‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness – 2 Timothy 3:16
From Sam Lomas:
Everybody wants God to speak to them. Usually we imagine this happening in a really dramatic fashion. A ball of fire, followed by a cloud of smoke and then a loud audible voice. It’s not wrong to long for this kind of encounter with God. After all, we see these kinds of events throughout Scripture. But if the only way we think God will speak to us is in a dramatic fashion, then we are missing the beauty and simplicity of the Bible. The verse above helps us understand just how incredible the Bible is.
Paul says that all Scripture is God-breathed. At the time of writing this letter to Timothy, Paul was referring to what we now call the Old Testament Scriptures. But this truth can be applied to both the Old and the New Testament. The words written in our Bibles aren’t just the thoughts of a handful of people thousands of years ago. No, these words are God-breathed. Every word in the Bible has been directed and orchestrated by God Himself. He has breathed these words onto the pages in our Bible.
Pause and think about that for a moment.
This is amazing news for us! It means that we can hear God speaking all throughout the Bible. It is also a challenge to us to remember that we cannot pick and choose parts to read and listen to and leave other bits out. All Scripture is God-breathed – we can and must listen to God speaking through all of His Word not just bits of it. That way, as we begin to digest and understand the Scriptures, we might just say to ourselves, ‘were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us?…’ (Luke24.32)
If you are longing for God to speak to you, why not try reading through a portion of Scripture today? Can I suggest you start with Mark’s Gospel?
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