Post 2: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Even though we think that memorizing verses from the Bible is hard or difficult, we can pretty easily memorize almost anything that brings us enjoyment or is important to us. We can memorize song lyrics after hearing a song several times. I don't even like the song, but I know Jenny's number is 867-5309. I can sing the theme to Three's Company because I made time to watch it a lot growing up. If the Bible is important to us, we can memorize it.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God"
We believe the Bible is more than just a history book, or advice for living life, or stories written thousands of years ago. We believe the Bible is the Word of God.
The word “Scripture” is used about fifty times in the New Testament as another name for the Bible, specifically the Old Testament. The word means “anything written,” but of course Jesus and the writers of the New Testament believed that the Old Testament was unlike any other written thing. They believed it was God’s Word. In the previous verse, Paul called the Bible the “sacred writings,” meaning that the Bible is holy and able to be used for worshipping God. We believe the New Testament is God’s Word just like the Old Testament. Peter believed that the writings of Paul contained “wisdom” and he called them “Scripture” (2 Peter 3:15-16).
The phrase “breathed out by God” means that God inspired it. The word “breath” in the greek can mean breath, wind, or spirit. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit have all inspired the Bible. Even though God “inspired” human beings like Moses or Paul to write the Bible, God was active in the process. God says through Peter that “no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Bible his Word; and not just the words of men.
Paul said that “all” or “every” Scripture is breathed out by God, meaning that we cannot choose to believe some parts and doubt others. We cannot look at commandments to love one another as important while also not being serious about the warnings concerning our sin.
If the Bible tells us that it is God’s Word, we believe it; we want to take God at his word. I believe we can also see that it is more than just a book of random writings. The prophecies have not failed. The truths from God really do work in the world. God’s children can supernaturally see God working in their lives using the Scripture. And most importantly, the gospel is the power of God for salvation for anyone who believes (Romans 1:16). As Paul said in the previous verse, the Bible is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Even though scholars and doubters have tried to argue that God’s word is not perfect and it contains ideas that could not have come from a perfect God, God’s word has stood the test of time. God’s word still remains although its various critics have come and gone.
If the Bible is God’s Word, we have to take it seriously. If we are his children, we should want to know what he says to us and what he wants us to believe, understand, and do. We should want to read it, memorize it, and meditate on it because it is the Word of our Heavenly Father to us, his children that he loves.
"and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness"
The Bible is “profitable,” meaning it is good and helpful. C. H. Spurgeon said, “A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to a person who isn't.” People who read the Bible as God’s Word and want to know it and live by it are helped by God in the process.
All Scripture should be used in “teaching.” As a pastor, it would be foolish for me to teach people my own ideas and opinions. I want to teach the Bible because I believe it is God’s word and his ideas are better and higher than my own.
“Reproof” and “correction” go together. To reprove someone means you point out something that is wrong with them or that they are doing wrong. Biblically, it should be done with love to correct them. Lots of people are good about pointing out what is wrong with others, but God wants to us to correct and help one another. If we all work together to encourage one another to live by God’s word together, our lives will be blessed by God.
The Bible should be used to “train us in righteousness.” Righteousness is the idea of doing the right thing, doing the things that a holy and perfect God requires of us. We will not be perfect until we get to heaven and no longer have a sin nature holding us back, but God still gives us the goal of being perfect. The more we know the Bible, the more we know the right things that God wants us to do; this will give us the knowledge and power to do those right things.
Someone that is training to do something has to put in work and practice. Training takes time. It involves learning to do the good and learning not to do the bad. If you wanted to start memorizing Scripture, you would need to look at it like training as an athlete trains. You would have to set a routine and put in the work to see results.
"that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work"
The words “complete” and “equipped” both mean that the Bible provides us with everything we need to serve God and live the life that He wants for us. God saved us, not just from our sin and punishment in hell, but so that we can serve him and share his Word with others. God has “good work” for us to do, and the Bible teaches and trains us to be able to do those good works.
In this context, Paul is writing to Timothy, a younger pastor that he wants to teach and encourage. Although you may not be a young pastor, you need the Bible just as much as Timothy did. God has good work that he wants you to do, regardless of any leadership roles you may or may not have in a church right now. In fact, the Scripture tells us that God gave leaders in the church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). The word “saint” means any believer, anyone that is saved. God wants us all to grow in our faith to be able to serve him. God uses the Bible to grow us and God gives us pastors and teachers to help us to understand the Bible and grow. If we love God, we want to serve him and bring him glory. To serve and glorify Him, we need His word in our hearts and minds. “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Even though we think that memorizing verses from the Bible is hard or difficult, we can pretty easily memorize almost anything that brings us enjoyment or is important to us. We can memorize song lyrics after hearing a song several times. I don't even like the song, but I know Jenny's number is 867-5309. I can sing the theme to Three's Company because I made time to watch it a lot growing up. If the Bible is important to us, we can memorize it.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God"
We believe the Bible is more than just a history book, or advice for living life, or stories written thousands of years ago. We believe the Bible is the Word of God.
