Study 3
THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
Before we begin our study, let us come before our God and Father and ask Him for His guiding hand,
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in Jesus Christ’s Holy Name. Father please give each one of us true spiritual wisdom and understanding so we can truly see that the Bible is Your Word. Lord please do not allow us to go to the left or right but lead us directly to the knowledge of You and Your Word.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
In the previous two studies we found that the Bible is unique and accurate. To refresh our memories, let us review some of the more pertinent points we discovered.
1. The Bible was written over a 1536 year time span by 40 different writers from various walks of life; yet it reveals the single coherent theme of God's redemption of man.
2. It has been read by more people than any other book and has been published in more languages and dialects than any other piece of literature.
3. Even though many kings, nations and governments have tried to destroy it, there still exists more ancient manuscript evidence of the Bible than any other ten pieces of ancient literature combined.
4. Its accuracy has been and continues to be verified from the historical, scientific and prophetic viewpoints. In fact, its prophetic accuracy is unprecedented. Within its pages prophecies that were predicted to occur in the near term, that is one year or less, to prophecies predicted to occur within tens, hundreds and even thousands of years have been and continue to be fulfilled.
Why? Why is the Bible so unique? Why is it so different from all the other known pieces of literature? What we will find is that the reason for this is because it is the Word of God. To see this we will,
1. Examine reasons why the Old Testament was and is identified as Holy Scripture.
2. Review reasons why the New Testament was and is identified as Holy Scripture.
3. Search the Bible to discover that the true Author of the Bible is God Almighty.
With this introduction and summary in mind we begin by examining that,
THE OLD TESTAMENT IS HOLY SCRIPTURE
In doing this we will,
1. Find that in the first century the Old Testament Hebrew and Aramaic writings that have been translated into the various Old Testament languages of today was and is identified as Holy Scripture.
2. Discover that our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles bore witness to the divine inspiration of the Old Testament.
FIRST CENTURY WRITINGS
The key evidence to support the fact that our present Old Testament is Holy Scripture comes from the first century writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. In his book, “Antiquities of the Jews”, Josephus refers to the same books of our present Old Testament as the same books that were accepted by the Jewish community at that time to be Holy Scripture.1
Finally, in the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible we read where the Talmudic Treatise Baba Bathra (200AD) identified the list of books, that is virtually the same as our present Old Testament, as Holy Scripture.2
The most authoritative witness to the divine inspiration of the Old Testament is,
THE WITNESS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES
To see this, we begin with the Apostles.
The Apostles
As one reads the letters of Paul one can not help but marvel on how often the Holy Spirit, through Paul, used the Old Testament Scriptures to teach us about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. An example of this can be seen in,
Romans 1:16-17
"[16] I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. [17] For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith.""
It is pointed out that the phrase, “The righteous will live by faith” comes from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk 2:4.
The Apostle Peter also bears witness to the authority of the Old Testament. One example of this is in,
1 Peter 1:22-25
"[22] Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. [23] For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. [24] For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, [25] but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you."
It is noted that verses 24-25 is a direct quote from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah 40:6-8. Also note in verse 23 and 25 the Scripture is referred to as the Word of God and the Word of the Lord.
Even though there are many examples in the letters penned by James, John and Jude that also bear witness to the authority of the Old Testament, let us move on to the most authoritative witness to the divine inspiration of the Old Testament; namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. To do this, we will review some examples from the many teachings of Jesus Christ that encompass the three major divisions of the Old Testament; namely, the Law of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets.
With this in mind let us now review some examples of,
The Witness of Jesus Christ
We begin with,
The Law of Moses
For an example of the many times that Jesus bore witness to the authority of the Law of Moses, let us read how He treated the incident of when God appeared to Moses from within the burning bush. In the following passage of Scripture we see how Jesus used this incident to teach the Sadducees, a Jewish sect who did not believe in the resurrection, that they were in error.
Mark 12:26-27
"[26] Now about the dead rising--have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? [27] He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!""
