2 Tim. 3:14-17
“All Scripture is Breathed Out by God”
Take a look at the Bible you are holding in your hands. How much is it worth? $15? $20? $30? Maybe, if it is genuine leather bond, you may have paid $60 or even $70! Is that how much your Bible is worth?
You may feel offended by such a crude approach to assess the Bible’s worth. Surely the value of the Sacred Book cannot depend on how many dollars we paid for it--although we often act like it does! We let our “cheap”, paperback Bibles get all torn and curled up while we give extra care to our more “expensive”, leather-bond Bibles. I am not advocating bibliolatry--to worship the Bibles. But does the way we treat of our Bible reflect how much we value the Word of God? Of course the kind of treatment we should focus on is not how well we take care of the Bible but how much we actually use it! Surely, the Bible is not a museum piece and its value does not lie in its appearance but in its content! How much is the Bible worth to you?
In v. 15, Paul speaks of “the sacred writings [i.e. the Scriptures], which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Do you see here the true value of the Bible? Its subject matter, Paul declares, is our salvation. Our salvation! What is more important than our salvation? Yet how often do we think about this most important matter? We are so concerned about so many other things, aren’t we? Our life has gotten so busy that it is so difficult to keep still even for a few minutes and reflect on the ultimate questions of life in the tranquility of our soul. There are chores to be done, everyday, from morning to night: like a toy tumbler, they keep bouncing back at us no matter how many times we knock them down. All the chores we get done today will be back again tomorrow. And oh, all the deadlines we must meet at school, at work and even at home and all the due dates we must keep up with!
We work ourselves to the ground, trying to meet all the deadlines and due dates. So, when we get a break from these things, we don’t want to think about anything serious: we just want to “unwind” and “veggie out”, mindlessly staring into the TV screen or computer monitor. But what does it matter even if we make all the deadlines? If we have no clear sense of direction, if we have lost our way, are we better than the hamster running furiously in the hamster wheel? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? What is more important and urgent than to obtain forgiveness for our sins, have right relationship with our Maker and receive eternal life? Yet, tragically, most people are so preoccupied with their immediate concerns that they do not even think about the ultimate meaning of their life. They are like a little boy I know, who always runs with his head down and runs into things and cries. But even if we ask those crucial questions, where can we get the truth?
Truth--it is a rare commodity these days. Why is it so difficult to get to the bottom of things and find out the truth? Is there such a thing as a truthful advertisement? It is an oxymoron these days. When we listen to political debates, we get dizzy listening to everyone’s spin. And how confident are we that truth is upheld and preserved in our court system? When scholars and scientists engage in debates, are they really concerned about arriving at the truth or are they more concerned about their reputation and their ideas?
Coming a little closer to our daily concerns, how about our insurance agents and financial advisers? Are they really concerned about our wellbeing or are they pushing the products that yield the highest commission for them? How about your auto mechanics? How about your medical doctors? Can you trust that your health--not the money, not the HMO--is their first consideration as they swore in their Hippocratic Oath, or a modern version of it? As our society becomes more and more compartmentalized and specialized, we become increasingly dependent on specialists and experts. But can we find any expert who will be more concerned about you than himself to give us the truth and nothing but the truth?
Finding a good doctor, especially, is a serious business, a matter of life and death, quite literally. But even if we find a most conscientious doctor who genuinely cares about our health, his competence is a whole different matter. How many people have died of their cancer because they were misdiagnosed? How many patients have fallen through the cracks, even after the second and third opinions? They go on living their lives, thinking that their stomach pain is nothing but an ulcer, only to find out that their cancer is beyond treatment?
Do you realize, then, what a blessing it is to have the truth of the all-wise, all-knowing God! Think about the price people are willing to pay to get some insight into things! Millions and billions of dollars are spent each year in counseling and psychotherapy, financial and self-help seminars, diet and weight-control consultations, etc. Some would pay good money to fortunetellers before they do anything. But who are these so called experts except mere mortals? And what do these mere mortals know about the future? Is it not God who holds the future in His hand? Who can pry open God’s fist to see the secret of God’s plan? Who can ascend to the heights of heaven to demand His audience? Who has the necessary merit to pry into the secret things of God?
What is impossible for man to acquire, God was pleased to
grant. God was pleased to reveal His truth in His Word--not just any truth,
which may save us some money or spare us from some trouble or even prolong our
life for a few more years! What would we pay to obtain even such truths! And
such is our foolishness--to sell our soul for temporary gains and pleasures! But
God our Maker knows what our greatest need is. He knows our life is not just
about this world. He knows that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after
that comes judgment” (Heb.
