Hearing the Voice of God

2 Timothy 3:14-17

Immanuel – 7/26/26

          I AM. This is the name, the definition, God gave of himself to Moses. I AM WHO I AM (Exodus 3:14). But that is an English equivalent to God’s name. When God originally spoke it to Moses, there were no hard consonants. Many scholars agree. It sounded like breath, like a wind, it sounded like YAHWEH.

The breath of God, and he makes himself known. I AM. God is not a being among beings; he is Being itself. His existence depends on nothing else. And everything else exists because he wills it to exist. Thus, everything that exists finds meaning as it relates to the Being that is God.

You find your meaning in relationship with God.

In other words, if your being is dependent upon God’s Being, then he is the One who bestows value on you – identity, purpose, joy, and life itself. He is the one who makes you complete, and separated from his Being you have nothing but brokenness and emptiness.

How important is it then, to know what God thinks? About himself? About existence? About the world? About people? About you? Dare I say, it is supremely important to know what God thinks! Is there anything more important than knowing the will of God for the world and for you?!

For every human being, this should compel us to ask: How do we hear the voice of the God who is? How does the infinite Creator reveal his thoughts to finite creatures?

Main Point

The Bible is the ultimate authority because through it the living God speaks.

          Paul and Timothy both spent considerable energy battling counterfeits. Holding fast to Scripture as the ultimate authority was essential to their ministry. It is the same in our day. The moment a church or a pastor place anything alongside Scripture – or above it – the household of God becomes polluted.

          We constantly need to go back to what we have learned.

          Read vs 14-15

          This begins in a similar way to verse 10. “You, however.” “But as for you.” Paul is drawing a contrast in both cases. Here it would do us well to remember verses 1-9 in the same chapter: deceptive teachings, manipulative religious leaders, counterfeit Christians were coming.

          Far from falsehood, Timothy was to be of an entirely different sort; which Paul emphasizes for the second time. “But as for you,” “though the whole world drift into deceit,” “continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed.”

          Back in chapter 2, Paul explicitly states what Timothy had learned and firmly believed,

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel…The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.   

-2 Timothy 2:8,11-13

          Time and again, Paul draws Timothy’s attention back to the basics of the gospel – what he has learned and firmly believed. Through his death and resurrection, Christ abolished death and secured immortality for all who believe in him (2 Timothy 1:10).

Timothy had been on mission with Paul, planted churches, suffered persecution, and faithfully shepherded the church in Ephesus. If anyone might think he had moved beyond the basics, it would have been Timothy. Yet Paul tells him, “Continue.” Even mature Christians never graduate from the gospel.

          No matter where you are in your journey of following Christ, you never outgrow your need for the gospel. All the depth of theology, the countless applications of the faith, the endless work to advance the kingdom, all the branches come back to this central trunk:

The Word of God became a man, lived the perfect life we could not, took the punishment our sins deserved, defeated death by rising from the dead, and now he reigns with all authority over heaven and earth.

          And if God has invaded your life, you know it first happened when he spoke to you through the good news of Jesus Christ. For this message – these gospel words – contain the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). And just like Timothy, we must remember the same voice that called you to Christ is the voice that continues to shape you through his Word.

Paul doesn’t stop by saying, Continue in what you have learned. He adds another reason: knowing from whom you learned it. All of us can learn and benefit from books. But how much more do we benefit when someone models it for us, when we see life confirming truth. That is exactly what Paul emphasized back in verse 10: You have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness... Timothy had seen the Apostolic example.

To be clear, the messenger never replaces the message. The authority was never Paul’s life; the authority was God’s word. But Paul's life demonstrated what God’s word can produce. God often strengthens our confidence in his word by giving us faithful men and women whose lives adorn the gospel they proclaim.

Every Christian should be able to thank God for someone like that: a parent, an elder, a faithful friend, someone whose whole life announced, “See how I’ve staked my life on this book? You can trust it!”

