Holy Scriputures

Holy Scriputures

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Holy Scriptures

1. Introduction

2. The Word of God

1. The Word of God—Speech by God

1. God’s Commands—Sometimes God’s words take the form of commands or decrees that result in something happening (Gen. 1:3, 24; Ps. 33:6)

2. God’s Direct Address—Sometimes God communicates directly with his people (Gen. 2:16-17; Ex. 20:1-3; Matt. 3:17)

3. God’s Speech Through the Prophets—God also raises up prophets through whom he speaks (Deut. 18:18; Jer. 1:9)

4. God’s Written Words—God also wrote his word and instructed that his words be written (Ex. 31:18; Josh. 24:26; Jer. 30:2; Jn. 14:26; Rev. 1:11; 1 Cor. 14:37)

1. The Word of God—Jesus Christ is the “Word of God” (Jn. 1:1; Rev. 19:3) who “dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14), and his words are the Father’s words (Jn. 14:24; cf. 14:10)

1. The Canon of Scripture

1. Introduction

1. The word “canon,” meaning “rule” or “rod,” connotes the idea of criteria or measure by which we determine the books of the Bible.

2. In Protestant Christianity, the canon of Scripture consists of 66 Books divided between the Old Testament canon (Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament canon (Greek Scriptures).

3. The Roman Catholic canon includes additional Greek Scriptures called the Apocrypha, which are important Jewish historical writings but are not considered authoritative or divinely inspired by Protestants.

4. The writings included in the canon of Scripture span nearly 1,500 years beginning with the 10 Commandments given to Moses during the Exodus (c. 1445 B.C.) and ending with the Apostolic era of the early church (c. 90 A.D.).

5. The canon consists of 40+ authors writing from a variety of cultural settings; most of them have never met or spoken to each other.

6. The canon of Scripture is “closed” in that no additional writings are to be added to the canon and no existing writings are to be excluded.

1. Old Testament (Hebrew) Canon

1. Time Period of the Old Testament

1. The Ten Commandments were the earliest collection of written words of God (Ex. 31:18). These commandments were written by the finger of God and form the beginning of the biblical canon (c. 1445 B.C.)

2. Moses himself wrote additional words to be deposited beside the Ark of the Covenant (Deut. 31:24-26). These are called the Pentateuch, which are the first 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).

3. The content of the Old Testament canon continued to grow through Israelite history recording the time of the Judges, Kings, and Prophets.

4. No further additions to the Old Testament canon were made after approximately 435 B.C. once the time of the Prophets had ended and the canon was considered to be “closed” (Deut. 4:2)

1. Septuagint (Greek)

1. The Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek by 70 (LXX) scholars between 300 – 200 B.C. and were used among the Hellenistic Jews.

2. Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted the Hebrew Scriptures or the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures over 295 times but not once did they cite from any of the apocryphal books.

1. New Testament (Greek) Canon

1. The Old Testament closes with the expectation of the Messiah to come (Mal. 3:1–4; 4:1–6). The development of the New Testament canon begins with the writings of the apostles.

2. The New Testament canon (written between 45 – 90 A.D.) consists of the Gospels, Acts, the writings of Paul, the writings of John, the writings of Peter, Jude, James, and Hebrews.

3. Purpose and Nature--Most of the New Testament, particularly the writings of Paul, Peter, and John, were written specifically to early churches for teaching, correction, and encouragement as the Gospel was spread among the Mediterranean world.

4. Criteria of Canonization

1. Apostolicity—Each of the books of the New Testament canon must embody the apostolic tradition and must be linked to the apostle (Jn. 14:26; 2 Pet. 3:16)

2. Usage – Each of the books of the New Testament canon must have widespread usage within the church. Some writings never caught on, even those attributed to the apostles

3. Teaching – The substance of the books in the New Testament canon must be in accord with proper Christian teaching.

1. Process of Canonization

1. Historical process—The formulation of the canon was not a single event but was a historical process over several centuries. By 367 A.D. the church agreed on the books we have today.

2. Belief in the Holy Spirit—Jesus made it clear that the Holy Spirit would be a guide to lead Christ’s followers into all truth (Jn. 16:13-14)

3. The Church and the Bible—Protestants and Catholics have different views on the relationship between the church and Scripture.

1. Catholic View – the church selected certain books therefore bestowing a certain authority upon them.

2. Protestant View – the church recognized the writings as authority and submitted themselves to them.

1. The Inerrancy of Scripture

1. The Meaning of Inerrancy—the Bible always tells the truth concerning everything it talks about (Ps. 12:6). It is free from error or untruths.

1. In Psalm 12:6, the psalmist describes the absolute reliability and purity of Scripture

2. The Bible can be inerrant and still speak in ordinary language. Inerrancy has to do with the truthfulness not the degree of precision with which events are reported.

3. The Bible can be inerrant and still include loose or free quotations. An accurate citation of another person needed to include only a correct representation of the context of what the person