How the
Bible came to us
By
Lewis C. Lampley
It
came from the Heart and Mind of our sovereign God.
In
its origin the Bible has One author, 40 different
writers who wrote over a period of 1500 years (B.C.
1405 to A.D.95), on three continents: Africa, Asia,
and Europe.
1.
1400-400 B.C. Books of the Hebrew Old Testament written.
2.
The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew,
Aramaic, and Greek.
3.
The Bible is complete (Deut.4:2,12:32; Prov.30:6).
4.
@ 250-200 B.C. The Septuagint, a popular Gk translation
of the O.T.
5.
A.D.45-95, the Books of the N.T. were written.
6.
A.D. 90-118, the Councils of Jamnia give final affirmation
to the O.T. canon (39 books).
7.
140-150, Marcion’s heretical “N.T.”
incites orthodox Christians to establish a NT canon.
8.
303-306, Diocletian’s persecution in-cludes
confiscating and destroying N.T. Scriptures.
9.
@305-310, Lucian of Antioch’s Gk NT text; becomes
a foundation for later Bibles.
10.367,
Athanasius’s Festal Letter lists complete NT
canon (27 books) for the first time.
11.397,
Council of Carthage established orthodox NT canon
(27 books).
12.@
400, Jerome translates the Bible into Latin; this
“Vulgate” becomes standard of medieval
church (Roman Catholic).
English
Versions from Latin
1.
@ 650, Caedmon, a monk, puts the Bible books into
verse.
2.
The Bible has 31,173 verses, and 774, 746 words!
3.
The Bible has 66 books, and 1,189. Chapters
4.
@ 735, Historian Bede translates the Gospels.
5.
871-899, King Alfred the Great translates the Psalms
and 10 Commandments.
6.
950, the 7th-century Lindisfarne Gospels receive English
translation.
7.
955-1020, Aelfric translates various Bible books.
8.
@ 1325, Both Richard Rolle and William Shoreham translates
psalms into metrical verse (e.g, Psa. 23).
9.
@ 1300, the invention of eyeglasses aids copying.
10.1380-1382,
John Wycliffe and associates make FIRST translation
of the whole Bible into English!
11.1388,
John Purvey revises Wycliffe Bible.
12.1455,
Gutenburg’s Latin Bible-first from press! So
much for the...
English versions from Latin - we turn now to the...
English
Versions From Greek
1.
1516, Erasmus’s Greek NT, forerunner of to the
Textus Receptus used by KJV translators.
2.
1525, William Tyndale makes the FIRST translation
of the NT from Greek to English.
3.
1536, Tyndale strangled and burned.
4.
1537, Miles Coverdale’s Bible completes Tyndale’s
work on the O.T.
5.
1538, Great Bible, assembled by John Rogers, the FIRST
English Bible authorized for public use.
6.
1560, Geneva Bible-the work of William Whittingham,
a Protestant English exile in Geneva.
7.
1568, Bishop’s Bible-a revision of the Great
Bible.
8.
1582, Rheims New Testament published.
9.
1607-1611, King James Version, the “Authorized
Version,” is made by a team of about 50 scholars.
What
is Inspiration?
The
phrase “inspired of God,” is the translation
of the Greek word theopneustos and means “God-breathed.”
“All Scripture is inspired” is Grammatically
similar in the Greek Constructure of (Rom. 7:12; 2
Cor.10:10; 1 Tim. 1:15; 2:3; 4:4). We shall see how
these passages argue persuasively that the translation
“all Scripture is given by inspiration…
is accurate. Let’s observe the content of these:
Key
passages on Inspiration
Rom.7:12,So
that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and
righteous, and good.
2
Cor.10:10,For, His letters, they say, are weighty
and strong; but his bodily presence is weak, and his
speech of no account.
1
Tim.1 :15Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1
Tim.2:3, For this good and acceptable in th sight
of God our Savior.
1
Tim.4:4, For every creature of God is good, and nothing
is to be rejected, if
it be received with thanksgiving:
Both
OT and NT Scripture are included in the phrase, “all
Scripture.” 2 Pet.15-16
2
Pet.3:15,16,And account that the longsuffering of
our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother
Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote
unto you; 16as also in all his epistles, speaking
in them of these things; wherein are some things hard
to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast
wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto
their own destruction.
The
statement “…given by inspiration of God.”
Lit…“breathed out by God,” or “God-breathed.”
Sometimes
God told the Bible writers the exact words to say
(e.g., Jer.1:9), but more often He used their minds,
vocabularies, and experiences to produce His own perfect
infallible, inerrant Word. It is important to note
that inspiration applies only to the original autographs
of Scripture, not the Bible writers; there are no
inspired Scripture writers, only inspired Scripture.
So
identified is God with His Word that when Scripture
speaks, God speaks. Follow this:
Rom.9:17For
the scripture says unto Pharaoh, For this very purpose
did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my
power, and that my name might be published abroad
in all the earth.
Gal. 3:8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel
beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all
the nations be blessed.
Scripture
is called “the oracles of God” (Rom.3:2;1
Pet.4:11). Scripture cannot be altered/broken (John
10:35; Matt.5:17,18; Luke16:17; Rev. 22:18,19).
Inspiration
may defined as the Holy Spirit’s superintending
over the writers so that while writing according to
their own styles and personalities, the results was
God’s Word written-authoritative, trustworthy,
and free from error in the original autographs.
Elements
of a proper definition of Divine Inspiration
1.
