Equipped for Every Good Work: The Purpose of Scripture in Our Lives

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16,17

I like the "so that" phrase in the Scripture text for today. This little phrase tells us a lot about why God gave us the bible. While making disciples across the street and around the world we rely on the Holy Bible as the foundational document on which we base our teaching and instruction. The bible is a unique book in all the world. It is unlike any other book ever written. 

God sovereignly guided the Scripture writers in a way that gets his message through to us but also allows for the writer's personal shortcomings, cultural biases and misunderstandings to be recorded for all to see. For instance, will we ever fully understand how King David, the murderer and the adulterer, has a heart like God's heart? 

The bible is so profound that the wisest scholars spend lifetimes mining the depths of what has been written while a young child can understand that Jesus loves them and speaks truth to them through the stories in the bible.  

As we hear sermons, engage in personal bible study, and discuss the bible with others, we are taught about the God of indescribable love. As we get to know him we are lovingly and rightly and appropriately rebuked and corrected which results in us being a little more like Jesus. Sometimes this is easy and sometimes the lessons are hard to learn, but if we respond appropriately, over time we are trained in righteousness. 

End of story, right? Not quite. The purpose of all this teaching, rebuking, correcting and training is: "so that" we are equipped to do what God has assigned us to do. Like those who find their stories on the pages of Scripture, our life stories are also interwoven with God's story. As we are immersed in the study of the Scriptures, and as we deal with the inevitable struggles and trials of life, and as we enjoy the victories gained through faithfulness, perseverance, and answered prayer, we become living examples of true disciples so that "we are thoroughly equipped for every good work." A thoroughly equipped disciple is contagious and will inevitably impact those who are not yet disciples of Jesus.