The Blessing of Abraham

 … Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁷ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” ⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. ¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” ¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” ¹² Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”  ¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.     Gal 3:6-14 NKJ

Background to the book of Galatians

The early church had an extreme Jewish group, known as the Judaizers, who taught that Gentile Christians had to submit to Jewish laws (eg. Mosiac law) and traditions (circumcision), in addition to believing in Christ.  The apostle Paul had to confront and address this issue, proclaiming that faith in Christ means freedom from bondage to the observance of the law, which none can fulfil.  Paul argues from the fact that God’s promise to Abraham was based on his faith in God before even the institution of circumcision and the Mosaic Law. 

In the above passage, Paul explains the significance of faith in Christ:

·         It justifies us before God ie. Make us of right standing before God (v 8)

·         We are redeemed from the curse of the law ie. Works cannot bring us near God; in fact we are all law-breakers and are subject to condemnation (v 13)

·         We are given the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us (v 14) 

God appeared to Abraham several times and gave him a threefold-promise:

1.    Of descendants (a great nation – Gen 12:2)

2.    Of land inheritance (Gen 12:7)

3.    Of blessing to all nations (Gen 12:3b; Gal 3:8); the lineage of the Messiah comes from Abraham

Descendants & Land Inheritance

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

⁶ And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

⁷ Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”   ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.                                                                        Gen 15:1-7, 18 NKJ

God visited Abram again and proclaimed that He is Abram’s exceeding great reward. This came after Abram was involved in a battle to free his nephew Lot. Life is dangerous (hence God is Abram’s shield); Abram did not take any spoils but returned them to the king of Sodom (hence God is Abram’s great reward). But the cry of Abram’s heart was for a child, “What will you give me since I am childless?”   In accordance to the custom of those days, Abram may have already or intend to make provision by adopting a slave (Eliezer) in his household to be his heir.  God however overruled that plan and said that the heir shall come from his own body.  Note that nothing is said about the identity of the mother at this point.  Sometimes, God does not give us all the specific details all at once intending us to live each day by the words which come from His mouth.  “Man shall not live on bread alone.”

God gave Abram a physical vision of his descendants.  Abram was asked to look and count the stars in heaven because that would be the greatness of his descendants.  In the near East, more than 8000 stars are visible in the night sky.  Verse 6 represents the law of first mention with regard to believe being linked to righteous; Abram believed God’s promise of making him a great nation and it was credited to him as righteousness ie. He was made righteous by believing what God said He would do.

   

This promise finds its fulfilment many years later just prior to Israel entering Canaan’s land under the leadership of Joshua.  In his farewell speech, Moses recounts history to the children of Israel and mentions:

The Lord your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. Deut 1:10 NKJ

The other promise God made to Abram concerns land inheritance, in particular, a piece of property from the borders of Egypt to the river Euphrates.  Again the fulfilment of this promise is realised in the days of King David and King Solomon.

So he (Solomon) reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.  2 Chron 9:26 NKJ

Faith therefore is the key to unlocking God’s promises for our lives. 

Blessing to all nations

Earlier on we mentioned there were about 8000 stars visible in the near Eastern night sky.  However, do you know how many stars there are in the universe? 

It is estimated there are more than 50,000 billion billion (5 x 10²²) stars in the universe, more than the grains of sand on all the beaches of the earth.  Figuratively, the fulfilment of this promise is realised through the seed of Abraham ie. Jesus Christ; to bring to birth many sons and daughters of faith (just like Abraham).  It also tells us that God’s kingdom is vast and has room for many!   This is the blessing of Abraham to both Jews and Gentiles.  Today, we are all recipients of the blessing of Abraham ie. The gracious gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

What does it mean for us to have the blessing of Abraham resident in our church?

May I humbly suggest that we do not hoard this blessing but be transmitters of this blessing, and we can do so by exercising our faith in God for the following:

      i.               Realising breakthroughs for our impossible situation

If God could create the starry hosts of heaven, why would it be so difficulty for God to create children for Abram?  That was what Abram thought when he saw the stars of heaven and believed God’s promise.  He saw himself as the father of many nations through the eye of faith.  To have a vision of the possibility coming into reality rather than seeing the impossibility all the time; in the case of Abraham, it was to see barrenness turn into fruitfulness.  For us, it could be a family member’s salvation, financial breakthrough, healing of a chronic/terminal illness, or whatever circumstances that seem daunting to us.

     ii.              Making a positive impact and influence on others (home, office, church) by word & deed

