Lesson 1
The Bible
The Bible is how God communicates to us (Hebrews 1:1). It is comprised of sixty-six books that are all inspired by God (they are God’s words, so, the “Word of God”) (2 Peter 1:21). It reveals the identity of God (Acts 17:22-28), how our universe came to be (Psalms 33:6-9), and how man was created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26). The Bible reveals God’s expectation of holiness for his creation (Leviticus 11:44 and 1 Peter 1:15-16) and how man disappointed him with their sin (Genesis 3). It reveals how sinners can achieve God’s high and holy calling (Philippians 3:14 and 1 Peter 1:22ff) through the sacrifice of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-20). Consequentially, all the Bible books, from Genesis to Revelation, explain the development of Christ and the value of his sacrifice on the cross.
The Bible is Truth
The Bible contains truth (John 18:37-38). If the Bible reveals God to have the inability to lie, then it stands that all his words are the truth (Hebrews 6:18). Truth is that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. All right-thinking people want to know the truth as opposed to lies or fiction. Fiction has its place in entertainment; however, it will not help one understand what life is about.
The truth is that God created all things, he expects man to live in the image he is created, and there will be eternal reward and punishment for those that meet or do not meet his expectation of holiness. Fiction involves humanism. To do as one pleases is to placate oneself in delusion. If one convinces themselves that there is no God, heaven, or hell, then they will feel comfortable in their ignorance and agnostic life choices.
There are those rare people that want to know the truth. They are not content with the status quo life of fictious delusion. Such a mind will search for the truth (Matthew 7:7). They will read the Bible and make informed decisions about their life now and forevermore (Ephesians 3:1-4). The more traveled road of humanity blocks or disassociates thoughts of reality from fiction and those who travel it are comfortable in a life of confusion, fantasy, delusion, error, and misguidance. These people love lies, rather than truth, because lies sooth the sting of reality (Psalms 52:3).
The truth is that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). God’s glory is his holiness (see the similitude between the glory of God and the righteousness of God at Romans 3:21-23). God has created man in his image; however, man has chosen sin rather than the glory of God (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
The Bible takes us through the development of man’s sanctification, the righteousness of God, through the seed of woman (Genesis 3:15), Abraham (Genesis 12:1-4), and onto the fulfillment in Christ (Galatians 3:8, 16). The Bible does not merely explain the academics of these facts, but it also instructs in how one may attain the righteousness of God and meet their creator’s objective when he created us all (in his image).
The question is whether you, the reader, genuinely believes that God is, and that his words are truth. The answer to that question will determine where you spend eternity. Hopefully, this short Bible study course can convince you that the Bible is the truth, factual, and represents reality.
The Bible, Truth, is Complete
The Bible, truth, is a completed work. Consider a few passages to illustrate this point. The apostle Paul addresses a problem among the Galatians. There were people that were teaching that if one is not circumcised and keeps the Mosaic Law, they cannot be saved. God did not say such a thing. Paul exposes this lie by saying these people are guilty of “perverting (to pervert, change, or alter) the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7). If ‘changing’ truth is condemned, then we necessarily conclude that truth is complete (see Galatians 5:8-9). God leaves nothing to the opinions of man when he said that his words are not to be changed or altered (see Zechariah 1:5-6; Malachi 3:6; Galatians 3:15; Ephesians 4:1-5 and Revelation 22:18-19). Christ is truth (John 14:6) and as such he does not change (Hebrews 13:7-8).
The Apostle Peter writes, “3 seeing that his divine power (the gospel – Romans 1:16) has granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us (the gospel – 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14) by his own glory and virtue; 4 whereby he has granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises (justification or forgiveness of sins – Acts 13:23, 32, 37-38); that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature (holy and perfect as God – Matthew 5:48; 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 Peter 1:15-16), having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust (deliverance from sin through baptism – Acts 2:38 and Romans 6:6-7)” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
God, by way of completed truth, has given “all things” to man for salvation. If revelation continues to be developed, then it stands that man cannot be “partakers of the divine nature” (to be holy as God is holy) at any given time because it is ever evolving. An ever-evolving truth would negate the absolute identity of holiness because it would be defined differently at various times. People would spend their entire lives chasing God’s glory never to catch or attain it. According to Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:7-8, this does not happen. If there are new truths, with different teaching regarding the church and salvation, then Christians and churches today have a different identity than those revealed in the New Testament.
Jude, the brother of James and Jesus, also explains that truth is complete. He writes, “3 Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3). “The faith” is truth or the gospel (see Acts 16:5; Romans 1:5; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 1:23 and Philippians 1:27). The truth has been “once for all delivered” (only once handed over or transmitted to another). God ‘handed over’ or ‘transmitted’ his truths to men, such as the apostles, and they wrote these words (2 Thessalonians 2:15 and 2 Peter 1:21).
Furthermore, the Old Testament scriptures are depicted as shadows of the New Testament. There must be something tangible to cast a shadow (Hebrews 8:5). If Abraham’s sons represent two covenants, the Mosaic Law and the truths of the gospel, then truth must already exist (Galatians 4:21-31). For the tabernacle, and its furnishings, to be a shadow of the gospel truth, then they must already exist (Hebrews 8:5 and 9:1-10). If Adam (Romans 5:14) and Melchizedek (Hebrews 5-9) are depicted as types of the Christ to come, then it stands to reason that they already existed (John 1:1ff). If truth is not complete, then the Apostle Paul could not condemn those that walk contrary to it before the book of Galatians was written (see Galatians 1:6-9).
Consider the fact that the Lord is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8). Contextually he represents the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet in that there is no more to be known or added. Revelation chapter 1 discusses the disclosure or truth (revelation) of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1). This is identified as the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:2). The word of God is the truth, Christ, and/or the gospel message (see Colossians 1:25-27; 2:2 and Ephesians 1:13).
The fact is that the truth, in its entirety, is eternal and has always said the same thing (Proverbs 8:22-31 as it relates to Christ and the truth – John 1:1-6 and14:6). This helps us understand how the New Testament can be written in stages while claiming to be complete. When Peter said that God has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” there was yet more to be physically written. Again, when Jude said that truth is “once for all delivered,” his book was in the process of being written.
The point is that the eternal truth has always been. There have always been people writing and saying things that do not represent that one eternal truth (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). Every word spoken or written is to be put to the test of God’s word (1 Peter 4:11 and 1 John 4:1-4). One example would be that some argue that Mark 16:9-20 does not belong in the Bible (the text that states the necessity of baptism for the remission of sin). In fact, Mark 16:9-20 is left out of some original Bible manuscripts. Its teaching, however, about the resurrection of Christ, his appearance to the apostles after his resurrection, and baptism are confirmed as truth by way of its consistency with other truths found in the Bible.
True answers to pressing questions of this life, and the one to come, are found in the Bible. The identity of the Lord’s church, its organization, and work are also found within its pages. To see that the Bible is the complete truth is to acknowledge its sole credibility. To produce religious principles and names of churches that are not found in the Bible is to practice quackery (James 4:16).
Questions over Lesson 1; The Bible
- How does God communicate with the world he created?
- Give a summary of what is in the Bible:
- Define truth:
- Can one make an informed decision about the Bible without reading it?
- Why would someone block or disassociate themselves from truth, facts, and reality?
- Is the truth complete or is there something else we are waiting for?
- What does the Bible say about its contents being complete?
- How many truths are there?
- If there were multiple truths, then there would be multiple churches that would represent various realities. If, however, there is only one truth, there can only be one reality and one church. Compare Ephesians 1:22-23 to Ephesians 4:1-4. How many truths and churches are there?