Who is the "Man of God" of 2 Timothy 3:15-17?

In his rejection of the authority of the Catholic Church, Martin Luther developed the doctrine that the Bible Alone (known also as sola scriptura) should be the ultimate infallible authority. In general, this means that Scripture is the sole authority in matters of faith, and over the centuries this belief has become one of the foundational doctrines of most Protestant churches. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that God's Word is revealed to us both through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradtion. This does not mean that Catholics don't believe in the divine authority of the Bible, but rather that God put in place a teaching magisterium given the responsibility to faithfully interpret Scripture guided by the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, Catholics are often asked, "Where does the Bible say that?", to which the Catholic rejoinder is, "Where does the Bible even say it is the sole rule of faith in the first place?". 2 Timothy 3:15-17 is often quoted as a proof-text for sola scripture, and it reads as follows:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. ( 2 Tim 3:15-17)

There are many reasons why this passage does not prove the Protestant position; for example, the passage only says that all scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, etc. What it does not say is that all scripture is necessary for teaching, rebuking, etc. Furthermore, it does not specify which scripture Paul was talking about, although it is clear that the Scriptures that young Timothy would have known "from infancy" would have been the Old Testament. In other words, if this passage is to be taken literally, the Protestant is insisting that the Old Testament is the sole rule of faith, which is not true, of course.

Another example of the misapplication of 2 Timothy 3:15-17 as a proof-text for sola scriptura is the presence of the phrase "man of God". Who is this "man of God"? Was Paul referring to Christian believers in general when he used this phrase? A survey of the scriptural usage of the term "man of God" demonstrates that it has a very specific meaning:

Deuteronomy 33:1"This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death."

Joshua 14:6 "Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea."

1 Kings 17:24 "And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth [is] truth."

2 Chronicles 8:14 "...David the man of God had commanded."

Judges 13:6 "Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible; I did not ask him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name;"

2 Kings 4:9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this [is] a holy man of God, which passeth by us continually."

When the phrase "man of God" is used in holy Scripture, it is reserved for prophets, kings, angels, or church leaders - it does not refer to the average 21st Century Christian.

Prophet - 1 Kgs 12:22, 1 Kgs 17:18, 2 Kgs 5:8, 1 Kgs 17:24, 2 Kgs 1:9, 2 Kgs 1:10, 2 Kgs 1:11, 2 Kgs 1:12, 2 Kgs 1:13, 2 Kgs 5:8, 1 Chron 23:14, Psalm 90:1, Ezra 3:2, 2 Ch 30:16, 2 Kgs 23:16, 2 Kgs 7:2, 2 Kgs 7:17, 2 Kgs 7:18, 2 Kgs 7:19

King - 2 Chron 8:14, Neh 12:24, Neh 12:36 , 2 Chron 8:14

Church leader - Jer 35:4, 2 Chron 11:2, 2 Kgs 23:17, 2 Kgs 8:2, 2 Kgs 8:4, 2 Kgs 8:7, 2 Kgs 8:8, 2 Kgs 8:11

Angel - 2 Chron 25:7, 2 Chron 25:9, 2 Kgs 13:19 , Judges 13:6, Judges 13:8

So, who is the "man of God"? We see that "man of God" has specific meaning as an important leader, or prophet, or king - people like Moses, Elisha, David, etc. Note that not only does Paul imply that his young bishop Timothy is also a man of God in 2 Tim 3:17, he explicitly addresses Timothy as a man of God in 1 Timothy 6:11:

"But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness."

At no point in Scripture does "man of God" refer to the average, literate Christian who drives to the nearest Barnes & Noble bookstore in his Sport Utility Vehicle and buys a KJV Bible to read over a cup of Starbucks coffee. No, a man of God in Scripture is someone on the order of David, Moses, Elisha, other prophets, angels, kings, church leaders, which includes Timothy.

While it is certainly true that Scripture is useful for being trained in righteousness and thoroughly equipped for every good work, the true context of Paul's letter to Timothy shows that it is Timothy who is the man of God - the one who is being charged with the responsibility of being a good leader (2 Tim 4:1), one who must "be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves..." (2 Tim 2:24-25). In other words, this epistle is a letter written to Timothy containing advice on how to be a church leader, including advice on how to use the Scriptures he had known from infancy (which is the Old Testament); it was never, ever, meant to be a proof-text for sola scriptura.