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  • 3 Letters from the Apostle John

    3 Letters from the Apostle John

    The world cannot think of John without a picture of a young man next to JESUS who wrote,“God so loved the world…”

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. JOHN 3:16 green man
    John to the seven churches which are in Asia: map with cities pictured and the island of Patmos

    Or Christians perhaps recall the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John on Patmos with little consideration of his age or the path of the Apostle leading him to this isolated Greek island.

    Three intimate letters to believers 

    The A.D. 90's - the END of an era 
    — JOHN's Apostolic love and truth for fidelity in the faith.

    The Elder John writes three letters — along with Jude, the LAST EPISTLES of the New Testament.

    Although our focus will be 2 John and 3 John, I will include 1 John in this overview written about the same time.

    In order to set the cultural stage of the Church enduring beyond the end of the A.D. first century, consider that the Elder writes his 3 Epistles some sixty years after the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

    map of Ephesus near the churches where John was an Elder "an epistle from John - Elder to the Churches 1 John 2 john 3 John

    Introduction to an Era not unlike our own:

    INTRO – MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY 1-3 JOHN

    quoting Donald W Burdick

    Apart from the Judaeo-Christian sphere, the world was religiously inclusivistic. There was always room for a new religion, provided of course that it was not of an exclusive nature. Syncretism[‘s].. characteristic expression was in the combination of various ideas and beliefs from different sources to form new or aberrant religions. This was the age of of the developing mystery religions, the age of the occult, ane age of the proliferation of Gnostic sects.

    MACARTHUR Commentary 1-3 John, p.1

    Recall from Acts how the young Apostle Jesus loved also preached the Gospel of our risen Lord boldly along with Simon Peter in the Temple. But that was about sixty years ago .

    In the year of our Lord 90

    (approximately)

    Keep in mind that ALL dates used for comparison to various 1st c. events are approximate, but reveal a chronology of John's life.
    • John’s own Gospel account of the events of JESUS’s incarnate life had already been written and distributed to the churches some five to ten years ago.
    • Mark, Matthew and Luke had written and sent out their Gospel’s some thirty years before, back in the 50’s and 60’s.
    • Several missionary journeys of the Paul (begun in A.D. 47) along with many others had concluded prior to the Apostle’s death along with Peter in Rome [~ A.D. 66] also some twenty to thirty years before these final epistles of John.
      • Paul had founded this church in Ephesus where John now serves as an Elder.
      • Paul had written to it as well some forty years before, back in the early A.D. 60’s.

    Rome had political problems of its own.

    In addition to putting down a Jewish revolt in Jerusalem [A.D. 66] and destroying the Temple [A.D. 70], the Caesar’s frequently blamed and banished Christians for their political problems in Rome and other cities of the Empire.

    terrors of death of Jerusalem's defenders and destruction temple by Rome in A.D. 70

    An Apostolic Dogma of John

    The 21st c. Common Era church speaks so little of dogma that I must define it.

    Dogma – 1. A doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith, set forth in an authoritative manner by a religion.

    The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language

    This is what I refer to as Apostolic Faith, which includes all Apostolic authority continuing through Scripture to this day.

    Referring to the "we" statements of 1 John, the author speaks on behalf of the Twelve." 

    John Stott observes:

    He does not hesitate to call certain classes of people liars, deceivers or antichrists. .. they either have God or have not, know God or do not, have live or abide in death, walk in darkness or in the light, are children of God or children of the devil.

    This dogmatic authority of the writer is seen particularly in his statements and in his commands.

    John Stott commentary, quoted by MacArthur, p.4

    a culture combining aberrant and mystery religions 

    Stick with me on some abridged definitions for your understanding of the A.D. 1st century, (again, not so unlike our 21st century of the Common Era).
    • syncretism –
      • .. fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, ..the result is heterogeneous – AHD
    • aberrant –
      • 3. straying from the right way – AHD
    • mystery religions – (What typifies them?)
      • any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman world that offered to individuals religious experiences not provided by the official public religions.
      • .. initiation in Greece became a matter of personal choice.
      • The mystery religions reached their peak of popularity in the first three centuries a.d. Their origin, however, goes back to the earlier centuries of Greek history.
        • Source: Britannica

    The DANGER of gnostics!

