Episode Transcript
All right, good afternoon, everybody.
I got it right that time. - Sir. - Yes, ma'am. - She might want you. - Oh, hi.
Thank you, Miss Wurtzen.
Come on in, ma'am. - Thank you. - You want a chair somewhere, ma'am, or are you gonna? - I'll sit over here. - Okay. (coughing) - John. - Hey, you all right, man? - Hey, yeah. - You okay?
(snorting) - Scooch you over just a little bit there, John.
How about that?
You got it okay, ma'am?
Just a little bit more there. - Yeah, I got it, thank you. - All right, you're welcome.
Get your Bible here for you.
We're gonna be in 2 Timothy 3:16.
You want me to help you find it? - Oh, yeah, thank you. - Okay, just wait out here.
Yeah, 2 Timothy 3:16 right there.
There you go, 3:16. - Okay. - You got it, you ready? - Yeah.
Okay. (laughing) - All right, good afternoon, everybody.
Now, usually I go verse by verse by verse, and y'all know that's just the way I usually go.
But last week, after we finished our lesson in the book of Jude, I was asked a question of sorts.
And I say it that way because it was a statement along with a question, in a way.
Now, I'm not gonna name the individual 'cause I don't wanna embarrass nobody.
But somebody had a question, and what we're gonna do, we're gonna let God's Word answer their question, okay? - There you go. - The question that was referred to me, I believe, may be a common question that many may have.
So today, we're going to let God answer their question with the lesson that he has blessed us with today.
We're going to rely on the Lord to answer their question with his words, not Brother Doug's words, but the Lord's words.
Brother Adrian Rogers said, "Anything that I can talk you into, "somebody else can talk you out of."
God has to be the one to convince you, not Brother Doug, not our song leader, or the senior or junior camera ladies.
Only God can open your eyes and show you.
But you have to be ready to see what God is wanting to show you.
So with that said, let's all turn to 2 Timothy 3.16.
2 Timothy 3.16.
Now if you need some help, please let me know and I'll help you find it.
I'd like to have everybody's eyes on God's word.
This is how we have God answer your question, is by God teaching you.
We're going to let God teach you.
Is everybody in 2 Timothy 3.16?
You got it, ma'am?
2 Timothy 3.16?
All right.
Are you good, ma'am?
You got it? - I got it. - Good, good.
2 Timothy 3.16 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God "and is profitable for doctrine, "for reproof, for correction, "for instruction in righteousness."
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, Lord, for this day that you've blessed us with, Lord, to come together, Father, and to dive into your word, Father.
We pray, Lord, that you just let your spirit teach through me, Lord, and open the eyes of those here today, Lord.
Encourage them, Lord.
Just show them, teach them, Lord.
We thank you so much for Jesus, Lord, and we just pray now that you'll teach us, Father.
We ask these things in Jesus' name today, Lord.
Amen. - Amen. - All right.
Now the question or slash statement that was put forth was, it sounds to me that you believe that the Bible was written by God.
Men wrote the Bible because his word is Jesus Christ.
Now that question slash statement is true in sorts, but the men who wrote the Bible were inspired by God to do so.
They didn't just wake up one morning and decide they were going to start writing words that were going to last forever.
In Matthew 24, 35, Mark 13, 31, and Luke 21, 33, they all say the same thing.
So if they're all saying the same thing, it must be pretty important, huh?
I mean, it's all that important, but these are the words of Jesus.
Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, "but my words shall not pass away."
First off, no, with that said, let's break down our verse here in 2 Timothy 3:16.
First off, we see the word all.
Do y'all see the word all right there in 2 Timothy 3:16?
This English word is translated from the Greek word pas, P-A-S, pas.
Now when I looked up the definition of this word, can anyone guess what the word all meant? - Everyone. - It meant all.
Any, every, the whole.
Our verse says all Scripture.
That means there's none left out, right?
It's all Scripture.
The Greek word for Scripture is graphe, graphe.
It's spelled G-R-A-P-H-E, and it means a document that is wholly writ or its contents or a statement in it.
This is where we get the suffix for graph, G-R-A-P-H, which is a writing or a drawing.
Now a long time ago, when we didn't have the computers and the emails and the mail service, people would send a telegraph, a telegraph.
When people see someone famous, they might go up to them and ask for their autograph, autograph.
The word graphe comes from the Greek word grapho.
It is spelled G-R-A-F-O, which means to grade, especially to write, to write.
