Holiness is Wholeness: According to the Bible in 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Communication contains fundamentals, even if reading itself is not fundamental. We read in 2 Timothy 3:14-17:

14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

What is lacking in our communication teaching is the meaning of words like of, to, in, through, by, etc. We have many teachers, but not one universal meaning that connects these words as a group until very recently. The meaning of these words that is universal is that they point out parts and wholes. What is not universal is that they relate them in diverse ways that are not one or the same. This is very important for understanding the meaning of Holy Scriptures and Scripture breathed by God.

There are two sets of four in this passage. The first set is indicated by those words that I just mentioned that indicate parts and wholes. They are: 1)to make you wise, 2)for salvation, 3)through faith and 4)in Christ Jesus. These are all part of what Holy Scripture is able to do. The second set is indicated by the connecting of them together by and. They are: 1)teaching, 2)rebuking, 3)correcting and 4)training. These are all part of God breathed and useful.

What is often missing in the discussion of the meaning of holy is what we would expect in the context, if the meaning is separate or if the meaning is whole. My grandmother pointed out to me in a story how she was able to correct a meaning in another man's translation from observing the context. I want us to attempt that same thing here.

If the meaning of holy is separate then I would expect to find things that I would find in other contexts where things are separate. It would be like a text where a person is trying to separate humans from animals for examples. So I would expect to find in this context things that are contrasting or not the same. It would either be a relational contrast best shown by the word but or a contrast of things best shown by the words this or that and by the word not.

If the meaning is whole then I would expect to find things that I would find in other contexts where things are wholes and parts. It would be like a text where a person is trying to assemble a whole bike from its parts.

What I find in this context is two sets of parts of wholes. I do not find a contrast in the most immediate context. Instead, I found two sets of four parts that belong to a whole. What makes Scriptures into Holy Scripures is that it is able to do more than just make one wise, but also wise for salvation, and not just wise for salvation, but salvation through faith, and not just through faith, but through faith in Christ (Messiah) Jesus. And what makes Scripture clearly God breathed and useful is that it is not just breathed and useful for teaching, but also for rebuking and not just for rebuking, but also for correcting and not just for correcting, but also for training. So these are powerful examples of why I believe holiness is wholeness. The first set distinctly points to holy, but second set illustrates beautifully parts of a whole and this too is the nature of holy Scripture.

This ties into the major argument of Johann Bengel, likely the greatest German scholar up to the present. I am arguing from parallels in speech in general and in Scripture that holiness means wholeness. Bengel argued, unfortunately for us today in Latin, from parallel passages in Scripture that holiness is wholeness. So he and I have reached the same conclusion from very similar arguments. And I will continue to try to find a way to get hold of his writing somehow, so I might share it with readers of this writing in English so that it might be more universally available to all of us who long to understand God's Word to us. May God richly bless you.

In Christ,

Pastor Jon