    For those of you who really don’t know much about false religions, before we begin John’s three strongly-worded epistles, I need to define this great threat to the Church — gnosticism.

    of a person (25 terms) gnostic 1607–
    Historical. (With capital initial.) Chiefly plural.

    The designation given to certain heretical sects among the early Christians who claimed to…

    source: OED

    Until fairly recently the term was generally applied collectively to the majority of those 2nd cent. movements which called themselves Christian or borrows heavily from Christian sources, but which were rejected by the main stream of Christian tradition.

    more..

    .. Gnostic systems which make testing intellectual demands, others which depend on mumbo-jumbo and sleight of hand.

    .. high-minded ascetic, and others who are licentious charlatans.

    “GNOSTICISM” – Tenney Encyclopedia of the Bible, pub. ZONDERVAN, vol.2, p.736-739

    The gnostic doctrine of God

    Gnostics borrowed from the anti-christian philosophers:

    • ‘that God is so utterly transcendent that He can have no direct contact with the world;
    • and can have no contact with God..’
    • THEREFORE, they conclude:
    • ‘Man is thus a creature of mixed origin, a mixture of incompatibles.
    • Christianity is ‘self-condemned:’

    ..the claim that God became man is impossible, since God and Matter could not mix.

    ibid. p.736

    God is conceived as remote from all material creation..

    If God’s transcendence implies the impossibility of His contact with matter, how could God take a human body —(*that of Christ, whom the gnostics oppose) — still less suffer in one?

    ibid. p.737

    John’s opposition to developing heresies

    Various heresies of the A.D. first century antichrists creeping into the houses of worship in various places led John to write his epistles to the faithful who believed his Gospel of the the Lord Jesus Christ. The Elder’s purpose in writing is to urge the faithful to REJECT false gospels, false philosophies cloaked in christian garments and especially to send away FALSE teachers.

    MacArthur continues in his commentary on 1 John 1-4:

    He [the Elder John] clearly expected his readers to obey his commands unquestioningly. Only an apostle, known and respected by those whom he addressed, could have written such an authoritative letter and not given his name.

    ibid. p.5

    John’s first epistle clearly calls on those under his Apostolic authority to apply the test of faith he puts forth and to obey his commands of how to deal with these liars, deceivers and antichrists bringing false faith into the practices of their gatherings and worship.

    The Elder’s second and third epistles, the shortest of John’s letters (other than the brief tests revealed to the 7 churches in his apocalypse) addresses certain faithful leaders of the Church more personally with specific individual instructions.

    Key Scriptures from Epistles of the Elder

    John will reiterate some of his purpose in writing in his second and third Epistles, the focus of our Apostolic look at his last letters. The partial list from 1 John provides a larger context for the Apostle’s last two letters near the end of the A.D. first century.

    the First Letter of John the Elder and Apostle of Jesus Christ

    Key verses from 1 John

    1 John 1:3-5,9; 2:1,10-11,15,18,26,28-29; 3:5-6,8,18; 4:3-4,10,19; 5:1,13,18-19

    This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

    1 Letter of John 1:5 ESV

    Do you want to know IF someone truly believes that JESUS Christ is the Lord — the only Son of God?

    Without introduction, the Elder John writes to the Church in his own Apostolic authority with two tests for the saints of God to know if another has fellowship with God — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

    1. Belief in God
      • .. if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
        • 1 John 1:7 (and in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 5:8)
    2. Certainty of Sin
      • If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
        • 1 John 8
      • If we confess our sins, he is faithful..
        • 1 John 9a

    If we say we have not sinned, we make him [Jesus Christ] a liar, and his word is not in us.

    1 John 1:10 ESV

    John provides a plumb line to delineate true faith in Christ.

    The beloved Apostle makes clear that those who claim falsely to have no sin, ‘lie and do not practice the truth,’ a direct affront on the claim of some that the body can sin while the spirit separately remains pure.