Notice Jesus did not treat this appearance of God as a fable. No, Jesus considered this event as an actual encounter that Moses had with God.
Let us now move on to,
The Old Testament Book of Psalms
In the New Testament we find that the Lord Jesus Christ often referenced the Psalms. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount we read,
Matthew 5:5
(Excerpt from Psalm 37:11)
"[5] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
Matthew 5:7
(Excerpt from Psalm 41:1)
“[7] Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
And,
Matthew 5:8
(This is a paraphrase from Psalm 24:3-5)
“[8] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
In addition to teaching us about how we should live, Jesus also used many of the Psalms to reveal that He was the fulfillment of them. For example, let us read how Jesus used the Parable of the Tenants to teach the chief priests and elders of the people of what was soon going to happen to Him. As we read this parable let us keep in mind that:
1. The landowner represents God the Father.
2. The vineyard represents the people.
3. The farmers or tenants represent the elders of Israel.
4. The servants represent God’s prophets.
5. The son represents Jesus, the Son of God.
6. The other servants represent the soon to be Christians.
With the above in mind let us now read from,
Matthew 21:33-41
""[33] Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. [34] When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. [35] "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. [36] Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. [37] Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. [38] "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' [39] So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. [40] "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" [41] "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.""
As Jesus completed this parable He told the chief priests and elders they should not be surprised at this. He did this by asking the following question,
Matthew 21:42
"[42] Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
In other words, Jesus told them that if they had read and understood the Scriptures, they would know that His rejection and death were foretold in them. The point for this study is that Jesus used the above passage to reveal what will happen to Him is from,
Psalm 118:22-23
[22] The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. [23] This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
In addition, let us also note He identified the passage as Scripture, which is sacred writing of divine inspiration.
The third and last major division of the Old Testament is the writings of,
The Prophets
For our representative from the book of the Prophets, let us explore how Jesus utilized the book of Jonah to teach the people and us about the significance of His death and resurrection.
Matthew 12:38-41
"[38] Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." [39] He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [41] The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here."
Notice, Jesus did not treat the account of Jonah and the huge fish as a mythical story. Instead, Jesus considered it to be an actual fact and declared Jonah to be a prophet.
The Witness of Jesus Christ Summary
Thus we find that Jesus Christ bore witness to the fact that the Old Testament, which is the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms were Holy Scripture. Jesus beautifully summarized this when He, after His resurrection, appeared to His disciples, and instructed them how everything written about Him must be fulfilled. We find His instruction recorded in,
Luke 24:44-45
"[44] He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." [45] Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures."
Let us notice the following verses,
44 … Jesus bore witness to the authority of the Old Testament. Also notice that He partitioned the Old Testament into (1) The Law of Moses, (2) The Prophets and (3) The Psalms.
45 … It was Jesus Christ who opened their minds to understand the Scripture. This is why, when we read or study the Bible, it is so important for us to ask Him to do the same for us.
Let now review some reasons why we can believe that,
THE NEW TESTAMENT IS HOLY SCRIPTURE
As we did for the Old Testament, let us now review some of the reasons why we can be sure that the twenty seven books of our New Testament are Holy Scripture. In Josh McDowell’s book, “Evidence That Demands A Verdict” we find it is not exactly known what all the criteria the early church used to determine whether or not a New Testament writing was Holy Scripture.3 However, according to Geisler and Nix in their book entitled; “A General Introduction To The Bible” they identified five probable guiding principles that were used to make this determination: (1) Is it dynamic?, (2) Is it prophetic?, (3) Is it authentic?, (4) Is it used by the people of God? And (5) Is it Authoritative? 4
This raises the question as to; “What exactly was the characteristics of the Bible that the early church were trying to insure and maintain?” To find out we begin with,
THE BIBLE IS DYNAMIC
In deciding whether or not a New Testament piece of writing was dynamic or not, the early church had to determine whether or not the book or letter contained the life transforming power of God. Obviously time was required for the early churches to observe and discern the effects that a piece of writing had upon its membership.
