Lesson 1 - The Bible as the Word of God

     The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word βίβλος biblos which means scroll or book. The Bible is a library of sixty six books, composed by approximately forty human authors spanning nearly fifteen hundred years.  “The purpose of God in providing the Bible is that man, to whom the Bible is addressed, may be possessed of dependable information regarding things tangible and intangible, temporal and eternal, visible and invisible, earthly and heavenly.”[1] 

     Internally, the Bible claims to be the word of God (Ex. 17:14; 34:27; Dan. 7:1; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:23-25).  Paul equated the writings of Moses and Luke as Scripture (1 Tim. 5:18), as Peter did the writings of Paul (2 Pet. 3:15-16).  It reveals there is one God who exists as three distinct Persons within the Trinity (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2): God the Father (Gal. 1:1; Eph. 6:23; Phil. 2:11), God the Son (John 1:1, 14, 18; 8:58; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:8), and God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 2:11-12; 2 Cor. 13:14).  All three are co-equal, co-infinite, co-eternal, and worthy of all praise and service.  The Bible also reveals the origins of the universe (Gen. 1:1), mankind (Gen. 1:26-27), sin (Gen. 3:1-8), salvation (John 3:16), and the future (Rev. 21-22), just to name a few.  The Bible does not reveal all there is to know about God or His plans and actions, but only what He deems important (Deut. 29:29; cf. John 21:25). 

     Externally, the Bible has a wealth of manuscript evidence (13,000 manuscript copies & portions of texts), has been translated into more languages than any other book, has perfect continuity regarding what it reveals about God and creation (Job 26:7; Isa. 40:22), has transformed countless lives, and served as a basis for law and morality. 

     In Summary, the Bible is God’s Word to man, revealing what He deems important, and those who are positive to God accept and live by it.

 

[1]Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, Mich. Kregel Publication, 1993), 105.