    Fellowship

    Love and fellowship permeate the Apostle’s larger focus not only in John’s Gospel, but in the 3 Letters from the Elder as well.

    κοινωνία – koinōnia is the share which one has in anything, participation; intercourse (between loved ones, but not eros), fellowship (between near friends), intimacy (as that of family members who live lovingly together with each other).

    BluueLetteBible.org – Strong’s G2842 – koinōnia *with parenthetical clarity added by RH

    What does this mean in relation to God?

    Perfect PERSONAL fellowship of the One Triune GOD in the Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

    Fellowship between the Father and the Son.

    Fellowship between believers and the Holy Spirit.

    AND within the Church — the Body of Christ — fellowship of personal relationship in the love of the Light of life, our Lord Jesus Christ.

    John, in the authority of Christ, sows the seeds of the Father’s love given in the Person of the Son redeeming us from our sins.

    Do not love [agapaō] the world or the things in the world.

    If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ..the world is passing away along with its desires,

    but whoever does the will of God [theos] abides forever.

    1 John 2:15,17 ESV

    The Apostle urges a fellowship with the loving Person of the Father, not simply an acknowledgment of God, Who IS forever.

    Have fellowship with God.. and fellowship with Light.. fellowship AND love [agapaō  & phileō]…

    Obey God, because of His love for you and His holy ones..

    Propitiation of a Personal God 

    Propitiation would seem to be a technical theological term unfamiliar to many Common Era Christians. 
    The concept is important.. and not so difficult.

    ἱλασμός – hilasmos –

    from a Greek root word found only in John’s first letter

    – English translations: propitiation, the sacrifice that atones, atoning sacrifice, expiation, sacrifice to take away

    Christ’s love for His Church.

    The ‘one Jesus loved’ (the Elder’s own self-identification) instructs believers in how to relate to God as your personal loving God, as John himself had experienced God in Jesus Christ.

    Herein is love [agapē],
    not that we loved God,
    but that he loved us,
    and sent his Son
    to be the propitiation
    for our sins.

    1 John 4:10 KJV

    What human father would do that?

    Is OUR love of God the reason Christ became the propitiation for our sins and the sins of the world? NO!

    It is the LOVE — agapē — of our Father in heaven, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father who in His love for us Personally sacrificed Jesus to the Cross for the price of our sins.

    Jesus is The Christ!

    Therefore, in light of the cultural challenges we introduced as an impetus for the Elder’s epistles, John calls on the Church to identify antichrists among us — that is, heretics and gnostics. 

    We will not again address end times today as before.
    7 Epistles of John with the same Revelation

    The Elder addresses his beloved saints in Ephesus (and other churches):

    Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,

    even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

    I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

    Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

    First Epistle of John 2:19-20.22 King James Version 

    Now don't go calling any of your questionable 'christian' colleagues, 'antichrists.' 
    The Elder explains why some saints will sit under Godly teaching while others listen only for a time they hope to influence the body.. and then leave the church.

    ‘Do Not Love the World,’ ‘Beware of Antichrists,’ and ‘Remain in Christ,’ read the subheadings for these.

    Behold what manner of love..

    We recognize this same Apostle once nearest to Jesus as the Elder now embraces his fellow saints with the same concern for their souls as Christ held for His Disciples.

    Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!

    The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

    Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed.

    1 John 3:1-2a BSB

    ‘You know that he [Jesus] appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin,’ John reminds [ESV].

    No one who abides in him keeps on sinning..

    1 John 3:6a ESV

    The Elder then continues in his delineation between the saints of Jesus and antichrists of the devil:

    By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil:

    whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

    1 John 3:10 ESV

    the Elder’s foundational exhortation of his epistle

    My little children,
    let us not love in word, neither in tongue;
    but in deed and in truth.

    1 letter of John 3:18 KJV

    On Denying the Incarnation

    This heading from the NIV addresses John’s concern for the saints holding fast to the truth of the Gospel in the recognition of the false teachers of tolerant gnosticism, inclusivist universalism and other antichrists posing as the godly.

