Act 20:32 & 2-Timothy 3:16-17
I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able . . . 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.
What of Today’s Verse…
God’s word (which is “the word of His grace”) is characterized by heavenly capability: “which is able . . . and is profitable for.” By God’s grace at work, the scriptures can bring us increasingly into the wholeness that is ours in Christ, as well as fully equip us for service unto Christ.
All of the word of God’s grace is divinely inspired. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Although written through the instrumentality of men, its message is what God wanted to say. Therefore, the word is able to bring great spiritual profit into our lives: “and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” God’s word “is profitable for doctrine.” This involves the teaching ministry of the word, revealing to us the path of godliness. “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path” (Psa_119:105). Also, God’s word “is profitable for . . . reproof.” This involves the admonishing ministry of the word, telling us when we are drifting from God’s path. “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition” (1Co_10:11). Further, God’s word “is profitable for . . . correction.” This involves the restoring ministry of the word, calling us back to the straight and narrow path of godliness. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isa_55:7). Finally, God’s word “is profitable for . . . instruction in righteousness.” This involves the transforming ministry of the word, moving us on down the path of Christ likeness. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror [the mirror of the word] the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2Co_3:18).
As we allow God’s word to carry on this profitable, four-fold process, His grace is bringing us into a greater experience of the wholeness that is available to us in Christ: “that the man of God may be complete.” Additionally, this process is preparing us comprehensively to serve the Lord in any manner that He desires: “thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Let us Pray:
Dear Lord, I need the word of Your grace at work in my life daily. Please impact my life by the supernatural ability of Your word. Teach me, reprove me, correct me, and instruct me in righteousness that I might walk in Your wholeness and serve for Your glory, Amen.
Words of Wisdom
The Call Of God
Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel; but remember what Paul means by “the gospel,” viz., the reality of Redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are apt to make sanctification the end-all of our preaching. Paul alludes to personal experience by way of illustration, never as the end of the matter. We are nowhere commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification; we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (John 12:32). It is a travesty to say that Jesus Christ travailed in Redemption to make me a saint. Jesus Christ travailed in Redemption to redeem the whole world, and place it unimpaired and rehabilitated before the throne of God. The fact that Redemption can be experienced by us is an illustration of the power of the reality of Redemption, but that is not the end of Redemption. If God were human, how sick to the heart, and weary He would be of the constant requests, we make for our salvation, for our sanctification. We tax His energies from morning till night for things for ourselves – something for me to be delivered from! When we touch the bedrock of the reality of the Gospel of God, we shall never bother God any further with little personal plaints.
The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the Gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreaks, disillusionments, tribulation, for one reason only, because these things kept him in unmoved devotion to the Gospel of God.
“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 1:17
