For Christmas 2022, if you could pick, would you rather receive a gift that was profitable or a gift that was useful? Good things could be said about each of those words, and having to choose between them leads to a good but real dilemma. A real dilemma that doesn’t just affect future Christmas gifts, but affects Bible translators who come to verse 16 in 2 Timothy chapter 3.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (NIV).
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (ESV).
Out of sixty-two English translations of 2 Tim. 3:16 that can be found here, I counted the word profitable 26 times, useful 29 times and five other words or phrases used. Those phrases are: valuable, beneficial, helped by, it will empower you, and good. Now adding 26+29+5=60, not 62, so I miscounted one or the other, but the point was never going to be that the word appearing most wins. Rather, the point is that getting to the correct understanding of Paul’s message to Timothy here in chapter 3 includes knowing that God’s word is profitable for us, it does us good and is useful in the areas that Paul mentions, teaching, rebuking (sharp censure or confrontation), correction, and training in righteousness.
The word useful might be a bit less ethereal than profitable. It may be more down-to-earth and convey the hope that God’s word isn’t meant to be elevated to the point of spirituality only. Rather, it is practical for real living.
As a young person, I had a Sunday School teacher that explained his family owned one Bible, and that the Bible was placed in a position of reverence on the mantle above the fireplace. Growing up, he was never allowed to touch the Bible lest he gets the pages dirty, folded, or torn. Later in life, he realized that the Bible should be revered, but not set aside. It should be read, poured over, and used. The place of positional authority his family put on the Bible didn’t lead to real-life understanding and application.
The Bible is useful for our daily lives and profitable in all our relationships, but only if you know it and trust it. It is from God to us, don’t ignore it. My seminary professor, Mark Strauss, taught that the word Paul used, normally translated God-breathed, theopneustos, is the two words, Theo, meaning God, and the word pneustos, meaning breathed, simply put together. This usage in 2 Tim. 3:16 is the only time this word appears in ancient Greek literature, not just biblical texts, all known Greek texts. He said that “Paul probably made it up” to help us understand that this message is reliable and important. Therefore, study it and make it a profitable and useful part of your life.
Pastor John Riley
Junior High Pastor