    Dear friends,

    do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:

    Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.

    This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

    1 John 4:1-3 NIV

    John comforts: ‘You, dear children, are from God.. [v.4] and warns:

    They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

    1 John 4:5 NIV

    Of course the world entangled in sin will neither accept the Truth of Christ or His Incarnation and return in a final Judgment.

    Herein is love.. agapaō

    In this is love, not that we have loved God,
    but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins...

    We love,
    because He first loved us.

    1 John 4:10,19 LSB
    John the Elder

    John’s Conclusion to his First Letter

    Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.

    We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him.

    1 John 5:1,19 BSB

    That is, proclaims the Elder: Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and Son of God, protects you, beloved saint and holy one of His, from Satan and the anti-christs of this passing world.

    Next: the last 2 of 3 letters

    3 Letters from the Elder John 3 paintings of the Apostle John as the Elder and one as a young Apostle of Jesus Christ

  • JOHN – Good NEWS for Common Era Sinners

    JOHN – Good NEWS for Common Era Sinners

    The following Scriptural Rerun, although not a part of our current Apostolic Faith SERIES, will provide additional context for our look at the Gospel of John written about five years before the Elder's Epistles.

    READ any post linked below from our 2020 SERIES from the Gospel of John

    Intro to the Gospel [Good News] of John

    IN THE BEGINNING: λόγος logos

    Reintroduction of 2020 series from John’s Gospel

    READ more about JOHN, Good News author best known to a Common Era audience by just a few famous verses from his Gospel.

    Talk of Jesus .com SERIES from the Gospel of John

    • application to A.D. 2020 until Christ’s return,
    • Scriptural exposition in the context of A.D. 85-90,
    two men in discussion behind this building is closes sign in a large church
    19 March AD2020 Churches ordered closed
    ..while during recent months:
    • some sought to stream the stage of worship
    • some sent seeker-friendly scripture into our homes
    • some church communities disintegrated while others diminished & distanced (like our 2020 remote office meetings complete with slides).

    To review the Gospel of John, simply click on any link in the outline below & it will open in a new window.

    Roger – author of A.D. 2020 series on the Gospel ‘Good NEWS’ of John

    I hope you were blessed by the secure links to reliable sites for further study of Scripture, as well as insight into the 1st century church of John’s Gospel (written ~A.D.- 90).

    Scripture encourages us to a more mature faith.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com

    John’s Prologue – Good News!

    IN THE BEGINNING was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

    ALL THINGS came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of

    MANKIND.

    And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.

    14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

    The Book of the Prologue

    John’s Prologue [1:1-18], from which the Apostle next proceeds to the testimony of John the Baptist and the Messiah’s calling of the Twelve, states many important theological themes & along with his Epilogue [21:1-25 {linked below}] provides additional depth of purpose of John’s Gospel.

    John’s Prologue & Epilogue

    “Follow Me

    In A.D. 2020, this is where we began our deep dive into the Good News of John.

    No one has seen God at any time;
    the only begotten God [Son] who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

    John 1:18 NASB
    talkofJesus.com Again Jesus said, "Follow Me."

    Signs – Jesus IS the Messiah

    Teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ

    ‘My Father’s House – John 2
    “How can these things be?” John 3:9 Nicodemus and Christ
    “You must be born again.
    I am the Messiah – John 4
    Before Abraham was, I AM
    John 11
    “He who loves his [fn]life loses it, and he who hates his [fn]life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
    “..and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
    that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
    also love one another-John 13
    Jesus eternal life John 17-9-10
    Jesus prays – John 17
    cross words Who's in charge? and a question of Authority
    Jesus answered him – John 19:11
    Jesus said:

    Gospel of John

    “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! – John 1:29b

    As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. – John 9:1

    Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?” – John 8:53

    “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

    My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

    and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. – John 10:26-28

    Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.”

    .. “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.

    Do you believe this?”

    – John 11:23,25

    MORE of John’s Good NEWS on TalkofJESUS.com

    About the Author John -2- Sons of Zebedee

    The Gatekeeper & the Shepherds – the Door

    Before Abraham was, I AM

    If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly

    In any unexpected crisis of these last days what does mankind fear most?

    from Lazarus – HELP from the grave

    Death!

