Thoroughly Equipped

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. — 2 Timothy 3:14–4:2

The Word of God is inspired, sufficient, and powerful — given so that the people of God might be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

A Favorite Passage and a Calling to Equip

Second Timothy 3:16–17 has long been a favorite passage of mine for a number of reasons. I often return to it in my teaching, and many times as I'm praying and preparing to go into the Scriptures. It's my pattern that when we gather on a Sunday morning we read from the Scriptures and then I pray, because it's our belief and conviction that this is God's inspired Word. "God-breathed" is literally the way to translate the word inspired here. It has an impact and an effect that ultimately ends up being a really good thing as God renews us by the transforming of our minds.

That word in verse 17 about being thoroughly equipped has a strong connection to my call into pastoral preaching and teaching. I just celebrated twenty years of teaching through the Scriptures last month. It was when I was nineteen years old that I received that call very clearly. Two passages of Scripture impressed it upon my heart.

The first is in the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel 12:23, Samuel says to the people, "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way... for consider what great things He has done for you." When Pastor Tony asked me if I would teach the junior high ministry at this church, my first inclination was to say no. The spiritual thing was to say, "I'll pray about it" — which is Christian for no. But I actually did pray about it, and I happened to be in 1 Samuel 12 when I read, "far be it from me that I should... cease to teach you the good and the right way." I thought, "Well, there we go."

The second passage is in the New Testament, Ephesians 4:11, where Paul says God gave some apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers "for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ." So early on, from those two passages, I knew God was calling me to equip the saints.

The Priesthood of All Believers

One of the things you can identify in church history is that the biggest low points for the church come when the church begins to expect that the work of the ministry is done by the professional clergy — those educated, trained, and called to professional ministry. That is not the way the church works biblically. According to Ephesians 4:11, those doing the managed work of ministry are equipping the saints — that is, the whole church — for the work of the ministry.

We strongly believe that each time the church begins to have greater impact, it's when it understands the strong biblical truth we call the priesthood of all believers. If you are a follower of Jesus and a believer in the things of Scripture, then you are called to the work of the ministry, and my task is to equip you for that work.

Continue in What You Have Learned

So how does one equip people for the work of the ministry? The passage before us begins to answer that. Paul writes, "You must continue in the things which you have learned." That word continue is a command, an imperative. The word learned is connected to the Greek word for disciple. Paul says, "Timothy, you've been discipled — now continue in it, knowing from whom you have learned them." By this point Timothy had probably been with Paul for about fifteen years.

These are Paul's last words. There are historians who believe that within a matter of weeks after writing this letter, Paul was beheaded for his faith, around AD 66. So he says, "Continue in the things you have learned from me as a disciple — and which you have known from childhood."

The Legacy of Scripture

How did Timothy come to the knowledge of the Scriptures? The answer is in chapter one, where Paul refers to Timothy's training from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. They have a place in Scripture because, as Jewish women, they raised him knowing the Scriptures.

The important truth to glean is how impactful it is to give forth the Word of God to your children and grandchildren. Never underestimate this. As we get older, we start to think about legacy. The cold, hard truth is that within a generation or two, people will not remember you — 99.9% of people will not be remembered a couple of generations after they're gone. But you can leave a legacy, and the greatest legacy you can leave with your kids and grandkids is a knowledge of the Word of God.

Why is that legacy so important? Because Paul says the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. How else will anybody know about that salvation apart from the Scriptures? We can learn much through science and observation about the cosmos, but how will we know about the broken condition of man — where it comes from and how to address it — apart from the revelation of the Holy Scriptures? Only the Scriptures have the words of eternal life. Paul builds on this in Romans 10:14–17: "How shall they hear without a preacher?... So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

All Scripture Is Inspired and Useful

Paul writes that the Scriptures are given by inspiration of God. This is a very important verse, found at the beginning of nearly every systematic theology book. Where do we study God except in the Scriptures? So every theology book begins with a chapter on the Word of God, on why we believe it is authoritative, inerrant, and has a place in our lives — and this verse is right there on the first pages.

Point one: all Scripture is inspired and useful. That is our conviction here. It won't surprise you that this point is contested. It's contested by those outside the church who question the Scriptures — and there are great answers to those questions. But it's also contested by those inside the church.

The church is a big tent, and there are some who read this passage differently. They will read it, "All Scripture that is inspired by God is profitable." That may not seem like a big change, but it has major implications. When someone says, "All Scripture that is inspired is useful," what they're really saying is, "I'm not sure all Scripture is inspired" — and then they become the arbiters of what is and is not inspired.

