Our wonderful, amazing bible

2. Our wonderful, amazing bible bibliology

3. “…For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2

4. “For the word of God isliving and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

5. “Sanctifythem by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17

6. “This Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

7. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier’s sword and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.

8. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is given you in life and will be opened in the judgment and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.”

9. Satan hates the Bible • He twists it. Gen. 3:1 • He denies it. Gen. 3:4,5 • He takes it out of context. Matt. 4:6 • He attempts to destroy it. Jer. 36:27-29 • He tries to add to it. Acts 15:1 • He steals it from people’s hearts. Matt 13:4,19 • He will cause men to turn away from it in the last day. 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim.3:1-5; 4:1-4

10. From God’s heart to our hands • Revelation - God to man – Hebrews 1:1 • Inspiration – man to paper- God breathed a. the Holy Spirit’s superintending over the writers so that while writing according to their own styles and personalities, the result was God’s Word written – authoritative, trustworthy, and free from error i. 2 Timothy 3:16 ii. 2 Peter 1:16-21

11. b. Verbal plenary – all – the very words i. Matthew 4:4 ii. Matthew 5:18 iii. 1 Peter 1:23-25 iv. Proverbs 30:5,6 c. Innerent – free from any errors “The most disastrous consequences must follow upon our believing that anything false is found in the sacred books.... If you once admit into such a high sanctuary of authority one false statement, there will not be left a single sentence of those books, which... may not be explained away” Augustine

12. 3. Illumination – paper to heart that method used by the Holy Spirit to shed divine light upon all seeking men as they look into the Word of God. Illumination is from the written word to the human heart.

13. Preservation • 1 Peter 1:23 " having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,” • Psalm 12:6-7 "The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.” • Ps. 111:7-8 "The works of His hands are verity and justice; All His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

14. Ps. 117:2 "...the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” • Ps. 119:152 "Concerning Your testimonies, • I have known of old that You have founded them forever.” • Ps 119:160 "The entirety of Your word is truth, • And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. “ • Is. 40:8 "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

15. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Ephesians 6:17

18. Who decided the canon of Scripture? • Simple answer – God did • The church no more gave us the New Testament canon than Sir Isaac Newton gave us the force of gravity. God gave us gravity, by his work of creation, and similarly he gave us the New Testament canon, by inspiring the individual books that make it up.” Packer

19. “One thing must be emphatically stated. The New Testament books did not become authoritative for the Church because they were formally included in a canonical list; on the contrary, the Church included them in her canon because she already regarded them as divinely inspired, recognizing their innate worth and generally apostolic authority, direct or indirect. The first ecclesiastical councils to classify the canonical books were both held in North Africa-at Hippo Regius in 393 and at Carthage in 397-but what these councils did was not to impose something new upon the Christian communities but to codify what was already the general practice of these communities.” Bruce

20. What was the criteria? • Was the book written by a prophet of God?If it was written by a spokesman of God, then it was the Word of God. • Was the book confirmed by acts of God?Often, miracles separated true prophets from false ones. Examples of true prophets: Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Miracles, by definition, are acts of God to confirm the Word of God given through a prophet of God to the people of God. They were (and are!) signs that substantiated God’s message. • Did its message tell the truth about God?Church fathers maintained this policy: “If in doubt, throw it out.” This policy enhanced the validity of their discernment of the canonical books.

21. What was the criteria? • Does it come with the power of God?The early church leaders believed the Word of God was alive and active (as it remains today!), and thus would be a transforming force for edification and evangelism. In other words, if the message of a book did not have the power to change a person, then God was apparently not behind its message. • Was it accepted by the people of God?When a book was received, collected, read, and used by the people of God, it was regarded as canonical.