2 Timothy 3:14-17: Wise unto Salvation
2022-03-05
2 Timothy 3:14
We need to continue in what we have learned. This word “continue” also is translated “abide” in other Scriptures. Let us look at a few usages.
Consider John 8:30-32. As Jesus is speaking to a Jewish audience, He had a lot of resistance from them, especially the leaders. However, even as He spoke, He knew that some people were believing in Him and were being saved. It is to those people He speaks to in John 8:31-32. If you want to truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you will continue in His teachings. If you want to experience true freedom from sin, you must “continue in my word.”
Consider John 15:1-8. If you want to bear fruit, you want to continue in the Lord by faith. The word makes us clean (John 15:3). However, being born again is just the beginning. We live by faith to see the benefits of the Lord bearing fruit in us (John 15:4-5). Not abiding results in discipline or premature death (John 15:6). Abiding, continuing in faith, glorifies the Father; He gets returns through us as we trust in Him daily.
In addition, His words must abide in us. We must know them, believe them, and obey them to do the Lord’s will. If His words are in us, it presupposes that we want what He wants (John 15:7).
This is the sense that is meant here in 1 Timothy 3:14 as well. We continue in what we have learned, and what we have “been assured of.” This assurance comes from the same root as the word for faith. We are assured that the Lord has risen from the dead. This is key to our faith. This is not some ethereal feeling, but rather a certain historical fact.
Acts 1:1-3 tells us how He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs. Over 500 people saw Him alive over 40 days. In those days, anybody could have gone and talked to those witnesses. They would have talked to the 12, who would have touched His hands and side which were pierced. They would have seen Him eating, showing Him to be a true man, and not a spirit. They would have seen Him ascend to heaven. They could have talked to the religious leaders who killed Him and the guards of the tomb who would have to concede that the tomb was empty. Fishermen could not steal a body from a tomb guarded by professional armed guards. If they did somehow, would they be willing to be tortured and die for their lie? They could have seen that ordinary men turned the entire world upside down in a generation because they were convinced by what they saw.
Who is being spoken of when we read, “knowing of whom thou hast learned them”? The next verse begins with “from a child,” so perhaps we think of grandma Lois and mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). They surely had a role in his learning from his youngest days.
However, the Lord Himself, through His Spirit, is the primary teacher of us all. With “whom” being singular and masculine, this makes the most sense here. “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:27).
2 Timothy 3:15
Timothy knew the Scriptures from childhood. These Scriptures would have been the Old Testament, as the New Testament was not written yet. What a blessing it is to learn the Scriptures early. I have heard that most who come to Christ do so before the age of 18. It makes sense, in that the older you become, the more solidified you become in your ways. This is generally speaking; there are plenty of exceptions. If instruction in the Word began from childhood for everybody, we would be looking at a very different society right now.
Teaching children the Word is a refrain throughout the Bible. Consider Exodus 12:25-27. The Passover was to be explained to the children, so they knew about their salvation from Egypt. Again, consider Deuteronomy 6:4-9. After the Shema and the greatest commandment, we see that these Words must be something we have in our minds and to teach to our children. Reminders of the Word should be everywhere, permeating our lives. Jump to verse 20-22. When our children ask us the meaning of the Word, we need to be ready with the answer.
Note the Scriptures are called the holy scriptures. With a word like holy, we see that these writings are completely different from other writings. We will examine this in a little bit.
The Scriptures “make thee wise unto salvation.” Every covenant, every feast, every law, every story points to Christ in some way. The new covenant is explicitly mentioned in the Old Testament. Consider Jeremiah 31:31-34. God told His people about a new covenant that would supersede the old covenant. They had broken the old covenant. This time, the law would be placed in the people. All sin would no longer be held against the people ever again. This is what Christ did. All sin was paid for at Calvary. It is taken away.
Consider Ezekiel 36:24-29. God would gather Israel from the nations, but He would purify them from all their sin. He will give them a new heart, or essentially, make them new creatures (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17). He would give them the Holy Spirit, enabling them to follow His commandments. He will save them from their sins.
These things were spoken to ancient Israel, but we benefitted by all of this, for sure!
2 Timothy 3:16
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God...” What does this mean? The phrase “inspiration of God” means God breathed. The root word for spirit is seen in this word. The origin of all Scripture is from God. He spoke the Words; they were written down by men.
Consider 2 Peter 1:20-21. The prophets did not come up with the Scriptures on their own. They were moved by the Spirit of God.
The corollary to inspiration is infallibility and inerrancy. Infallibility deals with the reliability and the inability to discredit them. Acts 1:3 gives us an example of this, which we saw previously. Christ showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs; the Scriptures also are infallible. Inerrancy deals with its factual correctness and lack of internal contradictions. (More about this topic can be found here.)
If the Scriptures originate only from God, it follows that it is our source for doctrine. Spiritual teaching must come from God Himself, not from humanity. Consider Matthew 7:28-29. Jesus had the anointing of God in His teaching, unlike the scribes who taught all their teachings from their traditions, which came from their own minds. The danger is that whatever comes from man will always take precedence over the Word of God if it is taught: “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). Our spiritual teachings much derive from the Bible, or they will be derived from Satan.
It also follows that the Scriptures are our source for reproof and correction. We always bring our own false ideas to the table. The Scriptures bring us back into line to what really is true and false. The more we learn from the Scriptures, the more wrong theology and thought will be driven from our minds.
It follows that the Scriptures are profitable for “instruction in righteousness.” The Bible teaches us this in the Old Testament concerning the Law: “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us” (Deuteronomy 6:25). In the New Testament, we are told: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:21-22). How else would we know without the Scriptures?
2 Timothy 3:17
With the Scriptures helping in all these areas, the man of God can be perfect. A “man of God” is usually referring to a prophet, such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah, or Elisha. In the New Testament, the word is only used of Timothy (1 Timothy 6:11 and presumably here). This is not just for the office of prophet in these last days; the Scriptures will make anyone perfect!
What does it mean to be perfect? We think of it as being without flaw, like the common usage today. There may be some element of that here, but mainly, being perfect means being complete. With the Word of God, you do not lack anything of the counsel of God.
Moreover, with the Scriptures, you are fully equipped to do whatever God wants you to do. You do not need to wonder if God is holding back some commandment or direction from you. It is all right there in the Bible. There is a reason why the Bible is a big book. It is more than a lifetime’s worth of study. But it is all there for us to study and master so we can live the Christian life.