And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 1Th 2:13
“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.” ― Abraham Lincoln
The fulfilment that comes with knowing God can only be affirmed by those who have tasted Him. There can be no other way to know God apart from knowing what He says about Himself. The only platform He has used to let us know about Him is through the Scriptures. Therefore, the one who claims to know Him must have dwelt on His word. The one who reads the Bible will get to know the truth, God’s blessings, victory, growth, power, guidance and more pleasure than can be grasped by the natural mind.
How the Bible was Written and Developed
The reason that the Bible has these effects is that it is the Word of God. God Himself published the scriptures through Revelation (Heb 1:1), Inspiration (2Tim3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21) and Preservation (Isa 40:8, 55:11). The Bible was written by about 40 different authors over a period of approximately 1,500 years. The books of the Hebrew Old Testament (OT) were written between 1400-400BC. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament written when Greek was the main language among the Jews, was produced within 250-200BC. The books of the New Testament (NT) were written within 45-95 A.D.
Clearly, the Bible as we have it today was compiled through a long-term process. For the 39 books to be compiled in the OT, Jewish tradition and other sources believed that the prophetic voices ended with the deaths of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Jesus quoted the OT canon and also told his disciples to revere it (Matt 5:17-20). Having passed through the hands of renowned scholars in the early centuries, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, compiled the list of the 27 books of the NT in 367 A.D. These writings were later divided into 1,189 chapters and 31,173 verses and then translated into many languages and versions by different scholars.
Criteria for Books in the Canon
The list of books contained in the Bible is also known as the canon. They were the ones considered worthy to be included as sacred writings in a worshipping community. These were the general criteria used to compile the books of the Bible:
- It was written by a recognized prophet or apostle.
- It was written by those associated or recognized by an apostle.
- The book tells the truth about God, with no falsehood or contradiction to the whole counsel of Scripture (Deut. 18:20-22). This is the reason books of the Apocrypha are not included in the Protestant canon.
- It displayed faithfulness to previously accepted canonical writings.
- It was confirmed by Christ, a prophet or an apostle (e.g. Luke 24:44; 2 Pet. 3:16).
- The book was accepted as God's Word by the people to whom it was first delivered..
In his passionate letter to Timothy, Paul had this to say about the Scriptures:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16
Paul required his son in the faith not to take the Scriptures casually. It was not the work of a mere human being but the breath of God. It is not passive but has the power to teach, rebuke, correct and train, not in carnal things or science, but in righteousness. The only reference for righteousness is the Bible. No man therefore would boast of any good work without digging into the Holy Scriptures. Only this would make a sinful and helpless fallen creature thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Four Essential Characteristics of Scripture
Kevin DeYoung, in his book, Taking God at His Word, (click here to READ FOR FREE) cites traditional protestant theologians as observing four essential characteristics of the Scriptures which can easily be remembered using the acronym SCAN:
- Sufficiency: The Scriptures contain everything we need for knowledge of salvation and godly living. We don’t need any new revelation from heaven.
- Clarity: The saving message of Jesus Christ is plainly taught in the Scriptures and can be understood by all who have ears to hear it. We don’t need an official magisterium (teaching authority) to tell us what the Bible means.
- Authority: The last word should always come from the Word of God. We must never allow the teachings of science, of human experience, or of church councils to take precedence over the Scriptures.
- Necessity: General revelation is not enough to save us. We cannot know God’s salvation by means of personal experience and human reason. We need God’s Word to tell us how to live, who Christ is, and how to be saved.
The Importance of Preaching the Word
God has also planned that it is primarily through the preaching of this Word that human beings come to a saving relationship with Christ. Mark Dever in his Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, makes a strong proposition that the first and the most important mark of a healthy church is expositional preaching. This is preaching the word of God, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. It is through God’s word that He created the heavens and the earth. It is His word that He gave the prophets and the apostles. It is through Jesus Christ, the word made flesh, that we are saved. If we care at all about life, then the word of God must be central, the most precious treasure any man can find.
Having appreciated all these aspects of the Scriptures, there can be no doubt that it is an incomparable treasure. That is the reason why we value discipleship as a church. Under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we are now making an attempt to preach the Bible through exposition. We believe that this is the primary way that we can dig deep into the treasures of Scripture. None of us should be left out in the mining of these treasures! You too can be a miner!
