The Authority and use of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16)

The Bible consists of history, songs, and prophecies. Many of its authors were just ordinary men whom God used. It was written by about forty authors over about 1,600 years, mainly in two languages (Hebrew and Greek. Yet it is a unified whole; there is one divine mind behind it all.

  1. The authority of the Bible. Some books may be reliable, others may be inspiring, but the Bible is breathed out by God.
  • Jer.36:8, 10; John 10:35; 2 Peter 3:15-16.
  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge: ‘That is inspired which inspires me.’ The New English Bible has ‘every inspired Scripture has its use’. Paul says: ‘No, it is all inspired, whether it inspires you or not, whether you understand it or not, or you believe it or not’. Abraham Kuyper warned about what he called ‘biblical vandalism’. Note Isa.8:19-20.
  1. The uses of the Bible. a. Teaching. Read Acts 17:2; 1 Peter 4:11. b. Reproof. To quote the Living Bible paraphrase: ‘to make us realize what is wrong in our lives’. See 2 Kings 22:8-11; Prov.9:8-9. c. Correction. The Living Bible says: ‘it straightens us out’. d. Training in righteousness. The expression is often used in connection with child rearing. Christians who believe must be trained to become Christians who obey – Luke 11:27-28.
  • trace how it works out in Ephesians 4:28. God is a talking God; He has spoken. ‘Every day,’ wrote Bonhoeffer, ‘should begin with meditation on the Scriptures. Before we meet men, we should meet Christ.’