Good evening. Tonight we are going to begin a new study that I am in the process of developing as we go. In the past, we have done several DVD series’, a handful of book studies, and some hit and miss things. However, what I have found, is that it seems that we all get quite a bit from out studies when we take just a simple passage, and take a look at it.
So, with that being said, I don’t know how long we will do this, but for the next several weeks, we are going to take a look at some Basic Bible Stuff. It will cover a lot of the basics to what we believe, and then it will take a look at several different Bible stories, some familiar, and others that are sometimes overlooked.
And today, as we begin this series that takes a look at the Bible, we need to first understand what it is that we are studying.
So, answer me this, how was the Bible developed?
Well, in our time together this evening, we will take a look at how we ended up with the Bible that we use today. Before we do that though, let’s open with a word of prayer.
Let’s Pray!
Now, to answer that question, “How Was the Bible Developed?” all we have to do is turn our attention to II Timothy 3:16 which says, “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”
In other words, all scripture is given to us by God Himself. And it is useful for teaching us, and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is also useful for correcting faults and teaching us how to live right.
Over the course of our study these next several weeks, we will take a look at many different topics, and passages of scripture. And as we do that, we have to understand that everything we are reading, has been given to us by God Himself.
Now, do you think that Jesus knew the scriptures?
How can you tell?
Well, in Luke 2:41-47 we read about a time that Jesus demonstrated an understanding of scripture. Take a look at this passage. Luke 2:41-47 says, “2”
So, to answer that question about Jesus knowing the scriptures, as we look at this passage, we get a good understanding of Jesus’ knowledge of the scriptures. One time, when Jesus was at church, He talked to the teachers about God. They talked and talked. Finally, His parents left to go back home, but Jesus didn’t know it.
Now, how could Mary and Joseph have left not and realized that Jesus was not with them?
Well, back then, when they would travel to these feasts, they would travel in a big groups with many relatives. So, believe it or not, Mary and Joseph didn’t realize that Jesus was not with them. When they discovered it, they hurried back and found Jesus talking with the teachers. The teachers were amazed at everything that Jesus knew and the questions that He was asking.
Now, originally, the Bible was communicated orally. People were living on the earth for hundreds of years before any part of the Bible was written down. God spoke to people through prophets and preachers. These people shared God’s message to others through stories because writing had not been invented yet.
Later in 1200 B.C., the alphabet was invented. However, not many people knew how to read or write so they continued to tell and retell stories of what God had done. For the most pat, the scriptures that everyone knew back then, were simply told to them, they became familiar with them, and then they would pass the stories on verbally to someone else.
Finally, some people began to go to school and learn how to read and write. When they put God’s words into print they were called “scribes” or secretaries. Paper was not invented at that time, so they wrote on plant leaves or animal skins.
They rolled the leaves up into scrolls when not in use. When the writers wrote down what God said, they were guided by God Himself. God gave them the message or the words that He wanted them to write on the scrolls. That’s why the Bible is called God’s Word.
These scribes had to carefully make copies by hand because I don’t think they had typewriters or computers back then. And then, these scrolls would be used to teach people the scriptures.
Now, can anyone tell me what languages were originally used to write the scrolls?
(Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)
Well, it’s time to learn something interesting, the Bible was not originally written in English. In fact, the Old Testament is written in a language called Hebrew. And there are also a few books in the Old Testament that were written in another language called Aramaic. They were written in Aramaic because the people who wrote them were forced to live in another place.
Then, the Greeks conquered the land and the people learned to speak Greek. And so, the entire New Testament was originally written in the Greek language. In fact, that is what Jesus spoke.
And at some point in history after all of that, someone invented our modern day book. This was obviously a good thing, because people didn’t have to carry lots of scrolls around anymore. It took so long to write down every word of the Bible, the Bibles were expensive. In fact, some people chained them up so no one would steal them.
And then to bring us up to date, the printing press was invented, and could make lots of copies and lots of Bibles. And today, we have many different versions and translations of the Bible.
Now, here is some more Bible trivia for you, how many books are in the Bible?
(66)
Well, the Bible has 66 books in it. There are all kinds of different books within the Bible. Just like a library has different kinds of books on its shelves, so does the Bible. There are books about law, history, poetry and song, prophets, Jesus, letters to churches, and future events.
Now, the Old Testament books were written before Jesus came. And the New Testament is books that were written after Jesus came. Now, let’s brake it down even more.
How many books are there in the Old Testament?
(39)
And that leaves how many for the New Testament?
(27)
Can anyone name all the books of the Bible?
And finally, let me ask you this, how did we end up with these 66 books in the Bible?
Well, a group of special people came together a long, long time ago. They looked through all the writing to see which ones were from God and which ones were not. Finally they decided that these 66 books were from God. And that’s how we have the
Bible today.
Here is a little history for you. The term “canon” is used to describe the books that are divinely inspired and therefore belong in the Bible. The difficult aspect of determining the Biblical canon is that the Bible does not give us a list of the books that belong in the Bible. Determining the canon was a process, first by Jewish rabbis and scholars, and then later by early Christians.
Ultimately, it was God who decided what books belonged in the Biblical canon. A book of Scripture belonged in the canon from the moment God inspired its writing. It was simply a matter of God convincing His human followers which books should be included in the Bible.
Compared to the New Testament, there was very little controversy over the canon of the Old Testament. Hebrew believers recognized God’s messengers, and accepted their writings as inspired by God.
But, for the New Testament, the process of the recognition and collection began in the first centuries of the Christian church. Very early on, some of the New Testament books were being recognized.
In A.D. 363, the Council of Laodicea stated that only the Old Testament, and the 27 books of the New Testament were to be read in the churches. The Council of Hippo in A.D. 393 and the Council of Carthage in A.D. 397 also affirmed the same 27 books as authoritative.
The councils followed something similar to the following principles to determine whether a New Testament book was truly inspired by God or not:
- Was the author an apostle or have a close connection with an apostle?
- Is the book being accepted by the Body of Christ at large?
- Did the book contain consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching?
- Did the book bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would reflect a work of God?
Again, it is crucial to remember that the church did not determine the canon. No early church council decided on the canon.
It was God, and God alone, who determined which books belonged in the Bible. It was simply a matter of God convincing His followers of what He had already decided upon. The human process of collecting the books of the Bible was flawed, but God, in His sovereignty, despite our ignorance and stubbornness, brought the early church to the recognition of the books that He had inspired.
Many years after all of that took place, a neat discovery occurred. A boy was playing in some caves in the country where Jesus lived, Israel. He threw a rock into a cave and heard it hit something. He went into the cave and discovered a jar. He thought it was some kind of treasure. And it really was a treasure. When he took these jars into town, they discovered that they were old Bible scrolls.
After finding these scrolls, it helped people to see that the Bible they had today was just like the one people had around Jesus’ time. God made sure that we had the whole Bible. Nothing is there that shouldn’t be, and nothing was left out.
Now, before we close this evening, does anyone have anything that they would like to add?
Well, if there is nothing else, next week, we will take a look at another Basic Bible idea. But for this week, understand that we have the Bible, the basis for everything that we study, everything that we believe, and hopefully it is the standard for how we live.
And remember, II Timothy 3:16 tells us that, “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”
Let’s Pray! |
