How We Got Our Bible - Lesson 1 Revised

---

How We Got Our Bible – Lesson 1 Revelation and Inspiration Hook: Option 1: In each small group room, we will hang a banner that says, “To me, the Bible is…” As students come in the room, tell them if they would like, they can write a few words or phrases that come to mind to complete the sentence on the banner. When it is time to start the hook, read some of the things that students have written on the banner. Many of us would say the Bible is true, comforting, encouraging, a source of wisdom, and a guide for living. Others might say it is confusing or difficult to understand. I hope that in the weeks ahead as we talk together about how God’s Word came to us, we will find the Bible to be a precious and life-changing treasure! We can definitely say that the Bible is unique – the only one of its kind. It is different than any other book because God wrote it and every word of it is true! Option 2: As a Team: Small groups have three minutes to brainstorm everything they know about the Bible. The English word Bible is derived from the Greek word biblion (singular) or biblia (plural), which means scroll(s) or books(s). The Bible is an amazing book. It was written… • During a period of 1500 years • By more than 40 different authors from every walk of life, including kings, fishermen, prophets, musicians, scholars, and shepherds, as well as a tax collector and a medical doctor! What a variety of people God chose to write His Word! • In mainly two different languages (Hebrew, the language of the OT, and Greek, the NT language which was spoken internationally during the time of Christ, along with some Aramaic, the “common language” of the near east until the time of Alexander the Great – 6th to 4th centuries B.C.) • In many different places and countries • Addressing hundreds of different subjects (spiritual topics such as sin, faith, love, justice, mercy, salvation, the nature and character of God, as well as practical issues, such as marriage, divorce, adultery, homosexuality, parenting, obedience to authority and integrity) Yet the Biblical authors spoke with harmony and continuity from Genesis to Revelation. In the Bible we see a unity that could exist only if one author were responsible for its contents – and that author is God. (The Bible, Max Anders) Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, probably between 1400 and 1200 B.C. If the final writing was Malachi (@400 B.C.), then the 39 books were composed over a period of about 1000 years. The books of the Old Testament include: the Law or Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy), the Historical books (Joshua through Esther), the books of Poetry and Wisdom (Job through Song of Solomon), and Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi), divided into Major Prophets and Minor Prophets depending on

the relative length of the book. Probably all of the writers were Jews. The first seventeen books complete the chronology, and the remaining books are supplemental. God’s dealing with people in anticipation of the coming of Christ is the major theme of the Old Testament books. The New Testament was written during a 50-year period. There is some question whether James, Galatians, or 1 Thessalonians was written first. It is generally agreed that Revelation was composed last in the waning years of the first century. The New Testament books include the four Gospels (Matthew through John) that describe the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, the book of Acts, which chronicles the birth of the church and the advancement of the Christian mission, thirteen Pauline Letters, arranged from longest to shortest, General Letters, and Revelation, which is apocalyptic literature. All of the authors were Jews, with the exception of Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts (though some think that Luke was also a Jew). God’s dealings with people on the basis of the new covenant established by Jesus’ death and resurrection is the major theme of the 27 New Testament books. The Bible as a whole is one story about Jesus, and how through Him God has redeemed us and brought us into a love relationship with Himself! 1. What do you think most people believe about the Bible? Some would say the Bible is inspired by God and is the greatest book ever written. Others might say it is just a book of stories, that it is filled with contradictions and inaccuracies, or that it is too outdated to be of any relevance today. Share quotes which illustrate two opposing viewpoints about the Bible: The Bible is a product of man…not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book. … Scrolls (found in the 1940’s and 50’s) highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda – to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base. (Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code) This was written by Dan Brown, in his book The DaVinci Code, published in 2003. It stayed on the New York Times Bestseller List for 166 weeks, and by 2006, there were 60.5 million copies in print, and the book had been translated into 44 languages. The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

