None can deny that the Bible claims to be the word of God. From beginning to end its pages are filled with this claim. While its writers were mere men, they constantly let it be known that the message is from God. For example, the phrase, “Thus says the Lord” appears over four hundred times in the Old Testament. Similarly, the phrase, “Hear the word of the Lord” is found in more than thirty places.

The basic claims concerning the origin and purpose of the Scriptures are summed up by the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as follows: “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” (NKJV).

Our text presents three important points concerning the Scriptures:

1. The Scriptures are inspired by God. The word “inspiration,” as used in this text, carries the meaning of “God-breathed.” Therefore, the Bible is directly a product of the breath of God. In other words, God breathed out His living word into forty different writers who wrote it down, and it is preserved for us in its completeness even today. As the apostle Peter puts it, “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). In following the Bible we are not submitting ourselves to the ideas of men, but to the word of Almighty God.

2. The Scriptures are profitable. To be “profitable” is to be useful and beneficial. The Bible “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (v. 16). Since the Scriptures are God’s message to mankind, it makes sense that they would be profitable to us. However, it is important to understand that various portions of the Bible are profitable for different purposes. For example, the book of Leviticus is not profitable for teaching one how to receive salvation in Christ, but the book of Acts is. Likewise, the letter to Philemon is not profitable for teaching about creation, but the book of Genesis is. All Scripture is profitable, but various portions of Scripture are designed to profit us in different ways.

3. The Scriptures make us complete. All of the information we need in order to serve God in this life and to have a home in heaven for eternity is revealed in the Bible. Peter tells us that God has “given us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). We cannot progress beyond the Bible in our spiritual understanding. All that we need is contained therein and by it we are “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (v. 17).

Conclusion: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). May our faith grow as we learn more of the will of God revealed in the Bible. And, may we always trust in the word of “God, who cannot lie” (Titus 1:2).

- University Uniter, Oct. 5, 2023
David Dann is one of the preachers we help to support. He preaches for the University church of Christ in Athens, Georgia.