45 BELOW NOTES | November 17th, 2019

Forty Five Below PT.3 Notes

A PERSONAL PROFILE OF GOD Pt. 2

·       When we try to describe what God looks like, there's a word that comes to mind and that’s the word Trinity.

Definition of the word Trinity:  Within the unity of the Godhead, (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)  there are three co-equal, co-eternal persons, equal in substance, but distinct in subsistence..(or their existence). There's one God, made up of three distinct persons...

C.S. Lewis said: "God Himself, has told us how were to talk about Him."

What the scripture is quick to point out is: There is one God, but yet at the same time the Father is called God, the Son is called God and the Holy Spirit is called God... Each one are distinct and separate beings, but yet one God!

·       There are many clues in the Old Testament of God’s triune nature.

Gen 1:1 the word "God" is plural... In Gen 1:26, "let us make man"...

Gen 11:7 " Let us go down and there confuse their language."

UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH OF GOD'S TRINITY.

              We can know what light is, without fully understanding waves and particles or the Quantum theory - In that same way, we can know about God is, without hearing about or fully understanding the doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity isn't found in just one verse of the Bible. It's the end result of a long process of thinking about the way that God is present and active in his world.

Chasies Ryrie:  "Maybe "Tri-unity" would be a better word.”  

              St. Patrick's used the picture of the three-leafed shamrock to identify the Trinity. Others have used water. For example, under pressure, and in a vacuum, at a given temperature below freezing, exists simultaneously as both liquid, gas, and ice; yet it's always identifiable as water (H20), its basic nature.  In physics this is called “the triple point of water.”

Apologists Dr. Walter Martin: "So those who cry 'impossible' where the Trinity of God, or a similar events of the supernatural are concerned--must compare its chemical counterparts in the natural world." (There are many things that we can see, and can’t really understand) God always exists simultaneously as Father, Son, and Spirit...and yet as one God.

Martin Luther:  "It is God who handles us,  and not we who handle God."

              THE TRUTH OF THE TRINITY GROWS OUT OF OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT...

I:  God is one.  Three persons, but yet one God. (I Kings 5:15, Ps. 86:8, Hos. 13:4,

              John 17:3, 1 Tim. 2:5)

              "The LORD our God, the LORD is one."                                                                                                                                            Deut.6:4 (NIV)

              "I am God, and there is no other, I am God, and there is none like me."                                                                                                                                                           Isa. 46:9 (NIV)

SECONDLY:      The Father, the Son, and the are all called God.

              First of all: The FATHER is God.

              Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ."                                                                                                           Rom. 1:7 (NIV)

              JESUS is called God.  “Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!”  John 20:28 (NIV)

              God called Jesus God.

                "8 But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”                                Heb. 1:8-9  (NKJ) 

              The SPIRIT is called God.

               “No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

                                                                                                      1 Cor. 2:11 (NCV) 

THIRDLY: Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct from one another. The Godhead is not one person wearing three hats, or taking on three different roles.

·       Jesus is distinct from the Father.  (Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17).

·       The Spirit is distinct from the Father

                                           (John 14:26).

Conclusion:  GOD IS ONE IN BEING, BUT HE EXISTS IN THREE PERSONS.  This is where you get                                  the term Trinity, that has been taught for 2000 years.

B.  Now there are some GLIMPSES OF THE TRINITY in the Old Testament.

·      There are 4 places God speaks of Himself as “we” in the Old Testament.                                                                                                                          (Gen. 1:26, 3:22, 11:7, Isa. 6:8)

·      All three were involved in Creation (The Spirit -Gen. 1:2, The Father -Heb.1:2, and the Son Col. 1:16).

· We are baptized  in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit... (Notice;  name, not names.)

              "19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the           Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matt. 28:19 (NKJ) 

·       All three at Jesus' baptism 

                                                                        (Mark 1:10-11)

·       At Jesus' birth announcement.

                                                          (Luke 1:35)

·       All three involved in the Jesus' resurrection.  

              " 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it

                    up.”                                            John 2:19 (NKJ) 

·       The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.

              " 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.     Rom 8:11 (NKJ) 

·       The Father raised the Son from the dead.

