God’s Breath

#23. June 8, 2015

 2015 Devotional. Our goal for these weekly devotionals is to grow in humility and to grow spiritually by memorizing selected passages, putting them into context, and by applying them to our daily living. These passages are taken from: “100 Verses Every Christian Needs to Know” by Freeman-Smith. All passages are from the NIV.

II Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God^[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The verses we are memorizing are found in the second letter to Timothy, one of the “Pastoral Letters” written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy and Titus. The purpose of these letters is to give pastoral care to Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete. Chapter 3 of second Timothy has two sections: “The Godlessness of the Last Days” and “Paul’s Charge to Timothy”. The first section is a continuation of Paul’s advice on dealing with false teachers at the end of chapter 2 and it is a commentary on the last times. It is a dark description of people’s actions when biblical principals are ignored and the truth not taught to those wanting to move closer to God. Even so, Paul encourages Timothy to continue living out his faith. Jesus’ disciples (Acts 2:17-21)and the writers of the New Testament (Heb. 1:2) considered themselves to be in the “Last Days”, Paul is no exception.

Yet Christians have waited 2000 yrs. Early on there was terrible persecution of Christians under Roman Emperor Nero through the time of Diocletian 303 AD, if there ever was a time for the end it was then. Yet, the attitudes of people that Paul writes about in the first section of chapter 3 has increased from those days to today’s decadent lifestyles and the appalling ignorance of God’s Word. Not to mention the unbelievable treatment by terrorist groups of Christians and everyone else who think differently than they do. Are we near the end of time right now? Jesus says: be careful about predicting the end, (Mt. 24:36-44) only God the Father knows the end of things.

 Meanwhile, we live in this less than holy environment and we have these two verses, II Tim. 3:16-17 to apply to our daily living. Paul sets before us the “Holy Scriptures” as the only standard for life and faith because it is God breathed. Not a part of it but all of it! I tell my students as I hold up the Bible that this is a living book written by men but by the Holy Spirit teaching us the thoughts of God. The Bible is alive in two ways: God breathed and secondly comes alive in us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We have to pick it up, open it, read it, know it, and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us. Paul begins with theology; “useful for teaching” we learn the thoughts of God: His commands, His love, His grace, His forgiveness, and His providence.

He moves to rebuking, correcting, and training. Paul instructs Timothy that “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,” … The goal is “righteousness” we choose to be good people applying the fruit of Spirit to our daily living but we are truly righteous only in Jesus Christ. The affect of these instructions is, “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Servant may also be translated, “the man of God”. This instruction and equipping therefore applies to all who follow Jesus. Paul uses superlatives and gives us a brief glimpse into the eternal purposes of God for his people and we participate in it as we do good works qualified in Jesus’ name, glorifying God.

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