“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV).
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy to encourage him to persevere in the teaching that he and his forebears had passed on to him. He stressed both the importance and the benefits of reading and studying Scripture for the people of God.
For the Spirit revealed through Paul that the Bible is no ordinary book. For it is “breathed out by God,” literally, “God-breathed,” as the Greek word “theopneustos, is translated. The Bible is a spiritual book and it is spiritually discerned. It is useful not only for knowing, but for doing. It is therefore both spiritual and practical. It contains the gospel which gives us the wisdom to receive salvation, so it is the Book of Life. The Spirit of Christ uses the Word to wash us and to conform us to His image, preparing us for our wedding day (Eph. 5). The Bible is unique. There is no other book like it. It is the written Word of God.
Those that would grow to maturity in Christ, those that would be fully equipped for every good work, will be diligent students of the Scriptures with the help of the Holy Spirit and of God gifted teachers. Are you a student of God’s Word?
PRAYER: Dear Father, we read and study Your Word, yet every time we open it, we see something new. Help us not only to read and study, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Write Your words upon our hearts and minds. In Jesus’ name, amen.