The Essence of Christianity Session 1 The Word of God, Scripture and “Revelation”

God, Humankind, and Revelation “A God shaped vacuum” in each of us. Man Seeking God? God Revealing Himself?

Beginnings Why start with Scripture? The “Word” of God and Scripture. Are they the same? Which is a subset of which? Theology  theos-logos  God-word

The “Word” John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The “Word” of God John 1:1 “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God” The Creation Narrative in Genesis “God said”, (bre’sh’t bara) and there was… Scripture’s express claim to be the very words “says the LORD” 501 times in the NASB The LORD commanding the prophets. God “spoke through” the prophets Jesus

The “Canon” of Scripture “canon” – measuring reed, or rod Authority of the Old Testament Some criteria used for inclusion in NT Apostolicity Orthodoxy in teaching and theology Universality, widely disseminated and recognized. Origen (185-254) listed all 27 (w/6 in dispute) Athanasius Easter Letter 367 A.D. Affirmed in the Council of Hippo 393 A.D. Unity until the 16th Century, Roman Catholic Council of Trent added “Apocrypha”. Heresy and Orthodoxy (Montanus, Marcion)

Old Testament’s 39 Books The “Torah”- The First Five Books Also known as “The Law”, “The Pentateuch” Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Historical Books 12 books, Joshua through Esther The Writings 5 “Wisdom” books; Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. The 5 Major Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezekiel The Minor Prophets – 12 Books

New Testament’s 27 Books History Four Gospels, Acts Epistles Pauline Epistles Journey Epistles (Galatians, I/II Thessalonians, I/II Corinthians, Romans) Prison Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon) Pastoral (I/II Timothy, Titus) General Epistles Hebrews, James, I/II Peter, I/II/III John, Jude Revelation

The Closing of the “Writings” Hebrews 1:1,2 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” Revelation 22:18,19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” Criteria for Canonicity

A Word about Translations Approximately 50 on the market in any significant way Effected by: A.) translating philosophy B.) the text being translated C.) Kind of English being handled

Translations – Different Approaches. Different Styles of English Literal Word for Word (New American Standard Bible) Idea for Idea (New International Version) Thought for Thought (The Living Bible) Different Styles of English A.) Formal vs. Informal B.) Literary vs. Common Strictly literal: New American Standard Bible Literal: New King James Version Revised Standard Version New American Bible Literal with freedom to be idiomatic: New Revised Standard Version Thought-for-thought: New International Version New Jerusalem Bible Revised English Bible New Jewish Version Dynamic equivalent (modern speech): Today’s English Version Paraphrastic: The Living Bible

Examples of Historical Documents Comparison of Ancient Works Author Written First Copy Number Plato 424 - 347 BC 900 AD 7 Aristotle 384 - 322 BC 1100 AD 5 Caesar 100 - 44 BC 10 Tacitus 100 AD 20 New Testament 45 - 100 AD 130 AD 14,000 Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, p. 48 as quoted in Dr. Patrick Taylor, Looking Beyond Death, an unpublished dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, p. 221, 1985.

“Inspired” One Representative Flow God Human Author’s Mind of the Writer Original Manuscripts of the Bible Revelation Inspiration Canonicity Modern English Translations Modern Greek & Hebrew Bibles Collection of the 66 books of the Bible Translation Textual Criticism Interpretation Illumination Thoughts in Our Minds Transformation in our Lives Application Witness Work of the Holy Spirit cf. John, 14:26; 15:26; Psalm 139

Some Helpful Definitions Revelation – God making himself known to humanity. Inspiration – God’s action in motivating and supervising humans to write the Bible. Canonicity – The determination by the church of which books have been inspired. Textual Criticism – The science of comparing ancient manuscripts to determine a probable original text. Translation – Rendering the Greek and Hebrew Bible into English. Interpretation – The process of determining the true meaning of the Bible. Illumination – Additional light - The supernatural enabling allowing one to understand the meaning of the Bible. Application – Using the principles learned from the Bible to change our mind and behavior.

“Theo-pneustos” II Timothy 3:16, 17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Men spoke Carried Along II Peter 1:21 “For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Teaching, Endurance, Encouragement Romans 15:4 “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Jesus came tom Fulfill Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Correctly handling the “Word of Truth” II Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

Humankind Lives on the Word of God Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

The Gospel the Power of God Romans 1:16,17 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (cf. Habakkuk 2:4)

The Work of the Holy Spirit John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 15:26,27 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”