    John Good NEWS of Good Friday

    It is finished.. + Death’s witnesses

    John Good NEWS AFTER DEATH

    Witnesses to Jesus Risen! – the Eleven, a Passing Witness

    The Hour Is Come

    “Indeed, an hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home..

    .. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

    • John 16:32-34 excerpt CSB
    • “Take heart,” the Lord Jesus encourages disciples, I have overcome the world.”
    two men in discussion behind this building is closes sign in a large church

    And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

    John 20:20 KJV

    Unrelenting Bad NEWS of A.D. 2020

    What must I do with the GOOD NEWS

    of Jesus Christ?

    John Good News for A.D. 2020 – A.D. ∞

    Hear all the unrelenting bad news of yesterday or today or any future year in the Common Era of these last days.

    For followers of Jesus, His death diminished life’s hope in eternal life;

    that is, until the GOOD NEWS of the Lord’s resurrection reached the eyes and ears and touch of His dearly beloved friends.

    John and the Disciples witnessed the Lord Jesus in His Risen Flesh several times after His resurrection, as had hundreds of other disciples also seen their risen Christ!

    but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

    John – GOOD NEWS from the NKJV 20:21

    “Peace be with you.”

    And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

    John 20:20

    Their sorrow had turned into joy and so must ours; for in Christ Jesus his disciples of every generation have eternal life through His sacrifice for our sins. This is our Gospel, John’s Good News to those who would believe.

    John 20:20

    John’s Epilogue

    John 20:30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

    But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

    John 20:21 CSB

    Go in Peace and Believe

    I pray that the Lord has blessed you through the Gospel of John in A.D. 2020 and now I might add, the Good NEWS of John by God’s grace continuing these last days in 2023 of the Common Era ..

    May our Lord Jesus Christ 
draw you into His grace, 
giving you new hope of Eternal Life in the remaining years of our Common Era of 2023 and beyond if it is God's will,

in the Name of the Father and the Son Christ JESUS, Who IS and Was and will judge all things when the Lord returns, and the Holy Spirit who sustains saved sinners in these last days.

AMEN.

    Talk of JESUS . com

    Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel

  • 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture

    2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture

    But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures,

    which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

    Second Letter of Paul to Timothy 3:14-15 NKJV

    The Apostle Paul will now show his successors, including at the time of his impending execution Timothy in Ephesus, how they must refute false teaching by focusing on Scripture. 

    Today's look at 2 Timothy within our SERIES of Apostolic Faith is primarily TOPICAL with focus on SCRIPTURE and its related terms. - RH

    Scripture is…

    Many of us tend toward an easy answer of quoting scripture as a single and particular verse within a chapter, within a book, within a category of books, i.e. the Torah. Yet this epistle of Paul and books of the Prophets often point to additional books for origin, application and/or context.

    the Scriptures are books

    Paul reminds Timothy: “.. you have known the Holy Scriptures..”, translated from the Greek: τὰ [ho] ἱερὰ [hieros] γράμματα [gramma] οἶδας [you have known].

    No doubt you recognize the Greek word for Scripture – gramma, as grammar.

    • γράμμα grámma, gram’-mah; from G1125; a writing, i.e. a letter, note, epistle, book, etc.; plural; learning:—bill, learning, letter, scripture, writing, written.

    Writings

    Yet let’s not miss that the Apostle Paul points Timothy to the ‘scriptures‘ [plural] and more importantly with specific reference that those writings that are “holy.”

    HOLY BIBLE

    Biblia

    The earliest Christian use of ta biblia (the books) in this sense is said to be 2 Clement 2:14 (c. a.d. 150): “The books and the apostles declare that the church . . . has existed from the beginning.” (Compare Dan. 9:2, “I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures,” where the reference is to the corpus of Old Testament prophetic writings.) Greek biblion (of which biblia is the plural) is a diminutive of biblos, which in practice denotes any kind of written document, but originally one written on papyrus.

