PSALM 119:18 __Illumination is the ministry of the Holy Spirit by which He causes Christians to understand the truth of God revealed in Scripture. The word conviction, meaning "cause to see," is primarily used of the Spirit's work in revealing sin in the unsaved (JOHN 16:8). The word understanding is used of the Spirit's work in revealing other truth in Scriptures and prayed that his eyes would be opened (verse 18). This would also be a good prayer for Christians today as they approach the Scriptures. APPLICATION: Since the Bible was written by holy men of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, it should also be read by holy men and women of God illumined by the Holy Spirit. (First Reference, PSALM 119:18; Primary Reference, PSALM 119:18; DEUTERONOMY 29:29)
CANONICITY !!!!
GALATIANS 6:16 _The word canon originally meant "reed" (a measuring rule) and came to signify a standard for determining which books were Scripture. The books placed in scripture:
(1) _were considered inspired; (2) _gave evidence of containing revelation; (3) _gave evidence of apostolicity; and (4) _were uniquely used by the Holy Spirit. When the church finally collected the 66 books into a "canon," it did not make the books become Scripture: the church was only recognizing what God had done. The books were Scripture the moment they were written. ILLUSTRATION: Not all Christian literature of the first century is included in the canon, only that which is inspired. The church at Ephesus was one of the first to collect the books of the new Testament, and it carefully examined them before endorsement (REVELATION 2:2).
APPLICATION: As Christian read the Scriptures, they should walk according to their rule. (First Reference, EXODUS 19:5; Primary Reference, GALATIANS 6:16; PSALM 119:18).
LOST BOOKS !!!!!!
2 CHRONICLES 33:19 __There are at least a dozen books cited in Scripture that are not part of our Bible, including the Book of Jasher (JOSHUA 10:13; 2 SAMUEL 1:18); the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 KINGS 11:41); the Prophecy of Abijah the Shilonite, the Visions of Iddo the Seer, the Book of Nathan the Prophet (9:29); the Book of Gad the Seer (1 CHRONICLES 29:29); the Book of Shemaiah the Prophet (12:15); the Acts of Uzziah (26:22); the Sayings of the Seer (33:19); epistles of Paul to the Corinthians (1 CORINTHIANS 5:9) and the Laodiceans (COLOSSIANS 4:16); the Book of Enoch (JUDE 14); an epistle of John (3 JOHN 9); and probably other accounts of Jesus life (LUKE 1:1__2). These are sometimes erroneously referred to as the "lost books of Scripture."
ILLUSTRATION: There is no indication that any of these nonbiblical books were inspired. The doctrine of preservation argues that inspired books providentially survived, implying that the lost books were not inspired. They may have recorded interesting background to the inspired record of God, but they were not Scripture. APPLICATION: Christians do not need to be concerned about missing portion of their Bible, since Scripture is complete with 66 books. (First Reference, JOSHUA 10:13; Primary Reference, 2 CHRONICLES 33:19; GALATIANS 6:16).
PRESERVATION OF SCRIPTURE JEREMIAH 36:27 __God, who inspired the Scripture, has throughout the years protected His Word from the attacks of evil men so as to preserve its content and existence. While the autographs (the original manuscripts) have long since disappeared, ancient copies and quotations from early Christian leaders demonstrate the preservation of Scripture could be reproduced simply from the many quotations found in the writings of the church fathers.
ILLUSTRATION: God's preservation of Scriptures was demonstrated in the ministry of Jeremiah. When the king destroyed the first scroll of his prophecy, God had it reproduced to ensure its preservation (verse 27). APPLICATION: As we read the Scriptures, the fact that God has preserved them for us over the years should emphasize their importance. (First Reference, JEREMIAH 30:2; Primary Reference JEREMIAH 36:27__32; CHRONICLES 33:19).
INERRANCY - JOHN 17:17
When applied to Scripture, the term inerrancy means that what God revealed and inspired is accurate, reliable, authoritative, and without error. Since all Scripture is inspired every Word of God is true. Just as a book often reflects the character of its writer, so the Scripture is without error because God is without fault.
ILLUSTRATION: Jesus upheld the principle of inerrancy when He preached in Nazareth. He carefully stopped reading in the middle of a verse before announcing the fulfillment of Scripture that day (ISAIAH 61:1, 2; LUKE 4:18). The rest of the Isaiah passage will be fulfilled at His second coming.
APPLICATION: As we read the Scriptures, we can have total confidence in their reliability and accuracy. (First Reference, PSALM 119:160; Primary Reference, JOHN 17:17; JEREMIAH 36:27).
AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES -JOHN 10:35 __The Scriptures (both Old and New Testament) were recognized by the early church as the final authority on all matters of faith and practice. Jesus spoke to the letters (MATTHEW 5:18) and verb tenses (MATTHEW 22:31, 32) as being significant and authoritative. Part of Paul's argument against the legalism in Galatia was based upon a simple noun that the apostle held as authoritative (GALATIANS 3:16). Jesus said the Scripture could not be broken, that is, treated as though it does not exist (verse 35).