              " 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” Acts 3:26  (NKJ) 

·       Paul's prayer in 2 Cor. 13  reveals the Trinity:

              "14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the      Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."    2 Cor. 13:14   (NKJ) 

·       Jesus prays to the Father for the Holy Spirit to be a part of our lives.

                      " 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:16-17  (NKJ)

Key Personal Perspectives

Question... Why is this important?

Theologically: The Trinity prevents us from adopting inadequate views of God. It prevents us from seeing Jesus and the Spirit as less than God, It prevents us from seeing Jesus and the Father, as exactly the same, rather than distinct persons. It prevents us from believing that these three are three gods, rather than just one. And not only does it help us theologically, but it understanding this also help us Personally!

Personally: The Trinity is a reminder of the majesty and mystery of the God, who gave Himself for us on the cross.

              So you trust the truth of the Trinity: When you ask for salvation

                            The Spirit convicts  - (Jn. 16:9­-11)

                            The Son sacrifices   - (Heb. 10:10)

                            The Father gives      - (­John 3:16).

              If Jesus wasn't God, His sacrifice on the cross would be meaningless for us. Only God can       remove sin.

              * Every time you pray

                            The Spirit communicates - (Rom. 8:26)

                            Jesus intercedes -  (Rom. 8:34)

                            The Father answers - (John 16:23-24).

II. GOD IS REVEALED

               (Isa 65:1, Jer. 24:7, Ps. 98:2, Rom 10:20).

              " 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 20 Where is the wise? Where  is the scribe? Where is the disputer  of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."                          1 Cor. 1:18-21  (NKJ) 

·      The bible says, Jesus came to give us understanding...

                      "20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.           1 John 5:20  (NKJ) 

· Jesus choose to reveal the Father to us:

              "27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."              Matt. 11:27 (NKJ)

·      The clearest revelation of Him is Jesus Christ.                 

              "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."                Heb. 1:1-3  (NKJ) 

·       God revealed Himself through Prophets.                   

            "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets."                                          Amos 3:7 (NKJ) 

·       In New Testament times, God reveals himself through His Son.

                      " 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."       John 1:18 (NKJ)

                "8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."                             John 14:8-11  (NKJ

III. GOD IS RELATIONAL

              The popular idea is... God is distant.

              The real truth is... God is near.  (Deut. 4:7)

              "7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You."                                                      

                                                                                      Ps. 139:7-12 (NKJ) 

The popular idea is... God watches over all our actions.

The real truth is... God is intimately involved every detail of our lives. You couldn't live or breathe without the assistance of God.               (Matt. 6:25-30).

The popular idea is...God is anxiously waiting to judge those who do wrong.

The real truth is...God is waiting for everyone to wake up to the fact that they're forgiven in Christ. 

                                                      "4 ...who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the   

                                           truth."                              I Tim. 2:4  (NKJ) 

Four Characteristics of God:

1. God's Immanence: God is near.

2. God's Omnipresence: God is everywhere (Omni = all + present). 

3. God's Omniscience: God knows everything (Omni = all + scient = knowing).

4. God's Omnipotence:  God is all mighty (all + potent). 

·       God is first and foremost the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but He’s also our Father. We're His offspring.   

                                                          (Matt. 3:17, John 5:17-23)

·       Even though we are all Gods offspring

              God isn't the Father of us all   (Acts 17:29),

                                                                         (John 8:42-47)

·       God's only the personal Father of those who believe in Christ.

                                                                        (Gal. 3:26, John 20:17).

2.  How does God relates to us as a “perfect Father?”

1. Our Father made sacrifices. He sent the Son into the world to die as our Savior

                                                                                                     (John 3:16, 5:37, 1 John 4:14).

2. Our Father has compassion and loves on His children (Ps. 103:13, 2 Cor.1:3).

3. Our Father guides His children   (Prov. 3:12).

4. Our Father knows our needs before we ask  (Matt. 6:8, Matt. 7:9-1 1) ...

5. Our Father rewards us. (Matt. 6:19, Heb. 11:6).

6. Our Father made us His heirs. (Rom. 8:15)

7. Our Father encourages us (2 Thess. 2:16).

8. Our Father shows no favoritism among His children.

·       He gives access to all equally

                                                      (Eph. 2:18).

·       He blesses all richly

                                                      (Rom. 10:12).

