GOD’S WORD

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT

     The scripture that Paul is speaking to Timothy about is the Old Testament and not the new, which was not yet written. We know from the Gospel accounts and the evidence revealed in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (aka, The Book of Acts), that the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus disciples, who then became Apostles.  When it was time for them to chronicle the events they had seen with their own eyes, these mostly unlearned men wrote down what the Spirit revealed to them.  Some were learned men, like Luke who was a physician; Paul who had studied at the feet of well-known and respected Rabbis’ and Matthew, who was a tax collector. Some were not learned like Simon Peter, his brother Andrew and brothers James and John, who were common fishermen. Based on this information it is fair to say that most of these men most assuredly had never written down anything of this magnitude before.  Now whether an individual believes the Word of God is the Lord speaking thru obedient followers or not is up to them. Like anything in Christendom, it takes faith and trust.

     Peter, the unlearned fisherman, wrote the following in his second letter: “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21) If a person refuses to believe the truth and goodness of scripture then obviously God’s Word will be of no use to them.

     It is a matter of faith that we believe in an unseen deity at all. It is a conscious choice that all mankind must make. God is the author, source and authority of all Scripture. Human authors penned it, but nevertheless scripture has the full weight of God’s authority behind it. God’s word is the only tool given to us to equip us so we might be used by our Maker to bring glory to His name. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

NOTE: The translation used is THE NEW LIVING TRANSLATION.

RESOURCES: Matthew Henry’s Commentary of the Bible; The Reformation Study Bible; The Asbury Bible Commentary; Barnes’ Notes on the Bible; American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

Disciple - One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.

Apostle - any important early teacher of Christianity or a Christian missionary to a people.