Second, the passage refers only to the Jewish Scriptures. If the passage does in fact teach Scripture as sufficient, then Timothy would have understood it to mean that the Jewish Scriptures were sufficient. Even though it does refer today to all the Scriptures available, whatever the passage teaches today it also taught to Timothy, and so to Timothy it referred to all the Scriptures he had available. IF this is not true, then somehow we have to believe that the Scriptures change meanings over time, which would contradict Scripture (as well as turning Christianity into a relativistic philosophy). Therefore, if it does in fact teach that whatever is understood to be Scripture is sufficient, then Timothy would have understood it to mean that the Jewish Scriptures were sufficient and would have had no need to follow Paul’s instructions to remember those things he learned from the apostles.
Paul, however, made it a point to tell Timothy to remember what he had learned and from who, and just as what the Scriptures teach today applied in Timothy’s day, so too does what they taught in his day apply today. This means that the command to remember what was learned and who it was learned from must be held by Christians today. Paul wrote a similar command to the Thessalonians, instructing them to “stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15) Just as is the case with his instruction to Timothy, Paul’s command to the Thessalonians is also given as an antidote for deception. The apostle is consistent in pairing his commendation to Scripture with a commendation to oral teachings, and is consistent in presenting them together as the means to avoid heresy. He seems to see the two as being somehow complimentary, in the same manner as the Catholic Church. Most importantly, there is no command in Scripture to cease holding to these traditions and to rely entirely on Scripture. If the Sola Scriptura was to be held during the normative condition of the Church, the doctrine would require that this statement itself be found in Scripture.
Third, other passages of the Scriptures make statements about things other than Scripture which are similar to the one in Second Timothy. The most notable of these is Ephesians 4:11-14:
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
The word rendered here as ‘perfecting’ is katartizo, and just like *exartizo *it is derived from artios. If *artios *does mean sufficient, then so does katartizo. In fact, whereas the preposition *ex *used to form *exartizo *means can mean ‘highly,’ ‘heartily,’ ‘exceedingly,’ or ‘abundantly,’ the preposition *kata *used to form *katartizo *can mean ‘alone,’ ‘apart,’ or ‘uttermost.’ Thus, if 2 Timothy 3:16-17 teaches the sufficiency of Scripture for thoroughly furnishing unto all good works, then Ephesians 4:11-14 teaches that apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers are sufficient, even sufficient alone, to make the saints thoroughly perfect for the work of ministry, of building up the body of Christ, of bringing unity of faith, and of bringing knowledge of the Son of God. Most importantly, it would teach that they are sufficient to avoid false doctrine and deceit. Ephesians 4 specifically mentions all those things that 2 Timothy 3 does and more. The passage in Second Timothy, the single strongest passage that can be found to teach Sola Scriptura, simply cannot teach that Scripture alone is sufficient; if it did, it would contradict Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4.
So what kind of authority would the Church have had to have had in order to identify what was or wasn’t to be recognized as writings true to the already-known (through Sacred Tradition) Self-Revelation of Christ for the spiritual building-up of the Body of Christ?