          How good it is when there is someone who invests in us, and helps to make the gospel come alive.

          Who has set that example in your life? Are you grateful God set them on your path?

Whose path might God have set you before? Might he want you to set an example for someone else? Who could that be?

          For Timothy, it began with his mother and grandmother.

                I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

                                                                                                -2 Timothy 1:5

          Paul is clearly referencing Lois and Eunice in verse 15. These two women acquainted Timothy with the sacred writings – what we call the Old Testament. From very early on in his childhood, these two women were pouring the Scriptures into his little heart and mind.

          When someone comes to faith later in life, and Jesus rescues them from great darkness, how brilliantly his grace shines! Those testimonies are powerful! Those who have been raised in the faith, learning the Scriptures from an early age, often feel like their testimonies lack power. But may this passage change your mind! Those who have heard God's Word from childhood have been given an extraordinary gift: wisdom leading to salvation through faith in Christ.

          God has much to say to you through the Proverbs.

          My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.                                                                            -Proverbs 6:20-22

They will talk with you. Like a guiding voice throughout the day.

          What a tremendous blessing it is to know the voice of the Lord from the earliest of ages. If you listen to his voice, he will spare you from needless sorrow. But even when he leads you through suffering, he will never lead you away from himself. His voice always leads his children toward righteousness, peace, and joy – and away from the counterfeits.

          This is exactly what Timothy experienced: the sacred writing made him wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Hear those words, through faith in Jesus Christ. The wisdom that saves is only accessed through faith in Jesus Christ. All Scripture points to Christ. Indeed, Jesus is the living Word of God.

          In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. -John 1:1,14

          The Word of God is alive! And the Living Word never competes with the written word. He speaks through it.

          Read vs 16-17

          Remember how we began? The God who revealed himself to Moses – the God whose very name is associated with his breath – now tells us that he has breathed out every word of Scripture. Today, you can still hear the voice of the One who spoke the universe into existence, who spoke you into existence.

          All Scripture is breathed out by God.

          What does it mean for Scripture to be breathed out by God? Isn’t the Bible a collection of books and letters from multiple human authors? Paul wrote this letter. If men wrote the Bible, how is it God-breathed?

Peter provides us with a tremendous answer.

          For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.                      -2 Peter 1:21

          The Bible is a prophetic book. Meaning, these are God’s words, spoken in human language, through human beings, taking on the personality of each human author, but imbued with God’s nature and character. And because God is the source of all these words, the Bible is truthful, trustworthy, and authoritative for life.

          One of our Statements of Faith here at Immanuel is as follows:

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God; that it was uniquely inspired by the Holy Spirit; without error in the original manuscripts; that it is completely trustworthy and true; and that it is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

          Back to what Paul says: Since all Scripture is breathed out by God, it is profitable. That Greek word for profitable can also be translated as valuable. I wish it was. Yes, the Scriptures are valuable because they will profit you. But more than that, the Bible is intrinsically valuable because through ink and paper we humans can discern the very voice of God.

          The God of the galaxies, eternal, infinite, possessor of all power, before whom the mountains melt like wax – through a humble book he speaks to you today and every day, if only you will open its pages and listen. How lowly of our God to communicate through such ordinary means! What a treasure we possess in this humble, magnificent book! He who has an ear, let him hear.

          Paul goes on to tell us why Scripture is so profitable.

          Scripture is profitable for teaching. When God speaks, he illuminates the path of life.

Teaching in Scripture is not merely the transfer of information. God is not interested in making us walking encyclopedias of Bible facts. He speaks to reveal reality—to show us who he is, who we are, and how we ought to live. His voice shines light into the darkness of our confusion.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.           -Psalm 119:105

This is why those who shepherd Christ’s church must know the Scriptures. Timothy was to lead the flock, but how can a shepherd lead God’s people unless he first listens to God’s voice? If the pastor cannot hear the voice of God, whose voice is he following? And whose voice is he inviting the church to follow?