¹³ But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. ¹⁴ If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. ¹⁵ Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 2 Thess 3:13-15 NASB

We can all grow weary in doing good; hence the exhortation.  Doing good in the context of this verse is to help those who are genuinely in need and not busybodies who refuse to work to help themselves.  By and large there are many kind-hearted people in S’pore – look at the amount of money crowd-sourced for the Vietnamese who was conned into buying an exorbitant iPhone at Sim Lim Sq.  As believers, we can use the financial blessing God has bestowed on us to help individuals or missions organisation.  Last Sunday, many people were seen supporting Pastor Victor by buying his CDs.  They are sowing into his work and ministry, which is to proclaim Jesus through word and song.  

The greatest impact and influence we can make is often times on our knees; that’s where we carry the burdens of others on the wings of prayer.  We have seen answers to prayers in the oikos when we pray collectively for one another.  I remember sharing the gospel message with an oikos member’s brother (fr Vietnam) through interpretation, and had the opportunity to lead him in the salvation prayer.  Prior to my sharing with him, the oikos prayed that he would come to know the Saviour.  That is another way of making a positive impact and influence in the lives of others – by sharing God’s word, whether it be the gospel or encouraging words from Scripture.  An encourager sees things in others what they cannot see in themselves; a simple word of encouragement or prayer can give the person confidence to take that step of faith.

Another way we can impact and influence others is by us role-modelling Christ-like behaviour and attitude, just like the apostle Paul. 

⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; ⁹ not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.  2 Thess 3:7-9 NKJ

A person who brings happiness to others is always well-liked or welcomed in the company of others.  A person who is shunned by many people, no matter how intelligent or wealthy or charming he/she is may be a trouble-maker, a despicable person or a menace to society. Most organisations have some kind of code to govern human behaviour and interactions. What about us as believers in Christ?  We are subject to a higher standard of conduct and behaviour as reflected in the moral code and principles found in the Word of God, which many secular codes take bearing from. 

In the oikos I created a Whatsapp chat group for communication purposes.  I jealously guard what is being uploaded into this platform.  Because Whatsapp is a free platform to share and communicate with one another, lots of things can be forwarded and transmitted freely.  I have no issue with encouraging quotes, videos and clean jokes.  The issue comes about when messages shared are lies or half-truths.  

I have told my oikos members that they have to do due diligence to check before sending anything; don’t be too trigger happy to forward anything that comes their way. When in doubt they are to check with me.  A simple way to check is to google key words in the message and invariably you will see that they are hoax messages and belong to what is known as urban legends, some going as far back as few years and making their rounds again. 

When we share lies and half-truths, we propagate negative impact & influence on others.

How so?

1.    We may create unnecessary alarm or fear in others.

2.    They would think it is true and forward the same message to others w/o checking.

3.    We are not role-modelling good behaviour ie. not being a good testimony or a light!

4.    Our credibility is at stake esp if we’re a constant purveyor of lies or half-truths.  And you know where lies come from - the pit of hell from the father of lies.  Don’t be part of his team! 

Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.   Ps 32:9 NIV

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.                                                                                                                          2 Tim 1:7 NKJ

The circumstances in life we face each day allow us either to give and learn precious lessons.  It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”  What he meant is that we should live by constantly questioning how things should or ought to be, which things are good or bad and which actions are right or wrong.  From this we get the notion of Socratic questioning as a form of pedagogy in education.  Put it simply, we ought to reflect on our actions each day to see whether we have been a purveyor of life or death. 

“People are anxious to improve their circumstances but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”     James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

We all seek breakthroughs in our lives; however, many times it comes about through a corresponding change in our attitude and character, and exercising faith in God.

We should all grow in our life’s journey on earth – closer to God and becoming more like Him.  Nothing impacts the world more than our words and actions in life.  

The blessing of Abraham will flow into our lives as we exercise our faith to act:

˜ Give 

˜ Pray

˜ Share God’s Word

˜ Role-model

  

“In you all the nations shall be blessed.”  Gal 3:8b NKJ

Interpretation of the Bible

What is hermeneutics?

It is the science (principles within an ordered system) and art (applications of the principles derived) of biblical interpretation.

In Greek mythology, Hermes (god of transitions – moving between the mortal & divine worlds) was the divine messenger for the gods; Greek hermeneuo means interpret.