The second characteristic is that,
THE BIBLE IS PROPHETIC
The guiding principle to determine if a piece of literature was prophetic was to determine whether or not it was written by an apostle or a person carrying the apostolic authority. Although many qualifications are needed to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ, two key ones are: (1) to have actually seen the resurrected Christ and (2) to have the attesting signs, wonders and miracles.
The qualification for an apostle of Jesus Christ to have actually seen the resurrected Christ was given to us by the original eleven apostles. This criterion arose after Judas committed suicide and when the apostles were deciding who was to replace him. To see this, let us read from,
Acts 1:21-22
"[21] Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, [22] beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.""
Let us notice the last part of verse,
22 … They must be a witness of His resurrection.
The second key qualification for an apostle, which is attesting signs, wonders and miracles, is given to us when Paul was defending his apostleship to the church in Corinth. To read what he wrote we go to,
2 Corinthians 12:12
"[12] The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance."
The third characteristic, as we discovered in study 2 is that,
THE BIBLE IS AUTHENTIC
According to Geisler and Nix, whenever the early church had a doubt with respect to the authority or origin of a New Testament book or letter it was either: (1) discarded as spurious or (2) held in dispute until more evidence surfaced to make a more final determination.
The fourth criteria is that,
THE BIBLE IS USED BY THE PEOPLE OF GOD
Here the authority or witness given to a New Testament work to be Scripture was actually provided by its acceptance and usage by the people of God. As an example, we find that within the Bible itself we read that the apostle Peter acknowledged Paul’s letters as Scripture. We find this given to us in,
2 Peter 3:15-16
"[15] Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. [16] He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
Notice in the above passage Peter equates Paul’s writings to the other Scriptures thereby also acknowledging and accepting them as Scripture. Unfortunately this is the only passage within the Bible that one New Testament author bears witness to the authority of another person’s writings. Consequently, one must look outside of the Scripture to the early church to see how over time they considered and used the various pieces of New Testament writings.
As we read early church history we find it was not until approximately 393AD that all the books of the present New Testament were considered to be Holy Scripture.5 To determine this several councils were convened to not only refute various heresies that were infiltrating the churches but to also acknowledge as a group the New Testament writings that were to be considered as Holy Scripture. These councils were composed of all the bishops from as many Christian communities as possible. The council of Nicea in 325AD that convened under the direction of the Emperor Constantine considered all but five of the twenty seven books as Holy Scripture. The books Jude, 2 and 3 John, 2 Peter and James remained in dispute.6 However, by the time that the council at Hippo convened in 393AD all twenty seven books were considered by the Christian community at large to be Holy Scripture.7 The council at Carthage in 397AD also confirmed all twenty seven books as the work of God.8 Since this time they have not changed. Specifically, the twenty seven books of today’s New Testament are the same today as they were then. There has been no questioning of them by either the Protestant or Roman Catholic Church.
This brings us to the most critical principle or characteristic of the Bible. Specifically,
THE BIBLE MUST BE AUTHORITATIVE
Thus, the issue before the early church was to decide whether or not the words within a book or letter came from God. Since this is the most critical issue of all, let us explore in a bit more depth about who the author of the Bible really is. To do this, we will look to the Bible itself and find out what it has to say about its own authorship. Because of its extreme importance our study will encompass both the Old and New Testaments. In doing so we will find that,
THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
Since the Old Testament is composed of thirty nine books, our study of their authorship will be limited to a representative book from each of the major categories. Thus, this portion of our study will focus on just a representative book from the Law of Moses, The Psalms and the Prophets.
We begin our examination by determining who the true author is for,
THE LAW OF MOSES
Our representative book from the Law of Moses is the book of Exodus. To find where and how Moses received the information that he wrote in the book of Exodus, let us read what happened when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 32:15-16
"[15] Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. [16] The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets."
Let us notice the following verse,
16 … The tablets were the work and writing of God.
