Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” The phrase, “All scripture” is all inclusive of “all” the inspired words (or writings – Gk. “graphe”) of God (cf. 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 6:63).
2 Peter 1:3 tells us that we have been given “all things” that pertain to life and godliness, “through the knowledge of him….” The “knowledge” of Christ (2 Peter 1:2) can be fully known by a study of both Old and New Testaments, which contain the totality of inspired scripture (Psalm 119:160; Psalm 139:17). Without a knowledge of the totality of the inspired scriptures, how could we have been given “all things” that pertain to life and godliness?
Jude 1:3 tells us that the faith was “once for all delivered to the saints.” The meaning here is that the God’s truth has been “once” delivered for all time. It is a permanent delivery from God that will never be superseded, amended or modified (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19; cf. Gal. 1:6-12). Additionally, James 1:25 KJV states, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
The word “perfect” in this passage is translated from the Greek word, “teleios” which signifies “having reached its end” (telos), “finished, complete, perfect.” In James 1:25, the word is “referring to the complete revelation of God’s will and ways, whether in the completed Scriptures or in the hearafter” (Vine’s, 1996, p. 466).
Yes, the Bible is indeed complete!
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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