2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
When you look at this passage there are several key words that help us to see what the text says. One of those key words that we should focus in on is the word “Scripture”.
The word “Scripture” is the greek word GRAPHE. It is a word that is found fifty times in the Greek New Testament and it means “that which is WRITTEN down. It should be obvious, this word is where we get the English word “graph”.
Paul is not saying God has just thrown out His inspired message hoping that some of it sticks in our minds and hearts. He is saying that God has given His word and it was WRITTEN down so that we can come back to it time and time again to study exactly what God communicated to us.
If the very words of God are scripture that has been WRITTEN down we need to think about how that impacts how we look at the Bible. Knowing that the scriptures are the Holy Writ from God helps us see why it is important for us to study the actual words of the Holy Text. We should see the importance of each individual word in the Bible.
Because if we understand what Paul is telling us in this passage then we understand that the word SCRIPTURE that was WRITTEN down was the exact word that God chose to place in the text. That is the word God wanted because that is what came out of His mouth. It was “God breathed”. This understanding goes for every word WRITTEN down in the Bible. This tells us that the very words that we read are from God.
Now, let’s get down to it and apply it to our own lives. Personally, I don’t want to stand before God on judgment day and have to explain to Him that I did not read every word that was WRITTEN down. Ouch!!! That one hurt a little. The point is that since God chose each word to be WRITTEN down I need to GET INTO THE TEXT AND READ AND STUDY EVERY SINGLE WORD!