Scripture: Inspired by God (2 Timothy)

This is post 4 of 5 on the pastoral letters: letters addressed to Timothy, a pastor in Ephesus, and Titus, a pastor in Crete. The word 'pastor' is a Latin word meaning shepherd. In ancient Israel, girls and women were often shepherds, and women and men were co-workers, teachers, and leaders hosting church congregations.

In a post on 1 Timothy 1, the writer says to stop exploiting others.

In  1 Timothy 2, the writer corrects false doctrine, comforts a woman afraid in childbirth, and encourages women and men to pursue their calling as church overseers.

In my post on 1 Timothy 3-6, the writer discusses qualifications for church leadership.

Today, we look at 2 Timothy.  Next, we look at the letter to Titus.

Paul's Main Ideas in 2 Timothy:

• commend Timothy for his faithfulness

• affirms female teachers such as Lois, Euinice

• the Spirit makes us bold

• avoid false teaching and hold to the truth

• endure suffering, with God's help

• asks Timothy to visit, give personal greetings to Prisca and Aquila and Onesiphorus.

  
  

2 Timothy 1

The letter opens saying it was written by Paul. Some theologians indicate that Paul wrote it in the AD 60s near the end of his life while he was in prison in Rome. However, as discussed in my post on 1 Timothy 1, scholars debate whether it was written by Paul or by a 2nd-century follower of Paul. Either way, it is respected for being part of the canon of the Bible.

Paul longs to see Timothy, his son in the faith and reminisces about Timothy and his faithfulness. Paul commends Timothy's mother, Eunice and grandmother Lois for teaching Timothy the foundations of faith.

Paul reminds Timothy of his call to ministry, saying that the Spirit of God gives us power and boldness. Likewise, today, the Spirit of God makes us bold.

Paul compares the way he poured teaching into Timothy as a deposit, entrusted for Timothy to guard and take forward. Paul mourns that most of his followers have deserted him and credits those who have not been ashamed to visit Paul in prison.

2 Timothy 2

Paul tells Timothy to entrust the deposit of Paul's teaching with reliable people who will be qualified to teach others. Paul says he endures his suffering for the sake of the body of Christ. Paul gives comfort in quoting a well-known song:

Paul warns Timothy against quarrelling and disputes. Godless chatter will lead to ungodliness. He exhorts Timothy to correctly handle the word of truth. Run away from foolish arguments, which produce quarrels. Be kind to everyone, not quarrelsome. Gently instruct those who teach false doctrine, and let them learn. Pray that God will lead them to know the truth.

2 Timothy 3

Paul warns about terrible times to come. There will be persecution from unbelievers as well as spiritual attacks that lead people to ungodliness. Such things as the love of money, boasting, pride, abuse, slander, selfishness, impulsiveness, being ungrateful, unloving, unforgiving, or lacking in self-control are some attributes that show a person is not walking with God. Run from such people.

Paul warns against the false teachers who are targeting women and leading women astray. This concern is consistent with Paul's concern in 1 Timothy 2 about letting women learn to protect themselves from being victims vulnerable to false teachings. In other letters, Paul instructs women on how to prophesy and teach (1 Corinthians 11:5), commends women who teach and lead (Priscilla, Phoebe, Junia), and encourages both women and men to teach, correct, and admonish one another (Colossians 3:11).

Paul reminds Timothy of the persecutions Paul has endured, yet the Lord rescued Paul. Paul says everyone who lives a godly life will be persecuted and targeted by deceivers. Paul notes that Timothy has learned correct teaching from Paul (2 Timothy 3:10), from his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 3:14-15), and from the Hebrew Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15). Paul commends Timothy for his knowledge of the Scriptures, which give us an understanding of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul tells Timothy he can rely on the Scriptures to be thoroughly equipped for good works, teaching, rebuking, correcting, and admonishing one another. Similarly, Paul writes to women and men in Colossae to teach spiritual things and admonish and train one another with all wisdom (Colossians 3:16).

A high view of Scripture

There are several major schools of thought based on this one verse: Scripture is inspired, infallible, inerrant, or literal. None of these views say the Scripture is inaccurate. None of these ways of viewing Scripture is higher than the other. They each seek to understand God's word.

When the infallibility or inerrancy of the Bible is foundational to your faith, your faith can be destroyed by a skeptic who finds any evidence of God being cruel, any error or inconsistency or item that cannot be proven as true. Many adults have questions that cannot be adequately answered by saying 'the Bible says'. Thinking people want to look at why the biblical writer wrote something and what they actually said. When the life, death and resurrection are foundational to your faith, you have a firm foundation that is almost impossible for a skeptic to attack.

The Scriptures that existed at the time of writing are the Hebrew Scriptures, which today Christians call the Old Testament. Paul says these Scriptures remain relevant, even after Jesus brought the New Covenant. This verse does not refer to Paul's own letters as Scripture. This verse does not call the New Testament 'God-breathed'.

Inspired

 The word translated as 'god-breathed' is 'theopneustos' which means 'inspired'. This means that the Holy Spirit gave God's words to us through humans. It means God inspired humans by a vision or flash of understanding, and they wrote it down with the best words they had to describe it at the time. Readers need to carefully investigate the writings to seek out God's message and understand the original writers' intended meaning. God's inspired word is useful as a guide to living.

The historic church understood this verse to mean that Scripture is always true and useful in its purpose of revealing God's character and God's purpose to redeem humans. Judaism never taught that the ancient Scriptures were a literal word of God. Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther recognized and acknowledged inconsistencies in Scripture in areas that did not pertain to the heart of the Gospel message.

