- What is the Bible?
- What Kind of Book is the Bible?
- What is the Purpose of the Bible?
- Who Wrote the Scripture?
- How Can We Know if the Scripture is Written by God?
- Word of Truth
- Word of Lies
- In What Way Did God Write the Scripture?
- Conclusion
One of the most trustworthy scriptures and the best-selling publication to date, the Holy Bible continues to be relevant to most people, especially believers of God and Jesus. It is a collection of books with many different themes and writing styles.
But among the many facts about the Holy Bible, what kind of book is it? How and in what lens should people see it?
In this particular blog, we’ll give you the basic facts about the Holy Bible and answer some of the questions that are associated with this book which many believers are also entangled with.
Keep reading to know more.
What is the Bible?
The Holy Bible is as mentioned, a library of books. It is a book that most Christians have and is used by some religious leaders during worship services or prayer meetings in the church. It contains books written in many different eras and it is divided into two main parts—the Old Testament and New Testament.
However, other than those facts, most of us don’t know more about what the book is. Firstly, let’s take a look at the main parts of the Bible. We already know that it is divided into two, which are the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT). The Old Testament contains 39 books, 929 chapters, and 23,145 verses. While the New Testament has 27 books, 260 chapters, 7, 957 verses. So, in total, it has 66 books 1,189 chapters, 31, 102 verses.
What Kind of Book is the Bible?
The Bible is also called the ‘Book of Covenant’ because it contains many promises of God to His people, the believers.
In Isaiah 14: 24, it says, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be and as I have purposed, so it will happen.” It means that all the promises of God in the Bible will happen and its purpose surely stands.
Also in Numbers 23: 19, it says, “God is not a human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his, mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” It means that He is not like a man who changes His decisions due to any situation. God will not change His mind once He gives us His words. He will do what He says and surely fulfill all that He has promised.
Furthermore, it is also called ‘Holy Bible’. But why is it so? It is because Leviticus 11: 44, says, “I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.” Since God who is the owner and author of this book is holy, ultimately, everything that He possesses is also holy, and it includes the Bible.
What is the Purpose of the Bible?
God gave us His words contained in the Holy Scriptures to tell us His ways and will. And by knowing them, as His people, we ought to obey. The way of God is righteousness and His will is to establish His kingdom here on earth just as it is established in Heaven (Mt. 6:10). But to make that happen, He will use us for this purpose. But for us to carry out God’s will and purpose, we must be equipped with the things necessary to obey.
That is why in 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17, the scripture is used for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training into righteousness so that we will be equipped to do God’s work. Therefore, we need to immerse ourselves in God’s words to be created according to His image and likeness.
Who Wrote the Scripture?
Many Christian believers acknowledge that God is the author of the Bible which is true. However, some argue that if God is a spirit, then how could he write these things physically? But the answer to this question is clearly stated in 2 Peter 1: 20 – 21. It says God used prophets and disciples to write and record the Bible. They did not right with their interpretation but God guided them by the Holy Spirit in writing the bible. The same is mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:16.
How Can We Know if the Scripture is Written by God?
In this time, Satan is deceiving many believers tirelessly even the elect. The word has been divided into two, the word of truth and the word of lies or false teachings. How should we know that the words are truth or lies?
Word of Truth
The word of truth came from God because John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Therefore, God is the Word. Also, in John 17:17, it says, “Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth”. Since the word of God is the truth and God is the word, then, the words coming out from His mouth are truth and so are the Scriptures.
Believers, we should know this truth to be saved because 1 Timothy 2:4 says that God wants all men to be saved but for them to be saved, they must come to the knowledge of the truth.
Word of Lies
On the contrary, the word of lies came from Satan, the devil. In John 8: 44, it reads, “You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer at the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks to his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Since he was the father of lies, hence, there will be no truth found in him, for he is a liar as the Scripture says. Thus, lies come out of his mouth. In simple and biblical terms, lying is adding and subtracting from the words of the prophecy (Revelation 22:18-19).
In What Way Did God Write the Scripture?
Was there a time when you read the Bible and felt the need to read it again so that you would understand the things that you didn’t understand when you first read it?
In Matthew 13: 34-35, Jesus speaks in parables to fulfill the prophecy given in the Old Testament, and that is one of the two main reasons why he does so.
In Matthew 13:10, Jesus said that the “knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, not to them”. There, it says that there will be those who will be given the secrets and those who will not. Since there are two kinds of words, the word of truth and the word of lies, Satan is trying to deceive the believers. He will do anything to snatch us away from God.
Hence, if Satan knows the Secrets of the kingdom of heaven, then he can easily hinder God’s work. Another reason why Jesus had to speak in parables is because of the existence of the enemy, the devil.
However, this won’t be forever because there will be a time when He will speak plainly to us about His Father (John 16: 25). In other words, the fulfillment of the promises written in the Bible will have its fulfillment and so people will, at that time, understand the figurative languages.
Conclusion
We know the Bible’s history, where it came from, and what it means to us as believers. Yes, we know that the Bible is not just a book, but a Book of Covenant that God gave us. And as a promised-keeping God, we also know and believe that He will surely fulfill all the promises inside it.
Since the Bible is written in parables, we should not interpret and understand it on our own. Its understanding must be based on the fulfillment of the promise. After all, it is a book of covenant or promise.
What do you think is the main reason why a believer is easily deceived?
Due to our emotions and lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6), other people use it as an advantage so they can easily deceive us. As seen in Mt 4:1-11, when the devil tries to deceive Jesus, he doesn’t succeed. What do you think is the reason? It is because Jesus has all the knowledge and he knows everything about God, the knowledge can be our power to fight and overcome Satan’s deceptive schemes.
Do you also want to gain holistic knowledge of the Bible? Come and join our free Bible Class today! Our Class Lessons offer a deep understanding of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation and are anchored on the prophecies and fulfillment of God’s promise.
Check out our free Bible Class here and other materials that might help you in nourishing your faith life.
We hope you enjoy reading and learning on this blog!
