¹⁴ The Word became a man. He lived among us. We saw his great glory. He has the glory of the Father's one true Son. He is full of God's grace and truth.

¹⁵ John told people about the Word. He shouted, ‘This is the man that I told you about. He comes after me. But he is greater than I am. He was already there before I was born.’ ¹⁶ The Word is full of everything that we need. We have all received one good thing after another good thing. ¹⁷ God gave his Law to us through Moses. But Jesus Christ brought God's grace and his truth to us. ¹⁸ Nobody has ever seen God. But God's only Son has shown God to us. He is very near to the Father, and he himself is God.

¹⁶ Everything that is written in the Bible comes from God's Spirit. It helps us in many ways. The Bible teaches us what is true. It warns us when we are doing wrong things. It shows us what is right. It teaches us how to live good lives.^{[a] 17} As a result, people who want to serve God can know how to live properly. They will be people who are ready to do all kinds of good things.

Timothy must continue to do his work for God

4 Timothy, I tell you this seriously, as God and Christ Jesus see everything that we do. When Christ Jesus comes to rule as king, he will judge everyone. He will judge the people who are alive and also those who have already died. When he appears, he will decide what should happen to them all. So I tell you this now: ² Tell God's message to people. Always be ready to speak God's message clearly to people, whether they want to listen to you or not. Warn people when they are doing something wrong. Tell them to stop doing wrong things, and explain to them what they ought to do. But be very patient while you teach them what is true.

³ Do this, because a time will come when people will not listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to hear all kinds of new messages that will make them happy. So they will find many teachers for themselves who will tell them what they want to hear. ⁴ People will refuse to listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to listen to silly stories that are false. ⁵ But you yourself must continue to think seriously and clearly. Be patient and brave when troubles come. Continue to tell the good news about Christ to people. Do all the work that God has given you to do as his servant.

⁶ As for me, it is nearly time for me to die. My death will be like a drink offering that they pour out to God. My life as God's servant will end.^{[b] 7} I have worked to serve Christ well. I have finished everything that God wanted me to do. I am like a runner who has run to the end of the race. I have continued to believe God's true message. ⁸ So now a gift is waiting for me. The Lord will make me completely right with him. That will be like a crown which the Lord will give me on that great day when he judges people. He is the judge who is fair and right. He will not only give that gift to me. He will give it to all those people who love him. They will be happy to see him when he comes again.^[c]

¹² You already know these things. You know that they are completely true. But because they are important, I will continue to tell you about them again and again. ¹³ While I am still alive on this earth I will continue to make sure that you remember them. I think that it is right for me to do that. ¹⁴ I know that I will die soon. Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that clearly. ¹⁵ After I am no longer with you, I want you still to remember what I have told you. So I will make sure that you have something to help you not to forget.

Peter himself saw how great Christ is

¹⁶ We told you that our Lord Jesus Christ is powerful. We also told you that he will return to earth again. We were not telling you false stories that came from people's clever ideas. Instead, we were telling you what we ourselves had seen. We ourselves saw that the Lord Jesus is very great. ^17-18 We were with him on the holy mountain when his Father God spoke to him.^[a] God gave honour to his Son, Jesus, and he said that Jesus is great. We ourselves heard God's voice speak to Jesus from heaven above where God rules with power. He said: ‘This is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy.’

God's messages in the Bible are very important

¹⁹ As well as that, we have the prophets' messages from long ago. They also show us very clearly that these things are true. The prophets' words are like a light that shines in a dark place. That light continues to shine in the dark until the dawn comes. So you need to think about those messages carefully. Then the morning star will rise and it will bring light deep inside you.^{[b] 20} It is very important that you should understand this: The prophets' messages in the Bible did not come from their own ideas. That never happens. ²¹ None of the prophets' messages came because any person wanted to say something. Instead, God's Holy Spirit caused people to speak words that came from God.^[c]