God-Breathed!

Soon after moving to North Carolina in 2014, I got into the habit of listening to one of the conservative cable news channels while I helped to get my wife, who was dealing with the encroaching symptoms of Alzheimer’s, ready for the day.  I had purchased a small 22-inch flat screen TV and set it up on the top of our six-drawer dresser in our bedroom in the apartment we were renting.

That TV moved, along with the rest of our stuff to the house we purchased toward the end of the next year.  By that time, I was also making it a daily habit to peruse the mainstream news sites online, in order to compare their reporting with that of the conservative channels.  What I immediately noticed was that the coverage and reporting of major news events were totally different.

This was especially evident during the 2016 Presidential campaign.  I remember commenting to my wife on many occasions, saying “You know… we watched that speech last night and the reports from the mainstream media outlets sound like they are describing a totally different speech!”  There were times I just shook my head in amazement declaring, “He didn’t say that” or “How did they get that interpretation of what he said?”

Well… it took me awhile, by I finally understood that they were reacting to the news through their own preconceived narrative of the situation.  Whether it was right or wrong didn’t seem to matter… as long as it fit into the narrative that they chose to accept.

I have also learned over the years, that this is a similar way in which many people think about, look at or even read the Bible.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that,

“Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way,* so that the man of God may himself be complete and may be perfectly equipped for every good work.”**

These verses are very easy and simple for me to believe and act upon in my daily life. For Piper and I, our response to the Word of God was very child-like and uncomplicated.  God said it, that settled it and therefore we believed it!  But the same cannot be said for many other people.

To some, with their preconceived narrative of the Bible, this book is just an old, confusing, outdated journal that was written thousands of years ago and has no place in today’s modern, high tech and liberal thinking society.  To others it is seen as a good book that’s filled with lots of nice and encouraging saying that make people temporarily feel better when in the midst of difficult times.

But then to others who tend to take it more literally, like my wife and I, it is a living, breathing, life-changing powerhouse of truth that guides, directs and empowers lives in any year, in any season… in the present and throughout the times and events to come!

We’ve spent the last few weeks in our posts discussing the importance of KNOWING the NAME of Jesus.  We studied from Philippians 2:9-11 were the Apostle Paul taught us that God gave Jesus the NAME that is above every other name in existence, and that at the mention of that NAME every knee must bow in submission to it.  We also learned that just before Jesus ascended into heaven that he gave us Christians the legal rights to the use of that NAME in the course of our daily lives as we live and spread the Good News of the Gospel message.

A few points that caught my attention in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 above, is first of all, the revelation that the scriptures are “God-breathed” and therefore useful for our everyday lives.  The term “God-breathed” or “is given by inspiration of God” as rendered by the King James Version, is literally defined by the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, as meaning,

“Filled with the breath of God’ so as to be ‘living oracles’”

So, first and foremost, when one approaches the Bible they must understand and read the scriptures from the point of view that they are GOD-BREATHED and LIVING ORACLES coming directly from the throne of God and are… clearly relevant and miraculous purposeful for our lives TODAY!***

The second part that spoke to me, as I’ve been studying these verses, is that after the author explained all that the scriptures can do for us, Paul basically tells us that whether that happens or not in our lives… is STRICTLY up to US!  Notice he declares,

“so that the man (or woman) of God MAY himself (or herself) be complete and MAY be perfectly equipped for every good work.”

The word “MAY” in the Greek means that it “may, might, could, would, must” and is possible”**** to happen in our lives - as we decide to not only agree with it… but also to put it into regular practice in our daily lives.

And then in perfect association with these two points, Paul speaks of being “perfectly equipped for every good work.”  A little research shows that the word “perfectly” in this usage is only found in this particular verse in the entire New Testament.  And it is defined as being “fresh, complete, fitted and exactly for the purpose of the moment.”*****

Therefore, Paul not only tells us that the scriptures are good for all kinds of personal growth, wisdom and training, but are also able to give you fresh, directions and or words of wisdom, comfort and encouragement that are fitted exactly for the purpose of the moment you find yourself in!  Have you ever been at a loss for words in a needful situation?  I sure have… but it is exactly for times like these when the Word of God intercedes in our hearts and gives us the right words to minister to the person and or situation at hand!

Let’s face it… if you want to use the NAME of Jesus to change situations in your life… you have to KNOW Him… and you only get to know Him through regular and consistent fellowship with the “God-breathed, living oracles” of Jesus as discovered in His “living and active” Word!

Sounds like a successful plan, doesn’t it?

Have a great weekend, and as you do… stay alert and EXPECTANT for the “living oracles” that He just might want YOU to share with OTHERS!

 

*The Message Bible

**Weymouth New Testament

***You may recall that the book of Hebrews also confirms this truth by declaring that “God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and intentions.” (God’s Word ©)

****Strong’s and Mounce

*****Strong’s and Cambridge