2 Timothy 3:15-17
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Greek structure of verse 16 says, “All scripture is God-breathed”, meaning that God is the author of the Bible, which we refer to as “the Word of God”. Just as God breathed into Adam and made him a living soul, God breathed out the words that constitute the Bible, making it a living thing.
John stated that Jesus was the Word (John 1:14) and that He was with God from the beginning (John 1:1). Whatever Jesus spoke, He spoke because the Father had given those words to Him (John 17:8). Those very words made the disciples clean (John 15:3). With these facts in mind, we can conclude that whatever Jesus spoke was first uttered from the lips of the Father; and whatever the Father had ordained in His Word, was what Jesus personified.
When Paul wrote these words to Timothy, he refers back to Timothy’s own childhood, and how he had studied the Jewish writings from his youth. “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Being a Jew during the time of the writings of the New Testament, there would be only one possible source for Timothy’s scriptural understanding: the Old Testament. Paul is reminding Timothy that from the days of his youth he has been reading of the coming of the Messiah, and Jesus was that Messiah.
If Paul could inspire Timothy to return to the scriptures in order to find Jesus, then we are within our rights to look for Christ in the pages of the Old Testament as well. What God breathed into the text was spoken through Moses, David, Isaiah, etc. These men were writing of events and happenings, but were also seeing great things in the spirit realm, many of which they no doubt had little knowledge of. Prophecy is like looking at a mountain range, where you see only the peaks in the distance. You can’t tell how far away one mountain is over the other and you cannot see the valleys in between. These prophets saw things that they couldn’t understand, but they wrote them down anyway.
When Jesus began to minister to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, he spoke to them of all of the scriptures concerning Himself, using the law and the prophets (Luke 24:27). He opened the writings of Moses and the prophets and showed these men the scriptures that spoke of Jesus. Though His name is never used in the Old Testament, Jesus is everywhere, for God breathed Him into the pages.
As you study the Old Testament, please do so with Jesus in your eyes. If you read it as the story of a hidden Messiah, it becomes an adventurous set of books, filled with nuggets of wisdom. If you view it as a way to live, you will walk away heavy and confused, with no vision of the finished work or what Jesus did to redeem all of mankind. Remember that as you see Jesus in the scriptures you are “thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17).
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Greek structure of verse 16 says, “All scripture is God-breathed”, meaning that God is the author of the Bible, which we refer to as “the Word of God”. Just as God breathed into Adam and made him a living soul, God breathed out the words that constitute the Bible, making it a living thing.
John stated that Jesus was the Word (John 1:14) and that He was with God from the beginning (John 1:1). Whatever Jesus spoke, He spoke because the Father had given those words to Him (John 17:8). Those very words made the disciples clean (John 15:3). With these facts in mind, we can conclude that whatever Jesus spoke was first uttered from the lips of the Father; and whatever the Father had ordained in His Word, was what Jesus personified.
When Paul wrote these words to Timothy, he refers back to Timothy’s own childhood, and how he had studied the Jewish writings from his youth. “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). Being a Jew during the time of the writings of the New Testament, there would be only one possible source for Timothy’s scriptural understanding: the Old Testament. Paul is reminding Timothy that from the days of his youth he has been reading of the coming of the Messiah, and Jesus was that Messiah.
If Paul could inspire Timothy to return to the scriptures in order to find Jesus, then we are within our rights to look for Christ in the pages of the Old Testament as well. What God breathed into the text was spoken through Moses, David, Isaiah, etc. These men were writing of events and happenings, but were also seeing great things in the spirit realm, many of which they no doubt had little knowledge of. Prophecy is like looking at a mountain range, where you see only the peaks in the distance. You can’t tell how far away one mountain is over the other and you cannot see the valleys in between. These prophets saw things that they couldn’t understand, but they wrote them down anyway.
When Jesus began to minister to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, he spoke to them of all of the scriptures concerning Himself, using the law and the prophets (Luke 24:27). He opened the writings of Moses and the prophets and showed these men the scriptures that spoke of Jesus. Though His name is never used in the Old Testament, Jesus is everywhere, for God breathed Him into the pages.
As you study the Old Testament, please do so with Jesus in your eyes. If you read it as the story of a hidden Messiah, it becomes an adventurous set of books, filled with nuggets of wisdom. If you view it as a way to live, you will walk away heavy and confused, with no vision of the finished work or what Jesus did to redeem all of mankind. Remember that as you see Jesus in the scriptures you are “thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17).