·       He judges each person impartially

                                                      (I Peter 1:17).

·       Now how do we get to know this Father? Jesus told us, "He who has seen me, has seen     the Father         (John 14:8-9). 

Key Personal Perspectives

Now some people may have a hard time thinking of God as a "father," because of the role model of a father they had, as they were growing up. However, a breakthrough might occur as you begin to see God as the father you never had, to see God as the Father, that fulfills what your father never did.

45 BELOW NOTES | November 3rd, 2019

Forty Five Below PT.2 Notes of Part 1 PERSONAL PROFILE OF GOD

A PERSONAL PROFILE OF GOD Pt. 1

Theme verse:

Phil 1:9-10 (NIV)           “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best.”                                                                     

AW. Tozer:  “What we believe about God, is the most important thing about                                                            us.”

What we believe about God determines how each of us look at everyday life. It affects how we respond to good and evil. It effects what's going to happen to us for an eternity.  It's extremely important!

So, the most important thing in life, isn't to "know yourself or to get into harmony with your inner self to find out who you are" No, the most important thing is to know God!

1. What a personal profile include?

·      Physical Appearance - How a person looks

·      Personality  - How a person thinks and relates

·      Nature and Character- How a person acts

·      Name - How a person is distinctly identified.

A.  So what does God look like?

              When we see and know the real God it keeps us faithful and courageous...Who you             think God is, is the foundation by which everything in your life rests upon.

              So, what does God really "look" like?  And how does God want us to view Him?

              Well, that question is preceded by a greater question of "Gods existence."   Does God really exist?

              The bible says in,

Ps 14:1a  (NKJ) " The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

              There are some key truths to remember about God:

                             1)  God is real...

                             2)  God is revealed...

                             3) God is relational...

1. GOD IS REAL   

              So how do we know God is real? Well, first of all...

              A. God says He exists  

Isa. 43:10-13 (NLT) 10 “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord... “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be. 11 I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. 12 First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God," says the Lord. 13 “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”

Isa 41:21-24  (NLT)  " 21 “Present the case for your idols,” says the Lord. “Let them show what they can do,” says the King of Israel.22 “Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen. 23 Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything—good or bad! Do something that will amaze and frighten us. 24 But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all. Those who choose you pollute themselves."

              B. God's direct actions...

              There's sufficient evidence in creation itself, to prove God exists...

Rom 1:19-21  (NKJ)  " 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for  God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes  are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."

·       Consider the Earth...its size is perfect.

·       Earths location...

·       Our moon... 

Prov. 8:29a  (NLT)  "29 I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries."

·       Water of the Earth...

·       The Universe itself...

              Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, (a self-described agnostic), stated, "The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was planted in that first instant;  every star, every planet, and every living creature in the Universe, came into being as a result of events, that were set in motion, in the moment of the cosmic explosion. The Universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen."

              Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said, "at the moment of this explosion, the universe was about a hundred thousand million degrees Centigrade...and the universe was filled with light."

Gen. 1:1 (NKJ) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

·       The universe operates by uniform laws of nature.

              Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery...The fact that there are rules at all, is miraculous."

·       The Human Brain and it's processing power

·       The Human eye

The human eye can distinguish among 7 million colors. It has automatic focusing, and handles about 1.5 million messages, simultaneously.

·       The DNA code

In every cell of our bodies, there exists a very detailed instruction code, much like a miniature computer program?

It's made up of four chemicals, that scientists abbreviates as A, T, G, and C. There are 3 billion of these letters in every human cell! DNA is a 3-billion-lettered program, that tells the cells to act in a certain way. It's a full instruction manual that makes you, who you are.

2.  Nature itself reveals the existence of God

Acts 14:16-17 (NLT) 16 In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, 17 but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”

Rom. 1:19-20 (NLT)  " 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

·      Job says, ask the animals of God's existence.

·      Study the stars (Ps. 19:1-6)  “The heavens declare Gods glory.”

       God measures with the span of His hand.”                                                                                                        (Isa 40:12)        

·      Notice all of nature “All of creation testifies  of God.”  (Ps. 104:10-25)

3. Now Human history proves Gods existence

Acts 17:26-27 (NLT)  " 26 From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.

