TEEN TREE OF LIFE
THE BIBLE:
Its Origin
and Inspiration
September 2, 2018

BEFORE we begin, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, take a moment to name your sins to God The Father. This will allow you to be filled with the power of The Holy Spirit as you read this booklet (EPH 5:18 & 1JO 1:9). IF YOU HAVE never believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have that opportunity right now. Simply tell God The Father that you are believing on His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you make that decision, you are now a believer and will always be a child of God! When you die, you will spend eternity with Him forever in heaven! (JOH 3:16 & ACT 16:31).

The intent of this study is to come to a better understanding of our Bible. And why is this important? So that we develop a closer and more intimate relationship with God Our Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the coming weeks, we will review such topics as: The Origin of the Bible, The Inspiration of the Bible, The Books of the Bible, The Authors and the Books of the Bible. This is a HUGE study but an important one. We are going to undertake this study to become more familiar with God’s Word. We will end up with a greater understanding of The Bible and its message and will be better equipped to read, understand, and utilize it for the power that it was designed to bring to our lives.

So where do we start? First off, The Bible was written to give us the two-fold account of God’s work. Everything that God has done, is doing right now, or will eventually do, falls in one of two categories: 1) His work in creation, and 2) His work in redemption. God made us and saved us and those two things are His Focus.

All Scripture originates from God. God The Father spoke to men in the Old Testament, God The Son taught on earth, and God The Holy Spirit communicated to human writers who wrote the Bible that we have today. No Scripture originates from human volition, design, or purpose: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2PET 1:20-21) So, the origin of The Bible is God The Holy Spirit who is a Perfect Source, which means we have a Perfect Book!

In 2TIM 3:16–17, the apostle Paul writes: All Scripture is inspired by God [God-breathed] and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate [mature], equipped for every good work. There are four key terms crucial to understanding this passage. They are: all; scripture; inspired by God; and profitable. The first term “all” can be translated as every or all. The word all refers to the entire Canon of the Old Testament which Timothy (to whom Paul wrote this) had known from his youth. The New Testament had not yet been completed, but by extension, this verse now includes it.

The second term is “Scripture” which means, a writing or a written document. This word tells us that the focus, of The Holy Spirit’s Inspiration, is in the written record, rather than in the ideas, concepts, or even oral expressions of the writer. So basically, it’s all about the WORD!

The third key term in our passage is the critical term in this passage – the word inspired. Are you ready for a little Greek? You remember that the New Testament is written in Greek, right? Here’s an important Greek word: THEOPNEUSTOS. It’s an adjective which means it describes something. The word THEOPNEUSTOS is made up of two words: THEOS (the Greek word for God); and PNEO which means, to blow or to breathe. So, THEOPNEUSTOS comes to mean, God-breathed. This tells us that God is the author of all Scripture. As MAT 4:4 says, “… every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
The fourth term is profitable. It means, to help, benefit, or do good. So, the Greek word for profitable – OPHELIMOS – comes to mean, useful or profitable or even advantageous. This tells us the reason why the Bible was given to us: to be useful, profitable, and advantageous to our lives!!

God The Holy Spirit supernaturally directed the human authors of Scripture without destroying their individuality, their literary style, their personal interests, their personal feelings, or their vocabulary. God’s complete and coherent message to mankind was recorded with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture. The very words bear the authority of Divine authorship. The Bible, in its original words from first to last, is the exact record of the Mind and the Will of God as He intended it to be.
Inspiration describes the process by which the revelation of God was recorded; it was inspired by God Himself. Inspiration was the power which enabled men of God to write the Divine Revelation without error. Man is the instrument, but not the author of the Word of God. 2PET 1:20-21 says it perfectly: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” Another great verse on the subject: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. (1COR 2:12-13)

The Bible is from the Trinity according to HEB 4:12, which attributes it to God The Father, as the Author of the Plan: “The Word of God is alive and powerful . . .”

The Holy Spirit communicated God’s Complete and Coherent Message to the human authors of Scripture, for both the immediate generation and all generations to follow. Inspiration guarantees that the Canon is accurate. His Inspiration guarantees that all believers in all dispensations will always have a clear revelation of the Plan of God for their lives. While the writers of Scripture had other messages for their own generation, which are not recorded in the Scripture, only what was pertinent to all generations of history was actually recorded in the Canon.

The Bible is absolutely true in all its doctrines, and the statement of all kinds of words, idioms, and concepts related to the time in which it was written are accurate. The apostle Paul said it all in ACTS 24:14-15: "But I do freely admit this: In regard to the Way, which they malign as a dead-end street, I serve and worship the very same God served and worshiped by all our ancestors and embrace everything written in all our Scriptures. And I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad. If that’s my crime, my accusers are just as guilty as I am."

Let’s end this study with some interesting facts!

Old Testament Statistics
There are:
• 39 books
• 17 historical books
• 5 poetical books
• 17 prophetical books
• 929 chapters
• 23,214 verses
• 593,493 words
• The longest book is Psalms
• The shortest book is Obadiah
•
New Testament Statistics
There are:
• 27 books
• 4 Gospels
• 1 historical book
• 29 epistles
• 1 prophetical book
• 260 chapters
• 7,959 verses
• 181,253 words
• The longest book is Acts
• The shortest book is 2John