“THE MAN OF GOD AND THE WORD OF GOD”
II Timothy 3:14-17
A pleasant morning to everyone! I have great admirations to those who where mightily used of God in His church. Among them are church fathers like- John Chrysostom, Theodore and Jerome. The list goes on with Martin Luther, Zwingli, John Calvin, D.L. Moody, Spurgeon and Finley. One day, while I was reading a book, I ran across John Wesley, the one responsible for the Wesleyan movement and the father of Methodism. This man of God wrote over 200 books, edited a magazine, compiled dictionaries in four languages (and mind you, all in his own handwriting). He crisscrossed England on horseback for a total of 250,000 miles- stopping to preach along the way. He preached 40,000 sermons- rarely less than two a day and often seven, eight or even more. When he was 83, he regretted that he could no longer preach more than twice a day, and confessed his increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30am. At 86, he was still rising that hour each morning for prayer and Bible reading. For 53 years of his tireless ministry, John Wesley wrote something about the Bible “I want to know one thing, the way to heaven: how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach the way; for this very end he came from heaven. He has written it down in a book! Oh, give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be a man of one book.” (Can you guess what that book is?) -the Bible. All the men I mentioned to you a while ago have one common denominator- they were people of the book- and that is The Bible, the Word of God, The Holy Scriptures. And that is what I want to share with you this morning. And so I entitled my message, “THE MAN OF GOD AND THE WORD OF GOD.” Or you may simply say, “The Christian and His/Her Bible.” Before we continue, let us turn to God in prayer,
“Heavenly Father, we affirm that Your Word is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. We believe that Your Word will not return to You void but it will accomplish what You desire and achieve that purpose for which You sent it, I pray now of Your empowerment to Your servant. In Christ name we pray. Amen!.”
Our text is found in II Timothy 3:14-17. Before reading the passage, I would first like to paint a background it. II Timothy is included in what we call as “The Pastoral Epistles” along with I Timothy and Titus. Written by Paul during his second Roman imprisonment around 66-67 AD. The heart of the Apostle is laid bare as he faced his final days on earth in a cold Roman dungeon. Thus, II Timothy is a pastoral, a prison and a personal letter to Timothy. But who was Timothy? Timothy during the writing of the letter was the one in charge of the churches at Ephesus. Ephesus (modern day Turkey) that time was an important trade city in Asia. All caravans coming from Europe to Asia went through that city. And because it was the largest city in the province of Asia Minor it is a melting pot of races- Hebrews, Greeks and Romans live there. Along with these, the city is known of its collection of religion. The people of Ephesus are very religious, it was noted for the temple of Artemis or Diana, her Roman name. Diana is the goddess of moon, hunting, fertility and resurrection. Both men and beasts find hope of fertility from this goddess. They hail her; in fact, they minted coins in honor of the goddess. The city of Ephesus is in constant change because of these factors and a lot more of influences. This city has a form of religiosity but denies its power. And I can compare this city to Manila. “Ang mga nakatira sa Ephesus ay katulad ng mga Pilipino- napaka-relihiyoso ngunit wala namang tunay na pagbabago.” The city of Ephesus is infiltrated with a lot of false teachings and teachers- cults abound. Not different from what we have in our country. Just as there is a threat to the churches in Ephesus those days and so is with the churches in the Philippines, and the rest of the world. And so we must heed Paul’s instruction to Timothy- the unchanging truth in these changing times. Let us read Paul’s instruction (II Timothy 3:14-17 NIV)…
“14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
As I have said earlier, the title of the message is “THE MAN OF GOD AND THE WORD OF GOD.” And so may I suggest to you that the man of God must remain steadfast in the Unchanging Word in this Changing World. The man of God, the Christian must remain faithful in the constant Word in this contemporary world. And so you may ask, “Why do I have to remain steadfast in the Word of God? Well, our text gives us at least four reasons why you and I must remain steadfast/faithful in His Word.
