What is the Bible?
Through the years a disturbing truth has come to my attention that the majority of any given church
congregation knows very little about the Bible. Oh sure, they have a basic awareness of the stories
told repeatedly in children's Sunday school. They know about the flood and how moses built the ark
and Noah parted the Red Sea....or was it Jacob......ummm...no, he was a red stew chef.
So where did the Bible come from, who penned this book, what is the history of the Bible? I wrote this
article to answer these basic questions and to give a basic understanding of the Bible.
The Bible is made up of 66 books (documents) originally written in three different languages by more
than 40+ authors from a variety of backgrounds and cultures over a 1500 year period (1400 BC - 90
AD?).
The OT consists of 39 books written by Kings, prophets, leaders and even shepherds. The OT deals
with Israel's history and coming promise of the messiah.
INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD - 400 Years of silence between OT & NT. God did not speak,
inspire scriptures or send prophets untill John the baptist
The NT is 27 documents written by apostles and their associates in the common Greek of the day
Koine. The NT makes known the person of Christ and the establishment of the church and the age to
come. We know Christ is the messiah because OT prophesies places the messiah before the
destruction of the temple. You can break down the NT into four categories. 1) 4 Gospels, 2) Acts, 3)
Epistles, 4) Revelation of Jesus Christ.
1) Gospels - The 4 gospels give record of birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection & ascension of
Christ. Matt, Mk & Lk. Are refered to as the synoptic (similar) Gospels. The gospel of John is the
complimenting gospel. John had discerning spiritual understanding of God and who Christ was.
2) Acts - Chronicled by Luke a physician, historian and a companion of Paul. Luke documents the
birth of the church and its establishment in Judea, Samaria and Roman Empire. It has been debated
by scholars if the book is based on acts of the apostles or of the Holy Spirit. In either case if that was
the primary focus of Luke then the book would be incomplete. I believe the book is an accurate
documentation of an unstoppable act of God in His son Jesus Christ. When God began to move,
nothing could stop Him.
3) 21 Epistles - written to churches and individuals to stress the importance and revelation of Jesus
Christ and living in the Spirit. The epistles of Paul reveal the "gospel of grace" and the church as the
"body of Christ".
4) Revelation of Jesus Christ - Reveals Jesus Christ in glory. The OT has two views of the messiah
that often cause confusion. The suffering lamb and the lion of Judea. He was known as the sacrificial
lamb of God but is revealed in this book as the coming lion, King of kings and judge over all the earth,
having all authority and victory.
Considering the time span of 1500 years, 41-45 different authors, three different languages and
different cultural backgrounds, one would expect a chaotic text full of contradictions and distortions.
But the Bible is consistent and forms a cohesive whole of one unified message of God's dealings
with mankind. The Bible deals consistently with subjects such as the origin of the universe, existence
and nature of God, nature and purpose of humankind and origin of evil. The Bible is consistent
without contradiction and is the most historically accurate text known to man regardless of religious
beliefs. Not one archaeological discovery has ever disproved the accuracy of the Bible, on the
contrary, discoveries only continue to prove and verify the preciseness of the Bible with irrefutable
evidence.
The unity of the teachings of the Bible is consistent from the beginning to the end. These teachings
include the following:
• man—his origin, fall, redemption, earthly and eternal destiny
• sin—its beginning, consequences, punishment in this world and the next
• Satan—the instigator of evil, the liar and murderer from the beginning, his war against God
and against believers, his final judgment
• Israel—her social and political development, idolatry, preservation, and final destiny
• The church—her history, from her establishment to her glorification.
• Salvation—its provision, according to the divine plan
• Repentance, faith, the life of the believer, prayer, the service of God, etc.—subjects for
infinitely rewarding study, carrying us through the entire Bible
• The Holy Spirit—present at creation, pronouncing the last prayer of the Bible
(Genesis 1:2; Revelation 22:17)
• God—forever the same, in His sovereignty, His eternal being, His spirituality, His
omnipotence, his uniqueness, omniscience, omnipresence, holiness, His
righteousness, and His love
• Jesus Christ—the person par excellence of all the written revelation
From creation to consummation (eternity past to eternity future), Gods plan and character are
revealed if we take time to study His word and get to know Him. It is essential we understand the
history of creation to consummation to fully appreciate and understand the Bible. It is also important
we understand the unifying theme through out scripture. The one constant theme through out scripture:
God, for His own glory has chosen to create and gather to Himself a group of people to be subjects
(heirs) to His eternal kingdom, to praise, honor and serve Him forever. And God will display His
wisdom, power, mercy, grace and glory to His people. But first God must redeem His people from sin
and death; and the Bible reveals Gods plan for redemption from “eternity past to completion.” The
Bible has one creator and one plan of grace. The Bible is the story of God made known as the only
soverign God and redeemer of His chosen people for the praise of His glory.
Five recurring motives in Gods plan.
