Timothy was a protégé’ of Shaul (Paul), and was in Ephesus at the time this letter was written to him. Because Timmy was very young for a leadership position, Shaul encouraged and supported him to be confident.
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In this second letter to Timothy, Shaul was stressing how important it was to have the shamashim (leaders) of the congregation meet strict requirements for righteousness. He also wanted to have Timothy keep these neophyte, Gentile believers on the right track, remembering to follow the example that Shaul has set for him.
One thing that Shaul wanted to emphasize was this verse from that letter (CJB):
All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living; thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
Now, I have often heard many Christians believe Shaul was talking about the New Covenant writings. Nothing could be further from the truth, since none of the writings, Gospels, letters, or visions, were even collected or canonized at this time, which was sometime around 60-63 AD.
The only scripture that existed at that time was the Tanakh, also called the “Jewish” Bible, which included the Torah, prophets, and other writings.
NOTE: TaNaKh is an acronym for the Old Covenant. The T stands for the Torah (first 5 books); the N is for Nevi’im (the Prophets); and the K is for Ketuvim (the writings, such as Ruth, Psalms, Proverbs, etc.)
What happened after Yeshua was raised into heaven was the incoming of the Gentiles into Judaism. You need to realize that they weren’t required to make full conversion, which we can see by reading the letter the Elders wrote (Acts 15) and the way Shaul converted Gentiles, which was to introduce them slowly into a Torah-obedient lifestyle, but with a lot of flexibility, allowing them to acclimate to this new lifestyle at a pace they could handle.
What is important to note about this verse is not just that it qualifies the Old Covenant as God-breathed, but that it also equipped people for every good work.
What the heck does that mean?
It means, my friends, that the God-breathed scripture, i.e., the Torah, equips us for good works. And although we are saved by faith and not works, what we really should be saying (based on James 2:26) is that we are saved by faithful obedience to God which will create in us the desire to do good works, because good works alone is not enough.
I don’t know- maybe that’s too much to say in one breath?
However, it is the more accurate statement about how one is saved. Good works alone can’t do it simply because we are human, and born with iniquity (the desire to sin), which in Hebrew we call the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination), and until we learn right from wrong and are initiated into the Torah (and the rest of the Bible), we can’t be expected to always do what is right in God’s eyes. After all, if we could, God would not have had to send us a Messiah, right?
So, the next time you hear someone refer to 2 Timothy 3:16 and use that verse to justify that the New Covenant is God-breathed scripture, please set them straight: it is SO important for Christians, who have been lied to for millennia, to understand that Yeshua (Jesus) never taught against the Torah, and that Shaul did not tell Gentiles they didn’t have to obey God’s instructions. The truth is the only scripture that existed when Gentiles were first being grafted onto the Tree of Life was the Tanakh, and within that Bible the Torah was the only place (and still is) throughout the entire Bible where God said what he wanted us to do.
Any form of worship outside of the Torah is NOT God-breathed, but human made.
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That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
