By Pastor Bukky.
The Holy Bible is the inspired word of God and is the only source of knowledge from the Almighty God to all mankind. It is the contact point between finite man and the Infinite God, and its prime purpose is to give mankind a revelation of God (2 Timothy 3:15-17). The Bible is God’s revelation to man. “Revelation” here means “to unveil”. God’s revelation is facts divinely revealed by the Spirit. The purpose and aim of the Bible is to clearly show and reveal God’s mind and revelation to man. It reveals man’s need of God and shows man the way to God. Man by searching cannot find God except God makes Himself known to him (Job 11:7).
The Bible consists of 66 books; 39 are in the Old Testament, and 27 in the New Testament. The Bible was originally written predominantly in Hebrew and Greek. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic, while the New Testament was written in Greek. Over 40 authors drawn from disparate generations spanning a period of over 1800 years were used by God to write the Bible. Even though their occupations, education, and social classes were divergent, their theme was the same because they were inspired by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:20). The inspiration of the authors can be attested to by some peculiar characteristics of the Bible, which are not found in any other book written by Man.
To further ascertain the origin of the Bible, we carefully consider the historical reliability of the Old and New Testaments. There are internal evidence tests that proves the New Testament authorship and dating. Some of these evidences are as follow.
- References to events in the books and linguistic similarities among the books attributed to the same author.
- The author wrote from personal experience or first-hand information, which supports the traditional authorship.
- No discoveries or evidence have questioned the claims of the authors and therefore the authorship and dating of the New Testament books are accepted as genuine and accurate.
There are also external evidence test through extra-Biblical authors.
- The early church fathers corroborate the bibliographical test of the New Testament
- They were associates of the Apostles, and eyewitnesses to the original manuscripts; their scripture quotations can then be taken as original write-up of the Apostles.
- Extra-Biblical authors corroborate the internal evidence test.
Some other external evidence tests are confirmed by Archaeology.
- The unprecedented discovery by archaeologists, have for the most part, substantiated the biblical record.
- More than 25,000 sites showing some connections with the Old Testament period have been located in Bible lands.
- Another major source of information for comparison with biblical narratives has been the archaeological excavation of biblical sites.
- No archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.
The Bible is God’s inspired revelation of the origin and destiny of all things. It is the power of God unto eternal salvation, and it is the source of present help to the body, soul, and spirit (Romans 1:16; John 15:7). It is God’s will and testament to man in all ages, revealing His plan for man here and now and in the next life. It is the record of God’s dealing with men; past, present and future. It contains God’s message of eternal salvation to all who believe in Christ and of eternal damnation to those who rebel against the gospel (John 3:18,36).
The inspiration of the authors can be attested to by some peculiar characteristics of the Bible, which are not found in any other book written by man. Such characteristics include its wonderful unity despite the fact that the authors lived in different ages; its versatility as it meets the needs of all people irrespective of race and language (Matthew 4:4). Its superiority to other books, the influence on individuals and nations; its preservation over the centuries, its fulfilled prophecies (Isaiah 7:4; Ezekiel 36:19; 2 Chronicles 7:19,20) and its perfection (Psalms 19:7; James 1:25).
The Pre-eminence of the Bible (Isaiah 8:20; Psalm 119:89) makes it indispensable to all men today. While other books have limited influence on man, because they are products of finite minds, the Bible which is God’s revelation to man has the solution to every problem today. Therefore, no man’s education is complete if he is ignorant of the provisions of the Bible. No Christian can live successfully without an adequate grasp of the Bible, and no Christian minister is really qualified for the ministry of the church of Christ without a thorough knowledge of the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15). Without a ready knowledge of the Bible, the Christian worker cannot be effective.
Every believer in the church today can benefit from the hidden treasures in the Bible. But this would require sacrifices on our part. Treasures are not found except by searching or digging earnestly. Likewise, deep Bible truths need to be sought for and in doing this we will discover Christ the more (Colossians 2:9; John 5:39).