So how does the reality of God, affect you in a personal way? As believers, recognizing who God is and that He's real is expressed through our worship of Him in our lives.

              Worship is our response to this truth!

Is. 44:6,8 (NIV)  “This is what the Lord says - Israel's king and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty­ I am the first and I am the last, apart from me there is no God... Do not tremble, do not be afraid.  Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?  You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?  No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”                  

GOD'S APPEARANCE: "What does God look like?" 

John 1:18 (NKJ)  "18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."

·      God is beautiful  (Ps. 27:4, Is. 28:5).

·      God is  Spirit       (Ps. 139:7-12, John 4:24).

·      God is Invisible   (John 1:18, Col. 1:15, Heb. 11:27)

·      God is Creator    (Gen.1:1)

Heb. 11:3 (NKJ) "3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."

Question:  How can you and I know and see Him, who is invisible?

·       We must see and know God by faith.

Heb. 11:1-3 (NKJ) "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."

Heb 11:27 (NKJ) "27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."

45 BELOW NOTES | October 20th, 2019

45 BELOW NOTES | October 20, 2019

INTRODUCTION:

“And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best.” Phil. 1:9-10 (NIV)

SO WHAT IS CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE?

Doctrine: The teaching of a set of principles, that are presented for belief and acceptance.

Theology: made up of two Greek words: Theos: God Logos: logic or Word... Theology is basically the study of God as He's revealed in His word.

1 Pet. 3:15 (NKJ) “To be able to give every man answer that asked you a reason, for the hope that is in you."

Theology and biblical doctrine will help us to develop a proper, "Christian World View."

HOW DID WE GET THE BIBLE?

I. THE BIBLE- “ITS NAMES AND TITLES.”

The English word Bible came from the Greek words "biblo" meaning sheet or scroll of writing (Matt. 1:1)...

A derivative of the word "biblos", is the word "biblion", meaning a smaller portion of a larger book. For example...

Luke 4:17 (NKJ) "17 And He was handed the book (biblion, a smaller portion of a much larger book) of the prophet Isaiah.

1.) In ancient times books were written upon biblus or papyrus reed scrolls and from this custom came the Greek name biblos, which eventually became the name that's applied to all the sacred books known as the bible. See: Mark 12:26; Luke 3:4; 20:42; Acts 1:20; 7:42.

2.) The Bible's divided into two separate sections: Old and New Covenants or Testaments" See: Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6,14; Heb. 9:15; 12:2

The word "Testament" simply means "Covenant." A Covenant is the means God used to establish specific grounds for a relationship, between Himself and people.

So for example the Old Covenant or the Old Testament deals with Israel, it's calling, the terms of their relationship with God and it also contains records of Jewish history as a nation. The New Covenant or New Testament is a record of the terms, the history, and the redemptive plan made possible through Christ to the whole world. It also records the formation, the necessity, and the mission of the church.

The Old Covenant was based on man's promises to God, to obey the Law and all of His rules and the New Covenant is based upon, Gods promises to men of faith in Jesus Christ. (Heb 8:7-13)

What we find in church history is that, by the end of the second century both the "Old Covenant" and the "New Covenant" were well established names of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures.

3. The bible is called , "Scripture," or Scriptures." The most common name for the Bible was, “The Scriptures.”

(Mark 12:10; 15:28; Luke 4:21; John 2:22; 7:38; 10:35; Rom. 4:3; Gal. 4:30; 2 Pet. 1:20), and "The Scriptures" (Matt. 22:29; Mark 12:24; Luke 24:27; John 5:39; Acts 17:1 1; Rom. 1:2; 2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pet. 3:16). 4. Then the bible is also called, “the Word of God."

“The Word of God” is the most significant and complete. (Mark 7:13; Rom. 10:17; 2 Cor. 2:17; Heb. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:13)

• The word of God, is inspired by God...

The Bible teaches us that all scripture is inspired by God, meaning God is the source of all of it...Even though, human beings were involved in the process of recording the scripture...God was in direct control of the entire process...

• If He wanted to hide Himself, we'd never find Him. (1 Cor. 2:9-10; Gal. 3:4-5 Rom. 16:25-26 NASB)

So now, how did the Bible get here?

