"All scripture is inspired by God." For many Protestants, this is the verse that settles it: Scripture alone is our final authority. It deserves a careful reading.
Short answer: No. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 teaches that all Scripture is inspired by God and "useful" for equipping believers, and Catholics affirm every word of it. But it never says Scripture is the only infallible authority, and in the same letter St. Paul tells St. Timothy to hand on what he "heard" (2 Timothy 2:2).
Key verses on 2 Timothy 3:16
- "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16)
- "so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:17)
- "remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it" (2 Timothy 3:14)
- "what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people" (2 Timothy 2:2)
- "Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me" (2 Timothy 1:13)
Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
What Catholics Actually Teach
First, the fair version of the argument. Classic sola scriptura holds that Scripture is the only infallible rule of faith; creeds, councils, and pastors are fallible and answer to the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 is offered as proof: Scripture is God-breathed (Greek theopneustos) and makes the believer "competent, equipped for every good work." So, the argument goes, we need no other infallible authority.
Catholics agree with more of this than many expect. "God is the author of Sacred Scripture" (CCC 105), and "the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth" which God wanted written for our salvation (CCC 107). But the Church also teaches that God's Word comes to us in Scripture and Tradition, which "are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other" (CCC 80). So the Church "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone" (CCC 82).
What Catholics do not teach:
- That Scripture is weak or secondary. It is inspired and without error (CCC 105, 107).
- That Tradition adds new revelation. The Church draws everything it teaches as revealed from "this single deposit of faith" (CCC 86).
- That the Church rules over the Bible. The Magisterium "is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant" (CCC 86).
The Biblical Case
1. Read verse 16 in its context
"But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:14–15)
St. Paul grounds St. Timothy's faith in two things: the people he learned from, and the Scriptures. The "sacred scriptures" St. Timothy knew "from infancy" were the Old Testament; the New Testament did not yet exist when he was a child. If verse 16 meant "Scripture alone," it would mean the Old Testament alone. No Christian believes that.
2. "Useful" is not "only"
The verse says Scripture is "useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). True, but not exclusive. Compare St. James: "And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:4). St. James uses even stronger language than St. Paul, yet no one concludes that perseverance is all a Christian needs. St. Paul also says Christ gave "pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry" (Ephesians 4:11–12). Scripture equips. So do the shepherds Christ appointed.
3. The same letter commands oral tradition
"And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well" (2 Timothy 2:2). St. Paul also says, "Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me," and "Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us" (2 Timothy 1:13–14). Elsewhere he commands, "hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). The man who wrote 2 Timothy 3:16 did not hold to Scripture alone. (More: What Is Sacred Tradition, and Is It Biblical?)
4. The verse doesn't say which books are "Scripture"
"All scripture" assumes we already know what counts as Scripture. St. Peter places St. Paul's letters alongside "the other scriptures" (2 Peter 3:16), but no verse gives the full list. That list came to us through the Church, which St. Paul calls "the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). (See Who Decided Which Books Are in the Bible?)
Objections Answered
(a) "If Scripture makes us 'equipped for every good work,' nothing else is needed."
At its strongest: St. Paul says Scripture makes the believer "competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17). If it equips for every good work, what is missing? Anything else would be unnecessary at best.
Answer: Being equipped by something does not make it the only authority. Pastors and teachers also "equip the holy ones" (Ephesians 4:12), and perseverance leaves us "lacking in nothing" (James 1:4). None of these excludes the others. St. Paul's own letter assumes Scripture, apostolic teaching, and faithful teachers working together.
(b) "Only Scripture is called God-breathed. After the apostles, nothing else is."
At its strongest: Some Protestant defenders grant that this verse alone does not spell out sola scriptura. Their case is broader: Scripture is the only thing explicitly called God-breathed; the apostles have died; so today Scripture is the only infallible source we have.
Answer: The verse tells us what Scripture is; it does not say nothing else carries God's authority. St. Paul says his spoken preaching was received "not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:13). And 2 Timothy 2:2 sends that preached word forward to generations after the apostles. The Catholic Church does not claim new inspiration for its bishops. It claims the protection Christ promised: "the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth" (John 16:13), so that the deposit is guarded "with the help of the holy Spirit" (2 Timothy 1:14).
