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The Bible
What is the Bibleâthis book that has far and away been the bestseller of all history and has been translated into more languages than any other book?
Bible means âbook.â But what kind of book is the Bible? Some suggest it is a record of religious striving toward and encounters with Godâan essentially human book. Traditionally, the historic Christian church has seen the Bible as far more than thisânamely, as the written Word of God. The first words of the book show that God is the leading character of this divine autobiography: âIn the beginning God . . .â Its pages show us God taking the initiative, giving us information about himself and showing his purposes for usâhis creation.
How we view the Bible is crucial because it holds the key to knowing for certain that God exists. And how can we know about him if he does exist? Clearly, our finite minds cannot penetrate Godâs infinity. Jobâs friend asked him, âCan you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?â (Job 11:7). The answers come with a resounding âyesââthrough Godâs self-revelation, the Bible.
In the Bible, his chosen instrument, God unfolds for us his true character. Through everyday human histories he tells us where we came from, what our ultimate destiny is and the purpose of our lives. He gives practical instructions, heart-thumping encouragements, warnings and divine wisdom. All from our Creator. Here Godâs unrivaled power and integrity are also unveiled.
The people God used to record his words were themselves uncommonly moved by them. They said the Word of God is
- honey in my mouth (Ezekiel 3:3)
- spiritual food for the hungry (Job 23:12)
- dwelling in me richly (Colossians 3:16)
- a lamp for my feet (Psalm 119:105)
- a joy and delight to my heart (Jeremiah 15:16)
- renewing my mind (Romans 12:12)
- a fire that burns in my heart (Jeremiah 20:9)
- more precious than gold (Psalm 19:10)
- sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12)
- a great reward (Psalm 19:11)
- true and righteous (Psalm 119:160)
- penetrating my thoughts and attitudes (Hebrews 4:12)
- perfect and trustworthy (Psalm 19:7)
Unlike these reactions, a student once told me, âWhen I read the Bible, I fall asleep.â Perhaps he overlooked the fact that it was the God of the universe who spoke these words. When this gets into the marrow of our bones, the words fly off the pages to us and are nothing short of life-changing.
Today our need for the Bible, Godâs Word, is more important than ever. Our world is bombarded with ideas, however well-intentioned, that challenge the time-honored concepts of the God of the Bible. Ideas such as âAll roads lead to Romeâ and âThere is no one wayâ come from every corner of the globe. Relativism has taken over, disavowing all possibility of one truth source; postmodernism has arrived, bringing its elastic morality; secularism joins in exalting existential experience.
God Unmasked
By contrast, God the Creator has revealed himselfâunmasked himself, as we would to a friend. He has done this in several ways.
1. Nature and the entire cosmos blare the message of a powerful Designer. Our natural world, from the most minute atom, to the complexities of molecular DNA and RNA, to the innumerable galaxiesâall shout the Designerâs intelligence. âFor since the creation of the world Godâs invisible qualitiesâhis eternal power and divine natureâhave been clearly seen, being understood from what has been madeâ (Romans 1:20). âThe heavens declare the glory of God. . . . There is no speech or language where their voice is not heardâ (Psalm 19:1, 3).
2. Through history God has revealed himself, particularly in his dealings with Israel and the nations surrounding it. Such Old Testament expressions as âThen Manasseh knew that the LORD is Godâ (2 Chronicles 33:13) reflect recognition of God because of his activity in the affairs of individuals and nations.
Isaiah 63:8-9 pictures Godâs persistent reaching out to Israel:
âSurely they are my people, sons who will not be false to meâ; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
3. The words of the prophets were also instruments of Godâs revelation as they interpreted their circumstances and sought Godâs will. âThe word of the LORD came to meâ and âThis is what the LORD saysâ are recurring phrases throughout the Old Testament (Ezekiel 6:1; 7:1; 12:1; Zechariah 8:1; Exodus 4:22; 1 Samuel 2:27), called propositional revelation.
Godâs Special Revelation
Jesus Christ was Godâs fullest and clearest revelation. He was God incarnate. âThe image of the invisible God,â âThe Word became flesh,â and âWe beheld his gloryâ are but a few descriptions of Jesus Christ. The writers in Hebrews and Acts explained it this way: âIn the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Sonâ (Hebrews 1:1-2). âAll the prophets testify about him [Jesus] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his nameâ (Acts 10:43).
