Bibliology Bible Teaching Course NY-1
Bibliology Bible Teaching Course NY-1
Bibliology Bible Teaching Course NY-1
(Bibliology)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page #
PAPER TOPICS:
a. From "biblos," the name of a papyrus reed (Exodus 2:3; Job 8:11) from which
scrolls were made in the ancient world.
b. Early Christians began to refer to their sacred writings as "ta biblia" in the Greek
(lit. "the books"), and the English word "Bible" is derived from that Greek
expression.
c. Because of the understanding that the Christian Scriptures were actually the
Word of God--one book by one Author, though produced by using many human
writers--the name was changed from the plural ("ta biblia" - the books) to the
singular ("ton biblion" - the Book).
d. We refer to Scripture as the "Holy Bible" to distinguish it from all other books.
The Bible is set apart from all other writings because it is the Word of God.
b. This was the word used in the New Testament to refer to Old Testament books
or some part of the Old Testament (Matthew 21:42; II Timothy 3:15).
c. New Testament writings were soon considered equal to the Old Testament, and
then were also called "Scriptures."
a. The Old Testament deals with the relationship of God to Israel, primarily under
the Mosaic Covenant (II Cor. 3:14).
b. The New Testament deals with the relationship of God to all men under the
New Covenant, established by the blood of Christ, shed at Calvary (II Cor. 3:6).
B. The Structure of the Bible
1. The Old Testament
a. The Hebrew division, used in the days of Christ (Lk. 24:44)
HISTORY
Joshua
The NEBHIIM (Prophets) Judges
Joshua Ruth
Judges (and Ruth) I Samuel
Samuel (both books) II Samuel
Kings (both books) I Kings
Isaiah II Kings
Jeremiah (with Lamentations) I Chronicles
Ezekiel II Chronicles
The Twelve (the Minor Prophets) Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
MINOR PROPHETS
Hosea Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah, Malachi
2. The New Testament (27 books)
d. Prophecy (Revelation)
a. Although the Old Testament is not nearly so well known as the New, the fact
remains that the Old Testament is every bit as important as the New Testament.
The Lord made this clear Himself in John 5:34, as well as in Luke 24. The fact
of the importance of the Old Testament is also seen in the many ways that the
New Testament is built upon the Old. One scholar has determined that there are
250 direct quotations of the Old Testament to be found in the New, and that
there are 1,603 references, including looser quotations, allusions to Old
Testament history, and so on.
b. Theologically, the Old Covenant was absolutely essential as preparation for the
New. The extent to which New Testament authors draw upon the Old
Testament Scriptures in explaining and applying the New Covenant clearly
demonstrates this. Isaiah is referred to 308 times in the New Testament; Psalms
is used 303 times. In the New Testament, only Philemon and the three epistles
of John contain no direct reference to the Old Testament. Revelation contains
574 such references; Acts contains 169; Luke has 140; Matthew has 135;
Hebrews includes 115; Romans
contains 103.
4. The chapter and word divisions were developed long after Scripture was written, from
the 13th to the 16th centuries A.D. (the Hebrew had its own divisions; The KJV
contains 1,189 chapters, 31,100 verses, and 777, 133 words).
C. The Languages of Scripture
(The advantage of written language over oral tradition: precision, propagation;
preservation)
b. A few sections are written in Aramaic (Dan. 2:4 - 7:28; Ezra 4:8 - 6:18,
7:12-26; Jer. 10:11) - a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. Universal
language of the business world in the Fertile Crescent.
Sample: Daniel 7:25 - rboyw alby Nynwyle ysydqlw llmy ayle dul Nylmw Nde
glpw Nyndew Nde-de hdyb Nwbhytyw tdw hynshl
To reveal Himself to man, God used natural means (creation and conscience) and supernatural means
(words - Heb. 1:1).
The New Testament uses the word " Mystery" to describe something that was
previously unknown, which now has been revealed (I Cor. 15:5; Eph. 1:9, 3:4 &
9, 5:32, 6:19; Col. 1:26, 27, 2:2).
Truth about God's plan for the Church age was hidden, but now, like a treasure
chest, has been opened up because God has revealed Himself.
B. The Necessity for Revelation
In order for man to come to any understanding of God and His truth, God must reveal Himself
to man, for two reasons:
c. Because of sin, man is totally depraved--" dead to spiritual things" (Eph. 2:1-5)
When man fell in the Garden, he broke fellowship and contact with God. Man
died spiritually (Gen. 2:17) and now has a mind that:
forgets God, tends toward error , is easily deceived , etc.
