New: 14 February 2025; Update: 16 February 2025
The Bible:
Inspired Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16 NASB
The inspired Scriptures
The Bible is a special book because it is inspired by God; it is, literally, God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). Its divine origin is such because chosen people were moved by God's Spirit to write divine words (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by over 40 different authors in three different languages over a timespan of around 1500 years and on three different continents. This, too, points to the divine source of sacred Scripture.
The Word of God
Because of the divine inspiration of the Bible, believers accept it as the Word of God. It is what God says. It is a compilation of the many things God spoke to and through His people in different ways. The final revelation came to humanity in His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3), the Word that became flesh and manifested His glory on earth by explaining God to humanity (John 1:1-18). The Gospel is the heart of the Bible and the fulfilment of prophecy (Luke 24:44). Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies in His life on earth. There are hundreds of quotations and allusions of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in the New Testament. The Bible is thoroughly interconnect and has one core message: God loves humanity and wishes to save. The Bible is, in other words, God's Love Letter to humanity.
Not only is the Bible written in three languages, two major (Hebrew, Greek) and one minor (Aramaic), by over 40 different authors (kings, prophets, apostles, priests, psalmists, historians, shepherds et al) over a long timespan, it also contains different genres (literary types). There is Law in terms of instruction and commandments bringing moral clarity; there is the Wisdom Literature to teach God's wisdom in His Word; there are psalms and prayers to praise God; there are prophecy, poetry, and parables expressing God's Word in creative and impactful ways; there are letters to explain God's salvation history (the divine, biblical Meta-Narrative; see I2); and there is history and apocalyptic literature to reveal God's oracles.
Salvation History
The God of the Bible revealed Himself to humanity within history and at different times in history. He is Creator and Life-giver, as well as Lord and Law-giver. God spoke in history and God's providence hovers over history. The approximately 1500 years timespan within which Scripture was written, from the Law of Moses (Torah) around 1445 BC to the Revelation of John (Apocalypse) in c. AD 95 shows how God worked in history over millennia. His plan of salvation stretches from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus that brought salvation to all men, to which He dedicated Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane, all the way to the Garden of God in heaven when He makes all things new. The Paradise that was lost, is the Paradise that will be restored at the end of time.
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible, known as the Old Testament, is the first of the two main parts of the Holy Bible. It is predominantly written in Hebrew and subdivided into three parts: Law (Torah), Prophets (Neviim) and Writings (Khetumvim), a division Jesus hinted at (Luke 24:44). The Law of Moses is the bedrock of the Hebrew Bible; the prophets both directed God's people back to it, as well as predicted times of salvation and a Messiah in the future; the Writings are a compilation of psalms, wisdom literature and others writings further elaborating on God's salvation for humanity.
Malachi was the last of the Hebrew prophets (c. 430 BC), after which follows the Intertestamental Period ('between the testaments'), during which time many pseudepigraphal literature emerged (using the name of a famous person as the title of the book; e.g., The Book of Enoch, not written by the biblical Enoch [Genesis 5], yet saying ascribed to his name [cf., Jude 14-15] The LXX (Septuagint) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, written for Jews in the Diaspora (dispersion outside of the Holy Land).
A better term for 'Old Testament' is Tanakh, an acronym from the first letters of the words of each of the three subdivisions: T N Kh (adding Hebrew vowels ('a') in between the consonants).
Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets. He is the predicted Messiah, who paid the ultimate price to redeem God's people and all nations. His Name is Jesus (Hebrew: Yeshua, 'Yahweh saves') because He came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21) and in Him salvation has come to all of humanity (Titus 2:11; Acts 10:43). Both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) can be saved by faith in Jesus the Messiah (Romans 1:16-17). This is the main message of the New Testament.
New Testament
The second main main part of the Bible is known as the New Testament (NT). It speaks of the New Covenant God had announced through Jeremiah (31:31-34) and fulfilled in Jesus (Hebrews 8:7-13). The NT has four Gospels, biographies of the life, deeds and words of Jesus, culminating in His atoning death and the demonstration of God's power in His resurrection. Jesus was declared Son of God by His resurrection (Romans 1:1-4). He is the eternal Son, the second Person of the divine Trinity (three-in-one), who became flesh (incarnation), humbled Himself even to the point of death (to save humanity) and was exalted by God and given the Name above every other name (Philippians 2:5-11; Acts 4:12). The apostles were His eyewitnesses and emissaries spreading the message of salvation to Jews and Gentiles. They were ambassadors for Christ offering peace to the world through the ministry of reconciliation. This is the Apostolic Gospel of salvation, grace and peace through the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7). The Gospel of the Kingdom announces God's goodwill towards humanity as the hope of eternal life.
The NT's history of the early church, the faith community of Jesus, records the apostolic witness, from Jerusalem to Rome (Acts 1:1-2, 8). The many NT letters elaborate on the Gospel and how the faith community, comprised of Jews and Gentiles, now reconciled in Christ our Peace (Ephesians 2:11-14), are to live together and serve God and the world around them. The NT concludes with an apocalyptic vision of the end of time when God will restore Paradise that was lost at the beginning of time and 'make all things new' at the end of time (Revelation 21:5).
The NT documents were written between the AD 40s and concluded c. AD 95. They were written in the life time of the eyewitnesses and their associates, and then faithfully transmitted by the disciples of the apostles and their successors. The Muratorian Canon (c. AD 180) is the first evidence mentioning 22 of the 27 canonical NT documents. There are thousands of manuscripts that witness to its reliability and accuracy. The Bible has stood the test of time to be God's inspired Word and message of salvation to humanity. It is today translated in hundreds of languages and powerfully impacts life on earth, as it has throughout history. The Bible remains the bestseller of all times!