2 Timothy 3:16-17
God-breathed
Today we have before us a couple of the most encouraging verses in all of Scripture because they teach us about Scripture itself: “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 competent, equipped for every good work.” This short passage tells us from whence Scripture derives and what it can do for us if we apply ourselves to it. (By way of aside, allow me here to add that though Paul would have been speaking of the Old Testament as he would not have known that he himself was writing Scripture at that moment, we as Christians receive the New Testament as equally inspired as our Lord’s coming in the fullness of time and subsequent commissioning of the apostles is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.)
In the first place, Scripture is theopneustos (θεοπνευστος) which translates literally, “God-breathed.” This is to say that Scripture itself, the words of Scripture, are God’s very words. This truth was declared by our Lord himself when he spoke of the importance of even iotas and dots, markings in the sacred writings (Matthew 5:18), that the “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), when he emphasized the precise words of Scripture in debates with the religious leaders (Mark 12:35-37), and in that he himself takes the title of “the Word” (John 1:1-2). Moreover, the prophets always prefaced, “Thus says the Lord,” when they spoke the word and words of God. This is all to say that Scripture is not a collection of the thoughts of worthy men but the very breath of God, His word. From this understanding of Scripture’s inspiration, Scripture’s infallibility and inerrancy naturally follow.
So what then does the word of God do for us? First, it makes us “wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” Christians believe that though the Bible is a difficult book, it is still simple enough for anyone to understand who applies his mind and reads of Christ. What else does it do: It teaches, reproves, corrects, and trains. And it does all this so “that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” Scripture is eminently practical. Scripture tells us how we may come to saving faith through Christ Jesus and how to live thereafter. In short, its purpose is to save and sanctify. We do not worship the book, but we know that without it, we would know nothing of saving truth. God does not have to speak; he could have chosen to remain silent. Bless God that he did speak and enlightens us today through His Holy Spirit speaking through the Scriptures.