If God had not revealed Himself to us (via the Scriptures), we would all end up in Hell!
Remember, only God can give a revelation or disclosure of truth (about His person, will, and
plan for the future). Man's job is not to invent truth, but to discover it and interpret it.
C. The Two Types of Revelation:
*General Revelation (natural)
* Special Revelation (supernatural)
d. General revelation comes to all rational men (All have creation to look at; not all
have a Bible).
1) Man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27); therefore, man has
a personality which is self -conscious and God-conscious (cp. Prov.
20:27).
2) Man's conscience is marred because of sin (It can be seared - I Tim. 4:2;
and defiled - Tit. 1:15; and it needs to be purged - Heb. 9:14).
a. While general revelation (creation and conscience) is not enough to save a man,
it prepares the way for special revelation (cp. Ps. 19:1-6, cp. 19:7-14; Prov. 30:4;
Acts 17:26-31).
NOTE: The Bible never proves God's existence; it assumes it and asserts it.
Creation is all the objective "proof" man will ever get. And it is enough
evidence to condemn him.
E. SPECIAL REVELATION (supernatural)
1. A Definition of special revelation:
God has revealed Himself to specific men at specific times by
supernatural means.
2) Auditory theophany (God's voice could be heard) - Ex. 19:1-3; Lk. 3:22.
c. Urim & Thumim - two precious stones, used like lots, to determine God's will
for Israel -
Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Dt. 33:8).
d. His Word
6) Scriptures - the written Word (Ex. 17:14, 24:4, 7; Dt. 31:24; II Tim. 3:16)
3. The purposes of special revelation: that God's specific will (desires) and ways
(plan for the ages) might be understood by man.
c. God spoke that we might " Glorify Him" (II Cor. 1:20).
III. INSPIRATION: THE PRODUCTION OF
THE BIBLE
A. False Views of Inspiration:
1. Liberal view - the Bible is not inspired by God.
*The term used to describe this view would be "Natural Inspiration." The Bible was
produced by religious men who followed their intuition in collecting and piecing
together good religious statements.
They would say: "The Bible is `inspired' in the same sense as Shakespeare's writings or
Beethoven's music."
Carl Barth, the father of neo-orthodoxy, believed that the Bible uniquely reveals God to
man--not in propositions about God, but as a means of personal encounter by God with
man in an act of revelation. In this existential experience--crisis encounter--the
meaningless ink blots on the pages leap from the Bible to speak to man concretely and
meaningfully. At this "moment of meaning" the Bible becomes the Word of God to the
individual. (Geisler & Nix, p. 40).
NOTE: Not all new-evangelicals deny the Biblical doctrine of inspiration, but many do.
b. Demythologizing theory - God inspired the truths found in the Bible. They
say that the true Bible is found by removing the cultural myths (EX: miracles)
(Bultmann).
c. Concept theory - God inspired the ideas, thoughts, or concepts but not the
words.
Each writer was free to record it in his own words. The Spirit did not guide him
in his choice of words.
1. Dictationist view: The Bible is inspired by God, but there is no real human
participation in its production.
*The term used to describe this view would be: "Verbal Dictation" or "Mechanical
Dictation."
Each word was dictated to the writer, who served only as a secretary. Human writers
served only as "pen men" or "typists." God used only their physical bodies, not their
minds or personalities.
NOTE: Some parts of Scripture were dictated (much of the book of Revelation; Ex.
24), but this view overlooks the fact that God utilized the various personalities of those
He selected to write Scripture, and yet they still wrote every word He wanted.
"Let us not be mistaken. We do not speak of a stiff, mechanical, dictated inspiration of
the Word. This would be completely unworthy of a divine revelation. A mechanical
inspiration (automatic dictation) is found in occultism, spiritism, and therefore
demonism, where the evil inspiring spirit works by setting aside and excluding the
human individuality. Divine revelation, however, has nothing to do with such
suppression of the human personality . . . Divine revelation desires not passive
`mediums' but active men of God; not dead tools, but living, sanctified co- workers with
God; not slaves, but friends (Jn. 15:15)." (Erich Sauer, Eternity to Eternity, p. 104-
105).
--Inspiration was the unique process of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26).
