The Bible is a book that is associated with the western culture. It is a book with a history of thousands of years and has endured attempts to remove it from existence. For some of my readers the Bible is an unfamiliar book, which has prompted some questions about it. I would like to use this blog entry to provide some information that you might find helpful and maybe interesting.
The Bible consists of two parts called Testaments. The Old Testaments consists of 39 books, written mostly in Hebrew and are referred to as the Jewish Scriptures. The New Testaments consists of 27 books, written wholly in Greek and are referred to as the Christian Scriptures. These 66 books form a library of books which in a very unique way form one book.
The events recorded in the Bible took place over thousands of years and in several cultural settings, but in spite of this time span and the number of human authors there is a unifying thread that ties everything together. That unifying thread is it divine authorship. “All Scripture is inspired [breathed] by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16 – 17). God has revealed Himself to mankind through the Scriptures and gave them to us for our instruction that we might have hope.
God has a unified plan for all history, which he reveals through the pages of the Bible. This plan clearly comes into focus in the New Testament in the person of Jesus Christ. It is his plan “to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). It is a plan formed out of God’s love and mercy through the sacrifice of his Son on the cross. It is a plan that includes forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. It is a plan bathed in the light of God’s truth and glory in which freedom is found. It is a plan that has withstood all forms of attack since the beginning of time by the powers of darkness, but because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and then his victory over death through his resurrection, the plan will succeed.
God gives us a promise, in spite of all opposition, that his plan will not be overthrown. God says, “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, . . . saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9 – 10). I have studied his plan for nearly 60 years and during that time his good pleasure has become my pleasure. In spite of all my years of study, I find the Bible to be a living book which continues to reveal to me more about God and how to live a full and abundant life. It is first, a book about God and secondly, it is a book about how to live. It is a book from which I have learned how to experience peace and hope in a life of trials and tribulations.