The word “Scripture” is used about fifty times in the New Testament as another name for the Bible, specifically the Old Testament. The word means “anything written,” but of course Jesus and the writers of the New Testament believed that the Old Testament was unlike any other written thing. They believed it was God’s Word. In the previous verse, Paul called the Bible the “sacred writings,” meaning that the Bible is holy and able to be used for worshipping God. We believe the New Testament is God’s Word just like the Old Testament. Peter believed that the writings of Paul contained “wisdom” and he called them “Scripture” (2 Peter 3:15-16).
The phrase “breathed out by God” means that God inspired it. The word “breath” in the greek can mean breath, wind, or spirit. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit have all inspired the Bible. Even though God “inspired” human beings like Moses or Paul to write the Bible, God was active in the process. God says through Peter that “no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Bible his Word; and not just the words of men.
Paul said that “all” or “every” Scripture is breathed out by God, meaning that we cannot choose to believe some parts and doubt others. We cannot look at commandments to love one another as important while also not being serious about the warnings concerning our sin.
If the Bible tells us that it is God’s Word, we believe it; we want to take God at his word. I believe we can also see that it is more than just a book of random writings. The prophecies have not failed. The truths from God really do work in the world. God’s children can supernaturally see God working in their lives using the Scripture. And most importantly, the gospel is the power of God for salvation for anyone who believes (Romans 1:16). As Paul said in the previous verse, the Bible is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Even though scholars and doubters have tried to argue that God’s word is not perfect and it contains ideas that could not have come from a perfect God, God’s word has stood the test of time. God’s word still remains although its various critics have come and gone.
If the Bible is God’s Word, we have to take it seriously. If we are his children, we should want to know what he says to us and what he wants us to believe, understand, and do. We should want to read it, memorize it, and meditate on it because it is the Word of our Heavenly Father to us, his children that he loves.
"and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness"
The Bible is “profitable,” meaning it is good and helpful. C. H. Spurgeon said, “A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to a person who isn't.” People who read the Bible as God’s Word and want to know it and live by it are helped by God in the process.
All Scripture should be used in “teaching.” As a pastor, it would be foolish for me to teach people my own ideas and opinions. I want to teach the Bible because I believe it is God’s word and his ideas are better and higher than my own.
“Reproof” and “correction” go together. To reprove someone means you point out something that is wrong with them or that they are doing wrong. Biblically, it should be done with love to correct them. Lots of people are good about pointing out what is wrong with others, but God wants to us to correct and help one another. If we all work together to encourage one another to live by God’s word together, our lives will be blessed by God.
The Bible should be used to “train us in righteousness.” Righteousness is the idea of doing the right thing, doing the things that a holy and perfect God requires of us. We will not be perfect until we get to heaven and no longer have a sin nature holding us back, but God still gives us the goal of being perfect. The more we know the Bible, the more we know the right things that God wants us to do; this will give us the knowledge and power to do those right things.
Someone that is training to do something has to put in work and practice. Training takes time. It involves learning to do the good and learning not to do the bad. If you wanted to start memorizing Scripture, you would need to look at it like training as an athlete trains. You would have to set a routine and put in the work to see results.
"that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work"
The words “complete” and “equipped” both mean that the Bible provides us with everything we need to serve God and live the life that He wants for us. God saved us, not just from our sin and punishment in hell, but so that we can serve him and share his Word with others. God has “good work” for us to do, and the Bible teaches and trains us to be able to do those good works.
In this context, Paul is writing to Timothy, a younger pastor that he wants to teach and encourage. Although you may not be a young pastor, you need the Bible just as much as Timothy did. God has good work that he wants you to do, regardless of any leadership roles you may or may not have in a church right now. In fact, the Scripture tells us that God gave leaders in the church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). The word “saint” means any believer, anyone that is saved. God wants us all to grow in our faith to be able to serve him. God uses the Bible to grow us and God gives us pastors and teachers to help us to understand the Bible and grow. If we love God, we want to serve him and bring him glory. To serve and glorify Him, we need His word in our hearts and minds. “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).
David Foust
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