The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Timothy 3:16-17,
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
While pinheads and liberal theologians debate the veracity of the Scriptures, challenge the authorship of its various authors, advocate for an absurd late-dating of the content, stripping it of all that is supernatural (what they determine is not believable while attempting to de-mythologize it - "the historical Jesus", etc.) and deny its divine inspiration, Paul points the way.
We need to follow Paul's perspective on the Scriptures. He knew from where it came from, as he shared in co-authoring thirteen of our twenty-seven New Testament books. We need to follow Peter who recognized how the Scriptures came to be through a marvelous co-authorship of prophet and the Holy Spirit, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21. Peter, knowing this, acknowledged Paul's writings as inspired, "His [Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:16.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
While pinheads and liberal theologians debate the veracity of the Scriptures, challenge the authorship of its various authors, advocate for an absurd late-dating of the content, stripping it of all that is supernatural (what they determine is not believable while attempting to de-mythologize it - "the historical Jesus", etc.) and deny its divine inspiration, Paul points the way.
We need to follow Paul's perspective on the Scriptures. He knew from where it came from, as he shared in co-authoring thirteen of our twenty-seven New Testament books. We need to follow Peter who recognized how the Scriptures came to be through a marvelous co-authorship of prophet and the Holy Spirit, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21. Peter, knowing this, acknowledged Paul's writings as inspired, "His [Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:16.
We need to follow Jesus' perspective on the Scriptures as well. Jesus never spoke against the Scriptures, considered by the Jews in his day as the very word of God. He used Scripture to teach, to encourage and to direct. He even used the forms of words and the tenses of verbs.
I suspect having the debate affords many the opportunity to ignore the Scripture's claims on each of us. Paul steps past all the smoke and mirrors and gets directly to the truth of Scripture. God inspired the prophets who wrote the Scriptures and he illuminates them, brings them to life, breathes the breath of life into them as we read them, study them, meditate upon them and memorize them.
The Scriptures are not like any other literature we have on our bookshelves. It is within its pages we learn of God and find how we may draw close to him. It is in the pages of Scripture we are invited by God to join his family. It is in its pages we read of God's grace and of the pivotal issue faith plays. Here in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we find that it is to the Scriptures we need to go for teaching, and for rebuke when needed. It is to the Scriptures we need to go for the corrections in life, and for training in righteousness.
It is to the Scriptures we all need to go in order to be equipped, thoroughly equipped, not for some things, but for "every good work."
It this important? How are you ordering the things in your life?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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