    A term synonymous with“the Bible” is“the writings” or “the Scriptures” (Greek hai graphai, ta grammata), frequently used in the New Testament to denote the Old Testament documents in whole or in part. For example, Matthew 21:42 says, “Have you never read in the Scriptures?” (en tais graphais). The parallel passage, Mark 12:10, has the singular, referring to the particular text quoted,“Haven’t you read this Scripture?” (ten graphen tauten).

    Source: The Origin of the Bible – Tyndale Publishers

    Old Testament

    lamentations scroll page 1 - the lament and weeping of the Prophet Jeremiah after his predicted fall of Jerusalem takes place
    tablet of the 10 Commands from the Pentateuch or Law of Moses received from the LORD in Exodus

    17:14 וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה כְּתֹב זֹאת זִכָּרוֹן בַּסֵּפֶר וְשִׂים בְּאָזְנֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ

    And the LORD said to Moses,

    “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua..

    Exodus 17:14a – Masoretic Text, Revised Standard Version

    Strong’s H3789 – kāṯaḇ (for write) is the same Hebrew word used in the giving of the Commandments.



    And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai,
    two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written H3789
    with the finger of God.

    Exodus 31:18 KJV

    “Write this as a memorial in a book,” the LORD instructs Moses to give to his successor Joshua.

    New testament

    Some pastors and teachers wander from the Truth of Scripture by dismissing Old Testament Law and especially the Prophets from the hearing and remembrance of their church.

    “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

    .. there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.

    “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.

    “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

    New Testament Gospel of John 5:43, 45b-47 NKJV

    The Lord Jesus Christ, however, connects His own testimony to that of the Hebrew Bible:

    “.. he (Moses) wrote [γράφω – graphō] about Me, ” states the Lord Jesus. And the Christ or Messiah of Israel adds:

    “But if you do not believe his (Moses’) writings [γράμμα – gramma], how will you believe My words [ῥῆμα – rhēma]?”

    This, in addition to being a frequent warning of Christ, became an Apostolic word of warning written in several epistles to A.D. first century pastors.

    a word from The Apostle Peter

    Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words [rhēma] of eternal life

    Gospel of John 6:68 – Jesus’ Apostles remain faithful as the Lord’s crucifixion approaches

    BUT THE WORD G4487 OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.”

    And this is the word G4487 which was proclaimed to you as good news.

    1 Peter 1:25

    I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles..

    2 Peter 3:1a-2 LSB

    Peter’s Steadfast Purpose and the coming Day of the Lord

    All Scripture…

    Paul in his second pastoral epistle to Timothy also provides a remembrance of Scripture for generations to follow.

    Second Timothy 3:15 (RSV)

    speaks of “the sacred writings”

    (ta hiera grammata), and the next verse says,

    “All Scripture is God-breathed”

    (pasa graphe theopneustos).

    In 2 Peter 3:16 “all” the letters of Paul are included along with “the other Scriptures” (tas loipas graphas),

    by which the Old Testament writings and probably also the Gospels are meant.

    ibid.

    It is written… 

    Is the phrase familiar?
    • as it is written in the book of the law of Moses – Joshua 8:31
    • Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. – 2 Kings 23:21
    • Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book [sēp̄er] it is written [kāṯaḇ] of me.. – Psalm 40:7

    Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

    “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’[Jesus, quoting Isaiah 54:13]

    Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

    Gospel of John 6:43-45 NKJV

    Then I said, “Behold, I come;

    In the scroll of the book it is written H3789 of me.

    Psalm:40:7  (WLC 40:8) אָז אָמַרְתִּי הִנֵּה־בָאתִי בִּמְגִלַּת־סֵפֶר כָּתוּב עָלָי׃

    כָּתַב kâthab, kaw-thab’; a primitive root; to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe):—describe, record, prescribe, subscribe, write(-ing, -ten).

    Strong’s Number H3789 matches the Hebrew כָּתַב (kāṯaḇ),
    which occurs 226 times in 212 verses in the WLC Hebrew.