And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.  Ac 14:12 NASB

Exegesis: to draw out (the meaning) of the text

We can have an exegesis of

     A word eg. “Take and eat; this is my body.”    Mt 26:26b   [doctrine of transubstantiation]

                A phrase or verse eg. John 1:1

      i         A book, usually seen in commentaries on the different books of the Bible

The opposite of exegesis is eisegesis.

Eisegesis: to draw in (the meaning based on one’s subjective interpretation) of the text

 Do we need hermeneutics?

“The Bible is easy” but the apostle Peter tells us that some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand, giving rise to distortion by people who were ignorant. 

He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.     2 Pet 3:16 NIV

“The Bible is difficult” but the apostle Paul tells us that Timothy has known the holy Scriptures since infancy due probably to the godly influence of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother Eunice:

 … from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.    2 Tim 3:15 NIV

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.    2 Tim 1:5 NIV

Some guiding principles for Bible interpretation (not exhaustive)

“It is the first business of an interpreter to let his author say what he does, instead of attributing to him what we think he ought to say.”         John Calvin (French theologian, principal figure in the development of Christian theology – Calvinism – during the Protestant Reformation)

1.       Bridging the gap: between our minds and the minds of the biblical writers.

†                a. Time gap: geographical, historical and cultural (material/social)

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   Mk 10:46-47 NIV

³⁵ As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”   Lk 18:35-36 NIV

There are scholars who love to find “problems” or “Bible contradictions” to “prove” that it is not the word of God, but rather the mere work of men.  The above is a case in point; in Mark’s passage Jesus met the blind man Bartimaeus when He was leaving Jericho while in the Luke’s passage, he was met when Jesus was approaching Jericho.

One possible reconciliation of the two passages is to understand history and the perspective of the gospel writers.  It is probable that Mark (& Matthew) refer to the old Jericho, the ruins of which have been discovered, while Luke alludes to the new Roman Jericho. The two blind men were apparently sitting between the two towns (Matthew mentions 2 blind men).  This is an example of a historical gap that needs to be bridged.  

†                b.  Language gap: Ancient Hebrew, Ancient Chaldee and Koine Greek (Bible translations)

o   Vocabulary: to understand a sentence, it is necessary to understand the words of which the sentence is composed.

Same word but different meanings: 1 Pet 5:8 and Rev 5:5 (lion) 

Same word in English but different Greek roots: eros, phileo, storgy, agapeo (love) 

Different words in English but same Greek word: kurios = sir (13x), owner (1x), master (14x), lord (719x)

Meaning of word changed with time: “father” in Dan 5:2 is not necessary a 1-generation relationship; word had several separate and distinct usages; Belshazzar was the last king of Babylon, son of Nabonidus.  Father encompasses grandfather or many preceding generations relationship eg. Jesus is known as the son of David. 

o   Grammar: to understand a sentence it is not only necessary to have defined its words, but also the part each word plays in the sentence. 

“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you.”     Mt 7:7 NASB

The verbs used signify a commitment to a long term way of doing something i.e. a command to keep on doing an action as one’s general habit or life-style.

o   Genre: style of writing (historical, poetical, apocalyptical or prophetical) and literary expressions (parables, allegories, metaphors, similes)

†             c.   Spiritual gap: knowing the mind of God through the help of the Holy Spirit (need for illumination)  

2.       The Context and Harmony Principles

“A Text Taken out of Context Becomes a Pretext”

The context of any verse is not only the passage, but also the book, the Testament and the whole Bible.  The general emphasis of the OT is law; the emphasis of the NT is grace.  The dividing point between the two Testaments is the cross.  As a general rule, the New is the interpreter of the Old.

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. … For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.   Rom 3:20, 28 NIV

You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. … As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.   Jas 2:26, 28 NIV

There is no contradiction between the two texts quoted if we understand the intended thrust of each book to the readers at that time.

In the letter to the Romans, Paul was writing to both Jews and Gentiles, presenting the basic system of salvation to a church that had not received the teaching of an apostle.  As he had other pressing needs to handle, Paul sent this letter ahead of his intended visit to Rome as part of his mission to Spain.  He shared with them how God’s righteousness had been revealed through Christ, declaring that the basis of salvation is through exercising one’s faith in Jesus Christ and not through observance of the Jewish law.  The general theme and thrust for the book of Romans is therefore justification (made right) by faith in Jesus Christ.

