圣经问答
What Does 'Theopneustos' Mean in 2 Timothy 3:16?
'Theopneustos' is a compound of 'theos' (God) and 'pneustos' (breathed), meaning Scripture is 'God-breathed'—produced by God's exhaled breath and therefore carrying His divine authority.
回答
The word theopneustos (θεόπνευστος) appears only here in the Greek New Testament. It is a compound: theos (God) + pneustos (breathed), literally 'God-breathed.' Paul does not say Scripture is 'inspired' in the modern sense of a spark of creativity, nor merely 'useful'—he affirms that Scripture's origin is the breath of God Himself, the very exhale of the Almighty that brought the world into being (cf. Genesis 1).
Because Scripture is the product of God's breath, it is not a human invention shaped by Paul's individual mind; the Spirit moved (Greek ēphorēthē, the same family as in 2 Peter 1:21) through human writers so that what they produced is God's own trustworthy word. Paul then explains the purpose (theōpheleia, 'God-profiting'): it equips the man of God for teaching, correction, training in righteousness, and every good work.
In short, theopneustos specifies the source of Scripture. It teaches plenary (full) and verbal (extending to the words) inspiration: the writings that compose 'every Scripture' carry divine authority in their entirety because they originate from God's breath.
背景
Chapter 3 opens with a warning about the character of the last days: lovers of self, boastful, lovers of pleasure rather than God, holding a form of godliness while denying its power (vv. 1–5). Paul then turns in stark contrast to Timothy's calling: follow his teaching, conduct, and longsuffering (vv. 10–11), and abide in what Timothy learned from infancy (v. 14). Verse 15 grounds that 'abiding' in the 'sacred writings' (hiera grammata) that make wise for salvation through faith in Christ.
Verses 16–17 form the climax. After commanding Timothy to continue in the inspired writings of his childhood, Paul states the reason: those writings are theopneustos, and therefore profitable for four ministries aimed at producing a complete servant equipped for every good work. The human writers remain real—Timothy learned 'from whom'—yet the product is God-breathed, so the church can rest on it absolutely.
相关经文
- 2 Timothy 3:16 The single Greek compound theopneustos carries the whole weight of the doctrine: Scripture is 'God-breathed,' the product of God's own breath, not merely human insight.
常见问题
Does 'God-breathed' mean mechanical dictation?
The verb used elsewhere for inspiration (phero, 'carried along,' as in 2 Peter 1:21) implies movement by the Spirit rather than a passive recording process. Writers retain their personalities, vocabularies, and styles—yet the result they produce is God's breathed-out Word, fully reliable in all it affirms.
Is inspiration verbal (extending to the words) or only conceptual (extending to ideas)?
Because theopneustos applies to 'every Scripture' (pasa graphe) and to graphe itself—the written form of the words—the affirmation extends to the text as written, not only to ideas behind it. Verbal-plenary inspiration best reflects the language, while human individuality explains the varied styles across biblical books.
Does this verse mean only some parts of Scripture are God-breathed?
No. The phrase pasa graphe ('all/ every Scripture') with the qualitative sense ('every Scripture [that exists] is God-breathed') and the christological purpose in v. 15 (making wise for salvation through Christ) encompass the whole Old Testament as Timothy 'knew from infancy'—and by extension the apostolic writings recognized as Scripture.