These are perilous times. The inspiration of the Word of God has been attacked in recent times more than ever before. Questioning the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture is an attack on its inspiration.
Biblical Theology·Apr 3, 2026·Updated Sep 3, 2026
The Breath of God in the Writing of Holy Scripture
These are perilous times. The inspiration of the Word of God has been attacked in recent times more than ever before. Questioning the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture is an attack on its inspiration. Most conservative biblical Christians know what inspiration is through a literal translation of the Greek word, theópneustos (θεόπνευστος, G2315), found in This word literally means, “divinely-breathed-in” or “God-breathed”, according to Strongs.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
— 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Greek word for inspiration only appears one time in the New Testament. Normally, this is where the study stops. More exploration is needed. Paul was quoting from the Old Testament when he referred to “inspiration” in A correct understanding of the Old Testament will lead us to this conclusion: Paul’s dogmatic declaration, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” should be understood to mean, “All Scripture is given by the Breath of God” Similarly, through deductive reasoning we could say, “All of the Word of God is produced by the Breath of God”.
The Breath of God in the Creation of the World
Most people don’t think about the Breath of God while reading Hebrew readers would be thinking about it because the Spirit of God in or the Rûacḥ of God in Hebrew, is frequently translated the Breath of God in the Old Testament.
“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. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
— Gen. 1:2-3
Rûacḥ (רוּחַ, H7307) is primarily translated as Spirit (232x), Wind (92x), and Breath (27x). The miracles of creation week started with the utterance of a divine word! This is true. “In the beginning was the Word…” God has magnifiedtheWordabove all His Name Notwithstanding, a close reading of indicates that something divine happened directly before, or simultaneous with, the utterance of the divine word, “Let there be light” The Spirit of Godwasmovingupon the face of the waters. Or, in other words,the Breath of Godwasblowingupon the face of the waters when the divineWord was spoken, “Let there be light”
“By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the Breath of His mouth.”
— Ps. 33:6
Credit is being given to the Word ofGod and the Breath of God in the creation of the stary host of the heavens. How did the psalmist come to this conclusion? Genesis does not explicitly convey this on Day #4, but it is implied through presenting at the start of creation week. And we know the divine word that was spoken on Day #4. “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven…” As we imagine the creation of the stars of outer space, allow Job to expand upon this scene: “By His Spirit [Breath] He hath garnished the heavens;”
Naturally, we can understand the connection between the Breath of God and the Word of God. Humanly speaking, it requires breath to speak words. These two things are happening simultaneously. One does not happen without the other. Our breath produces words. Apparently, the same thing is happening with God. is a marvelous demonstration of because it is here that we see the Word ofGod being divinely breathed in an utterance that started creation week. A pronounced inhalation and exhalation of Breath comes with the speaking of divine Words.
The Breath of God in the Creation of the New World
The same thing happened in the days of Noah, when God recreated and renewed the face of the world through the flood. I can see while reading
“And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind [rûacḥ] to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;”
— Gen. 8:1
Some people may think that the similarity here is coincidental. I submit that your perspective may change if you read Genesis 6-9 in the light of The majesty of the LORD during the flood is staggering to behold! Noah and family were eyewitnesses of This passage brings us back to When the waters of the flood had completely covered the world, they stood above the tallest mountains, and then a rûacḥ passed over the earth to bring about the recession – this exact moment is being amplified in
“Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.”
— Psalm 104:5-7
Both divine rebukes and divine words are directly associated with the Breath of God in the Bible. This is made abundantly clear in the Red Sea crossing of the Exodus Generation, as described in Rereading in the light of is compelling. Combining this with the fact that considerable divine acts of creation were being accomplished during the recession, like thousands of mountains that exceed the elevation of Ararat, we can see why the same divine forces were at work in the creation of the Old World and the creation of the New World Speaking of this, the psalmist said, “Thou sendest forth thy Spirit [rûacḥ], they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.”
The Breath of God at the Red Sea
Israel stood along the coastline of the Red Sea. They were commanded to stand still and see the salvation of the LORD in an unforgettable miracle What did they see?
“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind [rûacḥ] all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
— Ex. 14:21
Similar to the reading of the event being described in may appear lackluster in comparison to But everything changes when is expanded and amplified for us to better understand this miracle.
“And with the blast [rûacḥ] of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.”
— Ex. 15:8
“Thou didst blow with Thy wind [rûacḥ], the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.”