As we read further we find that as Moses came down from Mount Sinai to return to the camp of Israel, he found the people steeped in the sin of idolatry. Moses became so angry at them that he threw the tablets down on the ground and broke them. Consequently, God commanded Moses to return to Mount Sinai and receive a new set. What is interesting to note is that Moses himself could have just as easily made another set of tablets. However, this was not to be the case. Instead, God told Moses to bring to Him (God) two more tablets to write on. This is recorded for us in,
Exodus 34:1-2
"[1] The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. [2] Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain."
It is pretty clear that when we read the Law of Moses we are really reading God’s Word.
THE PSALMS
To understand who the true author of the Psalms is, we go to the New Testament where Jesus quoted from Psalm 110. Jesus used this Psalm to teach the people and us that He (Jesus) is the Son of God and only from a human perspective did He come from the physical lineage of David. This teaching is in,
Mark 12:35-37
"[35] While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, "How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? [36] David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."' [37] David himself calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?" The large crowd listened to him with delight."
In verse 36 the passage: "The Lord said to my Lord …" is a quote from Psalm 110. Thus, Jesus is telling us that it was not David, but God the Holy Spirit speaking through David who provided us this Psalm.
THE PROPHETS
For our representative from the Prophets let us examine the book of Zechariah. To do this let us read from,
Zechariah 1:1-4
"[1] In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: [2] "The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. [3] Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty. [4] Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD."
It is pretty clear we have just read what God told Zechariah. What is also interesting to note is that in verse four we read that God tells us that the earlier prophets were also sent by Him (God) and they too spoke His words.
Let us now determine who the true author is of the New Testament. To do this we begin with the,
THE GOSPELS
We begin our examination by determining whose words and activities we are really reading about in the Gospels. To do this, let use the Gospel according to Luke as our representative. To determine whose words we are reading in Luke’s account of the Gospel we must read what Luke wrote in,
Acts 1:1-3
"[1] In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach [2] until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. [3] After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God."
Let us notice the following verse,
1 … Luke, the writer of Acts as identified in, “Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts”, is telling Theophilus and us that what he wrote in his Gospel is what Jesus taught and did. Thus, when we read the Gospel according to Luke we are not only reading about the various activities of Jesus but also the very words He spoke. This same conclusion can also be reached for the three remaining Gospels of Mark, Matthew and John.
To determine the true author of the Epistles we begin with,
THE PAULINE EPISTLES
In his letter to the church in Galatia Paul made it clear as to how he received the information that he spoke and wrote about. To read what he wrote we go to,
Galatians 1:11-12
“[11] I want you to know, brothers that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. [12] I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
Let us now move on to,
THE GENERAL EPISTLES
For our representative from the General Epistles let us examine the first letter of John. To do this we go to,
1 John 1:1-4
“[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. [2] The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. [3] We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. [4] We write this to make our joy complete.”
In other words, John is telling us that what he wrote was what he heard Jesus Christ say and what he saw Him do. In fact, he also tells us that this was not a dream or some ecstatic vision for he also tells us that they even touched Him with their own hands!
Finally, let us read about the true author of,
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
To read how the Apostle John received the information he wrote in the book of Revelation we go to,
Revelation 1:9-19
"[9] I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. [10] On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, [11] which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." [12] I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. [15] His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. [16] In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. [17] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. [18] I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. [19] "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
In other words, it was the resurrected Christ Himself who told John exactly what to write and John obediently did exactly that.
CONCLUSION
What is the point of this study? What is the message of it all? The answer to these questions is clearly provided in the following excerpt from Peter’s second letter.
2 Peter 1:16-21
"[16] We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." [18] We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. [19] And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. [20] Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. [21] 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."
Let us notice the following verses,
16 … They did not follow invented stories, but were eyewitnesses to the things they preached and wrote about.
17-18 … They actually heard God the Father tell them that Jesus Christ was His Son.
20-21 … Prophecy did not originate in the thoughts or intellect of men but came from God.
Thus we find that the Bible is not, as we saw in the first two chapters, only a set of very special and unique books; but the Bible is in fact the Word of God.
Blessed be the Lord forever!
AMEN and AMEN