BSM 1.2

1 THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD

The Bible was written by more than forty authors whose lives spanned over 1,500 years, which means the Bible is not simply a common book. Jesus Christ called it "The Book" (Heb. 10:7). Without it man cannot know the absolute standard of righteousness, nor the need for grace in his life. God chose to have His words written down so that His standards would be clear. The written Word is accepted by faith and proven by history (events that have already occurred).

The great majority of people use translations of the Bible from the original languages of Scripture. Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. The only exceptions are found in the Book of Daniel - chapters 2 through 7, and in the Book of Ezra - chapters 4 through 7. These chapters were written in a sister language to the Hebrew called Aramaic, which was the language spoken by most of the Jews at the time these books were written. All of the New Testament is written in Koine (common) Greek.

2 THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

Every single part of the Bible is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16-17), and is thus profitable. "Inspiration" is more than human genius, illumination and revelation because it is divinely initiated. It is "God’s breath" expressing itself through a human personality.

"Revelation" means to give new information.

"Illumination" occurs when the Holy Spirit makes "Revelation" understandable for the student of the Word.

3 THE REVELATION OF THE LIVING WORD OF GOD.

The Bible is the written revelation of the Living Word of God - our Lord Jesus Christ. The written Word is not the living Word; it is the divine description of the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb 4:12 cf. John 5:39-47).

This is an important distinction to make. The paper and ink do not contain the power, but the Power behind the paper and ink is the Spirit of God making the difference in people’s lives. To view the words as powerful in and of themselves, without being awestruck by the Author (Heb 12:2), misses the point.

THE DIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE

1 THE TWO MAJOR DIVISIONS.

The Bible is divided into two Testaments, the Old and the New.

There are 66 total books, 39 in the Old Testament, written by over 30 different authors, and 27 in the New Testament, written by 10 authors. There are 1,189 chapters, 929 in the Old Testament, and 260 chapters in the New Testament. The Old Testament contains 23,214 verses; the New Testament contains 7,959 verses (for a total of 31,173 verses of Scripture).

A "testament" is a covenant or contract, something of value that has been offered by one party, then accepted by the recipient party. For example, when someone desires to purchase any product, an offer is made and then accepted or rejected. Once the offer is accepted, a covenant or contract has been made. The covenant contains promises that are to govern the relationship between the two parties.
Another good example is that of the marriage bond. Exchanged wedding vows are a covenant between the bride and the groom acting as the foundation of the relationship.

2 THE FIVE DIVISIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

The Old Testament contains the original covenants that God made with man concerning the coming Messiah. Later in our study we will examine the covenants that God has made with man. The Old Testament is grouped into five divisions, as follows:
# The Law, called the "Torah" or "Pentateuch", is comprised of five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
# Historical books (twelve): Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.
# Poetical books (five): Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon.
# Major Prophets (five): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel.
# Minor Prophets (twelve): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

3 THE THREE DIVISIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

The New Testament documents the arrival of the Messiah, and contains the new covenant made thereafter.

There is, of course, a variety of topics within the books. The historical books, for example, contain some prophecy (Matt 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), just as the book of prophecy contains some epistles (Rev 2-3). The general designation of any book is based simply on its overall content. The New Testament is grouped into three divisions, as follows:
# The New Testament begins with five Historical books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the book of Acts.
# The Historical books are followed by twenty-one Epistles (letters): Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Hebrews, James and Jude.
# There is one book of Prophecy: Revelation.

FOR PERSONAL STUDY
# In your own words, what is the Bible?
# What does the Bible say about itself?
# Describe the difference between "Inspiration" and "Illumination."
# What are the original languages of Scripture?
# What is a Testament and how many are in the Bible?
# What are the five major divisions of the Old Testament?
# What are the three major divisions of the New Testament?