THE BIBLE - THE WORD OF GOD

To establish your faith as a Christian and a disciple of Jesus you must begin at the beginning. And, the beginning when it comes to knowing God personally and living a life pleasing to Him is to know your Bible.

Keep in mind that the Bible is not a book of philosophy, although it is philosophical. Do not go to the Bible for a scientific treatise. However, there is no discrepancy between ascertained facts of science and the Bible. The Bible is not a book of history, but is found to be accurate when recording history. The Bible was given to man from God, revealing Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God the Son, the only Saviour.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

He is the centre and the circumference. It is Christ from Genesis to Revelation.

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.”

Someone once said of the Bible: “Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be right.”

1> THE BIBLE CLAIMS TO BE THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

“All Scripture is inspired by God…”

By inspired we mean that the Holy Spirit (God) exerted His supernatural influence upon the writers of the Bible. Therefore the Scriptures are God inspired word for word. By this we mean that every word, in the original Greek (New Testament) and Hebrew (Old Testament), is fully and equally inspired in all of its teachings. The Bible does not just contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God.

The writers of the Bible did not write by natural inspiration, or an act of the human will. “Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:21). King David said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His Word was on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2).

So,

i> The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible

2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

ii> Man is the instrument used by the Holy Spirit to write the Bible - to record the words that He inspired.

iii> Results: The infallible Word of God. Therefore, the Bible is free from error in it’s original form and absolutely trustworthy.

2> THE BIBLE IS A DIFFICULT BOOK

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

The Bible is a difficult book because it came from the infinite to the finite - from the unlimited, all powerful God, to limited man. Therefore, you cannot understand the Bible as you would understand the writings of Plato or Socrates. You can study the great philosophers with the natural mind, and by diligent application, grasp their profound meanings. If the Bible could be understood by natural man, it would be a natural book, and could not be the Word of God. Since the Bible is from God, and therefore spiritual and supernatural, before you can receive its teachings, you must be born of the Spirit or born again…

John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

And, must be filled with the Spirit (Baptized in the Holy Spirit and controlled by Him)

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…”

Always approach the Bible praying that the Holy Spirit who is in you will be your Teacher guide you to a better understanding of His Holy Word, or it will remain a difficult, closed book.

John 16:12-15 ““I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

1 John 2:27 “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”

When reading any other book you read it to know the plot, the story, the characters. When you have finished reading a book you often know little to nothing about the author of the story except what the back cover might say about him or her.

When reading the Bible you are out to discover and get to know the Author, God Himself. You do not read it for the stories or the information, the plot and the characters. You read it to see what God has revealed about Himself through the stories and characters. The key in reading the Bible is to come to know the Author better.

3> THE BIBLE IS A BOOK OF ONENESS

2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The oneness or unity of the Bible is a miracle. It is a library (Bible means library) of 66 books, written by over 35 different authors, in a period of approximately 1,500 years. Represented in the authors is a cross section of humanity, educated and uneducated, including kinds, fishermen, public officials, farmers, teachers, and physicians. Included in the subjects covered are religion, history, law, science, poetry, drama, biography, and prophecy. Yet its various parts are as harmoniously united as the parts that make up the human body.

For 35 authors, with such varied backgrounds, to write on so many subjects over a period of approximately 1,500 years in absolute harmony is a mathematical impossibility. It could not happen! Then how do we account for the Bible? The only adequate explanation is: “…men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

4> THE BIBLE CLAIMS SPECIAL POWER - It is “living and active”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

A> The Bible claims dividing power as a sword. The Bible will separate man from sin

Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Or, sin will separate man from the Bible

Isaiah 59:2 “but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

B> The Bible claims reflecting power as a mirror

James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

In the words of the Bible we see ourselves as God sees us - as sinners

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

C> The Bible claims cleansing power as water

Ephesians 5:26 “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.”

David prayed that God would wash him from iniquity and cleanse him from sin.

Psalm 51:2 “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

D> The Bible claims reproductive power as seed

1 Peter 1:23 “Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God…”

We are children of God, because we have been born into the family of God by the imperishable seed of God - His Word. This is, of course, the new birth.

John 3:1-7 “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.”

E> The Bible claims nourishing power as food

1 Peter 2:2 “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation…” (NASV)

The Bible is spiritual food for the soul. No Christian can remain strong in the Lord and not study and read the Word of God, the Bible.

5> THE BIBLE COMMANDS THE BELIEVER TO STUDY THE SCRIPTURES

2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God” is ca command. As you study (not just read) the Bible, you will discover that it does not just contain the Word of God - it is the Word of God. You must also keep in mind that the Word of God, the Bible, contains the words of God, as weak as the words of Satan, demons, angels and man - both good and bad. God is truth and cannot lie. Satan “…is a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44). Man is natural and is therefore limited, and does not always speak the truth.

To illustrate: In Matthew 22:15-46 we have the words of Jesus, of the Pharisees, of the Herodians, and of the Sadducees. The Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees were trying to entangle Jesus in His teachings, that they might accuse Him of breaking God’s law. Their words were spoken with evil intent, revealing the thinking of the natural man, along with the words of God that came from the lips of Jesus.

As you study the Bible, ask yourself these questions:

A> Who is speaking: God, demons, angels, or men?

B> To whom is He speaking: to the nation of Israel, to the Gentiles (non-Jews), to the Church, to men in general, or to some individual man or being?

C> How can this Scripture be applied to my own life to make me a better Christian?

CONCLUSION:

As we read and study the Bible there are two major outcomes…

This can be condensed by taking out the four ways the word works…profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…

You end up seeing the essence of the reason we study and read God’s Word, the Bible

“All Scripture is given by God and is profitable that the person of God may be complete and equipped…”

Complete = to be like Jesus

Equipped = to do what Jesus did (John 14:12)