A Brief Introduction to the Bible

Introduction: Most Christians know the Bible but very few know about the Bible. The Bible tells the story of God’s relationship with the masterpiece of his creation – people. It is the book through which God communicates with people. The Bible is foundational to the Christian faith. It is through the Bible that people can learn more about God and his plan to restore all people and the entire world to himself, by sending his son Jesus Christ to live on earth.

In some respects, as Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the flesh, so the Bible is the word of God in the words of men. Although the words of the Bible are truly human, they are not merely human. The Bible is the word of God through the mouths and pens of men. The words of the Bible are divine words that were spoken by men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit in their thinking, speaking, and writing. Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man. Similarly, the Bible too is fully the word of God and yet fully written by man.

1.         Literary types and authors

The Bible is not a single book, but a collection of over sixty different writings composed by many different authors over hundreds of years, written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The English word Bible comes from the Greek word ‘biblia’, meaning books. So the Bible is, in fact, a library, a collection of 66 sacred books. The Bible is also referred to as ‘graphia’, the writings. The Bible contains many different types of literature: history, poetry, genealogy, prophecy, biography, letter, wisdom, and official records. The writers include kings, prophets, priests, soldiers, songwriters, judges, and even a tax collector, a shepherd, a prime minister, and a doctor. God prefers to use human writers as His mouthpiece. The Bible is a communication in which God makes himself known to humanity. Just as Jesus is true man and true God and was in the world with a task to perform, so the Bible is God's infallible (unfailing) Word to us. The Bible is God's message to us. Like God, then, the Bible is trustworthy and true. Everything the Bible teaches, affirms, commands, and says concerning God's kingdom is trustworthy and true.

2.         The Emergence of the Canon

The Bible is a remarkable collection of ancient writings Christians believe to be God’s revelation to people. The process of collecting the various writings into a single book took several centuries, and the decisions about which books would constitute the Bible involved a great deal of thought and discussion. In the end, the thirty-nine books of the Protestant Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament were the writings in which the faith communities heard the voice of God in a distinctive way, a way that led them to designate these books as authoritative guides for their lives and beliefs. The term canon designates the process of collection of writings that carries authority. The English word canon comes from the Greek kanon, which means a “reed” or “measuring stick”. The “canon of Scripture” is that recognised and accepted collection of sixty-six books of the Bible which conforms to a standard, and consequently is infallible, that is truthful and without error. To say that the Scriptures are “canonical” is to declare that they have been recognised as the Word of God written, and thus are holy and have authority. It is unique and is distinct from all other books.

3.         It is a book of wonders

The Bible is the best-documented book, the best-preserved book, and the bestselling book in the world. How it grew is one of the mysteries of time. It is the only book in the world read by all classes. It was written largely by uneducated people, yet the best from a literary standpoint. Another wonder of the Bible is its preservation. It is the most hated, the most debated and the most dissected of all books, yet it continues to exist. “The word of the Lord stands forever" (1 Peter 1:25).

4.         It is a special revelation

The Bible is not just a handbook written by man, it has an eternal dimension. Speech is a good means of communication and words are the most precise way of expressing our thoughts. Although God speaks through nature, he also explains himself in words. We call what God says through nature "general revelation". He also reveals himself through dreams, visions, and sometimes even face-to-face. The revelation of God that we find in the Bible is a "special revelation". Jesus is another part of the "special revelation". Jesus is God's Word; a walking, talking, living Word.

The Bible has been translated into so many languages and dialects. People tend to argue about which version is the correct one. But the Bible has staying power. The main message or theme of the Bible is salvation. No matter how many languages or dialects it has been translated into, the message of salvation that God wants us to hear through his word is never lost.

5.         It either commends or condemns

The word of God is powerful. It either commends us or condemns us. The word of God acclaims us if we live a holy life, but it condemns us when we live an unholy life. John 3:16-18 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

So you see, the Word can either commend you for believing it or it will condemn you for rejecting it. The word of God commends us when we pray, but it condemns us when we don't. The word of God commends us if we witness, but it condemns us if we don't.

6.         It is the source of faith

Romans 10:17 says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

People say, "If I had enough faith, I believe God would save me." Nobody can give you that faith. The Bible says that if you read the scriptures, you can have that faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. If you want more faith, you need to get in the Word of God. You need to read it; you need to listen to it. You need to meditate upon it and, most of all, live it in your life.

7.         It has the power to overcome Satan

“I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:14)

When he was tempted, Jesus overcame all three attempts of Satan by the power and authority of God’s Word. Believers are to see themselves as not only in conflict with the enemy but as having perceived the victory in Christ's name and by his power. The victory was gained through Christ's death. This victory does not promise that believers will be removed from the heat and peril of the battlefield. But it does assure them that if they are faithful they will overcome the devil. They are indeed strong as the children of faith, but their strength ultimately depends on one fact alone-- the word of God abiding or living in them.

8.         It is living and active

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12 & 13)

"The word of God" means anything that God utters--particularly the word that came through Jesus Christ. "Living and active" shows that there is a dynamic quality about God's revelation. It is not static, it does things. Specifically, it penetrates and, in this capacity, is likened to a double-edged sword.

The word of God is unique. No sword can penetrate as it can. God's Word can reach the innermost recesses of our being. We must not think that we can bluff our way out of anything, for no secrets are hidden from God. We cannot keep our thoughts to ourselves. There may also be the thought that the whole of human nature, however we divide it, physical as well as nonmaterial, is open to God.

The use of the word "judges" takes us to legal terminology. The word of God passes judgment on our feelings and thoughts. Nothing evades the scope of this word. What people hold as most secret they find subject to its scrutiny and judgment.

Nothing in all creation (or "no created being") remains invisible to God. All things are truly laid open before God. Clearly, the author is saying that no one can keep anything hidden from God. Nothing is hidden from God, and in the end, we must give an account of ourselves to him. The combination makes a powerful reason for heeding the exhortation and entering into the rest by our obedience.

9.         It is God-breathed and useful

“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 Timothy 3:16-17)

"All Scripture is God-breathed." The adjective used here is theopneustos, which is a combination of two other Greek words: theos (God) and pneo (breathe). This is one of the greatest texts in the New Testament describing the inspiration or the "God-breathed" aspect of the Bible.

Another outstanding passage is 2 Peter 1:21, which describes how divine inspiration took place. “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.”Inspired Scripture is useful or profitable in various areas:

Ø  Teaching us Christian truths;

Ø  Rebuking or convicting us of sin;

Ø  Correcting us where we have gone wrong;

Ø  Training us in how to live both inwardly and outwardly in righteous living.

 

The purpose of all this is so that Christians will be completely ready to meet the demands of discipleship.

"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (Luke 11:28)

 

Selie Visa