So far, we have all Scripture, all, or you could say any, every, or the whole, all Scripture or all of the holy writings, which is our Bibles, is what?
Look back at our verse in 2 Timothy 3:16, is what?
Given by inspiration of God, given by inspiration of God.
What does that mean?
What does that mean?
If I were to give, say I was to give Miss Becky my Bible, if I was to give her my Bible and they accepted it, that means they received it, right?
If she takes my Bible, she has received my Bible, correct?
Are y'all following me? - Yeah. - Okay.
Now suppose I give my Bible, if I were to give, now suppose I gave my Bible and they did not accept it, that means they would not receive it, right?
They would not receive it.
All Scripture is given how?
By inspiration of God.
If I were to give this to her and she says, "No thanks, I don't want that," she's not receiving my Bible, she's denying the Bible.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
The words given by inspiration of God comes from the Greek word, theopneustos.
That's my Southern Greek pronunciations.
Theopneustos.
It is spelled T-H-E-O-P-N-E-U-S-T-O-S, theopneustos, and it means divinely breathed in, divinely breathed in.
This Greek word is derived from two other Greek words, veos, which means a deity or God, and neo, it's spelled P-N-E-O, which means to breathe hard or to blow.
I want to read you the definition for the word inspiration that was in my old Webster's dictionary.
This is where they used to make good dictionaries.
Nowadays, you probably can't get a definition like this.
My old Webster dictionary, which is very old, about that thick, and it's massive.
It says, "In Christian theology, "the supernatural influence by which prophets, "apostles, and sacred writers were qualified "to set forth divine truth without any mixture of error "or the communication of the divine will "to the understanding by suggestions "or impressions on the mind, which leave no room "to doubt the reality of their supernatural origin."
I looked on down from that definition, and there was a word that says inspirationist, an inspirationist.
That is one who believes in inspiration.
That is somebody that believes it is God breathing, especially of the holy scriptures.
A believer in supernatural influences.
I want to tell you that I believe in God, and that he is all powerful, and he can do anything he wants.
The beginning of Genesis chapter 18, verse four says, "The Lord asks, is anything too hard for him?"
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
That's right, there's not.
There's nothing too hard for the Lord.
So God inspiring a man to write his word, is that too hard for the Lord?
If there's nothing too hard for the Lord, that's not too hard for the Lord.
If God can make water flow out of a rock or a mule speak, he is more than qualified to inspire a man to write his word, folks.
When Moses parted the Red Sea, was that Moses parting the Red Sea, or was that God parting the Red Sea?
When Daniel interpreted the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar, was that Daniel who knew what the king dreamed and how to interpret the dreams, or did God show Daniel?
The list goes on and on and on, folks.
God uses man for many different things throughout his word.
There is no way that man could have written the Bible without the inspiration of God.
God breathed out his word to these men and they wrote it down.
God breathed it out, they breathed it in.
Breathe in.
Second Peter 1:20 says, "Knowing this first, "that no prophecy of the scripture "is of any private interpretation."
Second Peter 1:21, "For the prophecy came not in old time "by the will of man, but holy men of God spake "as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
By the Holy Ghost.
The definition of the word holy means sacred.
And one of the definitions of ghost means a current of air, that is breath or a breeze.
These holy men were used to speak the holy words of God by the Holy Ghost.
Or you could say they breathed in what God breathed out.
They were given inspiration by God on what to say.
The men who wrote God's words, or our Bible, were given the words by God himself.
Our Bible may have been penned or put pen to paper, so to speak, by the holy men of God, but they were told what to write by God.
Back in 2 Timothy, our verse goes on to say, "And profitable for doctrine, for reproof, "for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
I would hate to know that all these things were not inspired by God, but that a sinful, unrighteous, unholy man wrote about righteousness, correction, reproof, and doctrine.
It would be impossible for an ordinary man to write about something he did not know about and certainly wouldn't want to do.
Romans 3:10 says, "As it is written, "there is none righteous, no, not one.
"There is none that understandeth.
"There is none that seeketh after God."
If that's the case, how could an ordinary man write God's Word?
There is none righteous.
There is none that seeketh after God.
If there is none righteous or that seeketh after God, why would any man write any of these things?
They would not have the motivation to write God's Word.
They wouldn't care.
Why would they want to write something that they didn't want to do?
Think about it, folks.
Only God could have inspired man to write his Word.