    The Holy Writings of God dominate the remembrance of Old Testament faith and New Testament credibility.

    Inerrant TRUTH: Our reasoned Biblical Faith

    Theopneutos – inspired by God

    God CANNOT be wrong!

    Yet Satan would ask, “Did God really say…?” (And so do false teachers.)

    3:16 πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος

    theopneustos –

    • given by inspiration of God –
      • KJV & others
    • inspired by God –
      • CSB, NLT & others
    • God-breathed –
      • LSB, NIV & others
    • [given by divine inspiration] –
      • AMP
    • breathed out by God –
      • ESV

    “Every scripture inspired of God,” the ASV translates.

    “Every scripture is inspired by God,” reads the New English Translation.

    “Every scripture is divinely inspired,” in the Darby translation.

    “every Writing is God-breathed,” states Young’s Literal Translation.

    Pivotal Proof, IF you believe

    How do false teachers oppose God and Christ?

    First, in order to turn faithful saints of the church against God false teachers must attack Scripture. They do this with the subtlety of Satan with a simple turn of a word. For when all is said and done, false teachers insist that God is wrong and that they know why.

    In a section headed, SCRIPTURE PROVIDES INSTRUCTION FOR SANCTIFICATION (which of course false teachers want no part of), John MacArthur writes:

    Some scholars suggest that All Scripture is inspired should be translated,

    “All Scripture inspired by God is..,”

    which would leave open the possibility that some Scripture is not inspired by Him. But that rendering would make the Bible worthless as a reliable guide to divine truth, because we would then have no way to determine which part of it is inspired by God and which is not.

    Men would be left to their own finite and sinful devices and understanding ot discover what part of the Bible may be true and which may not, what part is God’s Word and what part is human conjecture.

    THE MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY – 2 TIMOTHY, P.142

    MacArthur definitively adds:

    Many men who wrote Scripture, such as Moses and Paul, were highly trained in human knowledge and wisdom, but that learning was not the source of divine truth they recorded. David was a highly gifted poet, .. but it was not the source of the divine truths in those psalms.

    ibid. p.143

    Does 2 Tim 3:16 prove the inspiration of all Scripture or just some? 

    excerpt from: A POPULAR HANDBOOK ON BIBLE DIFFICULTIES

    PROBLEM:

    Some think that the word “all” should be replaced by “every.” Plus, one believe that.. “is” should be placed after.. not before.

    SOLUTION:

    [edited excerpt] .. those that translate this verse with “is” after “God” make it sound like there are some scriptures not inspired of God. “all” should be translated, “every” if the definite article is missing. However, whenever the word “Scripture” (graphē) is used in the NT, it always refers to authoritative and inspired writings— never the opposite…

    Paul’s context here refers to “the Holy Scriptures” (1:15) Timothy’s Jewish mother and grandmother had taught him (2 Tim 1:5), and this could be none other than the whole Jewish OT.

    WHEN CRITICS ASK, Norman Geisler & Thomas Howe, pp 505-506

    πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ — ALL SCRIPTURE given by inspiration of God, and…

    4 Profitable Imperatives

    The Apostle Paul then continues to instruct Timothy and readers of his pastoral epistle in HOW TO APPLY the TRUTH of GOD-BREATHED SCRIPTURE.

    By 'profitable,' Paul means helpful or advantageous

    Once again, let’s just list Paul’s MUST DO list from various translations noting also the interralationship of these actions of applying Scripture.

    • doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction, teaching, rebuking, reprimand, correcting, training, [in righteousness], conviction [of sin], reproof
    • “omnis scriptura divinitus inspirata
      • et utilis ad docendum ad arguendum ad corrigendum ad erudiendum in iustitia’
        • from the Latin Vulgate

    WE resist many of these Scriptural imperatives; but the Apostle Paul assures Christ-followers that GOD breathed-out the Commandments WRITTEN in the BIBLE. 