(c) "Paul included the New Testament as Scripture."
At its strongest: In 1 Timothy 5:18 St. Paul writes, "For the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is threshing,” and, “A worker deserves his pay.”" The NABRE cross-references the first line to Deuteronomy 25:4 and the second to Matthew 10:10 and Luke 10:7 (1 Timothy 5:18). So "all scripture" may include New Testament writings too.
Answer: Catholics gladly agree that the New Testament is Scripture, and the point helps our case. Verse 16 still calls Scripture, Old and New, inspired and useful, not the only rule of faith. And even if St. Paul is citing a Gospel saying as Scripture here, no verse tells us which books make up "all scripture." The Church discerned that list by the apostolic Tradition (CCC 120), the same deposit St. Paul told St. Timothy to guard "with the help of the holy Spirit" (2 Timothy 1:14).
The Early Church Agrees
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Against Heresies, c. AD 180). St. Irenaeus says the apostles' Gospel was "handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith." But the same sentence says they first "did at one time proclaim in public" what they later wrote (3.1.1). And against heretics who twisted those Scriptures, he sent believers to the Church: "it is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth" (3.4.1).
- Tertullian (Prescription Against Heretics, c. AD 200, before his break with the Church), facing heretics who twisted the Bible, wrote: "Our appeal, therefore, must not be made to the Scriptures." The real question, he said, is "With whom lies that very faith to which the Scriptures belong" (ch. 19). He was not dismissing Scripture; he was saying it belongs to the Church that received the apostles' faith.
- Origen (On First Principles, c. AD 220–230, approximate; preserved mainly in Rufinus's Latin translation): "that alone is to be accepted as truth which differs in no respect from ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition" (Preface 2).
- St. Athanasius of Alexandria (Against the Heathen, early fourth century; exact date debated). St. Athanasius praises Scripture's sufficiency: "the sacred and inspired Scriptures are sufficient to declare the truth." But he adds in the same breath, "while there are other works of our blessed teachers compiled for this purpose" (Part I, 3). Sufficient Scripture, read with the Church's teachers: that is the Catholic view.
Conclusion
2 Timothy 3:16 is a glorious verse, and Catholics should quote it as often as anyone. It teaches that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful. It does not teach that Scripture is the only authority God gave; its own letter points to oral teaching, faithful successors, and the Holy Spirit's guarding work. (See also Is Sola Scriptura in the Bible?)
If you are Protestant, read all of 2 Timothy in one sitting. Notice how often St. Paul talks about what St. Timothy heard, and who he heard it from. Then ask where that living teaching is today.
Come home. The living teaching St. Paul told St. Timothy to hand on has never stopped; it is still guarded, together with the Scriptures, in the Catholic Church. Christ did not found many churches. He founded one, on St. Peter and the apostles (Matthew 16:18), and that Church is the Catholic Church. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816). If you are a baptized Christian, you already share "a certain, although imperfect, communion" with her (CCC 838). Every truth you already hold is a call to the rest of the way. Christ is calling you into the Catholic Church.
Your next step: Come to Mass this Sunday at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. Everyone is welcome; if you're not yet Catholic, pray with us but don't receive Communion yet. When you're ready to become Catholic, call the parish office and ask about OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. They will walk you through every step. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.
FAQ
Do Catholics believe 2 Timothy 3:16? Yes, completely. All Scripture is inspired by God, and "God is the author of Sacred Scripture" (CCC 105).
What does "inspired by God" mean? The Greek word, theopneustos, means "God-breathed." God is the principal author of Scripture, working through human writers.
Where did sola scriptura come from? It became a defining principle of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.
Sources
Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Matthew 16:18; John 16:13; Ephesians 4:11–12; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Timothy 5:18 (with NABRE cross-references); 2 Timothy 1:13–14; 2 Timothy 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:14–17; James 1:4; 2 Peter 3:16.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 80, 82; 86; 105, 107; 120; 816, 838.
Church Fathers (newadvent.org): Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 and 3.4.1 (ANF vol. 1); Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics 19 (ANF vol. 3); Origen, On First Principles, Preface 2 (ANF vol. 4); Athanasius, Against the Heathen Part I, 3 (NPNF2 vol. 4).