— Ex. 15:10
The strong east wind that divided the Red Sea was produced by a rûacḥ from the nostrils of God! And the same divine action, the blowing of therûacḥ, was then done to release the waters of the Red Sea for the drowning of the Egyptians. Finally, the picture being painted by Scripture is completed with the addition of
“Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at Thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath [rûacḥ] of thy nostrils.”
— Ps. 18:15
The divine utterance of a “rebuke” is put in parallel with the blasting of the Breath of God from the nostrils of God, as is customary in Hebrew poetry. The breath produced the rebuke. The two were being done simultaneously because the Breath of God produces divine words / rebukes. You might be wondering why the Scripture is focusing on the nostrils of God? Humanly speaking, we do this when we are angrily and loudly speaking because it requires violent inhalation and exhalation by the nostrils. This means that the LORD was angry when He uttered the rebuke that parted the Red Sea The same divine things were at work in the divine words of creation the divine rebuke of the flood and the divine rebuke of the Red Sea but the mood of divine-breathing was calm during creation week.
The Breath of God in Making a Sinner Born Again into a New Creature
Jesus Christ , “the Word”, has a perfect understanding of all these things He personally understands how the Breath of God, or the Wind of God, is related to the Word of God in any given circumstance, especially as it pertains to the new creation of salvation.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
— 2 Cor. 5:17
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
— John 3:8
The word rûacḥ doesn’t appear in the New Testament because it was written in Greek. Nevertheless, it stands to reason that Jesus Christ was drawing upon the testimony of Scripture in the Old Testament. One thing is for sure! Miracles are happening at the blowing of the wind – miracles of creation and miracles of new creation
“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:”
— John 20:22
“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”
— Acts 2:2
First, we see Jesus Christ breathing on the apostles in the giving of the Holy Ghost Secondarily, we see a heavenly “wind” blowing upon the apostles on the Day of Pentecost What was it all for? Immediately after thewind blew, the apostles stood up and preached the Word of God in the open air, and thousands of sinners were born again Arguably, the same wind shook the house where the apostles were assembled praying, and because they were all “filled with the Holy Ghost”, it was written, “they spake the Word of God with boldness” This is conclusive evidence.
The Wind of God, or the Breath of God, was blowing upon the apostles to produce inspired sermons of the Word of God in the open air resulting in thousands of people being born again. In other words, there is resurrection power in the wind of the word This much and more can be seen in the salvation of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert to Christianity. Peter went to Cornelius’ household and started preaching.
“While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghostfell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
— Acts 10:44-45
“And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?”
— Acts 11:15-17
Peter started preaching the Word of God and suddenly thewind started blowing, and then everyone in the household was miraculously and instantaneously born again in a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Statedly, the baptism of the Holy Ghost at Cornelius’ house was exactly like the baptism originally experienced by the apostles on the Day of Pentecost, where a heavenly “wind” blew upon the apostles All this happened to the Gentiles at Cornelius’ house without anyone there receiving water baptism, because as they heard theWord of God, they were repenting and believing in the Gospel
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
— 1 Pet. 1:23
Peter, as an eyewitness of what happened to Cornelius, perfectly described what happened in A miraculous operation of infinite power is at work when the Breath of God is producing the Word of God in the biblical history of the New Testament, whether in the salvation of sinners or in the inspiration of the apostles. This is why believers read the bible with strong consolation. The crowning achievement of these infallible miracles is the writing of the Old Testament and the New Testament, as stated in
🎶 Breathe on Me, Breath of God 🎶
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine,
Till all this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine eternity.
Modern academia applauds the fair speeches of ancient Greek philosophers, men like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the like; and the gullible minds of educated men are sincerely impressed. Meanwhile, the apostle Paul remains thoroughly unimpressed!
Peter was arguing for the equality of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments. The “vision” that Peter was referring to was already written down, canonized, and circulated as Scripture through the Gospels (Matt. 16:21-17:13, Mk. 8:27-9:13, Lk. 9:29-35).
John MacArthur, over the past many years, has served as a beacon of hope to many for theological conservatism and fundamentalism. But in the already precarious year of 2020, he joined together with the Lockman Foundation
However, this complicates the issue by presenting to the reader a number of various definitions to choose from which slightly or significantly alter the meaning of the verse in question.
All that really matters is if the Prophet is turning people from their sins and from the wickedness of their doings (Jer. 23:18-22). Passion does not equal power. Passionate preachers these days can stir up congregations into a frenzy of celebration.
They feel themselves to be the most humble people on the face of the earth by virtue of truly knowing God, but in reality what they believe to be the knowledge of God is the source of the problem.
