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.
b.As with teaching, Scripture’s work of reproof has to do with content, with equipping believers with accurate knowledge and understanding of divine truth that exposes falsehood, sin, and erroneous belief. The Word will point out the error in the lives of the hearers.
c.Paul rebuked the church at Galatia because they had moved away from the true gospel to embrace heresy (Galatians 1:6-12). Paul also devoted much of his first letter to the church at Corinth to rebuking the actions and attitudes of the believers there (1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 5:1-13).
d.When we are moved by God’s Word to reprove a sinning brother or sister, we should do so in humility and love. As was Paul’s practice. “I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children” (1 Corinthians 4:14).
e.As the writer of Hebrews tells us in Chapter 12, our Holy Father obligates Himself to reprove and discipline His disobedient children in love (Hebrews 12:5-11), how much more are we His children obligated to reprove each other in love?
f.It is just as important, although more difficult, to be gracious when we receive reproof, whether directly by God’s Word or from other believers who call us to biblical account. “For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light, and reproofs for discipline are the way of life” (Proverbs 6:23).
C.Correction: correcting those in error
1.Epanorthōsis (correction) is used only here in the New Testament and refers to the restoration of something to its original and proper condition.
a.In Greek literature it was used of setting upright an object that had fallen down and of helping a person back on their feet after stumbling. After reproving false belief and sinful conduct in believers, Scripture then builds them up through its divine correction.
b.Correction is Scripture’s positive provision for those who accept its reproof. It puts us back on our feet after we have stumbled.
c.As with reproof, when any of us seeks to correct another, it must be with the proper attitude.
d.Earlier in this letter, Paul reminded Timothy that “the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25).
e.In his letter to believers of Galatia, the apostle gives similar counsel: “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).
D.and training in righteousness (guiding new believers in God’s ways)
a.Training (paideian, lit., “child-training”) had the original meaning of bringing up and training a child, but it came to be used of any sort of training. It also is rendered “correcting” (2 Timothy 2:25) and “discipline” (Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:5, 7, 11).
b.“Disciplining,” as a father does his child, or “training” by instruction, warning, example, kindnesses, promises, and chastisements. It is directed at the ideas of instruction and building up.
c.Until the Lord takes us to be with Himself, His Word is to continue training us in righteousness. Training in regard to the principles of what is right, in what is needed in order to lead a holy life, to be adequate and equipped for good works.
IV. Adequate, Equipped for Every Good Work
A.“Adequate” and “equipped”
1.Paul makes the statement that by the scriptures we are: adequate, equipped for every good work (cf. 2:21).
a.Adequate, from the Greek: artios. It means to be complete, lacking in nothing and needing nothing more.
1)There is no deficiency in the Scriptures for us, in any of the situations in which we may be placed in life
b.Equipped (exērtismenos, “furnished”) “complete, capable, and proficient in the sense of being able to meet all demands.”
1)Whatever duty we have to do, whatever service is required from us, we will find enough in the scriptures to furnish us for it.
c.If we consult the scripture, which was given by inspiration of God, and follow its directions, its examples, its commandments, we will be servants of God, complete, and thoroughly furnished to every good work.
2.And so prepared we may employ the Scriptures for: Teaching, Reproof, Correction, and Training.
A.The expectation that we do good works
3.Not works considered good in our eyes but by the standard of God.
a.Motives matter:
Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
b.Grandness or greatness of the work does not:
Matthew 25:37-40 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”
4.Not works to earn salvation Galatians 2:16b “…a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus…”
a.Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
b.James 2:26 James reminds us that faith without works is dead.
c.Titus 2:14 Paul says we are to be zealous for good works.
Conclusion:
Scripture is God’s own provision for every spiritual truth and moral principle that we need to for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness; to be equipped to live righteously in this present life and to hear one day in the life to come, “Well done, good and faithful servant,… enter into the joy of your Master” (Matthew 25:21).
Invitation