This is from The Baptist Faith and Message, adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000, as a statement of faith. 2. Does it matter if the Bible has significantly changed since its original letters and books were written? Why or why not? (you may want to answer the “why?” question if you are in a group where the person who normally speaks first, speaks wrong) 3. Here are some facts about our current bibles: • We have no original copies of the NT books, only copies of copies • The first copy we have of any part of any of the NT books is from around 200 AD. • People made mistakes when copying the Bible • There are 300,000 changes in the Bible among all of its copies 4. How does knowing those facts are true make you feel about the Bible? 5. If you were in a conversation with someone over the Bible and they brought up those facts, would you answer them? Students may at some point encounter someone who claims that the Bible is full of error, but it is likely that such a person is making a claim with no real knowledge of the facts about the Bible. Although we will discuss these issues in more detail in the next couple of weeks, students need to know the truth about each of the “facts” mentioned so their confidence in God’s Word will not be undermined. • The reason we have no original copies of Bible books is because the materials used for writing in ancient times deteriorated from everyday use and could only be preserved for about twenty to forty years. However, accurate copies were made continually so the original text would not be lost. • The fact that the earliest copies of any part of the NT dates to about 200 A.D. is actually remarkable, considering that the books and letters were originally written during the last half of the first century, making the time interval between the originals and the earliest existing copies relatively slim. By comparison, the earliest copies of works by Greek and Latin authors (which are taken unquestionably as “fact”in history classes) are more than 500 years older than the originals. • The doctrine of biblical inerrancy tells us that God’s revelation to man was recorded with no errors in the original manuscripts of Scripture. While there were some mistakes made when copying the Bible, those entrusted with the task were extremely careful and followed strict rules to ensure accuracy, realizing the importance of preserving God’s Word. There is more evidence for the Bible’s accuracy in transmission than there is for any other ancient literature! • The approximately 300,000 differences (or textual variants) among the Greek NT manuscripts, ancient translations, and commentaries exist only because tens of thousands of such documents exist. In addition, the vast majority of these alterations are accidental and trivial (such as the difference between using “a” or “an” preceding a noun in English), and easy to identify. For example, if a copyist wrote “an” instead of “a” and that copy was recopied several hundred times with “an” instead of “a,” each of those variants would be counted as an “error” when, in fact, a single, trivial error was recopied numerous times. It is also helpful to know that modern Bible translation teams have not kept the location of any significant variant a secret, but have indicated the ones they think to be most important in the footnotes of all “essentially

literal” modern English translations, so that believers reading these footnotes can see where the variants are and what they say. For the vast majority of the words in the NT, the modern English translations accurately represent what the original authors wrote, and therefore, these translations can be trusted as reproducing the very words of God. “The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries” (Frederic G. Kenyon). 6. What do you personally believe about the Bible? Is it just another book, or is it the Word of God? How did we get the Bible? Beginning today, for six weeks, we will study the process and significance of how God’s Word came to the printed pages of the Bible. We will learn how God speaks, how the original writings of Scripture came into being, why we have the books we have, and why the Bible is reliable and authoritative for our lives. I pray that as a result of this study… • Our confidence in the Word of God will grow • We will be able to explain to seeking friends and challenging foes that the Scriptures are indeed the Word of God • Our valuation and love of God’s Word will increase, that we will develop a greater passion for studying the Word and have a deeper conviction to obey the Word • Ultimately, that we will know Christ more fully, and find Him to be our satisfaction and significance In The Word: In large group, present the “Flow of Revelation” Chart to students. Explain definitions, and complete the Bible Study to discover additional truths. Revelation: God’s disclosure of Himself to us, both generally and specifically. All knowledge of God comes by way of revelation. He alone is the source of knowledge about Himself, His ways, and His truth. God has revealed Himself to everyone through the wonders of nature, through man’s inner sense of God’s existence and His laws that He has placed within our consciences, and through His directing influence in events of history. God has revealed Himself particularly to certain people in certain times and places. He walked and talked with Adam and Eve, and with Abraham. He appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and later spoke with him face to face. God revealed Himself to the people of Israel through pillars of cloud and fire and by His shekinah glory that filled the Temple. He spoke through visions to Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Paul. God also revealed Himself through dreams, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and listening prayer. The fullest revelation of God to man is Jesus Christ. Jesus has shown us what God is like and how we can have a relationship with Him. Jesus is the Living Word of God. The written Word of God, the Bible, transmits the revelation of the Living Word, and is the source of God’s revelation for believers today.

