The Bible

We are beginning a series on the Bible and what it’s all about. This past week we looked at the following five points:


The Bible is one book
Have any of you read the Bible all the way through – word for word? Not skipping details, not missing out a Psalm here or there, or a minor prophet, or maybe one of the gospels because they all seem about the same anyway?

How relevant is the Bible today? How is Daniel walking around in the fire relevant to today’s world? Do you remember what you read?


The Bible is a collection of different writings
We looked at how the contents of our Bibles can be divided up roughly into these types of writings – there are different ways people will do this, but let’s keep it simple for now:

Old Testament (OT for short)
History (Genesis to Esther)
Poetry (Job to Song of Songs)
Prophecy (Isaiah to Malachi)

New Testament (NT for short)
Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
Acts (Luke’s history of the spread of the gospel in the first century)
Epistles (Romans to Jude)
Revelation (John’s vision from God)


The Bible has one author
The Bible was written by human writers. Their personalities and cultural backgrounds even come through in the way they write. However, God’s Holy Spirit made sure that everything was exactly as he intended. Just as Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, so the Bible is both a human and divine book. Amazing!


The Bible has one subject
So the Bible has one Author, it also has one subject: Jesus Christ and the salvation offered through him - even way back in the OT.

For a reminder, have a read of Luke 24:27, 44 again. We see that God makes a promise in the OT about Jesus and fulfils it in the NT!


The Bible isn’t just a reference book or a collection of books
So, we wouldn’t just dip into the Bible at random and quote something out of it without knowing what that section is talking about.
We also wouldn’t just read certain books in the Bible and skip out others, and then assume we know what the Bible is all about.

Here are some questions about NT themes that cannot be answered if you don’t read the OT:
What does it mean that
· Jesus is the Christ?
· Jesus is the Passover Lamb?
· Jesus is the Son of Abraham and David?
· Jesus is the Good Shepherd?


Hopefully by the time we’ve finished this series, you’ll have a better idea of how the Bible is mapped out, so that when you land in any part of it, you’ll understand better where you’ve come from and where you’re going. Hopefully you’ll be able to see more clearly how each part points to Jesus Christ and the salvation plan he accomplished.

Memory verse: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.