As for the book of James, James (brother of Jesus) wrote to predominantly Jewish Christians (living outside Palestine) to highlight the ethical practice of faith (doing good works; not law observance).  He was correcting some for their intellectual accent to faith without showing the fruits of a transformed life that ought to be seen in loving actions towards others.  His emphasis was more on the outcomes of saving faith. In fact, Paul also gave practical tips on how to live out their Christian faith in Rom 12-15.  The general theme and thrust for the book of James is justification as evidenced by good works.

Harmonise with Jn 1:12-13 and Eph 2:8-9

Finally, in terms of application, there is a need for balance between

•        self-study and learning from others

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.  He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.    Ac 18:24-26 NIV

Tools: Commentaries, concordances, dictionaries, study bibles, etc. are great helps but don’t over rely on one source; read and triangulate information from multiple sources.

•   heart and mind knowledge

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”  Lk 24:32 NIV

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.   Rom 12:2 NIV

Head knowledge of God’s word must be translated downwards toward heart knowledge; that’s the greatest distance between the 2 human anatomies.  The Bible exhorts us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  2 Pet 3:18 NIV

The best gospel is backed up by a transformed life.

The Word of God

“One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker.” — Voltaire (1694-1778), French writer & philosopher

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.     Isaiah 40:8 NIV

No book has been subject to such attack, so often banned or burnt, so scrutinized, so despised, or so challenged as the Bible. Yet, more than 200 years after Voltaire, the Bible is still trusted by more people than ever before. It has withstood the attacks of time.  The Bible is a book like no other book, whose origin has the fingerprint of God in it.   It is the most widely translated book (whether whole or in parts) and tops the best seller lists each year.   It gives meaning to life’s existence, showing us clearly that there is life after death and provides direction from the Giver of Life Himself i.e. God.

Jewish scholars and scientists have discovered, using Equal Letter Sequences (ELS), that the ancient Hebrew texts of the Torah contain the fingerprint of God.  

In the opening verses of Gen 1, the word Torah was found at the 50^th letter of the text, starting from the first letter of Torah.  It was likewise for the opening verses of Exodus.  However, in Numbers and Deuteronomy (the 4^th and 5^th book), Torah was spelt backwards at the 50 and 49 letter interval respectively.  There is a 300 million to one chance of Torah being encoded by chance alone within the opening verses of the first 5 books.  The number 50 is also significant as the Torah [Law] was presented to the Jewish people at Mt Sinai by God exactly 50 days after their miraculous escape from Egypt through the Red Sea. 

When it comes to the 3^rd book Leviticus, Torah was not found in the opening verses but the name Yeshua was encoded (7 letter interval).  What this means is that the Torah points to Jesus. What’s even more amazing is that the name of God is encoded in significant passages of the OT.

“Yeshua is My name” (Yeshua Shmi) is embedded in the text of Is 53:10 at 20^th letter

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.  (NIV)

Mathematical experts have calculated the probability of this occurring by random chance in this Messianic prophecy is very small indeed (1 in 50 quadrillion or 50x10¹⁵).  At this point, I want to say that the divine origin of the Bible is greatly attested by the fulfilment of prophecies, more than 650 of them. Each one of us need to make a decision concerning our response to Christ’s life, death & resurrection.

Text	ELS	Encoded
Genesis	Every 521st letter	Yeshua Yakhol – “Jesus is able”
Lev 21:10-12 – instructions for holy priesthood	Every 3rd letter	Hain dam Yeshua – “Behold! The blood of Yeshua”
Dan 9:25-27 – Daniel’s 70 weeks	Every 26th letter	Yeshua
Zech 11:12 – price of betrayal	Every 24th letter	Yeshua

Is there a logical reason to doubt the supernatural origin of the OT?

Moses and other prophets would have received special revelation from God.

Moses - 40 days and 40 nights up in the mountain of God. 

Introduction

1.       The word Bible comes from the Greek word, biblios, meaning book; same root word from which “bibliography” is derived.  It is a library of books consisting of 66 books:   

Features	Old Testament	New Testament
Number of books	39	27
Language(s) written	Hebrew & parts in Aramaic	Greek
Authors	About 40 spanning over a 1600-year period
Events chronicled	Creation to 400 years before Christ	Prior to Christ’s birth to end time events
Time period	About 2500 BC to 400 BC	About 4 BC to 100 AD
Contents	Law History Wisdom Major Prophets Minor Prophets	Gospels History (Acts) Epistles Revelation

Many of the writers of Scripture did not know the other writers of Scripture and were unfamiliar with the other writings. Yet the Bible is a marvellous, unified whole without contradictions or inconsistencies within its pages. The Holy Spirit is the unifier of the sixty-six books, determining its harmonious consistency. In unity, these books teach the triunity of God, the deity of Jesus Christ, the personality of the Holy Spirit, the fall and depravity of man, as well as salvation by grace. It soon becomes clear that no human being could have orchestrated the harmony of the teachings of the Scripture. The divine authorship of the Bible is the only answer.

