What the Bible Means to Me, Part 1

God has given us two things to guide and help us in our Christian lives. One is the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, Comforter, Helper we studied about in the last session. The other is the Bible, which is our primary source of information about God and His purpose for our lives.
Scripture: The Bible is called Scripture, and it tells us all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. NKJV

All, not some or most, of the Bible is inspired of God. Some translations state that Scripture was God-breathed. This is a good translation since we speak by breathing out. Therefore, the entire Bible was God-breathed into the minds of the biblical writers, who wrote down God’s words. The Bible is the Word of God in written form. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that God’s Word is profitable to us for doctrine, reproof, correction and for instruction in righteousness.
Doctrine - means it is the absolute authority in matters of instruction or beliefs. Any doctrine or teaching that contradicts the Bible is false and must be rejected.
Reproof means the Bible is profitable in letting us know when we are wrong.
Correcting means the Bible gives us the correcting action when we are wrong.
Instructs in righteousness means trains us so we don’t mess up again. In 2 Timothy 3:17 Paul tells us the results of using the Bible for the four purposes listed in 3:16. God’s intention is to equip us for His purposes.
Imperative: It is absolutely imperative we are certain the entire Bible is God’s Word. More than anything, our view of the Bible will determine the kind of Christians we are. Getting acquainted with the Bible requires we understand two things: the origin of the Bible and the organization of the Bible.

The Origin of the Bible: Many people are surprised to discover God did not give us the Bible all at once. The Bible is a library of books, written by forty different human authors from all walks of life – shepherds, kings, farmers, tentmakers, fishermen, and a physician. The writing took a period of 1,500 years, beginning with Moses and ending with John. These authors lived in different countries; some of their lives were separated by centuries, and most never saw each other. Yet, the Bible has a close-fitting unity as if one author wrote it, which indeed is the case.

2 Peter 1: 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Human Instruments: God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, used human instruments to write down His words in the Bible. The word Bible comes from a Latin word biblia, which means collection of writings. Thus, the Bible is a collection of books. It was originally written in two primary languages, the Old Testament in Hebrew, with portions of Ezra and Daniel in Aramaic
and the New Testament in Greek.
The inspiration and reliability of the Old Testament was verified by Jesus:

Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
Luke 24:44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."
Matthew 5:18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Since the time of Christ, Christians have accepted the Old Testament as inspired Scripture. However, Christian leaders in the fourth century A.D. decided on the books to be included in the New Testament. This collection of books came to be known as the Canon and is considered to be divinely inspired and authoritative. The word canon comes from a Greek word that refers to a measuring rod. Therefore, the Canon includes the books measured, or determined, to be inspired and authoritative.
Three Methods of Evaluation: Basically, three methods were used to evaluate which books should be included in the New Testament Canon:
(1) Apostolic authorship or their immediate associates.
(2) Christ-honoring content, consistent with known teaching of other Apostles.
(3) Continuous use by churches since the time of their writing, and they must have proven their value as God’s Word in the life of the churches since the apostolic age.

Final Word: The third method has become the most compelling because at no point in church history has any book in the Canon been rejected as the inspired Word of God. Through the centuries Christians have accepted the New Testament as the final Word from God, so nothing should ever be added to it or taken away. It is evident that not only did God inspire each book in the Bible but also, in His omnipotence and omniscience, He oversaw the councils who recognized the inspiration and authority of the books in our Bible. There is no way our all-powerful God would allow His Word to be perverted, discarded, or distorted, and thus keep us from knowing what we should believe and how we should live. The Bible is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17). God simply would not leave us here to fight our spiritual war with a faulty weapon.
Getting acquainted with the Bible requires not only knowing the origin of the Bible, which is God, but also…
The Organization of the Bible: The Bible is composed of two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word testament means covenant or agreement. The difference between the two testaments is the Old Testament is the record of God’s dealing with people under the Law, and the New Testament is the record of God’s dealings with people under grace.
The old covenant ended, and the new one began at the cross. Notice the four major divisions of the Old Testament:
One: The Pentateuch. Pentateuch means composed of five books. These are the first five books of the Bible and are also called The Law. The Pentateuch begins with Genesis, which covers the lives of Adam, Abraham (father of the Hebrew race), his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob. Isaac’s son Jacob had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel. The remaining four books cover the life of Moses and the Law given to him by God, including the Ten Commandments. The five books of the Pentateuch are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Two: The Historical Books. The next twelve books record how the Lord leads the Israelites into the Promised Land. Then, they trace the repeated turning of the Israelites from God to pagan gods. Finally, they tell of the Israelites being taken into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity as punishment for their sin. The first three historical books are pre-kingdom, when Israel has no king.
These books are: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.
When the Israelites demand a king, God anoints Saul as the first king of Israel. Because of his sin, God ends Saul’s dynasty and chooses David as the new king of Israel. At the death of David, his son Solomon becomes king, but Solomon’s many wives turn his heart away from God. At his death the
kingdom divides into the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. The books that record the history of the kingdom of Israel are: 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles.
The last three books of history tell of the exile and post-exile period, when the Israelites return to rebuild the wall and temple. These books are: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.
Three: The Books of Poetry. These five books are books of encouragement, comfort, wisdom, and songs. The book of Psalms is the Hebrew hymnal. These books are called wisdom literature. These five books are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and The Song of Solomon.
Four: The Prophets. There are seventeen books in this section, divided into major and minor prophets. The Minor Prophets are called minor only because they are shorter, not because they are of minor importance. The five Major Prophets are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The twelve Minor Prophets are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The Five Major Divisions of the New Testament
One: The Gospels. These first four books tell us about the birth, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These books are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Two: The Book of History. This book is a sequel to the gospel of Luke and records the early history of the church and the missionary journeys of Paul. It is the Book of Acts.
Three: The Pauline Epistles. Paul wrote almost half the New Testament, and
his thirteen epistles or letters bear the name of the church or individual to
whom each was written. These books are grouped into three sections: Church
Epistles, Pastoral Epistles, and Personal Epistles.
Church Epistles: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians.
Personal Epistles: Philemon.
Four: The General Epistles. These eight epistles each carry the name of its author – except for Hebrews which carries the name of the recipients. These epistles are Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.
Five: Prophecy. The last book, the only book of prophecy, in the New Testament is the Book of The Revelation. It describes a time of great tribulation, the second coming of Christ, the Great White Throne Judgment of God, and the setting up of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

This gives us a total of 27 books in the New Testament with 39 in the Old Testament for a total of 66 books in the Bible, which is the Word of God in writing.