There have been those who literally went through the Scriptures, underlining what they believed was inspired and crossing out what they didn't. One notable example is Thomas Jefferson, who cut out large sections of the Gospels with a blade. So people read the Scriptures and say, "Love your neighbor — that's inspired. Take care of the poor — that's inspired. But anything to do with sexuality or immorality or sin — well, you can disregard that." This was a problem in the church Timothy oversaw 2,000 years ago, and it's certainly a problem in 21st-century America.

The correct reading is just as it stands: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable." That word and is in the manuscripts. So we have to wrestle with the fact that all the Scriptures are God-breathed and useful.

A Book That Reads You

As you read the Bible, it is a book that also reads you. James speaks of the Scriptures as a mirror: when we look into the perfect law of liberty, it shines back on us and we see ourselves. Which means that all those passages you don't like — what you actually don't like is what they show you about you. That's why our flesh doesn't really like to read the Bible. I struggle with it too; my flesh doesn't like it any more than yours does.

Hebrews 4 says the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Sometimes that is painful. But we do not get to be the judges of what is or is not inspired, because the Scriptures attest that they are inspired. As Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:20–21, "No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

Four Things the Scriptures Are Useful For

Paul gives four things the Scriptures are useful for. First, doctrine. Paul uses that word no less than eleven times in 1 and 2 Timothy, exhorting Timothy and Titus to maintain a strong adherence to sound doctrine. Doctrine establishes what is right and true. And when you establish the line of what is right and true, it immediately does the next thing.

Second, reproof. Reproof is that which exposes what is out of alignment. One Greek lexicon says it means to expose and to shame by exposure. When you establish the right line, you immediately see all the ways you don't align with it. This is why the psalmist says, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet." Paul says in Romans 3 and 7, "By the law is the knowledge of sin... I would not have known sin unless the law said, 'You shall not covet.'" Every one of us, from the earliest age, is good at being jealous and covetous. If you haven't seen that and you don't have children, just wait. We think that's normal, but the Bible comes in and exposes it.

The best illustration of what the Bible does is this tool — a plumb bob, one of the oldest tools used by humanity, going back to the Bronze Age in Egypt 4,600 years ago. Because of gravity, it shows the perfect straight line, and as soon as you have that line, you see everything that's crooked. The Scriptures establish the perfect straight line, which is the nature of God, and show us where we are out of alignment. "He has shown you, O man, what is good... but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

Here's the problem with human-created religion: it causes us to compare ourselves not to the nature of God but to the actions of others. And you can always find somebody more crooked than you. "I'm not that good, but I'm so much better than that guy." If you're having trouble finding someone worse off, just say, "Well, I'm better than Dahmer." But if that's your standard, you're in trouble. When you set up the perfect law of liberty, you realize you are way out of alignment.

Correction and Instruction

But the plumb bob has no power in itself to fix the problem. It only shows the right line. Paul says the Word of God is more powerful, because third, it is useful for correction — which means to set right, to amend, to restore, to improve. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." In Romans 12, Paul says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. In Ephesians 5, Jesus washes us by the washing of the water by His word.

You may be skeptical. But Jesus said wisdom is justified by her children. The test is this: do we see people who live according to the principles of Scripture, and their lives are made better? We have 2,000 years of empirical evidence of people transformed by the power of the Word of God.

Fourth, it is useful for instruction in righteousness — training, discipline, discipleship. Having established righteousness and exposed error, the Scriptures restore us and help us maintain a righteous heading. A good illustration is the navigation system on your smartphone or in your car. You put in where you want to go; it shows where you are, where you want to go, and the line between them. Doctrine shows the true line; reproof and correction show where we're off; instruction keeps us on the line. As Psalm 119:9 says, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word." And as God told Joshua, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night... for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

All People Need What the Scriptures Offer

So that the man — or woman — of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (The Greek word for man there is universal.) That is God's aim in inspiring the Scriptures, and our hope in preaching them: that God will accomplish what He said. Isaiah said 2,800 years ago that God's Word will not return void.

Point two: all people need what the Scriptures have to offer. Isn't completeness what people are seeking? We are surrounded by people who realize, at the deepest level, that something is missing. We live in a nation that arguably has more than any other people at any time in history, and yet we feel we are missing something.

A striking article came out in the New York Times about a week and a half ago. Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, attended his twenty-year Harvard MBA reunion. He met friends making millions trading stocks on Wall Street, and his whole article was: "I met all my friends who are doing this, and they say, 'I have no meaning, and I hate my life.'" Money will not make you complete. Relationships will leave you incomplete. Everything this world offers will not satisfy humanity's deepest need. Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher, said there is a void in the heart of every human being that is only filled by Christ Jesus. We are disconnected from God, and without that connection we will not experience completeness.

