Facts about Bible IV : Inspiration

continued from Facts about Bible III : New Testament

INSPIRATION
The Scriptures are more than just wise or well-written or accurate, it is the inspired Word of God. That is why we call it the Holy Scriptures or the Holy Bible. What does it mean to be inspired by God? Is that like when we are inspired to paint a painting or write a poem? When penning the books of the Bible, were the authors taken over the by Holy Spirit and writing in a subconscious and trance-like state?

Let's look at a few Bible references:
2 Timothy 3.16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”

What some translations have as “by inspiration”(e.g. KJV), the NIV renders “God-breathed”. The inspiration for writing the Bible wasn't just a creative disposition the apostles and prophets woke up with one day, but rather the message contained in Scriptures came directly from the mouth of God.

2 Peter 1.20,21 “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's 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 Spirit.”

The manner by which God used the biblical authors are seen in the words “carried along”. Peter says that these men of God “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
The word used in the original Greek is the same used in Acts 27 when the ship Paul was in was being conducted by the wind and storm. In other words, the ship in Acts was being carried by the windy storm even though the sailors were doing everything in their power to control the ship's course. They were unloading cargo, lowering anchors and trying to steer the ship safely through the storm, but in the end, the wind was taking the ship where it pleased. In the same way, God did not take captive the bodies of His spokesmen and use them like human typewriters to produce His Word. These biblical writers still had a functioning mind and a vocabulary at their disposal to express themselves even though in the end it was the Holy Spirit that was carrying them along to produce God's Word.

That is why though the Bible is the Word of God, we still see in the original Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic a reflection of the authors command of the language and personal style. Isaiah is written with a very powerful literary style while John's writings are usually clear and simple. Some of Peter's writings expose a weak command of the Greek of his time.

Go to the next post in the series - Bible : Date and authors

Facts about Bible III : New Testament

continued from Facts about Bible II : Old Testament

NEW TESTAMENT

In the New Testament, the first four books make up what we call the Gospels. These retell the story of Jesus' life and sacrifice and the good news of salvation. These are probably the most well known books of the Bible.

They are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Acts of the Apostles is considered a History book, much like the history books of the Old Testament. It tells the story of the primitive church and the works of the apostles of Christ. It is the only one of its kind the New Testament and therefore stands alone.

The bulk of the New Testament is in the section Letters. There are 21 letters in all. Some of these letters were addressed to local churches, some were addressed to Christians in general and others were addressed to individuals. A majority of the letters were written by the Apostle Paul.

The letters are Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1st and 2nd Peter, 1st, 2nd and 3rd John and Jude.

The final book of the Bible is Revelation. There were multitude of books written at the time that fit the genre of Apocalyptic. Only though showed itself to be the inspired Word of God, and that was Revelation, written by the apostle John.

Go to next post in the series - Bible : Inspiration

Facts about Bible II : Old Testament

continued from Facts about Bible

OLD TESTAMENT
The scriptures is divided into two main sections – The Old and New Testaments. The former reveals the covenant between God and one people, i.e. Israel. The latter reveals the covenant between God and the chosen from all peoples, i.e. the Church. In the center is Christ – the most important person in God's redemptive plan. In Him and through Him salvation has been made available to members of every nation, tribe, tongue and in every era.

The books of the Bible can be further categorized by genre. In fact it is by genre that they are arranged the way they are in our bibles, as opposed to chronologically. The first five books, which are also called the Pentateuch, are labeled The Law. It receives this name due to its primary event being the Mosaic covenant and God's law for Israel.

These are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy

The next section, made up of 12 books, is History books. These books give an account of the history of the people of Israel.

These include: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.

Wisdom books come next. In this section we find wise sayings, songs, poetic and philosophical writings.

There are 5 books classified as wisdom books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon.

The rest of the Old Testament is made of Prophets' books. There are seventeen in all. The first five are considered major prophets while the remaining twelve are called minor prophets. Prophetic books carry words of exhortation or admonishment towards Israel or other nations during different times in history. In them we find God, through His chosen spokesmen the prophets, warning of imminent judgment for the disobedient or calling for repentance and a return to His covenant. There are also a plethora of what are called, messianic prophecies, foretelling Christ's coming.

The prophets' books are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi.

Go to next post in series - Bible : New Testament

Facts about Bible

INTRODUCTION
In many ways there is no greater book than the Bible. Simply put it is the Word of God. It is God's communication to man through man. It rests above any other writing for its author is above any other.

Giving witness to its greatness is the history of its dissemination. No book has been more copied, more read, more distributed, more studied, more translated and more sold. The nature of this achievement would be astounding on its own, but it is further appreciated when seen in light of Christianity's tumultuous beginnings. The first few centuries of the Christian church was replete with violent persecutions that led to the destruction of many biblical manuscripts. If the Bible had just survived, it would've been a miracle; the fact that it has become the most circulated book of all time, is no less than divine.

The objective of these postings (Facts about Bible) is to provide an introductory overview of the Bible. Structure, reliability and history are among some of the topics covered. Focusing on the 'big picture', the goal is to give the reader a greater familiarity with the Scriptures; to know what we believe and why we believe it.

OVERVIEW
The word Bible comes from the Greek Biblia, defined as papers or scrolls, words commonly used for books. The Bible is a book and a collection of books. It is composed of 66 individual books, penned by at least 40 different authors. It was written in various parts of the world, by a very diverse group; these include shepherds, kings, prophets, priests, fishermen, a tent maker and even a tax collector. It's originals were in three different languages. Hebrew, predominantly in the Old Testament; Greek, predominantly in the New and Aramaic in brief portions throughout.

CENTRAL MESSAGE
The Bible's underlying message is the same throughout. From Genesis to Revelation the subject is God's redemptive plan for mankind. The fall of man is narrated in Genesis chapter 3. Genesis 1 and 2 tells us how it was “in the beginning”, Genesis 3 through Revelation 22 shows us God's plan in rescuing His fallen creation. From the promise of a seed that would crush the serpent's head to Jesus' assuring “Yes, I am coming soon”, the unwavering message is salvation.

Go to next post in series - Bible : Old Testament