Three important words which reveal, how the Bible was written and how we understand it. These 3 words are: Revelation, Inspiration, and Illumination

• Revelation: The act of God revealing to the writers mind and spirit about things, that the writer couldn’t have possibly known or learned about, any other way... For example, the story of creation...

• Inspiration: An act of God, where God moved upon a person to write something down...whether they wrote about a truth that was previously unknown, or about truth’s, that everyone was familiar with... These writings could have been about events that occurred within the writers own observations such as Moses and the Exodus or things that the writer wasn't aware of.

The act of inspiration was responsible for all scripture to be written.

2 Tim. 3:16-17 (NKJ) "16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

The word “inspiration” literally means "God-breathed." It is composed of two Greek words - theo = God; and pneo = to breath hard or to blow. The Greek word used here, is a forcible spiritual respiration. A firm, conscious, blowing, or the inbreathing of God into men, putting His words directly within them. So, both the Old Testament and the New Testament are just as much the Word of God as if God spoke every single word out loud in the hearing of every listener face to face. All scriptures is a result of Divine inbreathing, by God.

Definition of Inspiration: Inspiration is the process through which God gave man the Bible. God inspired the hearts of human writers to write down His words. God's words written through these people are perfect, infallible and trustworthy whether they were revealed truth’s or truth's previously known.

Inspiration isn't necessarily verbatim reporting, the Holy Spirit used the memories, the intuitions, the judgments, the personal mannerisms, and the personality of the writers, so that while each of them recorded an event or discourse, they were enabled by the Holy Spirit to do so, with absolute accuracy, without losing their individuality.

• The implication: The Bible is the final authority, because it was written by God. (2 Tim. 3:16)

Inspiration tells us that even though human beings were used, it was ultimately God the Holy Spirit who was in control of the entire process of writing and putting the scripture together.

Theologian, Norman Geisler wrote:

Inspiration does not mean simply that the writer felt enthusiastic, like Handel composing the 'Messiah'. Nor does it mean that the writings are necessarily inspiring, like an uplifting poem. As a process, it refers to the writers and the writings being controlled by God. As a product, it refers to the writings only, as documents that are God’s message."

SO WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Understanding this truth, increases our confidence in the Bible. Obviously, if the Bible is just some manmade document, then it’s no better than the

book of Mormon, the Koran, or any other religious book. But if it's really inspired by God, then you can have confidence in it, you and I can trust His Word, above our own feeling, values, opinion’s, and cultures... When we understand God inbreathed the scripture, we know everything He inbreathed, was consistent with His very nature. (Just like milk, in a cow).

• The Holy Spirit is the author of all scripture.

2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV) "20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along (Greek: Fero) by the Holy Spirit. "

The Greek word "Fero" means: “to be born along or driven by, controlling the direction of.”

It means to take complete control of. Same Greek word Luke uses in Acts 27:

Acts 27:15 (NIV) "15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven (Fero) along."

You see this fact, throughout the scripture.

Acts 1:16a (NIV) "... the scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David..."

Acts 28:25b (NIV) "...the Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the Prophet... "

Ezek. 11:5a (NIV) "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he told me to say..." The Bible does not “contain” God's words, it is God's word. God and His word are one.

• Question: CAN THE BIBLE BE WRONG?

Is the Bible "inerrant" (meaning it has no errors), or is it merely an "infallible guide" in matters of faith and religious practice... meaning that what it says about spiritual truths are true but there may be errors in science, geography, and history?

• The Bible is inerrant, it's a perfect book!

Psalms 18:30 (NIV) "30 As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him..."

• Two important words for you to understand is...

1.) “Verbal” meaning God inspired every word not just the ideas! In fact, Jesus often based His entire argument on a single word of a text. (Matt. 5:18, 22:41)

2.) “Plenary” meaning: God inspired all the Bible, not just part. (2 Tim. 3:16).

Some believe that only parts of the Bible are inspired by God...Books like the Song of Solomon, Lamentation and others were just works of men and not inspired in the same way as the other books of the bible.

Augustine said,

"If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself."

THE BIBLE IS ALWAYS RIGHT! Because the Bible is inspired, it means the bible is authoritative! God's word is to be, our final authority!

• Illumination:

Illumination refers to the influence of the Holy Spirit, that’s common to every believers.

