The Bible is the Word of God

What is the meaning of the Bible?

Our English word ‘Bible’ comes from the French word ‘Bible’. The meaning of the Bible comes from the Greek word ‘Biblia’, which means, the books. The Bible is specifically restricted to the sacred Holy Scriptures consisting of two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

How many books are there in the Bible?

There are 66 Books in the Bible. There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. 

What is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament? 

The Old Testament is before Christ and the New Testament is the life and teachings of Christ, teachings of the apostles, the early Christian church, and the return of Christ. 

What do the gospels reveal? The gospels reveal the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, found in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Who wrote the Bible?

God used ordinary holy men (Prophets) to write his word. Remember, if God is going to communicate with man, it has to be written in a form that humans can understand. 

How did God use these men to write his word?

2 Peter 1:20-21 knowing this first of all that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 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.” 

God spoke directly to these prophets and they did not write from their own imaginations, their own will, but revealed the will of God to the people. 

These prophets were true men of God

Some of them were tortured and killed, yet they did not change their mind during the torture and death. Instead, they told the truth, as God’s word is the truth. 

Luke 11:47   “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.”

Acts 7:52   “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered.”

Hebrews 11:35-38   “35 Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated — 38 of whom the world was not worthy — wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

Can you give more proof that the Bible is the word of God?

Yes, we will give proof from a legal setting. In a courtroom, if you are going to prove a case, you need witnesses. We will provide witnesses now to show the Bible is the word of God. 

Peter, speaking on behalf of the other disciples, said the following:

2 Peter 1:16-19    “16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.” 

The apostle John testifies that he touched, heard and saw Jesus, and said the following:

1 John 1:1    “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life —“ 

The apostle Paul testifies below that Jesus appeared, on his resurrection, to more than 500 believers. That’s a lot of eyewitnesses to prove the case.

1 Corinthians 15:5-8   “ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 

All the apostles, except John, were martyred. Who will tell a lie at the time of torture and death?