not come by the will of man. Man did not sit down and decide to write the Word of God. David didn't decide with his two-bit brain to write some of the Psalms. Men are not the authors of the Word of God. God is the author. How? Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit, God). God told men what to write and they wrote, or spoke and their scribe wrote. The Word of God didn't come by the will of man but they spoke as they were moved by God.

Galatians 1
:11 But I certify you, brethren, 
    that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

The God-breathed Word didn't came by man's will. 

When you compare the writing styles of the different books of the Bible you can see a definite difference in vocabulary and style. Paul was a very learned man and the Pauline Epistles reflect that. Mark was not a highly-educated man. The Gospel of Mark is direct and to the point. The men of God used their vocabulary. They could not speak with any other vocabulary than they knew (neither can we). God worked with them according to their vocabulary. 

We have learned that the scriptures are "by inspiration of God" or God-breathed and here in II Peter God tells us that "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." We need to know what being "moved by the Holy Ghost" means. Now, God didn't take them and move them around, that is not what moved means. Moved is the Greek word phero meaning "to carry." The usage in this verse is "to be moved inwardly, prompted."³

All of our learning has come by our senses; we learn by what we see, hear, taste, smell and touch. But Paul declares of the Word of God:

Galatians 1
:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, 
    but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

He didn't receive it by the will of man, nor was he taught it, but he received it by revelation. 

There is a mathematical axiom stating, "Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other." Now let us read these verses again:

II Timothy 3
:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, [God-breathed]
    and is profitable for doctrine, 
        for reproof, 
        for correction, 
    for instruction in righteousness:

II Peter 1
:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: 
    but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. [Holy Spirit]

Galatians 1
:11 But I certify you, brethren, 
    that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, 
    but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

God-breathed = moved by the Holy Spirit = revelation. God-breathed means to be moved by the Holy Spirit which is revelation. (Wierwille, p 78)⁴ 

[L]et's look into the Old Testament and see how those holy men of God spoke who received this revelation. We have seen from John 4:24 that God is Spirit. God being Spirit can only speak to what He is. God cannot speak to the natural human mind. This is why The Word could not come by the will of man because the will of man is in the natural realm. God being Spirit can only speak to what He is--spirit. Things in the natural realm may be known by the five senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. But God is Spirit and, therefore, cannot speak to brain cells; God cannot speak to a person's mind. It is a law and God never oversteps His own laws. The spirit from God had to be upon these men, otherwise they could never have received revelation as Paul declared in Galatians. (Wierwille, p 78)⁴ 

All of the people who received the Word of God had holy spirit given to them by God. A good illustration of this would be to compare it to how a radio works. You have a transmitter and a receiver (the radio). You cannot understand the signal until you have a receiver, the radio, decoding it. God speaks (transmits) to His spirit in you (your receiver) and your spirit tells your mind.

The Biblical usage of "a man of God" is a man in whom the spirit of God is. Moses had spirit upon him and the burdens of the people became too great for him to bear. There just wasn't enough hours in the day to handle all of the people so:

Numbers 11
:17 And I [God] will come down and talk with thee there: 
    and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, 
    and will put it upon them; 
    and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, 
    that thou bear it not thyself alone.

The elders needed holy spirit upon them so that they could minister to the people like Moses; so that they could receive revelation to help handle the problems of the people.

God is the sole author of the Bible. He inspired men to write the Word. He spoke to the their spirit and their spirit spoke to their minds and they wrote down or spoke the Word. There were many writers of the Word of God but only one author. The original God-breathed Word did not have any errors or contradictions in it because God was the author and He told holy men what to write. Through copying and translating there have appeared apparent contradictions and errors. It is our responsibility to study the Word of God so that we may know the truth in all it's accuracy. 

Isn't God's Word wonderful?

God Bless.

¹ Bullinger, E.W. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979. Return to text

² Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=profit&x=15&y=18, July 23, 2004. Return to text

³ Online Bible Greek Lexicon. Online Bible Edition, v 1.4. Lanarkshire, Scotland, 2004.
Return to text

⁴ Wierwille, Victor Paul. Power for Abundant Living. New Knoxville, OH: American Christian Press, 1979. Return to text