LIGHT FOR THE PATH

Light

for the path BY GEORGE BATES

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. —2 Timothy 3:16-17 This letter of Paul was first and foremost to Timothy, a young man dear to his heart. Paul prayed for and longed to see Timothy, and throughout this letter, earnestly reminds Timothy to remember Christ, to be strengthened by His grace, and to be a patient, pure, gentle minister of His gospel. Knowing this could be his last communication with Timothy, Paul sends heartfelt encouragement, reminding Timothy of the importance of scripture. However, the letter also clearly expresses God’s deep desire for all of us to continue in the good news we have learned and firmly believed, growing in wisdom through faith in Christ Jesus. In this light, what do these verses mean for us?

God-breathed

The word we translate ‘God-breathed’ is literally a blend of the Greek words for ‘God’ and ‘breath’, from which we get the word ‘spirit’. Therefore, we could paraphrase:

‘All Scripture comes from God’s Spirit, breathing out of the pages into our own spirits.’

In other words, the primary role of the Bible is not merely to transfer knowledge into our heads. God brought each word in the Bible about by his Spirit dwelling in people; and through Scripture, God breathes into the depths of our inmost being. God inspired authors to write all the books from Genesis to Revelation, and he will breathe on us as we read them.

Making us whole

What does God’s breathed-out-Scripture do? This verse tells us it will teach (instruct on proper living), rebuke (convict of sinful living), correct (realign the path of living) and train (give strength for righteous living). Paul’s list is not exhaustive. We could add comfort, embolden, inspire, calm and give joy… God’s word makes us ‘complete, equipped for every good work’ 1 . Christ was the complete person, the example we are given to imitate. As we engage with the Bible, the Holy Spirit transforms us to be made whole like Him, so that we can love like Him, rejoice like Him, serve like Him and do all good things through Him.

Giving us life

Christ came so that we may ‘have life abundantly’ 2 . That is God’s desire for us. Psalm 119, a striking prayer about God’s Word, repeats the same plea to God nine times: ‘Give me life!’ Engaging with Scripture — reading, listening, studying, memorising, discussing, preaching, understanding it — gives us life. It brings us to God Himself, the fountain from whom all life flows. It serves as our spiritual food. Jesus has shown us the way. Now it’s over to us to follow Him, living ‘not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ 3 .

(1) 2 Timothy 3:17 (ESV) (2) John 10:10 (3) Matthew 4:4