4 views ot the Bible:

Infallible

This is the idea that what the Bible says is useful, true, and trustworthy regarding faith, salvation, and Christian practices. The historic position of the church is that the Holy Spirit inspired authors and their writing is faithful to the truth God wanted to express for our salvation. This view limits inerrancy to theological matters and God's self-revelation while allowing for errors in other fields.

Inerrant

Inerrancy is the belief that the Bible is without error in any aspect: timelines, history, biology, sociology, psychology, science, financial planning, and family life. This doctrine is that Scripture does not affirm anything contrary to fact. Inerrancy goes hand in hand with believing the Bible word for word. It leans towards literal or word-for-word translations from the Bible's original language. Other translations may be phrase-for-phrase or seek out the meaning of the original language and use language that is used today for that meaning. The doctrine of inerrancy is relatively recent in church doctrine supported primarily by Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, and Complementarians.

Literal

Many literalists build their approach to Bible study on 2 Timothy 3:16, saying the exact words of Scripture were given by God to the writers and compilers of the Bible. Stating that the Bible must be taken literally can put more focus on the authority of the Bible than on the authority of God or spiritual insights.

How Do You See the Bible?

All viewpoints see some passages as literal and historically accurate and others as allegory, poetry, metaphor, and parables. For example, when Jesus says he is a shepherd, we don't literally believe that he took sheep to a sheep pen. We understand it as a metaphor for a person who takes care of his followers in the same way as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. Similarly, when taking the bread at communion and quoting the Scripture where Jesus says, "take, eat, this is my body", most of us don't literally believe the bread changes into Jesus's flesh. Sometimes, taking the literal meaning can lead to the wrong conclusion. For example, ancient believers took the prophecies of the Messiah literally, leading them to incorrectly think the Messiah would be a political and military leader establishing an earthly kingdom. Many biblical truths can only be explained or understood by a parable or allegory.

Having a different perspective on a passage or different opinion on which portions of the Bible to take literally or figuratively does not take away from a person's high view of Scripture. Those who see biblical truth in the parables and metaphors of the Bible also base their approach on this verse, saying God inspired the Scripture by giving visions or insights to humans, who wrote, interpreted, and compiled the Bible.

2 Timothy 4

Paul closes by charging Timothy to preach the word at all times, correct and encourage with patience and care. Train people to know and obey sound doctrine. They will be tempted to teach whatever suits their own desires, turning from truth to myths.

Conservative Christians often use this passage to warn others to watch for good doctrine and to stay away from new insights or progressive ideas. They assume that the traditional understanding is not an interpretation. But what if the Bible through the centuries has been interpreted to suit the desires of kings, male priests, and a heteronormative culture? What if it is the conservative Christians that are accumulating many teachers to satisfy their desires for a male hierarchy, even when the Bible shows that the male hierarchal model is an error and not the way it is in God's kingdom (Matthew 20:25, Mark 10:42-43, Luke 22:25-27, John 18:36)?

Traditional interpretations were done by male theologians and priests who may have had an inclination or benefit to interpret Bible passages through a male lens. For example, the King James Version of the Bible was translated with policies to support the royal authority of the monarch (discouraging independence and encouraging submission). The KJV translator choices support female subordination, propriety, and meekness. (using the word wife instead of woman, saying women should learn in silence when the original language means quiet stillness/focus, or translating Phoebe as a servant instead of a deacon). The Slave Bible distributed to Blacks in America excluded passages about God granting freedom to the Israelites and about having freedom in Christ. The abridged version published in 1807 was titled "Parts of the Holy Bible, selected for the use of Negro Slaves". Traditional interpretations came to us through a heteronormative culture, thinking falsly that same-sex attraction was the result of lust or greed as opposed to an alternate orientation created by God. To be sure, traditional interpretations need to be tested to see if they have come to us through the biases of others. Have these interpretations resulted in man-made teachings that are not in the Bible? We can easily tell whether a Christian teaching is for self-gratification or not by the fruit that it bears. Does it scatter the proud, lift the lowly, and fill the hungry with good things as Mary prophesies in Luke 1:46-55? Does it result in the church showing the fruits of the Spirit like kindness, generosity, and gentleness (Galatians 5:22-23)?

As for Paul, he is ready to pour out his life as an offering. He has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. Paul looks forward to receiving a crown of righteousness. Paul asks Timothy to visit as soon as possible and bring John Mark. He says only Luke remains with him. Paul mentions others who have deserted Paul and fled Rome. No one came to Paul's support at his first court appearance, but God strengthened and delivered him from that trial. Paul names a false teacher for Timothy to avoid. Paul gives personal greetings to friends and co-workers in Ephesus and shares greetings from believers in Rome.

Conclusion

This letter commends women like Eunice and Lois for teaching the faith. Paul tells all believers, women and men, that the Holy Spirit gives them power and boldness. Paul tells Timothy to be kind, avoid quarrels, and gently correct those who teach false doctrine. Paul specifically shows concern for women who are vulnerable targets of false teachers. He repeats what he wrote in his first letter: to let women learn. Paul warns of coming spiritual attacks and encourages Timothy to rely on what Paul has taught him and depend on the Scriptures. Paul says God's divine inspiration provided the Hebrew Scripture, and it is useful for instruction, correction, and training in godliness. Paul says that the Scripture equips women and men to teach, correct, and admonish one another. Paul affirms the Holy Spirit gives strength to defend against earthly persecutions as well as spiritual attacks from false teachers. This letter tells believers not to be afraid but to rely on Scripture as a guide. The Spirit makes us bold. We can press on to win the race and receive a crown of righteousness.

Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with Christian fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:

• Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1

• The Sword A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role

• Because She Was Called: from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church, imagines Mary Magdalene's trip to testify before the emperor