--The Holy Spirit controlled and directed the hearts, minds, and wills of chosen men (II
Peter 1:20-21).
--Chosen men wrote exactly and totally what God wanted (II Tim. 3:16).
--The result was that the original manuscript was without error or omission (Mt. 5:17-
18; Jn. 10:35).
a. Inspiration was the unique process of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:26).
1) Unique -
Inspiration describes the actual process that occurred when the Holy
Spirit guided men as they were in the act of writing God's Word.
3) Holy Spirit -
The Holy Spirit guided every word that was penned by the apostles and
prophets.
b. The Holy Spirit controlled and directed the hearts, minds, and wills
of chosen men (II Pet. 1:20-21).
"Moved" - lit. "borne alone"; "carried along." The Spirit lifted them up,
causing them to be led to write what God wanted. "The metaphor here is
that the prophets raised their sails and the Holy Spirit filled them and
carried their craft along in the direction He wished" (Rienecker, p. 773)
"Men of God spake": Even though it was God's Word, it was men who
wrote/spoke it.
Even though Scripture came from the very mouth of God, He in His
wisdom used the instrumentality of men. God, in using men, controlled
and directed them, not stifling their own personalities or using them as
machines or robots but as conscious, sober instruments.
On the one hand, while it can be said that man had nothing to do with the
production of Scripture (he was passive), on the other hand, he did have
an active part in its production.
This is a paradox.
--God used the extensive education and patience of Moses to write the
Pentateuch.
--God made use of the worshipful tender heart of David to write most of
the Psalms.
--God applied the loving heart of John to write the Gospel and Epistles
of love that bear his name.
--God exercised the detailed thinking of Dr. Luke to write Luke and
Acts.
--God put into service the logical mind and appropriate religious
background of Paul to write Romans and his other deep epistles.
[Remember, however, that it was God who equipped these men with the
qualifications and personalities which they had.]
"God is One who in His infinite power can use as His agents and
instruments fallible human beings, who can bring into His employ all the
gifts, talents, and characteristics of those human beings, and yet can cause
them to pen His own Word, and keep that Word utterly separate and
distinct from their own sinful nature and the consequent imperfections
which are the result of that nature" (Young, Thy Word is Truth, p. 74).
3) Chosen men -
"Holy men of God" - men whom God had sep apart for the special task
of writing His Word.
God chose specific men to write His Word. These prophets and apostles
proved that they were authorized to write Scripture by the signs and
miracles that God did by their hands. God always vindicated His
messengers (Ex. 4:28-31; II Cor. 12:13; Heb. 2:3-4).
When God chose select men to write His Word, He assured them that He
would put His words into their mouths (EX: Moses - Ex. 4:11-16;
Jeremiah - Jer. 1:5-9).
c. Chosen men wrote exactly and totally what God wanted (II Timothy
3:16).
The word translated "inspiration" is derived from the Greek Word "theopneustos"
("theo" meaning "God"; "pneustos" meaning "breathed").
Scripture was "produced by the creative breath of the Almighty . . . it was God-
given" (Boettner, Studies in Theology, p. 21).
The word "pneustos" which refers to both "breath" or "spirit" implies the divine
creative action of God.
Just as the universe has its source in the God who spoke it into existence (Heb.
11:3; Ps. 33:6), and just as man's life had its source in the creative breath of God
(Gen. 2:7; Job 33:4), the Scriptures came to man in the same way--right out of
the mouth of God! Therefore, they are exactly what God wanted written.
NOTE: The word "God-breathed" does not suggest that God breathed into
Scriptures that already existed; rather, He breathed the Scriptures out of Himself.
Matthew 4:4 - "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Inspiration can only be applied to the writings, and not to the writers
(i.e., God did not inspire the writers but the Scriptures).
2) Exactly what God wanted - "All Scripture" - the word "all" refers to
every individual, written part.
Every detail of the Bible was inspired! Right down to the words, letters,
and distinguishing parts of letters! This is called "Verbal Inspiration."
"Christ did not say of His thoughts, but of His words that they are spirit
and life" (John 6:63). -- Luther
If only parts of the Bible came from God's mouth, it would be left up to
man to determine which parts were inspired and which parts were not.
Paul's entire purpose for placing the clause "All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God" in II Timothy 3:16 is to give a basis or support for
the profitableness of Scripture for doctrine, reproof, correction, and
instruction. If Scripture's source was not the mouth of God, it has no
authority and no ultimate profit.
d. The result was that the original manuscript was without error or
omission (Matt. 5:17-18; John 10:35).