As it is the truth of God, the truth of the all-wise, all-knowing God, it is completely and absolutely true and reliable; it is without error and without any possibility to fail. It deserves our absolute trust. It is worthy of our utmost confidence. Who or what in this world can give us that kind of absolute reliability? Even when you go to the most able surgeon, s/he will give you a long list of possible complications, which often include death.
But what does it profit us to have the absolute truth of God if it is like an insurmountable cliff, though plain in view? It may give us an accurate roadmap to God and heaven but what use is the roadmap if we do not have the ability to complete the journey ourselves? To tell sinners to climb up to heaven is like telling us to lift ourselves up with our own bootstraps! But praise God that the truth of God is also good news! Paul says that “the sacred writings… are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus!”
This truth does more than tell us to do that which is impossible for us to do. It is about our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ! It is the truth of what God has done in Jesus Christ to grant us salvation! This truth tells us how Christ has done what we could not do ourselves! It is about our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ--not by our own works, which are like filthy rags before God, but by the work of Jesus Christ, which is acceptable and pleasing in God’s sight--not by our own virtue and merit, which are none, but by our humble dependence and reliance upon the all-sufficient merit of Christ!
Do I need to point out that this truth is a historical
truth? It does not exist merely in the realm of ideas and theories. The truth of
the gospel has been already carried out and accomplished in history. Jesus the
Son of God did come into the world to save His people. He was born in
This truth is not something that the Apostles conjured up
with their imagination, is it? When Paul spoke of “the sacred writings”, what
did he mean by them? Timothy had learned them from childhood (v. 15) from his
grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (1:5). Since this was before the New
Testament was established, Paul must have meant by “the sacred writings” the
Old Testament Scriptures first. In fact, at that time, the text for the Apostolic preaching was the Old Testament Books! And it was
out of the Old Testament sacred writings that the Apostles preached the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ! That they did so was not because they were
creative! They did so because even the Old Testament Scriptures were ultimately
about the death and resurrection of Jesus the promised Messiah! Jesus Himself
said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have
eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…” (John 5:39). So Paul
was able to declare boldly, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in
[Jesus Christ]” (2 Cor.
But we must not forget that included in “the sacred
writings” are also the New Testament Books, including Paul’s canonical letters.
Did Paul actually dare to think this way, that his writings were part of the
sacred writings? Yes! When he introduced himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ
at the beginning of his letters, he understood that he wrote with the authority
of Jesus Christ. That was what being an Apostle meant: to speak and conduct
oneself on behalf of and with the very authority of the One who sent him. So we
have his charge to Timothy in v. 14: “continue in what you have learned and
have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.” This definitely has
the reference to “the sacred writings”, which he speaks of in v. 15f. But it
also refers to what Timothy had learned from Paul (vv. 10, 11). The Apostle
Peter did the same thing with his letters, putting them on the same par with
the Old Testament Scriptures! Having said that he had the prophetic word, he went
on to say, “[N]o prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as
they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet.
But we notice here another aspect of Holy Scriptures, which brings the Old Testament Books and the New Testament Books, such as Paul’s and Peter’s letters, together: the divine inspiration. Peter says that the prophets spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit--this was his way of describing divine inspiration. Paul too says in v. 16, “All Scripture is breathed out [or, inspired] by God….” With these words they affirm that all Scripture is 100% God’s own word--the very Word of the very Word of God. Of course, all Scripture is also 100% man’s word as well. But we should not be surprised by this. One of our former members, Lisa Ledri, pointed out the parallel between the incarnate Word and the written Word of God: as the incarnate Word Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% man, so is the written word 100% God’s and 100% man’s word.
When we speak of divine inspiration of Scripture, we tend to think only of the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word. This is obvious: the word of God who is perfect and true does not contain any error (thus, inerrancy); nor can it have any (thus, infallibility).
But what I would like us to consider briefly now is another aspect of divine inspiration: power. What was the first instance of divine inspiration, of the breathing in of God’s breath? “[T]he LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen. 2:7). Do you see the impact of divine inspiration? It does more than just communicate and preserve the truth! Do you see the life-giving power of the breath of God? And we see this same idea echoed in Ps. 33:6: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.” And how can we forget the unforgettable vision of the valley of dry bones shown to Ezekiel? Ezekiel was told by God, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezek. 37:4-6). (Of course, the breath of God has the power to destroy: “You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire” (Isaiah 33:11).