Only Scripture Equips Us

Point three: only by the working of the Scriptures are we equipped and complete. Even the most ardent atheists and agnostics are deeply seeking meaning. Sam Harris, one of the most outspoken atheists of our day, is on a mission to find a sustainable meaning — he thinks it'll be found in psychedelics and meditation. I suggest that won't do it. He's searching because he realizes there is a gaping hole in the soul.

This completeness speaks of sufficiency, of being capable, of being exactly fitted. How many of you have had the curse of buying furniture at IKEA? You get the box home and wonder how that turns into a couch. The instructions seem written by someone sadistic, and you discover the nut isn't threaded to the bolt — but your wife says, "Come on, build it," so you make it work. You'll never be able to move it without it falling apart. That's how IKEA makes its money; they know they'll sell it to you again in six months. A lot of people are trying to make their lives work like that — not exactly fitted, just pieced together. But the Scriptures make us complete, thoroughly equipped, adequate for whatever we will face.

The biggest challenge skeptics bring against Christianity today is not the hypocritical church — there are hypocrites everywhere — but the question of suffering and God. Yet turn it around, and you find the skeptic has no better answer for suffering. In reality, the Christian is far better equipped to deal with the trials of life. I got a call at 5:53 this morning from the battalion chief of the Escondido fire department. A woman's house had burned down, and she was asking why God allowed it. He didn't know how to answer, so he asked me to come. When I showed up in uniform and started to talk with her about the truth of the Scriptures and the nature of God, even in her distress she became more fully equipped to navigate the difficulty of this life.

Faithful Stewards Preach the Word

So if it is true that the Scriptures are God-breathed and useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness — for our completeness and equipping — what ought we to do with them? Look at 2 Timothy 4:1. The word therefore means "because of all that truth." Paul gives a strong charge with a strong warning: "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing... preach the word!"

Point four: we must hold the Scriptures as accountable stewards. If you are convinced that the Scriptures make you wise to salvation, that they've brought completeness, that they show you the right line and bring you back into alignment — what should you do in response? Paul says, "Preach the word." One day we will stand before God and give an account of how we held His powerful Word. Did we just learn it, study it, memorize it — or did we use it and give it forth? This exhortation is not just to the pastoral class but to the whole body of Christ, so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work, for God created us for good works.

What are we charged to do? Verse 2: "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." I don't have time to dig deeply into this verse today — we'll look at it more slowly next week — but it aligns with what we've seen: the Word is useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction, and righteousness, so we convince, rebuke, and exhort with all patience.

Standing Before the One Who Inspired the Word

Point five: faithful stewards of the inspired Scriptures preach the word. We will stand before the Lord one day and give an account; Jesus said for every idle word we will give an account. That is frightening, but it is true. So as faithful stewards — managers of another's resources — we proclaim and herald the truth of the Scriptures, even if it is perceived by a culture increasingly antagonistic to God as offensive, narrow, and politically incorrect. And it is increasingly politically incorrect to believe and teach the Bible. But we aim to please God, not man, because at the appearing of His kingdom you won't be standing before the court of public opinion. It won't matter what others thought of the Word of God when you stand before the One who inspired it.

This week you will encounter many broken people — some who experienced a loss this weekend, some who found out they have a terminal disease, some who learned they don't have a job anymore. We live in a broken world, but we have the words of eternal life. You'll find people walking in a way that won't be good for them, and the Word of God has instruction for that. It sometimes requires a rebuke, showing the true line. When you do, people will often turn it back on you: "You're just as bad as I am." And you can say, "Yes, I'm totally crooked too. I have a problem. What are we going to do about it? There's an answer in the Scriptures."

May it be that we are those who have confidence in the Word of God, in season and out of season. Some of you may feel a little out of season, but God wants to equip you by His word.

Closing Prayer

Father, we pray that You would work in us by Your grace, by Your all-sufficient power, where we are insufficient. As Paul said, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency comes from You. You are the one who makes us able ministers of the gospel; You enable us. So God, would You pour out Your Spirit upon Your church and give us confidence in the Scriptures — in the authority, sufficiency, and power of Your word. Give us confidence to walk in these things and to give this good news out to those we interact with. And in the areas of our lives where we realize we are not in alignment, would You bring us back into alignment as we confess and repent and let Your word have its work in our lives. Do that work in us, we pray. Pour out Your Spirit upon Your church. For we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.