All Scripture

All Scripture

07/13/08 AM

Text: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Introduction

The books of the Bible. Called: Book of the Lord; Book of the Law; Law of the Lord; Oracles of God; Scriptures; Scriptures of Truth; Sword of the Spirit; Word of God; Word of Christ; Word of Life; Word of Truth.

Compared to: a lamp; fire; seed; and a two-edged sword. It is to be searched; studied; obeyed; longed for; and walked after.

It is to be: in the heart; meditated upon; studied by rulers; and taught to children; used for teaching; admonishing; and instruction.

It is: water, and milk, and solid food; sweeter than honey.

It is: Comforting; Delightful; Desirable; Edifying; Effective; and Endures forever.

[All of these terms are found in the Word to tell of the Word, and the Word is what we examine in this lesson…]

I.The Purpose of Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

A.These verses tell us the how of receiving the scriptures

1.21 books of the Bible refer to the word of God as inspired.

a.all Scripture is inspired (theopneustos, “God-breathed ”)

b.Theopneustos. This word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means, God-breathed - from Theos, “God,” and pneō, “to breathe, to breathe out.”

c.“All Scripture is inspired by God and therefore useful”. It is useful, because God-inspired; not God-inspired, because useful.

2.Scripture first of all and above all is from God and about God, His self-revelation to all mankind.

a.From Genesis through Revelation, God reveals His truth, His character, His attributes, and His divine plan for the redemption of man, whom He made in His own image.

b.The Scriptures are not a collection of the wisdom and insights of men, even of godly men. It is God’s truth, His own Word given to men by God through the Holy Spirit.

c.Peter leaves no doubt, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20–21).

3.These verses continue to tell us the why, the purpose and use of the scriptures.

II.All Scripture is Profitable

A.It is profitable to us for all the purposes of the Christian life

1.Profitable, ōphelimos is a word which focuses on the sufficiency of God’s written Word; the ideas of being beneficial, productive, and sufficient

2.Scripture instructs us in that which is true, reproves us for that which is amiss, directs us in that which is good.

3.We should not study God’s Word simply to increase our knowledge but so we will know how to do Christ’s work in the world. Knowledge of God’s Word is not useful unless it strengthens our faith and leads us to do good works. “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:22)

a.The Scriptures are not purely a record of the past - the history of the Jews and then of the church. Rather, every story, every prophecy, every teaching, every admonition, and every command points to the author, God, who came to us in Jesus Christ. God meets us in the pages of his Word - telling us how much he loves us, how we can become his children, and how we should live to please him.

III. 4 Things Provided

A.Teaching: (instructing in God’s truths)

1.For teaching or communicating instruction.

a.Didaskalia (teaching) is a general term referring to a body of instruction, or “doctrine.” Didaskalia does not refer to the process or method of teaching but to its content, the concepts which v15b “give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

b.In this context it refers specifically to divine instruction, or doctrine, given to believers through not only the Hebrew Scriptures (OT) and the teaching of Jesus during His incarnation but also the apostolic teaching that Timothy had heard from Paul (v10) and the inspired NT authors

c.When it comes to godly living and godly service, to growing in “the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), all Scripture provides for us the comprehensive and complete body of divine truth necessary to live as our heavenly Father desires for us to live.

d.The wisdom and guidance for fulfilling everything He commands us to believe, think, say, and do is found in this Doctrine, the inerrant, authoritative, comprehensive, and completed Word of God.

B.Reproof: rebuking those in sin

1.A second purpose of the Word in our lives is that of reproof.

a.Elegmos (reproof) carries the idea of rebuking in order to convict of misbehavior or false doctrine.