Do you see what it is that you have in your hands? It is the
inspired word of God. As it is inspired by God, as it is breathed out by God,
it is imbued with the almighty, life-giving power of God! It is said, “The pen
is mightier than the sword.” We know how inspiring words can be. Martin
Luther’s 95 Theses changed the course of history. Winston Churchill’s words
sustained and energized the people of
The word of God does not just arouse our emotions with stirring words, does it? The promises of grandeur and glory given by men are often no more than wishful thinking, if not downright lies! They stroke our unfulfilled dreams and stir us up by promising with their eloquent words what they cannot guarantee, what cannot be fulfilled. Their words may be “full of sound and fury” but in the end “signifying nothing”, as Shakespeare said! But the word of God does not just promise promises. Even if that were the case, it deserves our complete trust and faith because it is the promise of a God who cannot lie, who cannot fail! But the word of God is more than that! It is a solemn yet joyful testament to all the promises that He has fulfilled for us in Christ Jesus in history! The word of God is not just “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”! It testifies to the great and mighty deeds of God. It ushers us into the grand, unstoppable march of God and His kingdom! It is able to do so not only because it is true but also because it is imbued with the power of Him who raised Christ Jesus from the dead. Oh, what a precious treasure we hold in our hands!
Why did God give us His word? Why did He preserve it for us
in this written form? And why did He breathe into it with His life-giving
power? Because God desires to lead us into salvation; to teach us, to rebuke
us, to correct us and to train us in righteousness that we may be competent,
equipped for every good work. And this Sacred Book, breathed out by God, is
able to do so. Martin Luther said it right when he sang in “A Mighty Fortress
is Our God”: “[O]ne little word shall fell him”--that
is, Satan. Who is this Satan? He is “our ancient foe” who “doth seek to work us
woe;/ his craft and pow’r
are great,/ and, armed with cruel hate,/ on earth is not his equal.” Yet, who
is he to God? One little word of God can destroy him to nothing! And one little
word of God can effect our salvation. One little word
can change us forever! It doesn’t have to come to us through the mouth of an
eloquent and brilliant preacher, does it? If it came to you through the mouth
of a donkey or the crowing of a rooster, is its power diminished in any way?
Jonah went to
And that is the only hope I have as a preacher of the gospel. Even if I preached the greatest sermon ever preached, could it change a person’s heart and save a lost soul? If the power of God is not in the word of God, what is preaching except words of men, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? If preachers can go on with their impossible task, it is because the power does not lie in us or in our lips but in His Word, breathed by the almighty God. Our hope is that one little word from this Book can enable us to do most amazing things as testified by the history of the Church. Do you believe that? Is this what you expect when you read and listen to the word of God? And is that what brings you back to the Word of God again and again because here in this Book you find God’s salvation, God’s life and God’s strength? Isn’t that why we should keep coming back to the Word of God because one little word from it can change our life forever? And you say that God’s word did nothing for you the last 100 times you read it? So what will you do? Stop reading it? If the Word of God does not change you, what hope do you have? In one of those self-help books written by men? Where is our hope except in the Word of God? We must come back to it again and again, even if it takes ten thousand times. For we don’t know when and how but it will take just one little word! And when the word strikes us, oh, how powerful and glorious is its impact! Isn’t that why the Bible translators are willing to expend their lives translating the Bible into the vernaculars of the unreached people--because they understand the power of God’s Word?
I hope that today’s word has made us wiser unto salvation. I hope that we have been taught of the inestimable value of the word of God--its truthfulness, its reliability and its power. I hope that we have been reproved for our foolish and tragic neglect of God’s precious gift to us, His Word. I hope that our heart is filled with godly sorrow for such a gross neglect. I hope that our sorrow is accompanied by a renewed reverence and love for the Word of God, that our sinful attitude has been corrected. I hope that thus our training in righteousness is renewed and resumed. And I hope that our changed attitude blossoms into changed actions and deeds--to dust off our Bibles and pore over it.
Take a look at the Bible you are holding in your hands. How
much is it worth to you? Is it more important than the most urgent and
important item in your daily responsibilities? Is it more precious than the
most valuable treasure in your household? Is it dearer to you than your life? “The
grass withers, the flower fades, [and so will all our treasures and
possessions] but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isa.
40:8). Oh, saints of God, let us love this Word, the Word of our God! Let us
read this Word! Let us meditate on this Word! Let us live and breathe this Word!
“[A]s the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but
water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my
word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it
shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which
I sent it” (Isa. 55:10, 11). This eternal Word of God, that came down from heaven, will carry us through all
the trials and tribulations of this world and not fail to bring us into God’s eternal
kingdom. Let us abide in it! Amen.
© Copyright 2007 by Jeong Woo "James" Lee
All Rights Reserved.