Let's start wrapping this up by reading Genesis chapter one so everybody can turn to Genesis.
That's an easy one to find.
Very front of your Bible.
We're gonna go chapter one with you, Miss Beckwith.
Genesis chapter one.
You close, John, you getting there. (people chattering) Genesis chapter one.
Right there, we're gonna start off in verse one.
Everybody got it?
You got it, Bill?
All right.
Let's faster get there.
We're gonna start off in verse one.
I believe that some of this is what they call apologetics.
I'm not 100% sure on that.
I believe that God can defend His Word without Brother Doug having to defend it.
My job is to tell you God's Word.
Genesis chapter one.
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, "Let there be light."
And there was light.
And God saw the light that it was good.
And God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light day and the darkness He called night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
What does it say there?
And God saw the light.
And God said, and God created.
And God called the light day.
And God said, "Let there be a firmament "in the midst of the waters, "and let it divide the waters from the waters."
And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.
And it was so.
And God called the firmament heaven.
And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God said, "Let the waters under the heaven "be gathered together into one place, "and let the dry land appear."
And it was so.
And God called the dry land earth.
And the gathering together of the waters called He seeds.
And God saw that it was good.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, "the herb yielding seed, "and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, "whose seed is in itself upon the earth."
And it was so.
And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after his kind.
And God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights "in the firmament of the heaven "to divide the day from the night, "and let them be for signs and for seasons "and for days and years.
"And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven "to give light upon the earth."
And it was so.
And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night.
He made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Almost there, folks.
And God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly "the moving creature that hath life "and fowl that may fly above the earth "in the open firmament of heaven."
And God created great wells and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind.
And God saw that it was good.
And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, "and fill the waters and the seas, "and let fowl multiply in the earth."
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth "the living creature after his kind, "cattle and creeping thing, "and beast of the earth after his kind."
And it was so.
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind.
And God saw that it was good.
I read all that for a point.
If man wrote this without the inspiration of God, what man was there to see all this to record it?
What man was there to hear all this that God said?
There was no man there.
How could God's word be written by ordinary man?
There was no man there in the beginning.
Man didn't create, God didn't create man until the next verse.
Man was created after all that other stuff was created.
There's no way this could be recorded, written by ordinary man, without the inspiration of God. (audience laughs) Colombo would be tickled with me about that. (audience laughs) What man was there to see that?
Only God could have told someone to write this.
And in this case, we think it is Moses who recorded the first five books of the Bible, and I believe that's called the Pentateuch.
Let's close with Hebrews 4.12.
Hebrews 4.12 says, "For the word of God "whose word?
"The word of God."
That's this right here.
This is the word of God.
The word of God is also Jesus Christ.
We're gonna talk a little bit more about that next time.
But for now, this says, Hebrews 4.12, "For the word of God is quick and powerful "and sharper than any two-edged sword."
Is Jesus Christ sharper than a two-edged sword?
His written word is, God's written word is sharper than a two-edged sword.
Why?
"It pierces even to the dividing asunder "of soul and spirit, "and of the joints and marrow, "and is a discerner of the thoughts "and intents of the heart."
The word of God, folks, not the word of man.
The beginning of John 8.47 says, "He that is of God "heareth God's words."
There's not the one Jesus Christ, but there's many words.
God has written many words through men who penned this book for us.
So I hope with that said, we learned something today, and I hope that answers that person's question.
I pray God will open their eyes, and that it's His word.
That's my belief, that's what I believe.
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, Lord, for your word, Lord.
And we thank you so much, Lord, for Jesus, the word, Father.
We thank you so much, Lord, for all that you do.
We thank you for the ability to come and gather together here, Lord, and share your word, Lord, and fellowship together, Lord.
And we're just so thankful to these people that wanna come and hear it, Lord.
I pray, Lord, that your word was an encouragement to the saints, Father, and it was pointing the lost to you, Father.
We just thank you so much, Lord.
We wanna pray for Don, Lord, and his healing.
We pray your will be done in that matter, Father.
We pray for each and every person here and their health, Father.
We pray your will be done in their health, Lord.
And we pray, Lord, that if there's one here that doesn't know Christ, Lord, as their Savior, that you would draw them to the cross, Father, and open their eyes to Christ, Father, as you open their eyes to your word, Lord.
Thank you, Lord, for all that you do, Lord, for all that you do is good, Father.
We thank you and we love you, Lord.
And in Christ's name we pray, Lord, amen.