2) "Without error" - Jesus claimed authority for every letter that was
written, even the parts of written letters (distinguishable marks that
differentiated one letter from another were also inspired!) See Mt. 5:18 -
"John Wesley said, `If there be any mistakes in the Bible, there may as
well be a thousand. If there is one falsehood in that Book, it did not
come from the God of truth'." (Ryrie, Inerrancy, p. 26).
The Scriptures, as God gave them, are free from all errors, defects, or
imperfections.
2. Inspiration often involved writing a message that the prophet or apostle did not
totally understand (Dan. 12:8-9; Rev. 5:1-4).
3. Inspiration often involved writing a message that was not too "inspiring" (Judges
19 & 20) or truthful from the standpoint of the one who is being quoted (EX:
Satan is quoted - Gen. 3:4, 5; Mt. 4:8, 9).
For example -
Isaiah - 120 times
Jeremiah - 430 times
Ezekiel - 320 times
Amos - 53 times Haggai
- 27 times Zechariah - 53
times
4. The New Testament writers claim to have spoke and written the Word of God.
Paul - I Cor. 14:37; I Thes. 2:13
John - I Jn. 5:10
Peter - II Pet. 3:2
4. Christ stated that His own words possessed absolute authority (Mt. 24:35; cp.
Mt. 7:29).
2. Prophecy - Fulfilled by Jesus at His first coming (Mt. 5:17; Lk. 24:27; Jn.
19:24)
EX: Ps. 22 - written about 1,000 B.C.
Is. 53 - written about 750 B.C.
3. Honesty - Shows people as they really are. The Bible's heroes are not "sugar-
coated!" Rather, the faults of even the greatest are brought out (Abraham,
Moses, David, Peter).
The Bible also describes sin as it is; heaven and hell as they are; and God as He
is (example of the tension between election and free will - If man wrote the
Bible, he would have relieved it).
4. Durability - The Bible has lasted through the ages, though attempts have been
made to exterminate this Book as no other (EX: Jer. 36:1-2, 27-28).
Voltaire, the French infidel, said: "Another century, [and] there will not
be another Bible on earth." After his death, his printing press was used to print
Bibles!
7. Scientific Accuracy –
The earth is round (a circle) – Is. 40:22
The earth hangs on nothing – Job 26:7
The life of the flesh is in the blood (Gen 9:4; Lev. 17:11)
Circumcision on 8th day – Lev. 12:3
Universal flood
Uncountable multitudes of stars – (Gen. 15:5, Jer. 33:22) 100
billion stars in our Galaxy alone!
Plants and Animals reproduce only after their Kind (Species) Gen. 1 etc
1. Promises of Preservation
c. Psalm 119:160 - "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of
thy righteous judgments endureth forever."
d. Isaiah 40:8 - "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our
God shall stand forever."
e. Matthew 5:18 - "For verily (truly) I say unto you, Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be
fulfilled" (cp. Lk. 16:17).
f. Matthew 24:35 - "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall
not pass away."
[God was careful to preserve His Word, yet did so through men.]
It is not by mere chance or coincidence that the Bible has persevered the test of
time, and has been protected from its enemies who have sought to
destroy it. God has been sovereignly superintending (watching over) His Word
throughout the ages and has providentially preserved it.
The commands in Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; and Proverbs 30:6 as well as the
warnings in Jeremiah 26:2 and Revelation 22:18, 19 reveal the following:
b. The possibility exists for man to corrupt God's Word either by adding to
it or taking away from it (some have corrupted it - EX: Readers Digest
Version; New Revised Standard Version).
Number of Earliest
Document Name Manuscripts Date
Question: Since the Bible was written so many years ago, and since other books have
been written that claim to also be from God, how do we know what is and isn't
Scripture?
a. Definition of "canon" -
The word "canon" comes from the Greek word "kanon" which referred
to a standard or rule by which one's writings or practices were measured
(EX: II Cor. 10:13; Gal. 6:16; Phil. 3:16).
NOTE: Men can only discover which books were inspired. It is God
who determined which books were inspired.
b. Necessity of a canon -
4) They propagate the fanciful, mystical (EX: Bel and the dragon),
and fictitious.
