The Bible, inspired by God and useful for taking away what hinders and adding what helps

The title of today's post is a Phil paraphrase of 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 which in a Phil - combination of versions could read “Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action), so that you a man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for the tasks God has for use (AMP, NIV, Message).

I have been saying that the personal proof that the Scriptures are what they claim to be, is to be found in continuing, obeying and putting into practice the teachings of Scripture. Today's verse is telling us that Scripture is God-breathed/ inspired. I want to put another scripture together with this. It is part of John 16:12,13. Jesus says to the disciples “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”

The teaching of the Church on inspiration and illumination are based on these verses. God – breathed could also be translated “God-Spirited.” There is just one word in the Greek for both 'breath' and for 'Spirit.” So part of what this means is that was the Holy spirit who “moved men of God” to write them (2 Peter 1:22), but also it cannot be properly understood without the illuminating presence in our lives of the Holy Spirit. We can get this out of balance and we do. There are groups that emphasize the Word with little reference to the Spirit, and then the other extreme groups that emphasize the Spirit but not the Word. There is a saying we need to take account of “The word without the Spirit we dry up, the Spirit without the Word we blow up, but the Word and the Spirit together in the fellowship of the believing Church, we grow up”. We will not grow properly without all three ingredients (see Hebrews 10:25).

There are several things I want to take note of in these two verse. Firstly we are all, at some level, like the disciple not yet able to bear the truth. And if we are to become whole and to grow the way He wants us to grow we need to “continue in His Word” (John 8:31) and we need to cooperate with and not “grieve the Holy Spirit” by doing things that grieve Him. The quotation is from Ephesians 4:30, and the nuts and bolts of some of the things that will cause Him grief are contained in the context of this verse!

Its all about relationship. I came to Christ out of a life full of things that grieved the Holy Spirit. But I did not immediately know what they were. I was grieved too. I came to Him in the first place because I was hurting and burdened and heavy laden, and in doing so found rest and comfort (Matthew 11:28; 2 Corinthians 1:4). Holy Spirit used all of this to teach me, and I believe I became very teachable. It worked like this, I would do something that grieved Holy Spirit. And it was as if He said “You can do that Phil, but you cannot do that and be close to Me”. And as I continued, the pain and the loneliness and the emptiness would start to come back. And I would run to Him saying “Whatever it is please show me, I cannot live without You.” And I could not, and I cannot! I have often said “I would be dead without Him,” and I mean that quite literally. I cannot go back, I cannot!

You do not need to be (or have been) as desperate as I was. However, you will not grow the way He intends for you to grow, nor experience the fulness of life and the freedom He promises unless you enter into your own journey with with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. We also need the balance of Spirit, Word and fellowship in the believing Church to grow. We need to “study to be approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). We will have more wisdom than all of our teachers if we mediate consistently on His Word (Psalm 119:99). In particular we will see and prove (Romans 12:2) that His ways the ways of holiness and integrity and faith are not only good and right and proper, they are the way to the abundant life (see Psalms 34:12; 63:3; 91:16; 103:4; 119:50, and Proverbs 1:19; 2:19; 3:18, 22; 4:10 etc., etc. and their contexts)!