Perhaps you’ve heard that the Scriptures were breathed out by God, and that they are profitable for teaching and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 is everyone’s go-to verse when explaining the Bible’s doctrine of itself, and rightly so. But have you considered what exactly Paul meant by this verse at the time he wrote it (Hint: He wasn’t authoring a systematic theology)? And how this verse would have landed with Timothy when he read his mentor’s letter?
Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible properly—and not merely as a collection of proof-texts for Christian doctrine—we’ll find that some of our most familiar verses have a depth we hadn’t noticed.
Paul’s Argument
See last week’s post for an explanation of the argument of 2 Timothy. The key point to remember for this week’s passage is that we’re at the end of a section where Paul instructs Timothy in how to deal with controversy in the church (2 Tim 2:14-3:17). Particularly when there are detractors swerving from the faith and challenging Timothy’s ministry.
Timothy is to learn from and follow Paul’s example in enduring persecution (2 Tim 3:10-12). He is to continue teaching the Scriptures he’s learned (2 Tim 3:14-15).
And he ought to draw confidence from the fact that the Scriptures he’s teaching are God’s own words (2 Tim 3:16). They will succeed at making Timothy a useful servant in God’s house (2 Tim 3:17).
Paul’s language
The words and phrases Paul uses in this beloved verse are carefully chosen to reinforce the points made all throughout the letter.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Ti 3:16).
- All Scripture is breathed out by God—In 2 Tim 2:19, Paul paraphrases a few verses from Numbers 16 to show that God vindicates his servants against their detractors. Timothy does not need to defend himself; the Lord will defend him. Timothy must only continue (2 Tim 3:14) in preaching the word (2 Tim 1:6, 4:2). In so doing, he is speaking with the power and the love of God himself (2 Tim 1:7).
- And profitable—Part of Timothy’s mandate is that he be useful in God’s house (2 Tim 2:21). The Scriptures are responsible and adequate to produce that usefulness in him.
- For teaching—Paul was appointed to be a teacher (2 Tim 1:11), and Timothy is to train teachers (2 Tim 2:2). Timothy himself must be able to teach (2 Tim 2:24) so he can correct opponents. Timothy has followed Paul’s teaching (2 Tim 3:10). People will not always endure sound teaching (2 Tim 4:3), but Timothy must persist in it completely (2 Tim 4:2).
- For reproof—Reproving is a part of preaching (2 Tim 4:2), and is required when detractors swerve from the truth and upset the faith of some (2 Tim 2:17-18).
- For correction—The Scripture provide Timothy the ammunition to correct his opponents gently, in hopes that God may grant them repentance (2 Tim 2:25).
- For training in righteousness—Timothy must have nothing to do with ignorant, that is “untrained,” controversies (2 Tim 2:23), but he is to train people with gentleness (2 Tim 2:25). He’s already been taught by Paul to value training in godliness, which has value in every way (1 Tim 4:6-8). As he pursues righteousness (2 Tim 2:22) and calls people to depart from unrighteousness (2 Tim 2:19), the Scripture will both train him in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) and prepare him to receive a crown of righteousness from the judge of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8).
Paul’s Purpose
These glorious truths about the Scripture are not simply to be believed and revered. They are also to produce a harvest in the life of the preacher.
…that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Ti 3:17).
This verse forms an inclusio (bookend) with the beginning of the section, where Paul gives a metaphor to describe Timothy’s responsibility during controversy:
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work (2 Ti 2:20–21).
Timothy is to be one of those useful vessels, set apart for honorable use. He is not to be like the useless teachers who constantly quarrel about words and pursue irreverent babble (2 Tim 2:14, 16). As he teaches the Scripture (2 Tim 2:15) with competence, patience (2 Tim 2:24), and gentleness (2 Tim 2:25), he will have been equipped to usefully perform every good work.
These works cannot save him (2 Tim 1:9). But they will bolster his confidence when he’s tempted to shame (2 Tim 2:15, 1:8), thus equipping him to do his critical work of evangelism (2 Tim 4:5).
Conclusion
2 Timothy 3:16 has profound implications for our doctrine of Scripture. But Paul would not be satisfied with our reading of his letter without a correspondingly profound impact on the competence and the perseverance of a teacher’s ministry of the word.
Context matters.
For more examples of why context matters, click here.
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