2 Timothy 3:14-17

2 Timothy 3:14-17 - LSB

¹⁴ But you, continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Context

Paul is warning Timothy to warn him against false teachers and instructs him to “continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them”

Common Objections

Profitable But Not Sufficient (Verse 15)

Roman Catholicism interpret this passage differently. They argue that the Greek word translated as “profitable” (Ophelimos) does not mean “sufficient” (Ar’teos or Teleos), and therefore, the text only asserts that Scripture is profitable, not that it alone is sufficient. They might point to other things, like patience mentioned in James 1:4, that are also said to make someone “perfect and complete,” suggesting that if the logic used for Scripture were applied consistently, one would have to say only patience is needed.

Objection Answered

The text in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 describes Scripture as profitable for specific actions (teaching, reproof, correction, training) with the intended result or purpose (“in order that,” hina clause in verse 17) being that the man of God is made sufficient, complete, or thoroughly equipped (exartizō) for every good work. The dictionary definition of exartizō means “to make someone completely adequate or sufficient.”¹ Being thoroughly equipped for every good work implies that Scripture is indeed sufficient for all the tasks required of a man of God.

It is difficult to maintain that Scripture merely makes one profitable while simultaneously asserting that it thoroughly equips the man of God for every good work. The very ability (ta dynamena) of the Scriptures to make one wise unto salvation (sōtēria), coupled with their God-breathed nature and the stated result of equipping for every good work, points to their sufficiency as the infallible rule of faith.

Additionally, while acknowledging the word Ophelimos (profitable), the emphasis in the Sola Scriptura view presented is on the nature of Scripture itself – that it is God-breathed (Theopneustos). The argument is that because Scripture is Theopneustos, it is the ultimate authority. God speaking admits of no higher or equal authority. This God-breathed nature inherently gives Scripture the capacity or ability (ta dynamena in verse 15, referring to the Scriptures) to make one wise unto salvation and to fully equip the man of God.

The “Scripture” That is Referred to in This Passage is Only the Old Testament.

The argument is raised by Catholic apologists, such as Carlo Broussard, who point out that in 2 Timothy 3, Paul is telling Timothy about the scriptures he has known “from his childhood”. Since the New Testament was not yet fully written or compiled when Timothy was a child, the scriptures being referred to must primarily, or solely, be the Old Testament (the Tanakh). The argument then is that if this passage is used to support Sola Scriptura (the sufficiency of Scripture), it would logically prove only the sufficiency of the Old Testament, which would be “absurd” as it would mean the New Testament isn’t needed.

Objection Answered

• The scriptures Timothy knew from childhood were indeed the Old Testament. There is no reason to fight about that.

• The core of the response is that this Catholic argument makes an improper assumption: that Paul’s statement in 2 Timothy 3:16 is intended to address or define the extent or boundaries of the canon at that specific time.

• Instead, the phrase “All Scripture is God-breathed” (Pasa Graphe Theanustos) is a statement about the nature or character of Scripture itself. It declares that whatever is Scripture is God-breathed.

• The point of the passage is that the man of God is thoroughly equipped for ministry by that which is Theanustos (God-breathed)

• Therefore, while for Timothy in his youth this applied to the Tanakh, the question for the church today is what we have that is Theanustos.

• Crucially, even Roman Catholic apologists technically agree that only Scripture is ontologically God-breathed (“Theanustos”); sacred tradition and the magisterium are not.

• Thus, the passage directs believers to the ultimate authority, which is God-breathed Scripture. For the church today, this includes the completed New Testament canon precisely because it is God-breathed revelation, not because the passage was limited to Timothy’s personal collection of scrolls.

• The speaker also notes that Carlo Broussard himself, in the clip played, admitted that the Roman Catholic Church applies this text to the New Testament as well, implicitly extending the scope beyond just the Old Testament.²

Footnotes

1. From the Louw & Nida Dictionary - Dr James White - YouTube ↩︎

2. “Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (see John 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.” (Source) ↩︎