How Did We Get The Bible?
by Dan Lietha and Stacia Byers
The universe and all in it screams, 'There is a God!' (Romans 1:18-21), but the
universe cannot tell us how it was made, its history, how we should live our lives,
or about when its Creator came to Earth.
For that, God has given us His Word, the Bible. Because of the Word of God, we know
that God created all things in six normal-length days, that it was originally a
'very good' place, and that the first man, Adam, disobeyed the Creator, thus corrupting
the entire creation (Genesis 1-3; Romans 8:20-22). We know that Jesus Christ (the
Creator) came to Earth to save His people from their sins, died, was buried, and
rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures (1Corinthians 15:3-4).
Where did the Bible come from?
What we today call 'The Bible' is actually a collection of 66 books, written by
about 40 different authors from all walks of life (kings, fishermen, a tax collector,
tent maker, etc.) over a period of 1,600 years. Each book was considered God-breathed
and was received as part of the canon of Scripture, since it came from
a recognized speaker of God (normally a prophet or apostle, or someone under their
supervision), and contained no historical, factual or doctrinal mistakes.
The various authors wrote their books under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16, literally 'All Scripture is God-breathed'). This means that
God the Holy Spirit guided the writers so that all of the very words they recorded
in their own distinctive styles on the original scrolls were without error (2 Peter
1:21). The men who penned the books listed in what we call the 'Old Testament' (OT)
wrote mainly in the Hebrew language (a few parts were written in Aramaic). The writers
of the 'New Testament' (NT) books (written after Jesus returned to Heaven) wrote
mainly in the common language of their time—Greek.
Since the Bible is the complete Word of God, who cannot lie, we can trust
it to tell us the truth about the things we need to know. Because it is the Word
of the Creator, we accept it as our final authority in every area it touches on.
When we take the Bible as the writer intended, and in the way his original audience
would have understood it, we have a basis for understanding and explaining what
we observe in the world.
Words you need to know
Bible
Four hundred years after Christ returned to Heaven, people began to use the Greek
word biblia (meaning 'books') to describe the collection of the sacred
writings. Our word 'Bible' comes from biblia.
Word of God
The Bible claims to be the 'Word of God' over 3,000 times (John 10:35; Hebrews 4:12).
The authors of NT books often begin a quote taken from the OT with the phrase, 'God
said' (Matthew 15:4-6). And direct quotes of God speaking in the OT are often begun
with 'Scripture says' in the NT (Romans 11:2, 1Timothy 5:18). So the NT authors
believed the 'Word of God' and 'Scripture' were the same.
Scripture
This word was used by the NT authors to refer to the sacred books of the OT (2Timothy
3:15, Romans 3:2) and also to other books of the NT (2 Peter 3:15-16, 1 Timothy
5:18, 2 Timothy 3:16). Christ Himself cited the Bible as final authority many times
and said, 'Scripture cannot be broken' (John 10:35).
Prophet
A prophet was a special spokesman for God—he spoke, by God's power, the actual
words God gave him.
Apostle
An apostle, as used here, was a man who had seen Christ after His Resurrection (Acts
1:21-22), and who was called by Jesus to be His 'messenger'.
Canon
Canon originally referred to a 'reed', which was used as a measuring rod,
much as we use a metre rule or yardstick today for measuring. The complete list
of Biblical books is called the canon, meaning the 'measuring rod', or the 'authority',
for truth.
Divisions of the Bible
The Old Testament has 39 books. The Jews divided these books into
three divisions: the Law, the Prophets, the Writings. Our English Bible divides
the OT into four main groups:
- The Law: These books relay the history of the universe from the
very beginning. They also tell about God's working through the nation of Israel,
and the laws given for Israel to follow.
- History: These 12 books continue the history of Israel, cover 1,000
years, and show the results of disobedience or obedience to God.
- Poetry: These books express worship toward God, give advice, and
address some deep issues.
- Prophets: These books proclaim God's blessings and judgments, and
tell about future events. They are divided into Major and Minor prophets depending
on the length of the book.
The 27 books of the New Testament are arranged into four divisions:
- The Gospels: These four books record the time Jesus spent on Earth,
His death, and Resurrection.
- Church history: The book of Acts records the beginning of the church,
and the spread of Christianity to the time of the Apostle Paul.
- The Letters: These 21 letters from apostles were addressed to churches
in such places as Rome, Galatia, Ephesus and Colosse, or to individuals, or to Christians
in general. They teach about Christianity and how to live the Christian life.
- Revelation: This book was written to encourage Christians suffering
persecution. It also reveals what will happen in the future, when new heavens and
a new Earth will be created for those who have received the free gift of eternal
life.
Notes on picture
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Matthew
AD 37
James
AD 46-49
1Thessalonians
Early 50s
2 Thessalonians
Early 50s
Luke
Early 50s
Galatians
Early 50s
Mark
AD 50s
Philemon
AD 60-61
1 Corinthians
Mid-late 50s
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2 Corinthians
Late 50s
Romans
AD 60
1 Timothy
AD 62-63
Titus
AD 63
1 Peter
AD 63-64
Colossians
Early 60s
Ephesians
Early 60s
Philippians
Early 60s
Acts
Early-mid 60s
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Revelation
AD 64-66
2 Peter
AD 64-66
Hebrews
AD 64-68
John
AD 65-69
Jude
AD 66
1 John
AD 66-69
2 John
AD 66-69
3 John
AD 66-69
2 Timothy
AD 67
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The books of the Bible are placed according to date of writing. Many dates are approximate,
since we don't have all the information.
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