Sufficient and Profitable (30)

As I mentioned earlier, the "man of God" in verse 17 is mainly referring to Timothy as a minister or preacher, instead of a Christian in general. Of course, much of what applies to a minister will also apply to any Christian, and what is sufficient for a preacher should also be sufficient for any believer. Nevertheless, Paul is indeed addressing some pressing problems relative to Timothy's situation as a minister, and since we cannot spare time to give a full exposition, we can consider only the primary emphasis of the verse.

Note again the problems and the people that Paul has brought up so far. He mentions people who are "lovers of themselves," "lovers of money," "not lovers of the good," "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God," and "having a form of godliness but denying its power," they are "evil men and imposters" who are "deceiving and being deceived."

Against the "terrible times" (3:1) in which Timothy must live, Paul reminds him that it would be enough if he would "continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of" since infancy. When Paul says this, he of course has in mind Timothy's ministerial duties and difficulties. Thus "the sacred writings" that Timothy has learned since he was an infant would be sufficient to sustain him, both as a Christian and as a minister, in these "terrible times." The Scripture is sufficient to sustain the minister as an individual believer, so that he would become and remain the opposite of these evil men that Paul has just described.

Then, Paul adds that by the Scripture, "the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (v. 17). Although the Scripture is certainly sufficient for an individual's sanctification, here the "good work" mainly refers to what Timothy must do as a minister. Paul is saying that the Scripture is also sufficient to equip Timothy for his ministry to other people.

Thus the Bible is not only sufficient to train and sustain the minister, but it is also sufficient to be used by the minister. Just how he ought to use the Scripture in ministry to others is a topic we will reserve for the section on the utility of Scripture (see v. 16). Right now, we will briefly consider the implications of Scripture being sufficient to equip the minister for every good work.

(to be continued)