          Scripture is profitable for reproof. When God speaks, he exposes what is false.

God’s voice does not merely comfort us; it also confronts us. His word exposes the sins we have learned to excuse, the idols we have learned to cherish, and the counterfeit faith we have learned to tolerate.

That can be difficult to hear in a culture built on self-affirmation. Yet a loving Father rebukes the children he loves. Every one of us needs God’s voice to tell us when we are wandering.

But notice whose authority is at work. The elder does not rebuke because of his own opinions, traditions, or preferences. He rebukes because God has spoken. I do not rebuke gossip because I dislike it, but because God calls it sin. The authority is never mine; it belongs to the One whose voice speaks through Scripture.

          Scripture is profitable for correction. When God speaks, he restores what is broken.

Reproof tears down what is false; correction builds up what is true. God never exposes our sin simply to leave us in shame. He speaks in order to restore us.

Anyone who has walked with Christ knows this experience. You open your Bible burdened with pride, selfishness, fear, or bitterness, and somehow, through the ordinary reading of words on a page, God begins changing your heart. The selfishness that needed rebuking is drowned in affection for God and care for neighbor. Pride decreases as Christ increases.

God’s word corrects us not by making us follow a set of rules, but by giving us better loves.

          Scripture is profitable for training in righteousness. When God speaks, he forms us into the likeness of Christ. Training assumes repetition, like the soldier in his drills, like the athlete daily pushing himself. Likewise, righteousness grows over a lifetime by repeatedly listening to God’s voice. He teaches us how to train ourselves:

Set your minds on things above rather than the things of earth (Colossians 3:2).

Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Always be in prayer (Luke 18:1).

Go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).

None of these come naturally. They are habits cultivated over years of listening to the same faithful voice. Every day the world competes for your attention. Every day countless voices tell you what to believe, what to love, and how to live. But as you open the Scriptures day after day, the living God patiently shapes you into the image of his Son (2 Corinthians 3:18).

          Yes, with biblical teaching illuminating the path, reproof exposing the sin, correction restoring our walk, and regular training we will be formed into Christ’s image.

          Read vs 17

          The man of God has at two-fold meaning in this passage. First, the man of God is the pastor/elder who values God’s word so highly that he lays aside his own opinions, cultural trends, and societal pressures, for the word of God. A man of God is desperate for the word of God, that through him God might teach, reprove, correct, and train his people.

Scripture is what makes the man of God complete! A pastor who thinks he needs help from entertainment, or props and gimmicks, or by becoming more culturally relevant, he drowns out God’s voice with the noise of earth! A pastor who chases the miraculous and sidelines the Bible, is incentivized to counterfeit.

Remember Elijah. God was not heard in the drama and flash of the whirlwind, earthquake, and fire. But when he listened to the still, the small, the low; then Elijah heard God’s voice.

If you’re going to use carnal means to attract carnal people, you’re going to create carnal Christians – also known as, counterfeit Christians. And a church that makes counterfeit Christians is a counterfeit church. More on that in two weeks, when Paul talks about people getting their itching ears scratched.

          The second meaning to man of God is the person that hears God’s voice through Scriptures read or taught. Their way will be illuminated. Their sins confronted. Their life restored and corrected. And they will desire to train themselves in righteousness. A man, or woman, of God like this will be complete.

          Equipped for every good work. Great works or small, seen or unseen, easy or painful, through joy or sorrow, good works will abound when we listen to God speaking through his word.

There are many ways God directs our lives, but there is one place where He has spoken with absolute clarity, only one place we can always go to hear his voice: Through this humble, ordinary, extraordinary book. Here, the “I AM” speaks.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

                                                                             -John 10:27

Every time you open this book, the Shepherd calls to his sheep again – teaching them, correcting them, restoring them, and leading them beside still waters.

He who has an ear, let him hear.