The Bible is not a
book. It is a collection of 66 books (from the Greek
word ta biblia, which means "the scrolls" or "the books"), written by 40
different authors (including shepherds, fishermen, kings, farmers, scribes,
poets, priests and prophets) in different languages over a period of 1,500
years to different people groups who spoke different languages, in different
generations, for different reasons.
The Bible is divinely
inspired, but penned and communicated
by humans. We should honor both
the divine and human aspects of the Bible in the same way that we revere Jesus
as Son of God (divine) and Son of Man (human). The Bible is divine and human, Spirit and flesh,
Supernatural and natural. This
Bible is not to be worshipped, but revered.
The Bible was written
in Hebrew and Greek.
- Portions of the Bible were translated into
English from 700-1350 A.D.
- From 1380-1397 John Wycliffe translated the
entire Bible into English and avoided many attempts on his life while doing so.
- 1526 William Tyndale produced the first New
Testament translation from the original Greek.
- 1536 Tyndale is burned at the stake for his
translation work.
The purpose of the
Bible is to bring Revelation. The Bible is a guide for us, to lead us
to a greater understanding of the nature of God and God's relationship to all
of creation.
The Spirit always
supersedes the letter. Jesus continually challenged those of
literal mindedness to see the truths contained in scripture in a more metaphorical,
figurative and Spiritual way.
We should always keep these concepts in mind
when studying the Bible.
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Quote of the Week
"He has made us competent as
ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the
letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
-
II Corinthians 3:6 (NIV)
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