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2 Timothy 3:14-17, You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
We cannot over emphasize the importance of this section of God’s Word. Here is God’s answer to the end times apostasy, growing deception, promoters of false teaching, and the deniers of God’s truth Paul had mentioned in verses 1-13. It is also God’s answer to all human sin and spiritual need. Luther declared, “Here I stand,” and you and I must also say, “Here we stand; we will continue in the Word of God. We will not bow to the cultural or liberal or Satanic attacks on God’s truth.” When Satan says, “Has God really said…” we answer with the prophet Micaiah in1 Kings 22:14, “Whatever God says, that we will not only believe but will speak. We will not be silent and put a gag on God’s mouth, the Scriptures.” This was Paul’s counsel to Timothy, and it applies just as much today. In the undaunted spirit of Winston Churchill, we will “never give up, never give in, never surrender” to the enemies of the Bible.
The Bible stands like a rock undaunted
mid the raging storms of time;
Its pages burn with the truth eternal
and they glow with a light sublime.
We’re going to take two weeks to explore the treasures about the supremacy of God’s Word in verses 14-17. The word supreme means highest in power, authority, degree, importance, and quality. And it is supreme because God is supreme over all reality and existence. We worship the one supreme God, and we know about Him through His one supreme Word, the Bible. Every other writing in all history must bow down before the God given writings in Scripture.
GOD’S WORD IS SUPREME BECAUSE IT IS SACRED.
Paul calls the Bible the “sacred writings” in verse 15. The word “sacred” is most often used of the temple in the New Testament. The Bible is God’s temple of truth. Enter at Genesis, make your way through all the rooms of the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets of the Old Testament, and right into the New Testament through the Gospels, Acts, the epistles to Revelation. And Jesus Himself said, “These speak of Me.” Think about it! The entire Bible has one ultimate subject – the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It begins with Christ creating the heavens and the earth, leads to Christ laying down His life for sinners, and ends with Christ ruling over the earth in the millennial kingdom, and then bringing in the eternal heavenly Jerusalem. It is Christ from Genesis to Revelation. As we’ll see, it is all inspired in verse 16. Not just some but all, all 66 books, 1189 chapters, 31,102 verses, 3,566,480 letters.
GOD’S WORD IS SUPREME AND WORTHY OF YOUR GREATEST ATTENTION.
2 Timothy 3:14, You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
Paul sets Timothy in stark contrast with the apostates – the false teachers and the wailers who will continue to deceive and be deceived in these last days. Verse ten told how Timothy followed Paul against all those false teachers who opposed the truth. Here in verse 14 Timothy continues to stand in opposition to all false teaching and all deceiving notions the devil has unleashed on this world.
LEARN THE TRUTH.
Like Timothy and all God’s faithful sheep, you and I must continue in these sacred writings called the Bible. Continue is in the present tense and it’s a command, “Keep on continuing in God’s truth.” What are we to do with the Scriptures? First, learn the Scriptures. Read them so you become familiar with them. It’s a life-time course in learning God’s truth. You learn every part, including Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. God has given you this Bible as a sword with which to fight through the maze and webs of lies. The Spirit of God uses this Word of God to give you truth and strength. So, learn your Bible. How well do you know your Bible? Do you know the books of the Bible? Let’s practice right now: Genesis, Exodus….
BE CONVINCED OF THE TRUTH.
Timothy didn’t just learn facts. Paul says in verse 14 Timothy was convinced of them. He fed his soul on God’s Word. It went into his spiritual system like food goes into your physical system and nourishes all your cells. We too must be convinced of what God says. We call this kind of thinking our convictions. God’s Word must feed our soul, fill our minds, grab our heart, and drive our wills. God’s Word makes us strong to stand against all those wiles of the devil, the lures of the world, and the lust of the flesh. Notice, Timothy wasn’t living off Paul’s convictions; he was convinced himself. You can’t live off your parents’ convictions. You need to learn and be convinced yourself. Paul’s convictions had been passed on to Timothy and now Timothy is convinced and makes them his own convictions.
GOD’S WORD IS SUPREME IN GIVING SAVING WISDOM.