First, we must remain because it was commanded- this is Paul’s INJUCTION. Let us read verses 14 and 15, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures…” Paul commands Timothy to continue in what he learned from him (vv.10-11) and from his Nanay Eunice and Lola Lois (1:5). He had a great heritage of faith. “Continue” is the main verb of the passage, it is in the imperative mood “mene” from “meno” meaning “remain, abide or continue”. Thus, Paul is telling Timothy with an imperative, “You Continue!” Continue in what you have learned and have become convince of- that is the Holy Scriptures. I imagine Nanay Eunice putting baby Timothy on her lap as she teaches him the history of the Hebrew nation, the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), the Decalogue (Ex.20) and of course, the promised Messiah. His mother was already preparing her son’s heart even from his infancy, “brephos” in the Greek- literally “a new-born child, an infant, a babe.” Timothy at his very young age was founded in the Holy Scriptures. This explains his response to Paul’s preaching when he visited Lystra (Acts 16:1-4). The injunction to continue that Paul is talking about here also implies that young Timothy is already on the right path because even from his infancy he has known the Holy Scriptures (v.15). A complete contrast from the evil men and impostors he described in previous verses. These evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived (v.13). But as for Timothy, he is to remain steadfast to the truth. While evil men and impostors around us continue in their state of moral regression, we must continue with our progress in the Word of God. The impostors follow the resistance Jannes and Jambres did to Moses, but believer must follow their heritage of faith as it was passed down to us by great men of faith. Paul was emphasizing what he wrote earlier in 1:13, “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me.” Do you heed the words of Paul? Do you continue in the Bible? I always ask myself why is there little change in the lives of those who have copies of it (knowing that the Bible is still the world’s best seller book). You know, what I discovered, paradoxically, the Bible is also the much neglected book. May I ask you again- When was the last time you opened the Bible and then studied it with all of your heart? My question was answered. The problem is not with the Bible but with the person reading it. Worse than this, the Bible is not being read at all. And so I ask you to renew your commitment to the reading, studying and meditating of the Bible. Be committed to Biblical Scholarship. Remember II Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Second, allow me to read verse 15, “and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The faithful Christian must remain steadfast to the Word because it is the only book that leads man to SALVATION. Mathematicians use the conversion table to convert kilos to pounds and inches to centimeters. Businessmen go to banks (or Tambunting Pawnshop) to convert their dollars to peso. For us Christians, we use the Bible that people may be converted from sinners into saints through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul himself is one of the great example of this, he says to this effect, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (I Tim.1:12-14 NIV). In addition, I want to highlight the word “able” in verse 15. The Greek word is “dunamis” (from where we derived our English word dynamo). The power of the Word of God unto salvation is not an inherent power (as to a dynamite) but a continuous power (a dynamo, an electric generator). The longer it is used, the higher the rate of energy it releases. The power of the Scripture to transform is not a static power but a dynamic one. That is why when people found the way of salvation in Christ Jesus, we continue teaching them the way of sanctification. Thus, as faithful believers of Jesus we must have a deep commitment to Our Sonship. Salvation in Christ is the most important learning that the Scripture offers- for there is no other name under heaven given by which men must be saved (Acts 4:12). It is only through Jesus Christ- the central theme of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, Him and Him alone.
The third reason why we must remain loyal to the Word of God in this changing world is because of the doctrine of INSPIRATION. Verse 16 speaks of the Bible’s origin, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” “Pasa graphç theopnuestos” in the Greek. We can learn two important things here. First, the whole book is inspired. “All Scripture is God-breathed.” “Pasa” or all- the entirety of it is inspired, not just some of it but the whole of it. Obviously, when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy the New Testament is not yet finished. So he is referring to the Old Testament. However, we must remember that the OT and the NT are both inspired of God. Peter told us II Peter 3:16 that the NT is the same compared to the OT, the writings of Paul (epistles) are leveled the same with the Scriptures (OT). Therefore, the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation is inspired of God. And we must treat I Chronicles the same way we treat I Corinthians. We must treat Numbers the same way we treat Matthew and Zechariah the same way we treat Philippians and so on. I mean, we must treat, read, and study not only our favorite passages but the whole of Scriptures. Remember Jesus when tempted in the wilderness, he said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mt. 4:4 cf. Deut 8:3).” That “every word” starts from Genesis 1:1 and ends with Revelation 22:21. Second, this is a divine book. “All Scripture is God-breathed.” “God-breathed” is “theopneustos,” this Greek word is made up of two words “theo” (God) and “pneo” (to breathe). The word is a verbal adjective use in a passive sense. The emphasis is that God alone is the agent in the Bible’s inspiration. The Bible is from God Himself. The very words that are written in the pages of the Holy Writ are the very words of God, nothing more, nothing less and nothing else. Kaya kapag binabasa natin ang ating mga Biblia, ang Panginoon mismo and personal na kumakausap sa atin. When we read, “Seek the Lord, while he may be found.” God is saying to us, “Seek me! You will find me, I will make Myself manifest to you.” When we read, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” We must believe that He is in control of our lives, what we need He will provide, if we need rest, He would give us rest and peace and serenity. If there is one doctrine that I am dogmatic (and fanatic) about, it is the doctrine of inspiration. Although this book is from God, we cannot discount the fact that He used human authors. We see the passion of Isaiah, the lament of Jeremiah, the deep philosophy of John the Beloved. David writes like a shepherd, Luke writes like a doctor, and Peter like a fisherman. We are reminded of II Peter 2:11 which says that, “prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Jerry Vines tells of his experience during one of his classes, “I shall never forget the week Dr. J. Wash Watts spent meticulously dismantling the documentary hypothesis (higher criticism of the Bible). At the conclusion of the week, this godly professor, with tears in his eyes, raised his Bible above his head and said, ‘Young men, the documentary hypothesis makes your Bible nothing more than a scrapbook!’ ” The Bible is inspired by God. Its either you believe the Bible or believe its critics. We Christians must have an undying commitment to the Doctrine of Inspiration- and this is a commitment to Divine Authorship. Ang mga Kristiano ay committed sa Doktrina ng Inspirasyon. Ang mga kritiko ni Biblia ay kumitid din- kumitid sa kanilang pag-iisip at pangangatwiran.