Character of God
Judgment for sin and disobedience
Blessings for faithful and obedient
Lord savior and sacrifice for sin
Coming kingdom and glory
congregation knows very little about the Bible. Oh sure, they have a basic awareness of the stories
told repeatedly in children's Sunday school. They know about the flood and how moses built the ark
and Noah parted the Red Sea....or was it Jacob......ummm...no, he was a red stew chef.
So where did the Bible come from, who penned this book, what is the history of the Bible? I wrote this
article to answer these basic questions and to give a basic understanding of the Bible.
The Bible is made up of 66 books (documents) originally written in three different languages by more
than 40+ authors from a variety of backgrounds and cultures over a 1500 year period (1400 BC - 90
AD?).
The OT consists of 39 books written by Kings, prophets, leaders and even shepherds. The OT deals
with Israel's history and coming promise of the messiah.
INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD - 400 Years of silence between OT & NT. God did not speak,
inspire scriptures or send prophets untill John the baptist
The NT is 27 documents written by apostles and their associates in the common Greek of the day
Koine. The NT makes known the person of Christ and the establishment of the church and the age to
come. We know Christ is the messiah because OT prophesies places the messiah before the
destruction of the temple. You can break down the NT into four categories. 1) 4 Gospels, 2) Acts, 3)
Epistles, 4) Revelation of Jesus Christ.
1) Gospels - The 4 gospels give record of birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection & ascension of
Christ. Matt, Mk & Lk. Are refered to as the synoptic (similar) Gospels. The gospel of John is the
complimenting gospel. John had discerning spiritual understanding of God and who Christ was.
2) Acts - Chronicled by Luke a physician, historian and a companion of Paul. Luke documents the
birth of the church and its establishment in Judea, Samaria and Roman Empire. It has been debated
by scholars if the book is based on acts of the apostles or of the Holy Spirit. In either case if that was
the primary focus of Luke then the book would be incomplete. I believe the book is an accurate
documentation of an unstoppable act of God in His son Jesus Christ. When God began to move,
nothing could stop Him.
3) 21 Epistles - written to churches and individuals to stress the importance and revelation of Jesus
Christ and living in the Spirit. The epistles of Paul reveal the "gospel of grace" and the church as the
"body of Christ".
4) Revelation of Jesus Christ - Reveals Jesus Christ in glory. The OT has two views of the messiah
that often cause confusion. The suffering lamb and the lion of Judea. He was known as the sacrificial
lamb of God but is revealed in this book as the coming lion, King of kings and judge over all the earth,
having all authority and victory.
Considering the time span of 1500 years, 41-45 different authors, three different languages and
different cultural backgrounds, one would expect a chaotic text full of contradictions and distortions.
But the Bible is consistent and forms a cohesive whole of one unified message of God's dealings
with mankind. The Bible deals consistently with subjects such as the origin of the universe, existence
and nature of God, nature and purpose of humankind and origin of evil. The Bible is consistent
without contradiction and is the most historically accurate text known to man regardless of religious
beliefs. Not one archaeological discovery has ever disproved the accuracy of the Bible, on the
contrary, discoveries only continue to prove and verify the preciseness of the Bible with irrefutable
evidence.
The unity of the teachings of the Bible is consistent from the beginning to the end. These teachings
include the following:
• man—his origin, fall, redemption, earthly and eternal destiny
• sin—its beginning, consequences, punishment in this world and the next
• Satan—the instigator of evil, the liar and murderer from the beginning, his war against God
and against believers, his final judgment
• Israel—her social and political development, idolatry, preservation, and final destiny
• The church—her history, from her establishment to her glorification.
• Salvation—its provision, according to the divine plan
• Repentance, faith, the life of the believer, prayer, the service of God, etc.—subjects for
infinitely rewarding study, carrying us through the entire Bible
• The Holy Spirit—present at creation, pronouncing the last prayer of the Bible
(Genesis 1:2; Revelation 22:17)
• God—forever the same, in His sovereignty, His eternal being, His spirituality, His
omnipotence, his uniqueness, omniscience, omnipresence, holiness, His
righteousness, and His love
• Jesus Christ—the person par excellence of all the written revelation
From creation to consummation (eternity past to eternity future), Gods plan and character are
revealed if we take time to study His word and get to know Him. It is essential we understand the
history of creation to consummation to fully appreciate and understand the Bible. It is also important
we understand the unifying theme through out scripture. The one constant theme through out scripture:
God, for His own glory has chosen to create and gather to Himself a group of people to be subjects
(heirs) to His eternal kingdom, to praise, honor and serve Him forever. And God will display His
wisdom, power, mercy, grace and glory to His people. But first God must redeem His people from sin
and death; and the Bible reveals Gods plan for redemption from “eternity past to completion.” The
Bible has one creator and one plan of grace. The Bible is the story of God made known as the only
soverign God and redeemer of His chosen people for the praise of His glory.
Five recurring motives in Gods plan.
Character of God
Judgment for sin and disobedience
Blessings for faithful and obedient
Lord savior and sacrifice for sin
Coming kingdom and glory
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