2 Timothy 3:15

3:14-17 Those who would learn the things of God, and be assured of them, must know the Holy Scriptures, for they are the Divine revelation. The age of children is the age to learn; and those who would get true learning, must get it out of the Scriptures. They must not lie by us neglected, seldom or never looked into. The Bible is a sure guide to eternal life. The prophets and apostles did not speak from themselves, but delivered what they received of God, 2Pe 1:21. It is profitable for all purposes of the Christian life. It is of use to all, for all need to be taught, corrected, and reproved. There is something in the Scriptures suitable for every case. Oh that we may love our Bibles more, and keep closer to them! then shall we find benefit, and at last gain the happiness therein promised by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the main subject of both Testaments. We best oppose error by promoting a solid knowledge of the word of truth; and the greatest kindness we can do to children, is to make them early to know the Bible.

And that from a child; from thy infancy, by the instruction of thy mother Eunice, and thy grandmother Lois, 2 Timothy 1:5 . Thou hast known the Holy Scriptures; thou hast had a notion of the writings of Moses and the prophets, the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, for at this time no others were written. Which are able to make thee wise unto salvation; which Holy Scriptures (without the help of the writings of Plato or Pythagoras, or any other pagan philosophers) have in them a sufficiency of doctrine to make thee, or any other, wise enough to get to heaven. Through faith which is in Christ Jesus; but not without a faith in Christ Jesus, receiving him as thy and their Saviour, besides a faith assenting and agreeing to those holy writings as the revelation of the Divine will.

2 Timothy 3:15 . Καὶ , and ) Even after the death of Paul, Timothy is the more bound to the Scripture. Paul does not bind Timothy to himself alone, but enjoins him who, however grown up, was his son in the faith, to use the Scriptures. They ought to consider this, who are so devoted to their teachers, under whose training they have been once for all brought up, that they admit nothing beyond their circle which is afterwards presented to them from Scripture. Sometimes slothful over-fulness of the mind and αὐθάδεια , self-complacency , creep over men under the name of stedfastness (steadiness) and sobriety.— ἀπὸ βρέφους , from childhood [ a child ]) Tender age is best adapted for πιστοῦσθαι , being made faithful (assured), so that faith may be impressed upon it, diffusing firmness throughout the whole life.— τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα , the sacred Scriptures ) the books of Moses and the prophets. For these existed when Timothy was a child.— οἶδας , thou hast known ) by the instructions of thy mother, ch. 2 Timothy 1:5 .— τὰ δυνάμενα , which were able ) The force of a preterite redounds from thou hast known , to the participle. This ability (of Scripture) expresses (its) sufficiency and perfection.— σὲ , thee ) in such a way as if they were written for thee alone.— σοφίσαι , to make wise ) A grand expression.

From a child (ἀπὸ βρέφους) Mostly in Luke. oP. Only here in Pastorals. See on 1 Peter 2:2. Comp. Mark 9:21, ἐκ παιδιόθεν from a child. The holy Scriptures (ἱερὰ γράμματα) Note particularly the absence of the article. Γράμματα is used in N.T. in several senses. Of characters of the alphabet (2 Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 6:11): of a document (Luke 16:6, take thy bill): of epistles (Acts 28:21): of the writings of an author collectively (John 5:47): of learning (Acts 26:24, πολλά γράμματρα much learning). In lxx, ἐπιστάμενος γράμματα knowing how to read (Isaiah 29:11, Isaiah 29:12). The Holy Scriptures are nowhere called ἱερὰ γράμματα in N.T. In lxx, γράμματα is never used of sacred writings of any kind. Both Josephus and Philo use τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα for the O.T. Scriptures. The words here should be rendered sacred learning. The books in the writer's mind were no doubt the Old Testament. Scriptures, in which Timothy, like every Jewish boy, had been instructed; but he does not mean to designate those books as ἱερὰ γράμματα. He means the learning acquired from Scripture by the rabbinic methods, according to which the Old Testament books were carefully searched for meanings hidden in each word and letter, and especially for messianic intimations. Specimens of such learning may be seen here and there in the writings of Paul as 1 Corinthians 9:9 f.; 1 Corinthians 10:1 f.; Galatians 3:16.; Galatians 4:21 f.