ILLUSTRATION: A brief reading of Matthew shows how authoritative the Old Testament was to early Christians. That this authority applied also to the New Testament is illustrated by Paul in 1 Timothy 5:18. There Paul quotes from both Old and New Testament (DEUTERONOMY 25:4; LUKE 10:7) in biblical support of his argument.
APPLICATION: As we study the Scriptures, we must be careful to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. (First Reference, GENESIS 3:1; Primary Reference, JOHN 10:35; JOHN 17:17).
HOLY SPIRIT IN INSPIRATION - 2 PETER 1:21 __The Scriptures were written by holy men of God (about 40 in all) "as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." While in no way denying the personalities of the human writers or rejecting the distinctiveness of their particular styles, the Holy Spirit controlled the process of bringing things to the writers' memories (JOHN 16:13) and ensuring what they recorded was the very Word of God (See "Inspiration," 2 TIMOTHY 3:16)
ILLUSTRATION: Jeremiah once became so frustrated that he wanted to quit, but God's Spirit compelled him to go on (JEREMIAH 20:9). Likewise, Jonah at first refused to take God's message to Nineveh, but later obeyed God's second call (JONAH 3:1). APPLICATION: As Christians read the Bible, they can be confident that it is the very Word of God. (First Reference, JUDGES 2:1; Primary Reference, 2 PETER 1:21; JOHN 10:35).
INSPIRATION - 2 TIMOTHY 3:16 __This refers to the supernatural guidance of the writers of Scripture by the Spirit of God, so that what they wrote was the divine Word of God, transcribed accurately, reliably, and without error in the original manuscripts ("autographs").The word inspiration itself pictures God breathing out His Word to men.
ILLUSTRATION: Not everything written by an apostle or a prophet was neccessarily inspired. Paul wrote at least three epistles to the Corinthians, but apparently only two were an inspired record (1 CORINTHIANS 5:9). Samuel, Nathan, and Gad each wrote accounts of David's life; only one of these prophets produced an inspired record (1 CORINTHIANS 29:29).
APPLICATION: Since the Scriptures are given to help Christians grow in maturity, they should rely upon them for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (right living). (First Reference, GENESIS 1:3; Primary Reference, 2 TIMOTHY 3:16; 2 PETER 1:21).
REVELATION - DEUTERONOMY 29:29 _There are some things God has chosen not to reveal to us, possibly for the following reasons:
(1) _Our finite minds cannot fully understand the infinite aspects of God's nature and the universe (ECCLESIASTES 3:11); (2) _some things are unnecessary for us to know until we are more mature; and (3) _God is infinite and all-knowing, and we do not have the capacity to know everything he does. This verse shows that although God has not told us everything there is to know about obeying him, he has told us enough. Thus disobedience comes from an act of the will, not a lack of knowledge. Through God's Word we know enough about him to be saved by faith and to serve him. We must not use the limitation of our knowledge as an excuse to reject his claim on our life
MEANS OF REVELATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEBREWS 1:1 __God has revealed Himself through various means, such as visions (ISAIAH 6), dreams (DANIEL 2), poetry (PSALMS 139), biography (especially the Gospels), sermons (MATTHEW 5__7), face-to-face conversations (DEUTERONOMY 5:4), tablets of stone (DEUTERONOMY 10:4), miracles (JOHN 1:14), parables (LUKE 15), inner compulsion (ACTS 21:10__13), history (1 and 2 CHRONICLES), angels (LUKE 1:26__38), historical research (LUKE 1:1__4), and the person of Christ (JOHN 1:14). His means of self-revelation today in the Bible.
ILLUSTRATION: __When God wanted Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, He imparted this through a vision (ACTS 10). Even then, Peter appears to have been somewhat reluctant to obey God completely. APPLICATION: __Today we do not depend on dreams and visions to learn about God and His will for our lives, but rather on God's revelation in the Scriptures. God did not impart the gospel to Cornelius in a vision but commanded a man to go and preach the Word of God to him. (First Reference, GENESIS 1:14; Primary Reference, HEBREWS 1:1; EPHESIANS 3:3__5).
MYSTERY !!!!!!!
HEBREWS 3:3 __To the Jewish people, Moses was a great hero; he brought their ancestors, the Israelities, from Egyptian bondage to the Promised Land. He also wrote the first five books of the Old Testament and was the prophet through whom God gave the Law. But Jesus is to be more highly regarded as the central figure of faith than Moses, who was merely a human servant. Jesus is more than human; he is God himself (1:3). As Moses led the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, so Christ leads us out of slavery to sin. Why settle for Moses, the author of Hebrews asks, when you can have Jesus Christ, who appointed Moses?
WE START TODAY, WITH (THE DOCTRINE OF THE BIBLE) - PART # 2
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