Be Complete :: To Be Complete And Equipped

I don’t want to get nitpicky here, but I’m somewhat disappointed with the NIV rendering of our text. Look at the last verse in two other popular translations:

… that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:17 ESV

… that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:17 NKJV

The Greek term is an adjective. Rendering it as “thoroughly” (an adverb) to describe how we are equipped makes “thoroughly equipped” sound like a single thing.

There’s a strong case to be made that being complete and being equipped are two different things (as indicated by the comma following “complete”).

Yes, the Bible was given to us that we might be “completely equipped” … but it also shows us that we are complete, and it’s important not to lose sight of that.

Terms adjacent to the Biblical concept of being complete include mature, full, perfect, skilled, proficient, qualified, capable and competent.

Interestingly, other forms of this Greek term can be used to describe repairing something that is damaged, using something that has been designed for a specific purpose, or joining people together in unity. All these ideas are in the neighborhood of mercy.

For the sake of clarity, I will use “spiritual maturity,” which is defined in Hebrews:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food
is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. ~ Hebrews 5:11‑14

These believers were supposed to have grown up spiritually, but they hadn’t. They were still spiritual babies. They had to keep revisiting the same basic Biblical truths because they weren’t integrating what they were being taught. Specifically, they were distastefully unacquainted with the “teaching about righteousness.”

What is the big difference between immaturity and maturity? Realized potential.

The example used here is that of an infant. Babies have the potential to eat solid food, but they have yet to realize that potential. Eventually, with nurturing and over time, they will develop the ability to eat regular food.

Mature (i.e., complete) believers are those who consistently practice what they have learned. They can tell the difference between right and wrong, and they consistently chose to pursue righteousness.

As it relates to mercy, you could say that a mature believer is someone who has developed the ability to recognize needs, and they choose to meet those needs.

What about believers who lack this ability? Allow me to be respectfully blunt. They are unacceptably immature. They need to grow up.

What happens while we are growing spiritually? As we mature, we become more like Him.

In addition to having the potential to be complete, we are also completely equipped.

It’s one thing to have tools and it’s another thing to know how to use them. What value is there in having a fully stocked tool chest if you rarely use most of the tools?

 

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Do you remember Saturday morning cartoons? What about Yogi Bear?

He lived with Boo Boo Bear in Jellystone National Park. He was always trying to steal “pic-a-nic” baskets, but Ranger Smith was on to him. Despite his many failures, he firmly believed that he was “smarter than the ave-uh-rage bear!”

Yogi’s not alone. Social researchers have conducted many studies in which people were asked to rate themselves in a particular area, such as their intelligence, ability, popularity, diet, etc.

Routinely, over half of the respondents place themselves in the top half of the group. I saw a study where over 90% of those surveyed considered themselves to be an above average driver!

That’s nonsense. It’s impossible.

This faulty way of thinking adversely impacts one’s ability to make good decisions. It’s a form of cognitive bias known as the overconfidence effect.

There are some interesting phenomena associated with overconfidence.

Those who know nothing and those who are true experts (i.e., those at the extreme ends of the spectrum) tend to have a more accurate assessment of themselves. People tend to be overconfident when they are somewhat familiar with a subject, but they are not an expert.

This is particularly obvious when the subject matter is less esoteric. For example, we are far less likely to overestimate our ability to operate a particle accelerator than our ability to drive a car.

When it comes to mercy, we might be willing to admit that “sure, I could probably do more.” But they’re also apt to think “but at least I’m doing better than that guy.”

It is super easy and quite natural to assume we are more capable and more accomplished than we are. We must resist this deceptive tendency to overestimate our maturity. We need to stay humble and remain teachable.

Open Hands, pages 129-132