The Greatest Story Ever Told

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good action” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Perhaps few texts of the Bible are more misunderstood than 2 Timothy 3:16–17. The passage is as good a purpose statement for the Bible as can be found therein. But how might we best interpret it?

In the creation story in Genesis, God breathes life into humankind (Genesis 2:7). In the Gospel of John, Jesus breathes on his disciples for them to receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). The very same language is also employed here: God breathes out the Scripture. Christian theologians refer to this phenomenon as “inspiration”—that is, the Bible is inspired by God.

Though God is the source of life, he shares his power with humankind, allowing them real freedom to contribute to the developing of the created order and course of history. Though Jesus chose and empowered his first disciples to be his representatives, instead of dictating their every move, he provided them only a general program to follow in his physical absence, namely, to make other disciples.

We should understand Scripture in much the same way. It in some sense originates from God and will accomplish God’s purpose for it (see, for example, Isaiah 55:11). But it is, at the same time, the product of human beings—real people, living in real times and places, experiencing real circumstances, all of which shape their understanding of God, the world, and their relationship to both.

Yes, God allows regular people—with all their shortcomings—to tell the rest of the world about him. God meets us—and partners with us—where we are at.

As such, while this library of ancient texts we call the Bible contains a fair amount of diversity of theological perspectives, it ultimately coheres into a grand narrative—a story that leads us to the person of Jesus Christ, the final and complete revelation of God, to whom all authority has been given (Matthew 28:18).

Let’s be clear, the Bible is not given by God to teach us about science. The ancient biblical writers simply did not understand what we know today about the natural world. For scientific understanding one must examine nature, which is part and parcel of the human calling that is taught in the Bible (see Genesis 1:26–28).

While it contains much reliable history, it is neither foremost a history book that should be expected to inerrantly tell us what happened in the past.

Rather, the Bible is a salvation story. It is, moreover, a living story; one in which we are invited to participate, and which can thereby shape our lives, as we come to know Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6)—better through its pages.

Indeed, this work of “shaping our lives” is its divinely appointed purpose. That is what 2 Timothy 3:16–17 actually says! The things for which the Bible is useful—teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness—serves the purpose of “equipping the person of God for every good action.”

A high view of Scripture does not mean making the Bible into something it is not. God knew what he was doing when he gifted us with it. Rather, a high view of Scripture means that we take it seriously enough to obey the Lord it presents to us. As the author of Hebrews explains,

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:1–3).

Let us receive this Word accordingly.