Theology Thursday
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:14-17
We are doing a series on Biblical Theology. Tracing Biblical themes as they are revealed throughout the Bible and reach their ultimate expression in the person, work and effects of Jesus.
If you had asked Adam & Eve what is the Word of God, what would they say? Well, probably, it’s the words that God had spoken to them audibly of course. But that was before the fall. Although, ask Cain or Abel, Noah or Abraham the same question and they would have said the same thing, albeit through a mediator angel. God’s Word was what was spoken directly to them from God. But then, for their children, what would have been God’s Word? It would have been the words spoken to Noah and Abraham, passed on to the next generation orally.
It wasn’t until Moses and the commandments that the Word of God was written. First in stone, and later most likely on paper scrolls. These words would remain in the hands of the High Priest or the King. They would over time be memorised by the priests and sometimes by the people.
But what was known about God was still fairly limited. Some things could be garnered from creation. Other things from the passing on of promises. For so many of God’s people, God’s Word was a distant light. But one that was getting brighter as God spoke through His prophets.
It reached full brilliance in the person of Jesus Christ. He was the walking/talking Word of God. He not only showed God more clearly. He also shed a greater light on what had come before. He fulfilled the law & the prophets. For the first disciples, they encountered God’s Word in the flesh and they passed on, eventually writing down what they saw and heard.
But now we enter the final age. What was once a distant light, the Word of God is now like a lamp with its shutter fully open. The canon is complete through the writings of the Apostles and New Testament prophets. Additionally, the Father and the Son sent the Spirit to open the eyes to the hearts of men and women, helping them to see the light more clearly.
What a remarkable thing God has done. We don’t need to go to a temple or a priest. Nor do we need to simply trust in the words of our parents. We can come to the Scriptures ourselves to know who God is and to know His ways. We can read them on our phone. We can own any number of Bibles. We can understand them through the Spirit.
And yet, we often don’t. We are like wealthy children who turn our nose up at things others long for. Is that you? Do you take for granted the Word of God? The truth is we all do to some extent.
But what about you today? Could you see today what a thing it is to have the Scriptures? Could you treasure them more? Could you honor God’s gift to you by reading them more this year?
For Today:
Pray:
Praise the Father that He reveals Himself and His purpose to us in His Word. Give thanks for Jesus who is the very Word of God and who we can see with eyes of faith. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others treasure the Scriptures and bask in their light.
2 Timothy 3:14-17
We are doing a series on Biblical Theology. Tracing Biblical themes as they are revealed throughout the Bible and reach their ultimate expression in the person, work and effects of Jesus.
If you had asked Adam & Eve what is the Word of God, what would they say? Well, probably, it’s the words that God had spoken to them audibly of course. But that was before the fall. Although, ask Cain or Abel, Noah or Abraham the same question and they would have said the same thing, albeit through a mediator angel. God’s Word was what was spoken directly to them from God. But then, for their children, what would have been God’s Word? It would have been the words spoken to Noah and Abraham, passed on to the next generation orally.
It wasn’t until Moses and the commandments that the Word of God was written. First in stone, and later most likely on paper scrolls. These words would remain in the hands of the High Priest or the King. They would over time be memorised by the priests and sometimes by the people.
But what was known about God was still fairly limited. Some things could be garnered from creation. Other things from the passing on of promises. For so many of God’s people, God’s Word was a distant light. But one that was getting brighter as God spoke through His prophets.
It reached full brilliance in the person of Jesus Christ. He was the walking/talking Word of God. He not only showed God more clearly. He also shed a greater light on what had come before. He fulfilled the law & the prophets. For the first disciples, they encountered God’s Word in the flesh and they passed on, eventually writing down what they saw and heard.
But now we enter the final age. What was once a distant light, the Word of God is now like a lamp with its shutter fully open. The canon is complete through the writings of the Apostles and New Testament prophets. Additionally, the Father and the Son sent the Spirit to open the eyes to the hearts of men and women, helping them to see the light more clearly.
What a remarkable thing God has done. We don’t need to go to a temple or a priest. Nor do we need to simply trust in the words of our parents. We can come to the Scriptures ourselves to know who God is and to know His ways. We can read them on our phone. We can own any number of Bibles. We can understand them through the Spirit.
And yet, we often don’t. We are like wealthy children who turn our nose up at things others long for. Is that you? Do you take for granted the Word of God? The truth is we all do to some extent.
But what about you today? Could you see today what a thing it is to have the Scriptures? Could you treasure them more? Could you honor God’s gift to you by reading them more this year?
For Today:
- How have you treated God’s gift of the Scriptures?
- How could you grow in your desire to read them?
- How could you grow in your understanding of God’s Word?
Pray:
Praise the Father that He reveals Himself and His purpose to us in His Word. Give thanks for Jesus who is the very Word of God and who we can see with eyes of faith. Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others treasure the Scriptures and bask in their light.
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