Paul had said in verse 15 that
Timothy from a child had known the Holy Scriptures which are
able to make one wise unto salvation which is in Christ. Now he says,
verse 16 and 17, All scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect
and thoroughly furnished unto all good works. We begin this
afternoon with recalling the important works in the thing
and purpose of God that has been assigned to the Holy Spirit. That is the Spirit's part in
fulfilling and working out the purpose of God, the eternal purpose
of God. We'll mention a couple or three
in our beginning. Number one, we remember what
is said in Genesis chapter one and verse two, and the spirit
of God moved up on the face of the water. The earth was without
form and void, you remember, and the Spirit of God breathed
upon that that God had created. So here is the first great work
of the Spirit that is mentioned in the Scripture. Secondly, let's
not forget the great work of the Spirit in Luke chapter 1,
that is, in the conception of the humanity of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. It was the Spirit of God that
conceived the humanity of our Lord in the chosen woman of God's
design. Luke 135, the Holy Spirit shall
come up on thee, and the highest shall overshadow thee. Thirdly, it is the work of the
Holy Spirit to regenerate the elect. It is the Spirit that
performs this work. He is sent forth at the proper
time to regenerate those who have been chosen in Christ and
have been redeemed in the Lord. It is the spirit that quickens
John 6, 63, John 3, and verse 6. It is the Spirit of God that
quickens us unto eternal life. Finally, not to be forgotten,
is the fact of our text this evening, that it is the Holy
Spirit of God that has inspired the sacred and the Holy Scripture. And among those wonderful works
of God, wrought by and through the Spirit, this production of
the Holy Writ, that is, the oracles of God and of the Scripture,
is an invaluable piece of work that has been performed by the
Spirit. The Bible, we might say, is the
Spirit's dowry unto the people of God. what Abraham Kuyper called
the scripture, an infallible document for the church, unquote. For the churches, the people
of God who have been regenerated, call together in worshiping bodies
known as the church or the assembly, have as their infallible guide
the Holy Scripture, the Word of God. The Scriptures are never
viewed simply as the writings of men. I know there are a lot
of people today who tell you that, oh, these things were just
written by men. The Bible was written by a common
and ordinary man. But the Scripture viewed in themselves
are never viewed as simply the writing or the production of
men. but really and completely and
entirely inspired of God by the person of the Holy Spirit. Thus this formed for us a major
part of the confession of our faith, that the scriptures are
inerrant and that they are without error. They are the infallible
Word of God, both as to our faith and as to our practice. For example, the Philadelphia
Confession, a Baptist confession of faith, begins with this testimony
of the Bible, quote, the Holy Scripture is the only sufficient,
certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge and faith
and obedience." Again, we find in that creed, under the name
of the Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now
contained all the books of the Old and the New Testament, and
it names then the 66 books of the Scripture. Also purposely
excluded are those books called the Apocrypha, as not belonging
unto the canon of the scripture. Furthermore, take the Westminster
Confession of Faith of 1646, became the creed primarily of
the Presbyterian, of which we have many things in common, and
a condensed form of the article on the Holy Scripture reads as
follows, quote, It pleased God for the better preserving and
propagation of the truth to commit the same underwriting." Unquote. A confession used by John Gill
and the church that he pastored said of the Bible, and I quote,
we believe that the scriptures of the Old and the New Testament
are the word of God and the only rule of faith and practice,"
unquote. And finally, the Apostles' Creed
declared, an article of the faith must be contained in the scripture
because, quote, they are the perfect rule of all things necessary
to be known, to be believed, and to be done in order unto
everlasting life." Unquote. As saving faith, therefore, staggers
not at the creation of the world made out of nothing by the power
of God. Neither does it call or stagger
at the belief of the Word of God that it is the inspired Word
of God without error, without mixture, and without contamination. Our text says it very plainly. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. Now these words, as you know,
were first written unto Timothy in this epistle. And in verse
16 is a reference to what Paul had said back in verse 15 about
the scripture. Timothy had known them, had been
taught them, had studied them, had memorized them from his childhood
and they're able to make one wise unto salvation. That's the blessed effect of
the scripture that they tell us of God, and when God opens
our heart and our understanding. Of course now, Paul is speaking
to Timothy at that particular time of the Old Testament canon
of the scripture, for these were those that had been written and
taught to him from his youth up as he worshipped in that way. And Timothy was taught early