In Acts 4:13, the council, having heard Peter's speech, in which he interpreted Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16 of Christ, at once perceived that Peter and John were ἀγράμματοι, not versed in the methods of the schools. Before Agrippa, Paul drew the doctrine of the Resurrection from the Old Testament, whereupon Festus exclaimed, "much learning (πολλὰ γράμματα, thy acquaintance with the exegesis of the schools) hath made thee mad" (Acts 26:24). To Agrippa, who was "expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews" (Acts 26:3), the address of Paul, a pupil of Hillel, was not surprising, although he declared that Paul's reasoning did not appeal to him. In John 7:15, when Jesus taught in the temple, the Jews wondered and said: "How knoweth this man letters?" That a Jew should know the Scriptures was not strange. The wonder lay in the exegetical skill of one who had not been trained by the literary methods of the time. To make thee wise (σε σοφίσαι) Only hero and 2 Peter 1:16. See note there on cunningly devised. To give thee understanding of that which lies behind the letter; to enable thee to detect in the Old Testaments. books various hidden allusions to Christ; to draw from the Old Testaments the mystery of messianic salvation, and to interpret the Old Testaments with Christ as the key. This gives significance to the following words through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

15. from a child—literally, "from an infant." The tender age of the first dawn of reason is that wherein the most lasting impressions of faith may be made. holy scriptures—The Old Testament taught by his Jewish mother. An undesigned coincidence with 2Ti 1:5; Ac 16:1-3. able—in themselves: though through men's own fault they often do not in fact make men savingly alive. wise unto salvation—that is, wise unto the attainment of salvation. Contrast "folly" (2Ti 3:9). Wise also in extending it to others. through faith—as the instrument of this wisdom. Each knows divine things only as far as his own experience in himself extends. He who has not faith, has not wisdom or salvation. which is in—that is, rests on Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:15 . καὶ ὅτι : dependent on εἰδώς . For the change of construction, von Soden compares Romans 9:22-23 ; 1 Corinthians 14:5 . Timothy’s knowledge of things divine was derived not merely from persons, but from sacred writings; and, perhaps, as Theophylact notes, the two points are emphasised: ( a ) that the persons were of no ordinary merit, and ( b ) that his knowledge of Scripture was conterminous with the whole of his conscious existence. He could not recall a period when he had not known sacred writings. This is the force of the hyperbolic ἀπὸ βρέφους . ἱερὰ γράμματα : sacras litteras, sacred writings (R.V.). For this use of γράμματα see John 7:15 , and Moulton and Milligan, Expositor , vii., vi. 383. The force of this peculiar phrase is that Timothy’s A B C lessons had been of a sacred nature. The usual N.T. equivalent for the Holy Scriptures (A.V.) is αἱ γραφαί or ἡ γραφή (once γραφαὶ ἅγιαι , Romans 1:2 ); but St. Paul here deliberately uses an ambiguous term in order to express vigorously the notion that Timothy’s first lessons were in Holy Scripture. τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα is found in Josephus, Antiq . Prooem 3 and x. 10, 4, and elsewhere. Cf. παραναγνοὺς τὴν ἱερὰν βίβλον ( 2Ma 8:23 ). There may be also an allusion to γράμματα of the false teachers which were not ἱερά . See on next verse. σοφίσαι ; instruere, cf . Psalms 18 (19):8, ἡ μαρτυρία Κυρίου πιστή , σοφίζουσα νήπια . Also Psalms 104 (105):22, 118 (119):98.

The word is chosen for its O.T. reference, and also because of its strictly educational association. εἰς σωτηρίαν : a constant Pauline phrase. See reff. διὰ πίστεως : to be joined closely with σοφίσαι . Cf. de Imitatione Christi , iii. 2, “Let not Moses nor any prophet speak to me; but speak thou rather, O Lord God, who art the inspirer and enlightener of all the prophets; for thou alone without them canst perfectly instruct me, but they without thee will avail nothing. They may indeed sound forth words, but they do not add to them the Spirit.… They shew the way, but thou givest strength to walk in it,” etc.

Verse 15. - Babe for child , A.V.; sacred writings for Holy Scriptures , A.V. And that from a babe, etc. Another consideration urged as a reason for standing fast. He was no novice in the Scriptures. His mother and grandmother had been careful to imbue him with that sacred literature which should make him wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, from his very earliest years. Surely he would not throw away such a precious advantage. The sacred writings ( τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα ); literally, the holy letters , or learning . An ordinarily educated child learns γράμματα ( John 7:15 ), in contradistinction to the uneducated, who are ἀγράμματοι ( Acts 4:13 ). But Timothy had learnt τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα , whose excellence is described in the next verse. 2 Timothy 3:15