Lastly, the latter portion of the passage declares that the Holy Scriptures “is useful for teaching, rebuking and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” This calls us for the APPLICATION of the Bible in our lives. After knowing the origin of the Bible we now go to its purpose. It is useful, profitable (NKJV) for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Look at the Bible, it does not stop with mere inspiration, it continues to application. The Bible is very practical, it can be applied to our lives, it solves problems, it gives encouragement, hope and even rebuke. Martin Luther said, “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” The passage tells us that it is for teaching which is the imparting of knowledge concerning God’s revelation in Christ. Timothy is to teach the pastors in Ephesus on what the Scriptures say. Second for rebuking, we must use the warnings based on the word must against the infiltration of false teachers and teachings. Errors in the doctrine must be answered by the truth of the Scriptures. One must stand and reprove evil men and impostors. After we have rebuked them it is our responsibility to also correct them. We must direct them in the right path. The psalmist said, “Your word is a light to my feet and a lamp to my path (Ps. 119:105).” And lastly, it is useful for training in righteousness. This originally refers to the training and education of a child in godly behavior, the cultivation of mind and morals aiming the increase of ones virtue. The training that Eunice and Lois gave to Little Timothy is what Paul would like for Timothy to emulate. This fourfold purpose of the Bible prepares the man and woman of God for every good work. As believers of Christ Jesus, we must be rooted in the Word so that we can apply it in our lives. Our application of the Bible is the best way to show our commitment to Christian Discipleship. Thereby, accomplishing one of the purposes of our salvation- to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph.2:10).
Most of you know that I am a member of CBAP. I am a Conservative Baptist, and I am proud of it. I am proud of it because Baptists are known to be people of The Book. We are Bible-reading, Bible-believing, Bible-loving and Bible-sharing people.
For the new millennium and beyond, IBM has espoused a catchy corporate philosophy in the words “Change Rules.” But in this world where change rules and rules change, the Word of God without change rules and also rules without change. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Every believer of Christ must be committed to Biblical Scholarship because it is an Injunction, committed to His/Her Sonship which is Salvation through Christ, committed to Divine Authorship which tells us of the doctrine of Inspiration, and committed to Christian Discipleship which is the application of the Word of God in our lives.
In closing, I want to read a story a young Colombian girl who received a New Testament in her school. She read the New Testament until one day her father caught her reading it…and told her not to read it any more because it was full of lies and fantasy. But the girl kept on reading until one day her father came home unexpectedly found her with the NT grabbed it from her hands and put it in his pocket. The father went off to work where he was a mining engineer. Several hours later sirens went off in the community there had been a cave in at the mine. The father was trapped in the mine. The rescue workers took 5 days to finally reach the men, but it was too late. All 31 men died including the father of this little girl. Curiously, workers found the man clutching the NT between his praying hands. When they opened the front cover they read a note “To my daughter” Keep reading this NT, it is true and right, and I will see you one day in heaven. Then they turned to the back page where the father had signed the commitment card after having said the sinner’s prayer. But that was not the end of the story. Turning the page there were signed the names of the other 30 workers.
Testimonies like this abound and that is why I preach that The Man of God must remain Faithful to the World of God. Because in this Changing World only the Bible remains Unchanged. Thank you for listening may the God of the Word continue to speak in our hearts through His Word.
Resources:
The Speaker’s Quote Book edited by Roy Zuck
The Greek New Testament by Kurt Aland etal.
New Testament Commentary (I & II Timothy and Titus) by William Hendriksen
The Message of II Timothy by John R.W. Stott
A Baptist and His Bible by Jerry Vines
The Greek New Testament for English Readers (Pastoral Epistles) by Kenneth Wuest
Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary edited by Ronald Youngblood
We Are One, a 25th year anniversary publication of Greenhills Christian Fellowship
Why I Preach that the Bible is Literally True by W. A. Criswell