to repose upon the scripture and that in them you may know
the way of everlasting life. But in the 16th verse that we
read, Paul adds a declarative statement in regard to the scripture
that Timothy knew and studied and learned. All scripture is
given by inspiration of God. There have been for a long time
two different ways that these things are expressed by men as
they study them out of the Greek. Two ways, they say, that to make
this statement. Number one, every scripture is
given by inspiration of God and is profitable and so forth. And number two, every scripture
given by inspiration of God is profitable for teaching, et cetera. Of course, this is confined onto
what God has inspired. not to any and all writing of
men, not to any and all so-called sacred books, but to that sacred
Word of God that we know as the Scripture. And let's focus in
that 16th verse upon these words, by inspiration of God, especially
looking at the word inspiration, and also at the word scripture. As just stated, not writings
of every sort, not even religious writings of every sort, are to
be fitted into this category of what Paul is stating. For
example, the commentators and the commentaries that we own
and that we read. So what is covered, therefore,
by every scripture? Just this, every writing or every
scripture that is God-inspired is so. Whatever writing has this
character, it is the Holy Scripture of being sacred. Thus Paul refers
only to the sacred writing, not to any other sort of writing,
even religious, even those of men that we revere and hold in
high esteem. We do not And we must not put
the writings of such men as Augustine or Spurgeon or Gill or Calvin
into the exact same category as the sacred scripture. They
write about the scripture expounding them, but not under an infallible
inspiration are they at all time. Now for the word by inspiration
of God. First of all, looking at that
very carefully, let us notice that the Apostle speaks here
neither or only of illumination or of revelation. Those are two
things we might consider but don't have time for. Paul is
not saying that sacred writings are given by illumination from
God. Nor is he saying sacred writings
are given by revelation of men. Of course, in his dealing with
man, God helps both illumination and revelation. God gives both
of them unto his people as he enlightens the mind and reveals
the divine truth and the mysteries of God and of the word of the
Lord unto his people. But as Abraham Kuyper, I like
his book on the inspiration of scripture, and he wrote inspiration
is wholly distinct from either illumination or revelation,"
unquote. And this is neither by illumination
or revelation, but inspiration stands entirely alone as the
means whereby the scriptures were produced for our admonition
and learning. Now, let's focus on the word
inspired by inspiration. The scriptures are given by inspiration. B.B. Warfield also has a large
volume on the inspiration of Scripture, and they are meticulous
on this word and on this verse. For example, Warfield makes the
same distinction that this describes a special, a special one-of-a-kind
work of God that gave us or that produced what we call the Holy
Scripture. But it is not just a revelation
that the word has the meaning of spiring or spiration. This word that we are looking
at here, the word is once, if I'm not mistaken, in the whole
of the Old Testament. And you might not expect it,
but it's in the book of Job and chapter 32 and verse 8. The inspiration of the Almighty
has given me understanding. Now think about that in the light
of the definition that we have given of inspiration. In the New Testament here, in
2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, by inspiration of God, and
I think it is only here in the whole of the New Testament, It
is the word and literally means God-breathed. Every scripture
is God-breathed, or as we have it, by inspiration. That the
scriptures are the very words of God, breathed out by God. That the scriptures are the breath,
as it were, of God, the word of God, the logic of God. not
breathed out into the human author, but breathed out by the sovereign,
eternal, all-wise God. All scripture, every scripture
is God-breathed. In fact, there's a book called
Our God breathe scripture, but let's interrupt our flow of thought
by enough to make a point or time enough to make a point that
this text here in 2nd Timothy 3 and verse 16 Paul simply makes
the declaration that the scriptures are produced by a special work
of God and by the Spirit of God, that they are the product of
a supernatural work of God. Men were not left to themselves
in order to decide what to write at this time or that time or
to this church or to that church. But in this particular passage,
Paul makes no indication for us of the manner of God's operation
in producing them. He tells us not how God brought
them into being as to the process, that is, men actually writing
them out. But in this text, he asserts
for us the fact that the scripture are by inspiration or that they
are God-bred and that they are profitable to equip the man of
God in the work of the ministry. His point is not how God produced
the scripture, just that they are, and being so, they are profitable
for the use of the ministry. The scripture is our textbook. The scripture is our guide. Scripture
and scripture only is our guide and that which is to be preached.