    Let's simplify Paul's four-point list in 2 Timothy 3:16
    1. DOCTRINE – didaskalia
    2. REPROOF – elegchos
    3. CORRECTION – epanorthōsis
    4. INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS – paideia en dikaiosynē
    Do you really believe that? doctrine - a line in the sand [picture of Jesus kneeling down to draw a line with his finger

    Doctrine, learning, teaching or Instruction

    The Scriptures serve as a comprehensive guide for teaching and imparting knowledge about God, His will, and His ways. … The Bible provides moral and spiritual guidance, helping believers understand the nature of God and the principles of His kingdom.

    BibleHub.com

    Hebrews 1:1-2

    proof, conviction:—evidence, reproof.

    • a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested
    • conviction

    Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence G1650 of things not seen.

    Hebrews 11:1

    correction, improvement of life or character,

    restoration to an upright or right state – a derivative of the base of G3717; to straighten up:—lift (set) up, make straight.

    correction - "THINK ABOUT THINGS - differently (upside dows)

    And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up…

    And He [Jesus] laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

    Gospel of Luke 13:11,13 NKJV

    ἐπανόρθωσις – a straightening up again, i.e. (figuratively) rectification (reformation):—correction.

    Paul assures Timothy that Scripture can rectify that false teaching which has made your spirit and life crooked with sin.

    Proverbs 22:6 = saying to teach your children part of the books of wisdom of the Old Testament which also includes Ecclesiastes by Solomon written with the wisdom and experience of old age

    Instruction in righteousness –

    • the whole training and education of children
    • (which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment)
    • It also includes the training and care of the body

    παιδεία paideía, pahee-di’-ah; from G3811; tutorage, i.e. education or training; by implication, disciplinary correction:—chastening, chastisement, instruction, nurture.

    Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

    to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

    6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath,

    but bring them up in the

    TRAINING [G3809]

    and admonition of the Lord.

    Paul’s protégé and young pastor to the saints at Ephesus, will not overlook his apostolic example as the type of righteousness required in the instruction of Scripture.

    That the man of God may be perfect

    thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

    2 Timothy 3:17 KJV 

    One last word here about ALL SCRIPTURE, before the Apostle pushes on to PREACH THE WORD.

    ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ – that perfect may be

    Perfection (used in the King James Version) refers to perfection in Christ.

    Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

    Gospel of Matthew 5:48 KJV – Jesus teaching the crowds in the Beautitudes

    Other translations use ‘complete.’

    Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

    Revelation of Jesus Christ to John: 3:2 ESV – To the Church in Sardis

    Still other translations point the preacher of God to Scripture as essential to be: fit, adequate, capable, or proficient.

    ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος – of God the man

    The Apostle is addressing the man of God, a technical phrases used only of Timothy in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it is frequently used as a title for one who proclaimed the Word of God. In this context, man of God refers most directly to Timothy and, by extension, to all preachers.

    John MacArthur New Testament Commentary – 2 Timothy, p.162

    πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν – unto all works good

    • πρός – pros – unto, to the advantage of
    • πᾶς – G3956 – pas, all (17x in 2 Timothy)
      • ALL, again same as in ‘all scripture’
    • ἔργον ἀγαθὸν, ergon agathos, lit. works good
      • (and in the Greek, followed by ‘thoroughly furnished.’

    And Paul’s practical preparation for the man of God gives good reason:

    The Apostle prescribes SCRIPTURE as a preacher’s tools, useful for building good works among the saints of their church.

    ἐξηρτισμένος – thoroughly furnished

    • throughly [KJV prior to 16th c. archaic]furnished
      • unto all good works.

    ἐξαρτίζω exartízō, means: to furnish perfectly; to finish, accomplish, (as it were, to render the days complete).

    One instance of this concept takes place when John the Baptist objected to Jesus that Christ should be baptizing him.

    And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: G737 for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

    Matthew 3:15 KJV

    Scripture Written – the Word Spoken

    In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

    And God said…

    Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.

    Genesis 1:1-3a, Psalm 99:6 KJV

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

    Gospel of John 1:1-2 KJV

    And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

    My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

    Gospel of John 1:8, 10:27 KJV – Spoken by JESUS Christ

    Next: Preach the word! – 2 Timothy 4

    Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel