Faith & Insight: Canon of scripture

All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17

Every January, I encourage some disciples I teach and those around me to read the entire Bible in 30 days; yes, you read that right – all 66 books in 30 days. That’s about 41 chapters on average, or an hour a day of speed reading. It sounds invaluable at such a fast pace, but it reveals the metanarrative and heart of God; it is beautiful and has become a tradition to me.

This has given me a passion for the Bible that is unexplainable. This passion arising in me for the word of God reminds me of a man who lived some 1,700 years ago. In the 4th century, a man named Athanasius stood for an orthodox (here this means traditional and accepted) view within scripture, the deity of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Athanasius’ counterpart was a man named Arius who argued that Jesus, since a son, had to have been created; thus, he had a beginning and is less than (subordinate eternally) to the father (directly speaking against John 1:1-5).

The universal church seemed to adopt this view, and Athanasius fought, and now there is a phrase coined for his noble fight to redeem scriptural truth, “Athanasius contra mundum” or in English, “Athanasius against the world.”

He fought for a position that all had turned against, claiming many falsities about his life and intentions, all because Athanasius refused to let Jesus be removed from his rightful position as coeternal with the father.

After a long battle, many exiles from the Roman empire, and hiding in the desert with monks, Athanasius wrote many works that destroyed the Arian controversy, humbling before the truth that always stands. Athanasius died on May 2, 373, as an overseer and lived a long life that helped preserve Christianity to its scriptural truth.

Athanasius is one of many men who have fought for the orthodox view of scripture to be carried as truth, and it eventually wins out (it is the word of God, after all). We live in a time that is not free from the attacks on our Holy Bible.

We live in a time that we need to take on the heart of Athanasius and root ourselves in scriptures such as 1 Timothy 3:10-17. Paul praises him for imitating and following after Paul. Here, we can see that others before us have fought and won; let us take on their imitation as Timothy is praised for, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me...” 2 Tim 3:10-11.

These are all qualities of a human filled with the Holy Spirit and faithfulness at all costs for our Lord’s glory because Paul speaks of a chilling truth in 3:12, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” We aren’t free from pushback when we stand for the word of God and the truth, we know and see throughout the canon of scripture (canon means the measuring line/standard).

We have been given this wondrous and glorious, alive book, just like our incarnate king, Jesus Christ. My Lord has blessed me with a map, a contract, a history, and a message. In that case, I will give everything to ensure everyone can access this glorious book. I challenge you as the reader to allow Jesus to open your minds to all the scriptures as Jesus did on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24).

Next, we see in Timothy that people will come and go, but Timothy (and yourself as a reader) is encouraged to continue even as people choose not to stand for the truth. The answer is given to us on how to stand; we are familiar with the holy writings that made us wise to salvation.

This is so important. Today, we see people leaving faith, altering scripture, and attacking the Bible. This comes from a lack of wisdom for salvation, a lack of reading, and a need for more interpretation of all scripture from Jesus Christ via the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us that all scripture is breathed out by God (theopneustos), also interpreted as “inspired by God.” Whatever your Bible reads, the point is this: it is God’s breath and life and spirit! What a humbling and glorious God we serve.

He has given us this beautiful book that reveals who Yahweh is truly. Let us study, commit, and stand for the God-breathed book he has provided us. I promise it will transform your life in its entirety when you talk to God and ask him to interpret and breathe on you through this book. You will be inspired to be like Athanasius, “against the world.”

Brady Roser is lead pastor at The Bridge Church in Carson City.