Inspiration

Act of supernatural influence exerted by the Divine Being, upon men, through which the writer or speaker utters words considered trustworthy and of divine origin. In the case of Christianity, "inspiration" is God’s irruption in the human realm, as a result of which men act as His representatives, teaching His will in oral or written form.

Originated from the Latin _inspiratio_ ("breathing in"), the word "inspiration" is not used in the Sacred Writings. It’s use with theological meaning dates from the early 14^th century in French documents, from which it entered Middle English. Until the late 16^th century, it seems to have been used exclusively with this meaning. It later took a number of significations, physical, metaphorical and secular, as well as the previously mentioned religious sense.

In the development of a theological nomenclature, the word "inspiration" acquired a technical sense, referring to the Bible and it’s writers. The Bible is said to have been "inspired" because it is a divinely determined product. The biblical writers are designated as having been inspired because their work transcends human capacity and power, being divinely authoritative.

The underlying notion of the word "inspiration" is, nevertheless, conveyed by the Greek word _theopneustos_ ("God breathed"), used by Paul in 2 Tim. 3:16. Mentioning the importance of what we call today the Old Testament, Paul teaches that these writings were the product of God’s creative breath. In other words, what Paul is stressing is that the Sacred Writings are a divine product, not a human product.

The breath of God, in Scripture, is the symbol of His almighty power, the bearer of His creative action. In the Old Testament, the notion of God’s creative breath is given through the words _ruach_ and _neshamah_, both meaning "breath" used in contexts dealing with energetic operations like the creation of the universe (Ps. 33:6) and the making of man (Gen. 2:7).

God’s breath is, therefore, an irresistible outflow of His power. Thus "inspiration" is the action through which God creates the message to be delivered in His appointed spokesman.

Our understanding of the means through which God’s message is conveyed to humans is further enhanced in 2 Peter 1:19-21, where we read that God’s message is given to humanity through the instrumentality of men who speak "from" God. Furthermore, it is through the Holy Spirit that these men "bear" God’s Word. Such men speak by the Holy Spirit’s initiative and under the Holy Spirit’s controlling direction. The Sacred Writings, nevertheless, always mention (Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16; Acts 4:25 among others) that it is through men, as instruments, that God’s word is spoken, thus showing the importance of the transmission instrument in the conveying of the message.