2 Timothy 3:10-17 Question 7-8

 7. On what has Timothy based his personal convictions? (3:15-17)

^" and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."(2 Tim 3:15-17)

Since he was a child, Timothy has based his personal convictions on the OT writings, which have prepared him for salvation in Christ Jesus. No one can be saved through the OT alone at this time. The Jews of the OT looked forward in faith to Christ’s work on the Cross, even though they would not have seen Him clearly. In contrast, the Jews of today have already rejected their true Messiah (Rom 9-11).

There is the implication that it is an advantage to grow up in a Christian home (1 Cor 7:14, Mal 2:14-15) There is also the truth that the OT points to Christ but is in itself insufficient to save.

 

8. a) What does Paul mean by calling Scripture "God-breathed" ? (v.16)

 The Greek 'theopneustos" refers to the doctrine of "inspiration" of Scripture. This is the teaching that the Holy Spirit directed human authors to write as He intended, yet without removing their individual personalities, experiences and styles. God did not typically dictate to them word-by-word, but He is the ultimate source. The revelation of God through Scripture is part of His special revelation to mankind - by which He reveals Himself in measure sufficient to save.

If one holds to the view of "verbal plenary inspiration"  - that every word, word form, and word placement found in the Bible’s original manuscripts (autographs) was divinely and intentionally written, then there are 2 implications:

1.   Scripture, then is held to be inerrant - it is without fault or error in all that it teaches,” in matters of history and science as well as faith (Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy). "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact" (Grudem). Inerrancy allows for literary devices, such as metaphors, hyperbole, round numbers, and colloquial expressions.

2. Scripture is infallible - the Bible cannot err or make mistakes, and that it “is completely trustworthy as a guide to salvation and the life of faith and will not fail to accomplish its purpose” (Westminster Dictionary). As the Christian church has traditionally taught, this doctrine is based on the perfection of the divine author, who cannot speak error.

Support for the doctrine of Paul implicitly taught the verbal plenary inspiration of the Word of God. (Gal 3:16, referencing Gen 12:7) he argues from exactness in the verse he wrote, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.”  Rom 15:4 (“everything that was written in the past was written to teach us”) and 2 Tim 3:16 are also held to represent this view.

Jesus evidently regarded the OT Scriptures as the Word of God (e.g. Mark 12:36-37). He saw Himself as their fulfillment (Lk 4:21) and affirmed their exactness (Mt 5:18). For a believer, the understanding that Jesus was the sinless, inerrant Son of God who held this high view of the Scriptures is sufficient to sustain our belief that Scripture was also inerrant. Christology is inseparable from inerrancy.

 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. ²¹ 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 1:20-21)

b) What are some of the implications of this fact for us?

After the related issue of canonicity is/was settled, then the inspiration of Scripture implies its authority:  it “ought to be believed and obeyed” (Westminster Confession 1:4). If Scripture is the highest authority, it stands to reason that no other authority may judge it, but that it should be able to bear testimony to itself.  On the other hand, Scripture is the ultimate standard of what is truth.

A view of the Bible that affirms only that the Bible 'contains' the Word of God leaves ambiguity in how we are to respond to it. Without inerrancy, the authority of Scripture is fatally compromised, because it becomes possible to select which parts of it apply to us.