Issue 1413 – Inspired – April 4, 2024
Yesterday evening, I attended a small group Bible study with about a dozen people from the local assembly I attend. It’s material I am familiar with, but it never hurts to have a refresher and to gain insights from others. It’s also a great opportunity to get to know some folks a little better.
The study raised the topic of the Bible’s inspiration, particularly in relation to a familiar verse.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
Two questions were raised for meditation. I don’t have the exact questions in front of me, but they were in the vein of “What part of this verse inspires you? Challenges you?”
For me, the first two words leapt out. “All Scripture.” If I truly believe that God breathed out (inspired) Scripture, there is great comfort in these two words. I can trust what they have to say.
It was challenging because we claim to believe that truth, but we often don’t operate as if we do. We have favourite parts that we love to read and be guided by. Most Christians also have huge sections of the Bible that they have never taken the time to read.
Some will read only the New Testament, living as if the Old Testament doesn’t exist. They have missed out on half the story and all the evidence and prophecy pointing to Jesus. Others dislike the letters of Paul and want to disregard his teaching. Some only wanted to be guided by the “red letters” as the words spoken by God.
All Scripture means exactly that: all Scripture, including the clear parts and the obscure, the new and the old, the parts we like and agree with, and the parts we don’t.
If we believe Paul’s words to Timothy (and I do), then we must consider all of Scripture, not just parts. We need to learn to understand Scripture within the entirety of the 66 books and their immediate context.
I believe in verbal plenary inspiration, which means, “every word, word form, and word placement found in the Bible’s original manuscripts was divinely and intentionally written.”
I take comfort in knowing the entirety of Scripture is from an all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, loving God. The Bible wasn’t written to me, so I must always strive to understand the message God had for the original audience. It was, however, written for me to use and learn from.
All believers are on a journey to become more Christlike. Part of that journey is to read and understand the Word God has already given us.
Can we be saved without knowing everything in the Bible? Absolutely, the bar for salvation is relatively low. Is our faith walk impoverished by a lack of biblical understanding? Absolutely.
Let us read and study together as a community of believers and individually as Christians striving to learn about our Master and our calling.
He has given us His inspired Word. Let’s use it.
READ THE WORD. Read The Word. Read the word.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)