So his point right here is not how God produced the scripture,
that is, with men sitting down and writing, but that they are
produced, breathed out by God, and that they are profitable
in the way of the ministry. He gives us a sort of a threefold
benefit that the scriptures have here in our text. And we look
at verse 13 as a bulwark against heresy and seducer, to repel
the deceiving power of the false prophet. For by the scripture,
the people of God can recognize between truth and error and recognize
and identify heretics who preach something false and not the truth
of God. And then B, verse 15, the scripture
set forth that salvation that is in Jesus Christ. They're sufficient,
they are able to make one wise unto salvation. On the Emmaus
road, remember when our Lord had an encounter with the two
on the Emmaus road, and the Lord spoke to them in Luke chapter
24, 27. And it said, beginning at Moses,
all the prophets, he expounded unto them The things in all of
the scripture concerning himself, that he is there in those scripture. In Acts 8.35, Philip preached
Jesus from the prophecy of Isaiah using his text in chapter 53.
Acts 17, verse 2, verse 3, Paul reasoned out of the scripture,
opening and alleging that Christ must suffer, must die, and must
rise again to perform his work. Now, the scriptures being God-breathed
are able to make wise unto salvation, for they set forth Christ and
his work in their body, the scripture. And then see, the scriptures
are profitable for use in the ministry and the Christian life. In the end of verse 16, they
are profitable for doctrine, which Paul names first, doctrine,
that is, teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, and so forth. The scripture, therefore, being
God-breathed, are perfectly suited in all of these matters and in
all of these endeavors. And while we're at it, let us
not miss the point that these things are not said of the Old
Testament scripture only, and the thing he learned of Paul,
those things harmonized. What he learned from Paul and
what he read in the Old Testament Scripture came together in a
sweet collusion together. The same applies to the New Testament
Scripture. They're given by inspiration. They are God-breathed and they
tell us of God, of Christ, the gospel, of sovereignty, salvation,
and so many other things. Often we would hear Christ, we
would hear the apostles say in their teaching publicly and in
their writing, It is written. How often would they refer to
something that was written in the scripture? And so we today
say to men and to women, the Bible said, the scriptures say,
the scripture says, the scripture declares this or that. or the
other. So let's consider then another
expression which is used here at least four times in the New
Testament, which is a word oracles, O-R-A-C-L-E-S. And it is from
the foundation word of the word logion, meaning, referring to
the inspiration of the Old Testament scripture. An oracle is simply
an utterance from God. When Paul talks about the oracles
of God, he's talking about those utterances of God. a narrative, a statement of which
God is the author. And as stated, the word oracle
is four times, I believe, in the New Testament to refer to
the Old Testament canon of the scripture. Acts 7, 38, of Moses
who received the lively, literally, the living oracles to give unto
us. Hebrews 5 verse 12. We read of
the first principles of the oracles of God. In 1 Peter chapter 4
and verse 11. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. And let's focus upon Romans 3. 1 and 2, where Paul makes a point
there about the advantage of the oracles of God. Lest they
conclude from Paul's word in the end of chapter 2 of Roman
that there was no profit in being a Jew of olden time, Paul lists
the major advantages of being a Jew. And it was not circumcision,
which they always named first and went first in their mind.