Table 1.1 The Bibleâs Two Sections
| Old Testament | New Testament |
Number of books | 39 | 27 |
Major Groups | Law, Historical books, Poetry, Wisdom, Prophets | Gospels, Acts, Epistles, Revelation |
Years to write | 1,100 years | 100 years |
Written Record Needed
But what about people who were not present and so did not see Godâs involvement in history or the events surrounding Christâs incarnation, life, death, and resurrection? To reach all generations, obviously, a written record was needed, one that would touch all people everywhere. And the Bible was Godâs chosen vehicle.
The Bible consists of two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written over 1,100 years; the New Testament was written within the span of a century (see table 1.1).
Testament means âcovenant,â an alliance between two partners, an âagreement,â a âpromise.â The Old Testament covenant was brought to fulfillment in the New Testament. Through Israel, the entire world would learn of Godâs covenant to send a redeemer.
Godâs covenant was first specifically enunciated to Abraham (then Abram). It covered three aspects: a land for Israel, a nation (numbered more than the stars in the heaven) and blessing to all the people of the earth (the Redeemer to bring Godâs forgiveness). See Genesis 12:1-3 and 15:4-7.[1]
Languages
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. A gradual infiltration of the Greek language came with the expansion of the Greek empire under Alexander the Great from Greece to Persia in 331 B.C., including Palestine. Through several centuries, Greek culture dominated until the Romans conquered the land under Pompey in 66 B.C.
Jesus was born into a Hebrew culture in which the spoken language was a âcommonâ form of Hebrew called Aramaic and a âcommonâ form of Greek called Koine. Hence the New Testament was written by Jewish people, largely in common Greek.
A Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, called the Septuagint (meaning seventy), was made by a group of seventy-two Jewish scholars about 250 B.C. for the Israelites. It was necessary because of the impact of Hellenism on Judaism.[2] The books were arranged according to similarity of subject matter; and this is the order of the Protestant Bible today.
With the spread of Christianity to Rome, the Latin Vulgate version was translated in roughly A.D. 400. It became the authorized version of the Catholic Church. Twelve books, called the Apocrypha (meaning âhiddenâ), were included in this version. They were never included in the Hebrew Old Testament or in the Protestant editions today. New Testament writers quoted from every other book of the Old Testament except those in the Apocrypha.
There were no chapter and verse divisions until around the year A.D. 1214, when the books were divided into chapters. Over three hundred years later, verses were given numbers.
Inspired!
How was a book of history covering over two thousand years written? And how could it have a single theme? Two clear statements from the New Testament answer this question: âUnderstand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophetâs own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spiritâ (2 Peter 1:20-21). âAll Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousnessâ (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Bible originated in Godâs mind, not in human minds. It was given to us by inspiration. The Bible is not inspired as we say the writings of Shakespeare were inspired or the music of Bach was inspired. The biblical sense of inspiration means God so superintended the writers of Scripture that they wrote what he wanted them to write, disclosing the exact truth he wanted conveyed.
The word inspired literally means âoutbreathedâ (from the mouth of God). Paul is not ambiguous; the words did not come from the writers themselves! Inspiration applies to the end resultâthe Scripture itselfâa faulty script would be useless.
Every Word Inspired
Assent to the fact of the inspiration of the Bible can be a superficial nod of the head or a heartfelt awe over Godâs intentional reaching out to each of us. Three terms help us understand the truth of inspiration.
1. Plenary inspiration means all of Scripture is inspiredânot merely some parts. (Plenary means âfull.â) Implicit in Godâs act of plenary inspiration is his disclosure of exactly what we need to know about himâno more, no less. He communicated his basic plans and promises for all of his creation.
2. Verbal inspiration indicates that inspiration extends to the words of the Bible themselves, not only to the ideas. God did not dictate the Scripture mechanically but guided and superintended the writers within the framework of their own personalities and backgrounds. This guidance would of necessity include their choice of words, since thoughts are composed of words, much as a theme of music consists of individual notes. Altering the notes alters the song.
3. Plenary, verbal inspiration stresses the authenticity and reliability of the very words that were written, without depriving the writers of their individuality. A Christian who has such a high...