Word of the Living God
2 Timothy 3:14–17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable. 2 Timothy 3:16
It is in the Bible alone that we can learn of God’s redemption of sinners in Christ, and it is through the Bible and on the basis of the Bible that the Spirit speaks to individuals. Without the Scriptures our imagined wisdom runs to mere foolishness. With the Scriptures and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are able to learn who God truly is, what he has done for us, and how we may respond to him in faith and live our lives in fellowship with him.
The importance of the Bible lies in its being the very Word of God written, and this is what it testifies of itself—“breathed out by God.” The question for us is: do we believe that the Bible is the written Word of God?
It is popular to doubt this teaching; hence, the great confusion that exists in theology and in the Christian church. But the doubt is not new. In fact, it is the most fundamental and original of all doubts, for it is found on the lips of Satan in the earliest chapters of the Bible: “[The serpent] said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’” (Gen. 3:1). This is the first question mark in the punctuation of the Bible; it marks an invitation to doubt the Word of God. The doubt is still heard. But the questions are: Can God be trusted? Is the Word he has given to us truly his Word? Do we believe this without any mental reservations? If we do question the Word of God and if we have mental reservations as to its authority, we will never be interested in true Bible study nor will we come into the fullness of that wisdom concerning God and ourselves that is God’s desire for us. On the other hand, if we do accept these truths, then we will find the Bible to be our chief delight, we will want to study it, and we will grow in knowledge and devotion.
At the coronation of the king or queen of England, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland presents a Bible to the new monarch with these words: “The most precious thing this world affords, the most precious thing that this world knows, God’s living Word.” The saying is true. But if it is, then we must prize the Scripture, study the Bible, memorize the Bible, guard the Bible, believe the Bible, contend for the Bible, be thankful for the Bible, and allow our lives to be increasingly conformed to the Bible. We must begin at this point if we are to grow into a full knowledge of God’s grace.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.