Nor even was it their Abrahamic ancestry as a privilege. But the advantage the Jews had
in Romans 3 And verse 2, unto them were committed the oracles
of God. Unto them were entrusted, we
might say, the oracles of God, the sacred writing. And even
if some did not believe them, even if some remained unbeliever. Their unbelief did not invalidate
the faith of God that is the Word of God. Yea, verse 4 of
Romans 3, let God be true and every man a liar. John Murray wrote on Romans chapter
3 verse 2, The scripture is therefore regarded by the apostle as the
auricular words of God." Utterances received directly from the mouth
of God, even if they were given to or through men like Moses
and David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Malachi, or whoever. So, let us from 2 Peter 1 and
verse 21, consider the man that God used to write the scripture
and the means used to bring forth the scripture into a written
form. 2 Peter 1, 20 and 21. Verse 20,
who is a rather difficult verse to unravel, because it always has been to
me, because it says to the effect, prophecy comes not of its own
interpretation, does not take its wings in private. In other words, no prophecy was
ever brought forth by the will of man. Not even the prophet
who spoke or wrote the prophecy was it of himself. It was of,
from, and by God. But in verse 21 of that passage
in Peter, And the last part, holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit. Now this passage goes beyond
2 Timothy 3 and 16 in this regard or in that It simply declares the scripture
to be of divine origin in the passage to Timothy, while the
Petrine passage here from Peter gives us the means and the manner
of the production of the scripture. They were God-breed as to their
origin, as to their being committed unto writing, Holy men were supernaturally,
can I use the expression, born along, B-O-R-N-E, they were born
along by the Holy Spirit of God. So that their writing were not
their own words, were not their own thoughts, but they were the
breathings of God. They were breathed out by God. Notice the word moved. Moved,
holy men. were moved. I think this is a
key to understanding the verse as well as how they were moved,
which is by the Holy Spirit. They were moved. They were born
along. They were carried along. For
the verb is the same one that we find in Acts 25, no, 27 and
verse 15 and 17 of that ship that Paul was on. And the scripture
said that it was driven by the wind. And that's the word that
is used here by Peter. For the verb is that same one. Born along by the wind filling
its sails, as it were. Thus, the authors of the scripture,
when they wrote, they were born along, they were moved, they
were brought along by the Holy Spirit of God in such a way,
in this sense. It is more than leading. It is
more than guiding. It's more than illumination.
It's more than revelation on the part of the author. Because
the verb moved, born along goes beyond all of these terms that
we just mentioned in describing God's effect and power upon the
writers of our sacred scripture. One noted, I took it down quote,
what is born up is taken by up by the bearer and and conveyed
by the bearer's power, not its own, and to the bearer's gold,
and not its own." It therefore can be concluded, as Peter does
in that passage of Scripture, that the authors of the Scripture,
the men who wrote them down, were born along by the Spirit
of God, like wind in the sail, that what they spoke, what they
wrote, were the God-breathed words of God. and they need not
necessarily understand themselves at the time what they were writing. Now, one objection that is often
raised against our position of the scripture is that it makes
the inspiration of the scripture to rest upon the testimony of
the scripture themselves. that we base it, our infallibility
of the Bible on the testimony of the Bible. We believe the
scripture is inspired because the scriptures say that they
are inspired. This was an argument used against
the Lord by the Jew in John 8, 12 through 14. Thou barest record
of thyself, thy record is not true. because you're bearing
testimony to yourself, therefore your testimony is not true. And yet the Lord's record or
witness of Himself was true because He was who He claimed to be. He was what He claimed to be
and who He came to be, who He was. He was from God. He is the blessed Son of God. But yet, there are other witnesses
unto his claim, the voice of the Father speaking from heaven,
the mighty works, the prophecy. And finally, his resurrection
from the dead validate the Lord's claim that he is the one that
has come from God. Even so, the Bible has its witnesses
as being a special and a unique writing. For example, its long
endurance, its effect upon the lives of the people of God, its
accurate prophecies concerning certain things that we have seen.
So we close by saying the Bible, God breathed, is a sure God,
is an infallible word, is one without error or mixture. It is profitable to all of the
Christian experience. It is a more sure word of prophecy
as Peter describes it in his writing somewhere. So all scripture
is given by inspiration of God. It is breathe out by God as men
were taken under the inspiration of the blessed and the Holy Scripture. That's our confession. That's
where we stand. The Word of God is the infallible,
inspired, God-breathed book, and we take it to be that. The
moment we believe, the moment faith is created in us by God,
we believe that the Scriptures are the infallible Word of God.