How was the Bible constituted?

2.       There are both the divine and human elements involved in the composition of Scripture (sacred writings).  The Bible writers had revelation, inspiration and at times illumination.

A.   Revelation concerns the communication of truth not discovered by natural reason.   Revelation is possible because man, made in the image of God, has the faculty to receive divine knowledge from God just like Adam and Eve.  Because of the fall of man, his faculty of reasoning and understanding became darkened and therefore God had to take the initiative to reveal Himself.  God’s revelation to mankind can be in the form of direct verbal or non-verbal transmission. There are primarily two ways in which God has revealed Himself:

§  His Works: through His creation and mighty acts

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  Rom 1:20 NIV

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”  Ex 15:1 NIV

§  His Words: in the OT, over 2,600 times, the writers claim to be speaking or writing not their own words, but God’s!  And in the NT, we have the incarnate words of Christ and those of His apostles 

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  Jer 1:4-5 NIV

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread.  1 Cor 11:23 NIV

B.    Inspiration concerns the influence of the Holy Spirit on the mind and soul of man to record the truths of God.  This means God used various people; their thoughts, experiences, background and personalities, to write down what He intended.   Some could be using simple words (Peter) while others could argue their points with great clarity (Paul).  The Scriptures are infallible (contains no errors) in revelation due to inspiration given by the Holy Spirit.

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

The primary reference is to the OT as the NT hasn’t been constituted yet.  But when you read what the apostle Peter wrote in his letter, you would see that the NT writers claim inspiration for their own writings as well:

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Pet 1:19-21 NIV

The Bible has a consistent theme from start to finish; that is the salvation-history of mankind.  It provides instruction for salvation as well as training and equipping for right living and service to God.  Towards this end, it is to be recognised that the words or utterances of Satan and evil men were certainly not inspired of God, nor are they God’s words but God did inspire men to record them to provide the context in understanding the whole counsel of God.  Eg. the words of the serpent to Eve in the Garden of Eden for us to understand the deceptive strategies used by the devil.

Inspiration can be seen in the research work done by Dr Luke to record both the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles in an orderly fashion for Theophilus (friend of God) to follow and understand:  

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.  Luke 1:1-4 NIV

In fact, the books of Chronicles and Kings referred to sources such as the annals of the kings of Israel & Judah.

The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.  As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?  1 Kg 14:19, 29 NIV

C.    Illumination describes the process of the Holy Spirit enlightening man’s understanding to believe and receive God’s revelation.  Illumination separates believers from unbelievers when we read the Bible.  The unbelievers would read and view the Bible as a religious or historical document and nothing more.  Believers today will not receive revelation or inspiration equal to that of the Bible writers, because the full revelation of what God intends to communicate is already completed in the 66 books of the Bible. 

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.  And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.  Rev 22:18-19 NIV

However, man will continue to receive illumination and some will receive revelation (dreams & visions) from God to confirm the word of God.  Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church is fitting here:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.   Eph 1:17-18 NIV

Even though it is the Holy Spirit who would illumine our hearts and minds to know God and His ways fully, we should also do our part to dig into the Word for ourselves.  In fact, we are encouraged to study the Word of God ourselves and be like the Berean Christians who checked Scriptures to determine what Paul said was true.  You should likewise do so for any message that you here, including mine.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  2 Tim 2:15 NIV

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  Ac 17:11 NIV

 Conclusion: Scripture is equally the words of God and the words of men

 “The dual authorship of Scripture is an important truth to be carefully guarded.  On the one hand, God spoke, revealing the truth and preserving the human authors from error, yet without violating their personality.  On the other hand, men spoke, using their own faculties freely, yet without distorting the divine message.”    John Stott in Understanding the Bible

The Bible has a divine touch making it infallible and human touch, making it understandable.

