Photo Credit: Pinterest.com

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul told them that they are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for them to do” (Ephesians 2:10). If God has prepared good works for his people, then how are they to prepare for them? What tools has the Lord provided to equip his servants? Paul’s words to Timothy give us the answer: the God-breathed Scriptures.

No Scripture Is Ordinary

There are some who argue that the Old Testament is not useful for salvation. They attempt to separate the Christian revelation from the Jewish as if the Jewish revelation was not of divine origin and had no connection to the gospel. The Jewish revelation illustrates and confirms the gospel. Jesus himself bore testimony to the Jewish Scriptures and to their connection to the gospel. At the time of Paul’s writing, most (if not all) of what they had and referred to as God-inspired Scripture was the Old Testament. As Christians, we must therefore accept the authority and relevance to salvation of all of the canon of Scripture. For us, that would include both the Old and the New Testaments.

All of Scripture is God-breathed… so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work

No Scripture is ordinary; all of it, not just Christ’s words, not just the gospels, not just Paul’s letters, all of it, is divinely inspired. Peter confirms this when he says, “No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.” He goes on to say, “prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). That is what gives the written word the authority to be the instrument by which God shapes and equips his servants.

Useful For Teaching

The Scriptures are useful or profitable (good) for teaching. To teach is to cause someone to know something. That is what the Scriptures do – they cause us to know God and the things pertaining to salvation. The phrase is also rendered as Scripture “is profitable for doctrine.” All the great and important doctrines of the Christian faith (the Trinity, Christology, Scripture, Salvation, Justification, the Church, etc.) that a person needs to know to be saved are taught by the Scriptures. All that the believer needs for the development of both mind and morals in every sphere of life is taught by the Scriptures.

The word of God uproots sinful behaviour and replants righteous habits

Paul says, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). If anyone gives their ears to listening to the word, they will be taught of the divine.

Useful For Rebuking

To rebuke is to expose error and declare wrongdoing for what it is. The Scriptures do not mince words when it comes to this. Whenever there is an error in judgment, whenever there is sin in thought, word or deed, the Scriptures are there to clearly tell us that we have erred. Left to our depraved natures, we are weak and unable to save ourselves. Scripture is given for that.

Useful For Correcting

To correct is to make or set right; to cause to change course from a wrong path to a right one. Correction is more than exposing sin – it sets things right. The Living Bible paraphrases it as “straightening us out.” That is what the word of God does. If the Scriptures only rebuked and stopped at that without showing the way out of the wrong paths, it would leave us in despair. The correction that Scripture offers begins from the root (our thoughts) to the fruit (our actions). Paul said, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Paul gives a vivid example in Ephesians 4:28: “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work … that he may have something to share with those in need.” Stealing is not only shown to be wrong, but a correction has also been offered so that the idle hands can become busy and productive. The word uproots sinful behaviour and replants righteous habits.

Useful For Training In Righteousness

To train is to teach and form by instruction, discipline and drill. Training in righteousness involves the entirety of the believer’s education in life and godliness. There is a righteousness that is by faith, and that is imputed when one becomes a Christian. Then comes the becoming in practice what we are in our resurrected position in Christ. It is knowing right from wrong and doing the right. This kind of righteousness is learned, and the word of God is the principal tool by which the believer’s character is formed. As the mind is sanctified by the truth of the word, it reflects in speech and conduct as well. This training leads from one degree of virtue to another. The advancement is directly proportional to the regard that the believer pays to the Scriptures. The Spirit empowers this transformation.

Training in righteousness involves the entirety of the believer’s education in life and godliness

The Person and The Service

Scripture is God’s comprehensive equipment – both for forming the servant (the person) and for enabling the ministry (the service). They are God’s equipment for doctrine and conduct. The servant of God is, before all else, a person of the Scriptures. The Scriptures make them complete and thoroughly equipped.

Scripture is God’s comprehensive equipment – both for forming the servant (the person) and for enabling the ministry (the service)

The Scriptures are also the work equipment that the servant of God must use in his service. One way to look at the word being a double-edged sword is that it cuts through both the user and the person it is used on. They make the servant of God fit for the work and also equip his hands for the work. The person that the servant is, is as important as the service that they render.

Throughout Scripture, God emphasizes the fitness of the servant as much as the service they render. Even in the ministry that served as shadows, Moses was told to “make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor” (Exodus 28:2). His dignity and honor mattered to God, not just the priestly service he was to render. Jesus said the Master would tell his servant to “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink” (Luke 17:8). The meal and the service are important, but so is the servant’s own readiness. God’s comprehensive equipment for both (who the servant becomes and what he uses to do the work) is his word.

Anyone who allows Scripture its rightful place in their lives becomes thoroughly equipped for every good work

So in Paul’s mind, anyone who allows Scripture its rightful place in their lives becomes thoroughly equipped for every good work. It will save you from many pitfalls in life. Jesus himself relied on the word throughout his ministry. We must emulate him.

A Call To The Servant of God

Do you desire to serve God in any capacity? Have you been crying out for divine equipping for the task God has called you to? Fellow workers, money and other materials can assist – but they are secondary.

God’s primary and essential equipment is his word.

Make it “your very life” (Deuteronomy 32:47) for “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). You cannot succeed in your walk with and service to God without being a person of the word. Read it; meditate on it; believe it; obey it; apply it.

Learn more…