Part 7 of 12 of the theme 'Answers to Questions' by Gijs van den Brink
Christians view the holy book very differently from Jews and Muslims.
For Jews and Muslims, the holy book is like a law book. Every text in a law book is equally important. Thus, Jews and Muslims read every rule in their holy book as a divine law.
Now there are laws in the Bible, but the Bible is not a law book, the Bible is a history book. This contains everything God has done on earth and will do in the future. We call this salvation history.
He created the world and the people. He made it rain in the days of Noah so that a flood of water covered the whole earth. He delivered the people of Israel from Egypt.
He came to earth in the person of Jesus. He raised Jesus from the dead.
And He will soon come back to earth. Then He will make a new heaven and a new earth.
But the Bible is more than history. The Bible also explains what it means what God does. An example: Jesus lived and died. That is history.
But the Bible also provides the explanation. He died for our sins.
We call that explanation "revelation." Divine revelation. That revelation is God's message to us. So the Bible contains history and explanation, message.
And the text of the Bible has been handed down tremendously reliably. Everything was written down at the time it happened. That applies to Moses and the prophets in OT and also to the apostles in the NT.
And there is no book of antiquity of which as many manuscripts/manuscripts have been preserved as of the NT. Of most books of ancient times, 1 or 2 manuscripts have been preserved. Of the NT about 5000 manuscripts with pieces of text have been preserved!!!
The text of the Bible is very reliable. But it deals with events written down 2,000 to 4,000 years ago. And when reading ancient history, many questions always remain unanswered. The same is true with the Bible. And that's not a bad thing at all. Because what matters is the message.
Jesus is the living Word of God. He is God and Man at the same time. The Bible is the written Word of God. The Bible is also 100% human and 100% divine.
The human in the Bible is the history. The divine in the Bible is the message. And that message is very clear. Every word in the Bible, in the original Hebrew and Greek text, is inspired, breathed in by God's Spirit. It says so in 1Tim.3:16.
Now what is God's message to people? That message is different for people in different times in history. It was different for Adam and Eve than it was for Noah or for Israel.
We live in the time between the ascension and the return of Jesus.
The message for us is that Jesus brought the Kingdom of God to earth and through His death He took our sins upon Himself.
We must do what Jesus asked us to do and proclaim His message to all the nations of the world.
Next time: Part 8 of the series 'Answers to questions' is entitled 'What is the difference between water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit? '
Also see: Part 6 of 12 of the theme 'Answers to Questions'What does the Bible say about the value and position of women?
Author: Gijs van den Brink
From: Study Bible Magazine
This is part 7 of 12 from the theme "Answers to Questions' Some of which we will be posting online in the near future. We hope this will help you understand the Bible better!
Download the Study Bible App for FREE at Play Store or App StoreEnter this login code (BLOGCVB2021) in order to have 45 days of FREE access to the Study Bible Solomon package (the most comprehensive package).
