Living and active:
“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) God said, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto my void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
Spirit, and life
Jesus Christ said, It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)
It is eternal:
“All flesh is as grass, and all he glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.” (1-Peter 1:24-25)
The Holy Bible does not contain the Word of God, but the Holy Bible is the Word of God.
The Holy Bible, according to its own interpretation, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2-Peter 1:19-21)
The Inspiration of the Holy Bible;
The author of the Holy Bible is the Holy Spirit; the Pages of the Bible are an authoritative revelation in written form of God's nature and purpose. The Holy Bible is the source book of our knowledge of God; it is the text book of divine truth; the guide book to everlasting life. The word “Bible” is derived from the Greek word “biblos” meaning “a book.” The volume is known by other titles such as “the Scriptures”; “the writings”; The Word of God; Luke 4:17; 2-Corinthians 3:14; Mark 12:10; Matthew 22:29; Hebrews 4:12.
The Holy Bible is a library of 66 books, divided into two main sections; the Old Testament containing 39 books and the New Testament containing 27 books.
The Holy Bible was written by 36 to 40 authors over a period of 16oo years and by different types of people in different parts of the world.
The unique design of the Holy Bible is one of the best proofs of its divine inspiration. For so many different men to write a book without contradictions is a miracle
The miracle can only be explained by the Master Author's guiding hand.
The cardinal theme of the Holy Bible is Christ Who becomes the key to understanding it.
The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, with parts of Daniel and Ezra being written in Aramaic; the New Testament was written in Greek.
What is inspiration: By inspiration we mean the supernatural control by God over the production of the Old Testament and New Testament.
The Holy Bible is the opneustos (God-breathed), as it written, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, forcorrection, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2-Timothy 3:16-17)
“Inspiration is the strong conscious inbreathing of God into men, qualifying them to give utterance to truth. It is God speaking through men”-(William Evans).
It is also written thus, “Knowing this first, which no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2-Peter 1:20-21) The Holy Spirit was miraculously present, preserving accuracy in the writings. Holy men of God, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, wrote at His command; thus they were kept from all error as they recorded things known or unkown to them.
We believe that all Scripture is equally inspired basing its claim on (2-Timothy 3:16). We do not actually know the “How” of inspiration but we believe that each writer had liberty to use his own personality, education, experience with certain limits. The Holy Spirit Guarded each thought, each phrase, each word to preserves accuracy.
Matters to remember about inspiration:
Translations are not inspired; there are copyist errors; none of the originals are in existence today; ancient copies being discovered are almost identical.
The Holy Bible records facts as they are: For example we see that Ananias told a lie and the lie is recorded; the Scribes said Jesus had a devil and was made and their lie is recorded.
We believe:
We believe the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God, the canon of 66 books are complete: we do not recognize the Apocrypha or any other books to be inspired.
The original Scriptures will be the standard of judgment in the last day. (John 12:48) Let us read the Holy Bible daily and obey its message in our daily lives. God's people must handle this “Sacred Book” carefully and reverently; it is God's Book to us. Let us rejoice that God hath spoken, and endeavor by the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in the light of its revelation.
Meanings of the Bible?
The word Bible comes from the Greek word "biblia", meaning books. It was written in several languages, Hebrew and Aramaic in the Old Testament, and Greek in the New Testament. The Bible was composed by the inspiration of God through men over a period of 15 centuries (1400 BC - 100 AD). See 2 Peter 1:20-21 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
The sixty-six books of the Bible was written by men from all walks of life such as Kings, Shepherds, Soldiers, Musicians, Singers, Poets, Preachers, Prophets, Fishermen, Physician, and even a Tax Collector. Study of the contents of this awesome book is scripturally commanded, 2 Timothy 2: 15, 1 Peter 2: 2-3, Colossians 3:16, and Joshua 1:8, along with many of the Psalms.
The oldest Hebrew (O.T.) Biblical Texts are the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947 at Qumran. The oldest Hebrew Bible that we know of before the find of the Dead Sea Scrolls is dated to about the tenth century A.D.. With the find of the Scrolls we now have at least fragments of every book of the Hebrew Bible with the exception of the book of Esther. These fragments and the whole of the Dead Sea Scrolls are estimated to be at least a thousand years older than the Hebrew Bible of the tenth century. Esther is the only book of the Old Testament that does not mention the name of God, isn't it interesting that it is the only book not recovered?
There are over 5,200 Greek New Testament manuscripts in whole or part. The best and most important of these go back to some where about A.D. 350. The two most important of these are the Codex Vaticanus, stored in the Vatican library in Rome, and the Codex Sinaiticus which is kept in the British Museum. The first time we see a list of the New Testament books exactly as we have today is the Thirty-Ninth Easter letter of Athenasius, which was written in A.D. 367.
Actually it is a disciplined code of an human life which builds a model human character according to the word of God and like the will of God. Now a Christian's quality and character is morally and spiritually excellent and perfect, belonging and devoted to God. |