3.       The formation of the OT canon (reed or standard) was completed by 400 BC.  When applied to Scripture it meant an acceptable list of books.  It has been suggested that it was Ezra the scribe who, after the close of the Babylonian captivity, gathered the OT books which had been written to that time into the accepted canon.  Jesus and the apostles accepted many of the OT books as authoritative.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”  Lk 24:44 NIV

The Jewish council of Jamnia held in 90 AD helped to establish the recognition of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs and Esther (part of the Writings) as canonical.  Esther did not contain the name of God and Ecclesiastes contains a pessimistic view of life.

In the 4^th century, Jerome (monk) was the first to call the group of books (14 of them) added to the OT by the Catholic Church as “Apocrypha”, meaning “hidden or concealed”.  Luther and the reformers rejected their canonicity.  Among the reasons for their exclusion:

§  They abound in historical, geographical and chronological errors, at times contradicting themselves, the Bible and history.

§  The teach doctrines which are false and foster practices which are at odds with inspired Scripture eg. lying is sanctioned, suicide and assassination are justified.

§  They were written in the 400 years between Malachi and John the Baptist when there were no inspired prophetic utterances.

§  They were never quoted by Jesus and the apostles. 

4.       By the 2^nd century, there were a lot of pseudo-epistles circulating.  Hence the need to establish the genuine from the false ones.  In 314 AD, Athenasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, identifies the 27 books of the New Testament which are today recognized as the canon of scripture.  The formation of the NT canon was confirmed at the Synod of Carthage in 397 AD.  There were probably 5 guiding principles used by the early fathers:

A.      Is it authoritative?  Does it come with the divine “thus saith the Lord”?

B.      Is it prophetic?  Was it written by an apostle or a close associate?

C.      Is it authentic?  The fathers had the policy of “if in doubt, throw it out”.

D.      Is it dynamic?  Did it come with the life-transforming power of God?

E.       Was it received, collected, read and used?  Was it accepted by the church at that time?

5.       Bible versions:  for most readers, the basic tool in understanding the Bible would be a good (English) translation of the Bible.  To read in a translation is inevitable.   And the very fact that you are reading God’s Word in a translation means you’re already involved in interpretation.   No original autographs of the Old and New Testaments exists today.  However, the copies that exist have been done by biblical historians via the science of textual criticism (which seeks to restore the Bible to its original autographs).  Because of this, there is no loss of confidence among competent scholars that today’s modern Bible reflects the Old and New Testament writers’ work.  Many modern translations of the Bible rely on the work of biblical scholars to try to convey clearly the truths of the Bible for modern readers. Translators had to make choices as to what the Hebrew or Greek texts were saying.  The Reformation and the Gutenberg printing press (15^th century) accelerated this task of bringing God’s Word to the people in their vernacular languages.  
     Bible versions are placed on a continuum based on the principles of translation used:

    

Word for Word	Dynamic equivalence (updates matters of lang, grammar & style)		Ideas for Ideas
KJV, NASB	RSV                       NIV                                 NAB	GNB                    JB, NEB	Living Bible, The Message

              

Let’s take a look at Ps 138:2 in a number of different versions: 

The book of Psalms (hymn book of the 2^nd temple) is a collection of inspired Hebrew prayers and hymns; for many of us it is the best known and most loved portion of the OT.  The book of Psalms contains men’s words about God or to God, and they are rightly a part of God’s Word.  The Psalms are profitable for us because it helps us (i) To express ourselves to God, (ii) To consider the ways of God.  We don’t formulate doctrines from this book.  Ps 138 is attributed to David or possibly someone representing the post-exilic community (hence reference to the temple not tent). 

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. (KJV)

I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth (faithfulness); For You have magnified Your word (promise) according (together with) to all Your name. (NASB)

I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. (NIV)

I will face your holy temple, bow down, and praise your name because of your constant love and faithfulness, because you have shown that your name and your commands are supreme.  (GNB)

 I face your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. (LB)

LB is a paraphrase by Kenneth Taylor who used the 1901 American Standard Bible as a base text.

Magnified – to make great

Name – represents the character of God eg. Lovingkindness and faithfulness of God

Word – the promise of God; what He says, He will do as it is backed up by the name/character of God

The NIV is a good translation by the best scholarship in the evangelical tradition (updated based on the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947).   This could be your main translation, but it should be complemented by others as you read and study the Bible to gain an understanding of what was intended to be communicated to the original audience.     

According to the psalmist, God has tied his promises to his good name.  Because the Bible contains so many promises (7000+) of God, it behoves us to read the word and claim them for ourselves. 

But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him.  For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.  2 Cor 1:18-20 NASB