1 Cor. 2:14 (NKJ) " 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." ( See: Matt. 16:17)

There's a vast difference between “a revelation of the mind of God” and “a divine action in the mind of man.” The first is a revelation; the second is illumination.

• The Bible wasn't written by illumination but by inspiration and revelation. You know this is true because, many of the writers of the bible, didn’t fully understand what they had written, even after they wrote it.

We can define Illumination like this...

Illumination: Is the work of the Holy Spirit, of bringing light and understanding, to the word of God, as we read it. It's the means by which we understand the Bible.

Illumination, is a divine action of God in the mind of man.

• The Implication: Every believer, can understand the Bible! (See: Luke 24:13-47)

Luke 24:45 (NKJ) "45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."

• Now, how do we know if the Bible is real? How do we know it truly came from God?

The external evidence is overwhelming: The majority of scholars agree, the Bible is an historical book. Secondly, we have many eyewitness testimonies, of the majority of stories that are recorded in the scripture.

Luke 1:1-4 (NIV) "1Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, (Theophilus was the governor of Luke's hometown of Antioch, during the time of Peter.) 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. "

John writes...

1 John 1:1-3 (NIV) " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."

• Then you have the sheer number of manuscript copies. (Thousands of manuscripts)

The New Testament has been preserved in more manuscripts, than any other ancient work of literature. With over 5,800 complete or fragmented Greek manuscripts catalogued, 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and 9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages including; Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic and Armenian. There are over 25,000 New Testament manuscripts to compare and draw information from all of them are within 35-225 years of their original writing.

The New Testament writers originally wrote, is proven to be better preserved, than any other ancient manuscript we have today. In fact, we can be more certain of what we read about Jesus' words and His life, than we can about certain about the writings of Caesar, Plato, Aristotle and Homer. To put that in perspective, there are only 643 copies of Homer's lliad, and that is the most famous book of ancient Greece!

Now one doubts the validity of Julius Caesar’s Gallic wars, but we only have 10 copies of it, and the earliest of those copies, were made 800 plus years, after it was written. Few people doubt Plato’s writing of “The Republic.” It’s a classic written by Plato around 380 B.C.

The earliest copies we have of it are dated 900 A.D., which is a 1,300 year time lag from when he wrote it. There are only seven copies in existence today.

Historian Norman Geisler said: To have such an abundance of copies of the New Testament, from dates within 35 years after their writing, is epic."

• Question: How do we know the bible today, are the same words that came from God?

1.) The short length of time between the original manuscripts, and our first copies of the New Testament. The church was already using these copied manuscripts, during the Apostles lifetime, and many copies were made and sent abroad, while they were still alive.

2.) The extreme care with which the Scriptures were copied.

For example: The Dead Sea Scrolls were discover in the 1940’s in Kumron were over a 1000 years older than any other Old Testament manuscript ever found. And when they compared those manuscripts, to the ones we already had, there was no significant difference.

• Next is the confirmation of places and dates, by archeology. For example, archaeologist William Albright was an unbeliever, who set out to disprove the Historical accuracy of the Bible but when he looked for years into all the evidence he became a believer. He found that everything in the Bible, was historically accurate. There's a great deal of archeological evidence being found all the time....

William Albright, said: "Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history." The Bible is the world's best-selling book. The bible was one of the first major books to be "printed" on a press... (the Gutenberg Bible 1454-55).

Josh McDowell said: "The Bible was written over a period of about 1,500-1800 years in various places, stretching all the way from Babylon (modern day Iran Iraq regions) to Rome. The human authors included over 40 persons from various stations of life: kings, peasants, poets, herdsmen, fishermen, scientists, farmers, priests, physicians, pastors, tentmakers and governors. It was written in the wilderness, in dungeons, inside palaces and prisons, on lonely islands, and in military battles. Yet it speaks with agreement and reliability on hundreds of controversial subjects. It tells one story from beginning to end, God's salvation of man through Jesus Christ. NO PERSON could have possibly conceived of, or written such a work!" A contrast between the Bible, and other so-called "holy book" we have today.

• SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

The Bible: is translated from 24,000 copies of the New Testament alone...with literally millions of people having seen some of these copies. Those copies have been translated by 1,000s of scholars.