The divine element - God the Holy Spirit superintended
the writers, ensuring the accuracy of the writing.
2.
The human element - human authors wrote according
to their individual style and per-sonalities.
3.
The result of the divine-human authorship is the recording
of God’s truth without error.
4.
Inspiration extends to the selection of words by the
writers -inspiration relates to the ori-ginal manuscripts.
Because
the Bible is God-breathed, it contains the mind and
will of God
A.
It teaches doctrine.
B.
It reproves us.
C.
It corrects us.
D.
It provides training in righteousness.
E.
There are four compelling benefits derived from the
Scripture - let’s notice the terms in the Process:
The
Ministry of God’s Word
1.
Doctrine - keeps us in the center of God’s will.
2.
Reproof - gets us back on track when we jump course.
3.
Correction - helps us recover.
4.
Training in Righteousness - brings us to maturity.
What
God Reveals Through the Bible
A.
God reveals Himself through the Bible (Ex.3:13-15;
1 John 4:8; Heb.1:1,2; Rom. 5:8; Isa.6:1-3).
B.
God reveals His will for man through the Bible (John
3:17; Eph.1:3,4; 1 Tim.2:3,4; 2 Pet.3:9).
God reveals the way of salvation (John 3:16; Rom.6:23;
Rom.10:9,10;
Eph.2:8,9; Titus 3:3-7)
C.
God reveals the kind of life He wants us to live (Ex.20:1-17;
Matt.5:1-10; Matt.10:38, 39; Matt.22:35-40; 1 Cor.13).
D.
God reveals how we can get help on personal problems
(Psa.32:8;37:5;146:3; Prov.3:3,6; Isa.40:2031; Matt.7:12;
11:28-30; James 1:5,6; 1 John 1:9).
E.
God reveals the final victory of His kingdom (1 Cor.15:24-28;
Rev.11:15; 21:1-8; 22:1-5).
“The
Criteria of Canonicity”
Definition:Canon
(adj.:canonical) is a transliteration of the Greek
word kanon meaning rule. In its general sense, Canon
denotes a collection or list of books accepted as
an authoritative rule of faith and practice.
The
beginning of the idea of a sacred Canon is discernible
in Scripture itself:
1.
Deut.4:2;12:32;Jer.26:2; Prov.30:6; Eccl.3:14
2.
Peter 3:15-16; Rev.22:6-8,18-19
To
be Safe, the Fathers Utilized…Five tests of
a book for inclusion in the Canon:
1.
Is it authoritative? Did it come from the hand of
God? In other words, does this book come with a divine
“thus says the Lord?”
2.
Is it prophetic? Was it written by a man of God?
3.
Is it dynamic? Did it come with the life-changing
or transforming power of God?
4.
Is it authentic? [the fathers had a policy: “if
in doubt throw it out.” this enhanced the validity
of their discernment of canonical books”]
5.
Was it received, collected, read and used - was it
accepted by the people of God?
Listed
below are some recommended study helps for Apologetics
and Canonicity.
A
Ready Defense - Josh McDowell, Here’s Life Publishers.
The
Canon of Scriptures - F.F. Bruce, Intervarsity Press.
Guidelines
for selecting a version
The
Bible has been translated more often and into more
languages than any other book in the world. It speaks
today in over 1,200 languages. Between 1900 and 1982,
more than 150 translations and Paraphrases of the
Bible in En-glish Versions were in print.
You
may be asking, “Which version is best?”
we need to add the questions, “Best for whom?”
and “Best for what?” A version suitable
for a child just learning to read may not appeal to
a college youth.
Adults
accustomed to church language may not care for a version
in which the familiar terms of biblical English are
discarded. A Bible suited for committed Christians
may not speak with the same force to non-Christians.
There
are various purposes that dif-ferent versions are
designed to serve.
Therefore,
the objectives the translator or translators had in
mind in producing the version can usually be found
in the introduction to the specific version. There
are at least three criterions...
Criteria
for choosing a Version
THE
TEXTUAL BASIS. The first criterion concerns the underlying
text from which the translation is made. A good translation
today should be based on the best Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek texts available. This means it should be
based on the earliest and best MSS that have thus
far been found.
ACCURACY
OF TRANSLATION. The second criterion for evaluating
a version is the accuracy in translation. It is not
enough for a version to be based on the best avail-able
Hebrew and Greek MSS; one must further ask. “How
carefully and accurately have the original texts been
translated?” This is, in reality, the most essential
test of a satisfactory version.
QUALITY
OF ENGLISH. The third criterion for a satisfactory
version concerns the quality of its English. That
is, clarity of expression.
A
helpful tool: How to study the Bible for all its worth
- Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Staurt, Zondervan Publishing
House.
We
will conclude this portion of the article on How the
Bible came to us by asking and answering a critical
question: What Is A Biblical Christian?
I. According to the Bible, a Christian is a person
who has faced realistically the
problem of his or her personal sin (Matt.1:21; Rom,1:18-32;
3:10-20).
II.
A biblical Christian is one who has seriously considered
the one divine remedy for sin (Rom.5:6-8; 2 Cor.5:21).
III.
A biblical Christian is one who has whole-heartedly
complied with the terms for obtaining God’s
provision for sin (Mk.1:14-15; Lk.24:47; Acts 20:21;
LK.15:15-17).
IV.
A biblical Christian is a person who manifests in
his or her life that his or her claims to repentance
and faith are real (Eph.2:-10; John 14:21-24; 1 John
2:4).
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