POWER OF THE BIBLE

THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD

    “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 40:5 (NKJV)

    Campbell wrote: "We have, in writing, all the Hebrew and Greek that is necessary to perpetuate to the end of time, all the ideas which the Spirit of God has communicated to the world; and these languages, being dead, have long since ceased to change.  The meaning of the words used by the sacred penman, is fixed and immutable; which it could not have been, had these languages continued to have been spoken..."  The Sacred Writings, A. Campbell, 1826     [Modern Hebrew and modern Greek are different languages.]

    “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”  Luke 1:1-4 (NKJV)

    “Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” Luke 24:44-45 (NKJV)

    Paul reminded Timothy of the role his godly mother and grandmother had played in his understanding of the Scriptures.   

    “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  2 Tim 3:14-15

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

    This shows that God does intend to communicate with us and that the Old Testament part of the Bible is also important (Timothy was taught from the OT).  "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we though the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."  Romans 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11.  

    Merton  “The basic claim made by the Bible for the word of God is not so much that it is to be blindly accepted because of God's authority, but that it is recognized by its transforming and liberating power. The "word of God" is recognized in actual experience because it does something to anyone who actually "hears" it: it transforms his entire existence.” 

    "Despite the challenges we have seen, the power of the Bible does not depend on our ability to explain every problem.  Scripture has lasted for thousands of years without our defending it, and it is not in danger today.  'God's Holy Fire' has transformed lives throughout the centuries and continues to do so.  Our task is to accept the view of inspiration that the Bible actually claims for itself."  from God's Holy Fire, ACU Press.

    Usefulness.  The Bible was written to be understood in much the same way a newspaper is understood.  Some things are more difficult (2 Peter 3:15-16).  But we read words in their context and in the usual way of expressing things with words.

    The Bible is a library of Books, each one written to specific situations and time-periods in the history of the People of God.  Yet we see the thread of Christ-is-Coming; Christ-is-here (The Gospels); and Christ-is-Coming-Again.  Three great streams of prophecy are seen in the Old Testament part of the Bible: The Suffering Servant of God; The Coming King; The Descendant of King David.

    Peter writes in the context of assuring Christians of the hope we have, and of the dangers which face the church.  "We also  have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts..."  2 Peter 2:19. 

    The false teachers may not be whom we think.  Peter warns that some will "deny the Lord who bought them."  The devil first attacks the Holy Spirit; and then denies the Lord Jesus actually came in the flesh (see 1 John 4:1-3).  Some said Jesus only seemed to be human, and that He did not actually rise from death (1 Cor. 15:12-20).  A "rising from the dead" certainly proves the human side of Jesus who experienced life from our point of view (Phil. 2:5-9).  But He did not cease to be God even though He "lowered Himself" in order to die for us (Hebrews 2:5-9).  Christ Jesus in the flesh "tasted death for every man."  John emphasizes that Jesus came with the water [of His baptism] and the blood [of His death].  See 1 John 5:6.

    We allow the Light of Christ to shine on us and through us!

    “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”  2 Cor 4:6-7 (NLT)