The Book of Mormon: is translated from a supposed single original, that's claimed to have been seen and translated by one man: Joseph Smith, who was not an expert in languages. That original was "destroyed." And there are no copies of that original.

The Bible: is written by over 40 different authors spanning over 50 generations and 3 continents. It speaks with agreement on all matters of faith and doctrine.

The Koran: is the writings and record of one man, Mohammed in one place at one point in history. It disagrees on many points with what it considers to be other sacred writings the Old and New Testaments.

The Bible is a complete record of God's revelation of Himself to man.

The Jehovah's Witnesses: use parts of the Bible, to build a case for their preconceived beliefs.

The Bible: provides God's distinct solution to man's problem with sin and focuses on God's work in provable history.

Hindu scriptures: claim all roads lead to the same place and focuses on stories of things that happened in the "celestial realms."

The Bible: is its own best interpreter. It encourages us not to accept the interpretations of man over the truth of Scripture.

Christian Science: accepts Mrs. Eddy's interpretations of Scripture as more authoritative than Scripture itself.

• Thirdly: The personal evidence says that the Bible is a powerful book. Personal Testimonies of people transformed life! The people who were involved in writing scripture were willing to die for what they believed.

Finally: Jesus Himself said, the Bible came from God!

1. He recognized the Holy Spirit as the author of scripture. (Matt. 22:43).

2. He quoted the scriptures as authoritative. (John 5:39).

3. He proclaimed its uniqueness. “Not one jot or title will pass away” (Matt. 5:17,18, John 10:35).

4. He called it the "word of God.” (John 10:35, Mark 7:13)

5. He believed in the prophets. (Matt. 24:5)

6. He believed in Noah. (Lk. 17:26)

7. He believed in Adam and Eve. (Matt. 19 4)

8. He believed in Sodom and Gomorrah. (Matt. 10:15)

9. He believed in Jonah. (Matt. 12:40) Scholars try to convince society that these stories were just pure myth. But Jesus believed in them and He is God.

• The word is “Canon, " What does canon mean? The canon of scripture are the books that belong in the Bible.

The word “Canon” means "measuring stick." The cannon of scripture, is the measuring stick of life... it's the standard for real life.

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT BOOKS?

1. The testimony of the Bible itself.

• Jesus recognized the Old Testament Canon (Luke 24:44).

• Peter recognized part of the New Testament Canon (II Peter 3:16).

Peter recognized what Paul wrote as being scripture. How much of the New Testament did Paul write? Over half of the New Testament!

• Paul then recognized the “inspiration” of the Old and New Testaments in a single verse. (I Tim. 5:18- Luke 10:7, Det.25:4)

IN FACT...

1 Timothy 5:18 is an amazing verse. In this verse Paul quotes from Deuteronomy in the Old Testament and from Luke in the New Testament, he calls them both Scripture! Luke's gospel was put on the same level of authority as the Book of Deuteronomy, which was written by Moses.

Another fact to consider. I Timothy was written in 63 A.D. Luke's gospel was written just three years earlier... Now what that tells you and I is, within a short 3 year period, Luke's gospel was already recognized as scripture, with the same authority as the Old Testament, by Jewish Christians.

2. The history of the church (The Books of the bible were included in the New Testament on the basis of:

• Apostolic Authority. (Either the book was written by an apostle or it was backed by one)

• Teaching of the Truth. (Anything written in the Bible is consistent with everything else that was already written.

• Confirmation of the early church founders.

The New Testament had "eyewitness" authority behind The Gospels. For instance: Matthew was an Apostle. Mark was a friend of Peter and wrote down Peters account...Luke was a friend of Paul, and John was also an Apostle. Now many people think that the New Testament books were "chosen" by a council of a few people - but that's not true. The Nicaea council did recognize the books of the New Testament (c. 340 A.D.) - but that was after 265 years or more, of these books being used in the churches- The reason a council was formed was because false teachers were trying to add new books to the Bible and discussions concerning the relationship of Christ, to the Father, and the Holy Spirit. It wasn't to pick the books of the bible.

The third reason we know we have the right books is...

3. The power of God (Isaiah 40:8, the word of God lives and abides forever. God wouldn't allow what He'd chosen to stand forever, to be left out! God’s had it all under control, and the books that we have in the Bible are the very ones He wanted in the Bible.