NOTE: While no official list has been discovered of the rules they used,
a compilation of their comments about Scripture in their writings would
reveal the following criteria which they demanded before they would
accept a book as being from God:
1) Apostolic origin or authority
(Jn. 16:13; Jn. 2:22; Eph. 2:20-22; I Cor. 14:37; II Pet. 3:15-
17; Heb. 1:1-3)
A believer who has the Holy Spirit will be able to discern truth from
error
(I Jn. 4:1).
All of the "so-called errors" or alleged "contradictions" are consistently resolved when
principles of hermeneutics are strictly followed.
Jumping to the conclusion that the Bible has an error, contradiction, or
doctrinal discrepancy usually is caused by:
1. Mis-interpretation
a. Man's darkened mind has been prejudiced by sin (some read the Bible
looking for "errors")
The Bible is often misinterpreted because of the reader's failure to follow hermeneutical
principles of interpretation.
a. Historical -
b. Geographical -
c. Cultural -
d. Chronological -
When someone says, "There is an error in the Bible," say, "No. There may be a
poor translation from the Hebrew or Greek, but not an error in the Bible."
Autographa
(Original Manuscript)
Copies of Autographa
Copies of Copies
(2 major text types)
BYZANTINE TEXT ALEXANDRIAN TEXT
(Majority of N.T. manuscripts) (Oldest N.T. manuscripts)
b. This work was done in the third century B.C.; tradition holds that the
work was done by 70 Hebrew and Greek scholars among the jews and
that their resultant translations were identical (thus, the symbol LXX)
c. A very uneven translation: some sections are much better and more
reliable than others.
2. English translations
(3) Wycliffe's design was to get the Bible into the tongue of the
people, and for this he suffered much resistance and persecution.
(4) The Wycliffe Bible appeared in manuscript form only, and was
not widely circulated, but it did reach many people and was an
important step in preparation for the Reformation in England.
(1) Translated in 1539, this was the first authorized English copy of
the Scripture.
d. Geneva Bible
(2) This is a very accurate and dependable translation, done from the
original manuscripts available in that day; it is beautiful English.
f. The Revised Version
(1) This work was done in 1881-84; the translators had the advantage
of late manuscript discoveries, especially the Sinaiticus and the
Alexandrius.
(2) The 1901 version was careless in II Timothy 3:16; that was
corrected in the NASV.
(1) The New Testament was completed in 1946; the Old Testament
in 1952.
(1) Completed in 1963, the work was carried on under the auspices
of the Lockman Foundation. The men who translated this version
wanted to remain anonymous so that the glory would go to God
and not man.
(2) The NASV is a very literal modern translation that paid special
attention to the fine nuances of the Greek tenses.
(1) The New Testament was completed in 1979; the Old Testament
in 1982. Produced and published by Thomas Nelson, Inc.,
Nashville, TN. The NKJV was the work of 119 conservative
scholars, editors and church leaders.
(2) The NKJV is a very literal translation retaining the beauty and
dignity of the KJV of 1611, yet re-translating the archaic words
of its predecessor.
Every translation has a theological bias (to some degree, every translation is
slanted in favor of the beliefs of the ones who translated it). This is unavoidable.
The way one understands the Bible as a whole will be reflected in how he
translates the parts.
VI. ILLUMINATION:
THE PERCEPTION OF THE BIBLE
A. The Definition of Illumination: Illumination describes the Holy
Spirit’s enlightenment of man's mind to comprehend the written Word of
God.
3. Inspiration involved the Holy Spirit moving specific, chosen men; Illumination
involves the Holy Spirit teaching any believer who is willing and eager to learn.
a. The Holy Spirit reveals God's Word only to believers (I Cor. 2:9-10)
b. The Holy Spirit reveals the "deep things of God" (I Cor. 2:10)
c. The Holy Spirit convicted men of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn.
16:8).
d. The Holy Spirit is our guide into all truth (jn. 16:13).
VII. TRANSFORMATION:
THE POWER OF THE BIBLE
A. Definition of Transformation - The Holy Spirit's use of the Bible
to change (totally transform) a person's life from condemnation to
salvation and from sin unto Godliness.
Note the following word pictures which depict the unique power of the Bible:
a. The Holy Spirit's offensive and defensive weapon is the Bible (Eph.
6:17). God is speaking by no other means today.
(2) Powerful
It reflects the mind of God and the true nature and condition of man.
offers protection from danger and guidance into the right way.
6. The Bible is a hammer (Jer. 23:29)