2 Timothy 3:15, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
When and how did Timothy learn these sacred writings? Paul says Timothy learned them from childhood, or as a brephos in the Greek, which means infant. The word brephos is used of John the Baptist in his mother’s womb. It is used of Jesus as the infant in the manger. Who taught him as a child? His grandmother and mother, Lois and Eunice. Second Timothy 1:5 tells us these two ladies, along with Timothy, had a sincere faith. Here was a dear grandma and a loving mother who reared young Timothy in the Old Testament teachings. They taught Timothy about creation and the awful fall of Adam and Eve into sin. He learned about the seed of the woman smashing the serpent’s head, God’s promises to Abraham of land, seed, and blessing. They taught him about that amazing substitution of the ram for Isaac on Mt. Moriah, the Passover Lamb that allowed the firstborn Israelite to live in Egypt, the Law of Moses and the punishment for sinning against that law and the need for forgiveness. He learned about the two goats on the day of atonement: one sacrificed for the sins of the people and the other, called the scapegoat, carried the people’s guilt off into the wilderness. He learned about the prophecies of the coming Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.” Then in Isaiah 53 he learned about the suffering Messiah bearing our iniquities. When Paul on his first missionary journey came and preached Christ in Lystra, it all came together for grandmother Lois, mother Eunice, and Timothy. God used the Old Testament to prepare these Jewish ladies and this young man to receive Christ as their Messiah, Savior, and Lord. From a child they taught him the Scriptures.
Let’s think a bit about God’s calling for parents. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “As soon as your child is born, surround him with the Word of God and prayer.” Spurgeon has a whole sermon on this passage, “Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty.” How special are those grandmothers and mothers who take pains to teach the Scriptures to their sweet little ones, making sure they gather them up and bring them to Sunday School where they can hear God’s Word supporting what they learn at home. Sadly, Timothy’s dad wasn’t a believer. But you fathers who know the Lord, know how important it is for you to take the lead at home in opening the Bible with your family. Read a chapter or portion after dinner or before bedtime each night. Keep it simple. They don’t need to know all about supralapsarianism vs. infralapsarianism. But open the Bible with them – perhaps the book of Genesis with its wonderful accounts of God working in His people. Or choose one of the four gospels about Jesus’ life and ministry here on earth. Remind them these things are more than just stories, they really happened. Then let your family see you applying the Scriptures to your own life. If children hear mom and dad arguing and using foul language, griping and complaining about everything, yelling at the car in front, or slandering other people, they’ll think Christ must not be real. He sure isn’t helping dad with his temper! Sometimes we parents must not only need to ask God for forgiveness, but we need to take a child aside and ask them for forgiveness as well.
Paul says knowing from whom you have learned them. Grandma and Mother poured the truth of the Bible into Timothy’s heart. John Calvin wrote, “If anyone has gained from his youth a knowledge of the Scriptures, he should count it a special blessing from God.” Spurgeon also said concerning Sunday School, “One of the first objects of the Sunday School should be to teach the children great reverence for these holy writings, these inspired Scriptures.” These Sunday morning classes scattered throughout this building are very important. How thankful we are for teachers who love God’s Word faithfully taking our children through the Scriptures Sunday after Sunday.
THE SACRED SCRIPTURE GIVES WISDOM THAT LEADS TO SALVATION.
What do children and adults learn from these sacred writings, this temple of God’s truth? Here in our Bibles, we have the most important information you could possibly find. Not a cure for cancer or how to make a better mouse trap, but we hold in our hands sacred writings, sacred Scriptures, which give the wisdom that every person needs. Wisdom that leads to salvation and that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
What do you need salvation from? The word salvation means rescue or deliverance. There are many things we need to be saved from – bad health, poverty, evil people or thugs and godless influences – but the main thing we need to be saved from is the curse and penalty of sin. We’re born guilty of Adam’s sin. We’re born dead in our sin and if we die in our sin without being saved from our sin, we will die guilty and subject to God’s wrath. And God’s wrath is not just for a while, but for an eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Listen to these verses.
Hebrews 2:3, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
Acts 4:12, And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:13, But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Hebrews 9:28, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Scripture gives us wisdom about salvation, but that wisdom alone doesn’t save. You can know the Scriptures but still be unsaved. The wisdom of Scripture teaches you that salvation comes through faith which is in Christ Jesus. That’s what Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.” When the promises of salvation are mixed with faith, there is the power to save. And we know that the Spirit of God is One who loads the word with that power to bring regeneration to the heart by faith.
