Lesson 1 “The Bible”. Foundation Class.
Lesson 1 “The Bible”
The Bible is a Revelation of God, coming from God, and flowing through man, to man. The Bible is the ONLY inspired and infallible divine revelation ever given to man and is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and morals. The Holy Spirit breathed upon human vessels the very thoughts and words He wanted written. Yet the Holy Spirit guarded and preserved every thought, phrase and word from any error, omission or inaccuracy.
Is the Bible inspired by God and Where did it come from?
To answer this question we must first examine what inspiration is, and what the criteria is to examine inspiration.
INSPIRATION : Theological Definition.
a. a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.
b. the divine quality of the writings or words of a person so influenced.
The Bible declares its own inspiration in:
2 Tim 3:16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (NIV)
2 Pet 1:21 For the prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (NKJV)
The Method of inspiration which God used while inspiring scripture must be distinguished from its content and result. The end result of this inspiration is that the Bible conveys the truths which God wanted His people to know and to communicate to the world.
Proofs that the Bible is inspired are:
The Bible is not merely a history book to be studied for its teachings or admired for its wisdom. In this century educated men and women still can investigate the Bible in detail and believe in its message without compromising their intellectual integrity.
Though the Bible contains 66 books written over a period of 1600 years by 40 different authors from different educational backgrounds, in different languages, on different continents, concerning many different subjects, it remains a unity—one unfolding story from beginning to end. There were kings, statesmen, prophets, peasants, fishermen, herdsmen, priests,
tradesmen, and prisoners who wrote the Bible in three different languages. (Hebrew, Greek and Latin). The ultimate author behind the books of the Bible is God and the Holy Spirit.
A.Harmony of Themes:
The CreatorColossians 1:6
The BeginningRevelation 1:8
The Seed of the WomanMatthew 1:23
B.Harmony between Old and New Testament:
The New is in the Old contained:
The Old is in the New explained
The New is in the Old concealed:
The Old is in the New revealed
2 Pet 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
Gal 1:11-12 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. (NIV)
Rom 3:1-2 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. (NIV)
I Jn 1:1 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. (NIV)
The Bible has survived and has been kept intact throughout history. The text of the Bible has been transmitted in an accurate manner so that we can be certain that it reads the same today as when originally written. There are more ancient manuscripts available than any works of that time.
4. Historical Precision
Although composed from 2000 to 4000 years ago, the Bible demonstrates itself to be historically accurate as to the people, places, and events it records. It is not culturally corrupted by false theories of that time.
5. Scientific Respectability
When dealing with areas pertaining to science, the Bible is accurate and restrained. This is in direct contrast to other ancient works which have fanciful ideas about the nature of the universe. A correct interpretation of the facts of science and the teaching of Scripture will find that the two are not in conflict.
6. Ability to Predict the Future
Contained within the pages of Scripture are hundreds of fulfilled prophecies. No other book, ancient or modern, has anything like this. Predictive prophecy demonstrates that God exists and that He holds our history in His Hands.
The Scriptures deal honestly with the sins of its characters. There is no attempt to hide their faults. This also is in contrast to most other ancient works which attempt to place their characters in the best possible light. However the main character of the Bible, Jesus Christ, is shown to be without sin, as was testified by His enemies as well as His friends and disciples.
8. Unique Teachings
The teachings of Scripture are unique. They have not been influenced by the pagan and superstitious beliefs of the nations around them. These unique teachings include the belief in one God, the worth of man, and a genuine hope for life beyond the grave.
9. Main Character - Jesus Christ
Jesus, the main character of Scripture, is different from any religious leader who has ever lived. An investigation of His life and deeds will show Him to be whom He claimed—the Son of God.
10. Life-Changing Message:
For the last two thousand years, the message of the Bible has been transforming lives like no other book. The message of God's love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ still is changing lives today.
The claims of a book with the remarkable credentials of the Bible deserve serious consideration. Any sincere seeker after truth should look into this book for answers to the ultimate questions of life.
11. The Miracles of the Bible.
John 3:1-2 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." NIV
Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. NIV
The Authority of Jesus Christ
When it comes to determining whether or not the Bible is the inspired word of God, we can rest confidently on the authority of Jesus Christ. We arrive at this conclusion by the following logical steps:
1. Already we have shown that the New Testament can be trusted as an accurate historical document, giving firsthand information on the life of Jesus Christ.
2. In this accurate, historical document Jesus Christ is presented as having made certain claims about Himself. He claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the only way by which anyone can approach God.
3. Jesus Christ demonstrated that He had the right to make those claims by fulfilling prophecies about the Messiah. He performed miracles, showing He had power over nature. The most significant miracle of all was His rising from the dead (John 2:19-21). The resurrection confirmed His claim to Deity.
4. Since Jesus is the Messiah, God in human flesh, He is the last word on all matters. He had the divine authority to endorse all Scripture or only some of it. He affirmed all Scripture, in every part, as the Divine Word of God. Therefore we conclude the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, is the Word of God.
Why is the Bible divided into two Testaments?
1.God’s revelation to man is ___________(Isaiah 28:9-13)
2.The Old Testament was _____________to the NewTestament.
3.The Old Testament set forth the _______ and ________of the New Testament church (Hebrews 8:5; 10:1)
4.That which happened in the Old Testament was writtenfor our learning (Romans15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11)
Why should we study the Bible?
1.It is our ________________so we can grow.Matthew 4:4
2.It is what God wants to __________to us ________.
3.God ____________ us to study His Word.
2 Timothy 2:15
4.It __________ us in ____ ______ and makes us ________.
5.The Bible gives us _________.
6.By the Word we can face the _______________of life and be over-comers.
Psalms 119:11I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (NIV)
7.By the Word we can have true _________ in life.
Additional benefits to studying the bible are:
How should we study the Bible?
As much as our natural bodies require food and water our spiritual man requires the same. For us to grow in knowledge and wisdom of the things of God we must devote ourselves to:
1.A daily reading habit, a time when we can devote our entireattention to reading the bible and nothing else!
2.Read it prayerfully and mediate upon it.
3.Read it systematically, not just a bit here or a bit there.
4. Read the whole Bible, chapter by chapter reading every wordand marking your Bible with notes, highlighters, illustrations,etc...
Tools for Bible Study
1.The Bible different Versions:
A:New King James
B:New International Bibles
C:New American Standard Bible
E:Naves Topical Bible
D.For computer PC Study Bible