Through general revelation, we can know that God exists and some things about His character, but only through special revelation can we know of God’s grace and the way of salvation. It is the great wonder of our redemption that God Himself has provided the way of salvation by sending His own Son, who is both God and man, to be our representative and bear the penalty for our sins, thus combining the justice and love of God in one infinitely wise and amazingly gracious act. This fact, which seems commonplace to the Christian ear, should not lose its wonder for us: it could never have been conceived by man alone apart from God’s special, verbal revelation (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, page 123). Inspiration: The process by which God guided the writers of Scripture so they wrote the words He wanted written. Inspiration means “God-breathed.” The source of the Scriptures is God. When He inspired the writers, He guided the process and guarded the content through the work of the Holy Spirit, so that the writers wrote the words of God without error. The human authors were supernaturally guided to write what God wanted written, but not by divine dictation. Each man’s own personality, background, writing style, and temperament came through as he composed and recorded God’s revelation to humanity. Sometimes when we say that something is “inspired,” we simply mean that it transcends the ordinary, such as when a painter is “inspired” to create a great work of art. That kind of inspiration focuses on human genius or creativity, but that is not what we mean when we say that Scripture is “inspired” by God. When we say the Bible is “inspired,” we mean that the words of Scripture are spoken or “breathed out” by God, and the emphasis is on divine origin and initiative. One illustration I’ve heard to explain the concept of inspiration is that of a sailboat. If you’ve ever been sailing, you know how incredible it is when the wind blows down, catches the sail, and carries the boat across the lake. The boat can’t go where the wind won’t take it. In the same sense, God breathed or blew the words of Scripture into the hearts and minds of the human authors, just as if they were sails catching the wind (MacDonald, page 43). We believe that the Bible is inspired in all its parts. God wrote the whole thing, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21! (MacDonald, page 44). That includes all 66 books, all 1,189 chapters, all 41,173 verses, and all 3,566,480 letters – in the King James Version! ☺ Would you agree that there are parts of the Bible that some people don’t necessarily like or agree with? For that reason, it is essential that we understand and accept the Bible’s own assertion that all of it – the parts that bless me and the parts that stretch me – all of it is God’s Word (MacDonald, page 42). The Bible is entirely and completely the Word of God, as well as the words of the human authors, and it is vitally important that we affirm this balanced view of Scripture. Just as we would never say that Jesus is part human and part divine, we also should never say that the Bible is partly the words of humans and partly the Word of God. Jesus is the living Word of God, fully God and fully man, and the Bible is the

written Word of God, the divine-human Scripture. We see in the Bible the words of godly men written to specific communities, addressing problems and situations within certain contexts and cultures. Some will say that time and cultural differences make the Bible of little value to us today. But because the Bible is also the Word of the infinite, allknowing, eternal God, it speaks eternal truth that is applicable and relevant to readers of all time (Dockery, pages 56-58).

Manuscripts: The original documents that comprise the Scriptures were copied primarily on parchment or papyrus. Then copies were made so that people could have access to them. This took a long time and was done with painstaking care to ensure that accuracy was maintained. Translations: The process whereby original language manuscripts were copied into the language of a certain people or culture. Once in that language, various versions may result (in English, for example, the King James Version and the New International Version are two of over 400 versions of the English Bible translation). Copies of manuscripts were translated through the years to provide us with the Bible we have today. In a nutshell, God revealed Himself and His deeds to people (revelation), Under His guidance certain men wrote His words and story so that we could all know God’s truth (inspiration), The words were recorded and became the original writings of the Bible (manuscripts), Then over time these manuscripts were copied and translated into various languages so that all people could read God’s truth for themselves (translations). It is important to know how we got the Bible in order to have confidence in the accuracy of the Bible and respect for the authority of the Bible. We need to understand that the Bible is not merely a work of humans, but a work of God, and we need God’s help to understand it. If time permits, ask students to get with a partner and practice explaining to each other how we got the Bible. The Conversation In small groups, review the Bottom Line, complete the personal reflection activity, and pray, thanking God for His Word and asking for opportunities to share with people who do not know or understand the Bible.

Revelation and Inspiration •

What are some general ways in which God has revealed Himself?

Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech,
 and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words,
 whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
 Romans 1:18-20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 2:14-15 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them Acts 17:24-31 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

•

What are some specific ways in which God made Himself known in the past?

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great,

so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Matthew 1:20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

•

How has God most fully revealed Himself?

Hebrews 1:1-3a Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

•

What is the primary source of God’s revelation for us today?

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

•

What can we learn about the Scriptures from these passages?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Peter 1:20-21 …knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Bottom Line: God revealed Himself to people in words, appearances, events, and in their hearts. He took the first steps in making Himself known to us. Then, to ensure that His truth was recorded for all generations to know His amazing grace and love, He chose writers to tell His story. To be certain that the story was accurate and complete, God’s Spirit guided the process and guarded the content. The final product is an accurate, truthful, and authoritative document we call The Holy Bible. Over the years it has been translated into many languages and versions. What we have today, in English, is the Word of God.

We can test what we believe God is saying to us against the written truth of the Scriptures, the final authority for how we live the Christian life. How has God revealed Himself to you personally… • through nature? • through everyday experiences? • through Bible verses or passages? Is what you believe about God’s Word important? Why or why not? How does belief in the Bible as the inspired Word of God make a difference in a person’s daily life?


God inspired every word of the original manuscripts, and they are without error in every detail. The Bible is the only completely trustworthy source of knowledge about God. Man can’t learn all he needs to know about God from human reason, philosophy, or even experience. God alone is the source of the knowledge about Himself, and He has chosen to reveal Himself in the Bible and in no other book. -John McArthur

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

The Bible is a product of man, not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book… Scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda – to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base.

• Revelation • Inspiration • Manuscripts • Translations