Remember the story of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37? What an illustration of the power of the Word of God to bring salvation. The valley is full of dry bones. God ask Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” “I don’t know. You know.” So, God says, “Preach to those bones. I’ll put breath in them, prophetic of Israel’s future spiritual resurrection.” But that’s also what happens today when the Word of God is taught and preached. The Spirit empowers those words to bring life to dead sinners who stir and move and get up and trust in Christ as Savior. Then they begin to praise and serve the Lord! That’s what happened to Timothy. The sacred writings given by God are able and have the capacity to give you wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Our hope is in God’s words.
THE BIBLE IS SUPREME BECAUSE IT COMES STRAIGHT FROM GOD TO US.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Now we come to the very heart of God’s revelation about God’s revelation, 2 Timothy 3:16, a memory verse for every believer. All Scripture is God-breathed. First, “all” Scripture – not some but all, in every part. This is what we call the plenary and verbal inspiration of Scripture. We don’t pick and choose certain verses. It’s all inspired, from Genesis to Revelation. And it’s written – all “graphe” Scripture. God put it all in a written book. Not voices from heaven or good feelings about God or inner nudges or dreams or visions or trips to heaven. When Paul did take a trip to heaven, he wasn’t allowed to tell us what he saw – 2 Corinthians 12:4, Paul “was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” So, forget all those books about touring heaven while the guy was on the operating table.
Then God gives us the essence of Scripture – it is all God-breathed (or breathed out by God, theo-pnuestos). It couldn’t be more personal than that. You can’t speak without breathing. God breathed/spoke His revelation through 44 authors sovereignly using their different personalities and situations yet keeping them from all errors. Speaking of the Scriptures, Calvin wrote in the Institutes, “We affirm with utter certainty (just as if we were gazing upon the majesty of God himself) that it has flowed to us from the very mouth of God by the ministry of men.”
All Scripture is from God and therefore without error and bears authority over every life. Jesus said in John 10:35, “The Scripture cannot be broken.” This Scripture is amazing! It is from the invisible God telling us where we came from, why we’re here, where we’re going, and how to get there, and all of that given in written in words. It is supreme in its effectiveness in human lives.
Jeremiah 23:29, “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”
The skeptic Voltaire declared in the 1700s that the Bible and Christianity would shortly be a thing of the past. He died in 1778. Forty years later the Bible and other Christian literature was being printed in what had been Voltaire’s own house, using his printing press! Like the God who wrote it, the Bible is indestructible, even with all the attacks against it. The Bible stands like a rock undaunted!
God’s Word is supreme, infinitely above all other human writings. No matter how brilliant a man is, if he has not submitted his heart to the Word of God which brings him to Jesus Christ, he a fool. He may know how to split an atom, but if he is not convinced the Bible is God’s Word, he is a fool. But our mighty merciful God works through the Scriptures to turn fools into wise men. That’s the power and supremacy of God’s Word.
God’s Word is supreme. That means we should meditate in it day and night like David did. And not only is God’s Word supreme, but it is sufficient for all we need to know to be saved and live a life pleasing to God. God’s Word is supreme over all human philosophy and secular theories of psychology because unlike them, God’s Word gives answers to human problems and how to be victorious over the whole range of sins. It never loses its freshness. It deals with unchanging issues. It deals with the human soul which hasn’t changed and needs saving wisdom and power today. God’s Word deals with eternity and God and Christ and heaven and hell and godliness and righteousness and judgment and sin and punishment and eternal life – and all these things are more relevant than the latest podcast or news feed about the coming election or what’s really behind the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. “David, what do you think about God’s supreme Word?” “Oh, how I love Your law; I think about it all day long” (Psalm 119:97).
SO WHAT?
We can conclude that God created us with eyes to read the Word, ears to hear His Word, minds to consider His Word, mouths to speak His Word, and feet and hands to obey His Word. Every little boy and girl fashioned by God in the womb is brought into this world to come to know salvation through His Word. Let’s be parents and teachers who teach God’s Word to our children. Let’s pray that every father or mother will take time to read the God-breathed Scriptures to their children and that every child in this body of believers will learn and become convinced of the gospel for their own souls. And let’s pray that God would bless the teaching of God’s Word to every young person in our Sunday School so they might know who God is, know they are sinners in need of a Savior, and submit their hearts to Jesus as their Lord and Savior.