This blog post is going to be a little different from the other posts I usually write. Typically, I focus on a theological topic, biblical passage, or Christian book in my posts, but no matter what I write about, I always make an effort to center my posts on the truth of the Bible. And I do this because I am passionate about the Word of God, and I want other people to be excited about learning from it and to be in awe of its beauty. This mission is actually in the tagline of my website – “Encouraging Women to Love God’s Word.”
Growing up in church and in Christian school, I had the privilege of learning a great deal about the Bible, and this privilege is something I am deeply grateful for. However, not every Christian today grew up in a Christian home. Not every Christian today went to church every Sunday morning or memorized weekly Bible verses. Not every Christian today is well-versed in theology and knows what big, theological terms, like “inerrancy” and “metanarrative,” mean. On this blog, I talk and teach a lot about the Bible, yet I know that many of you may not even be aware of the basics of Bibliology (the study of the Bible). So, this post will be like a crash course of sorts and teach you the basic things you need to know about the Bible.
The Names of the Bible
The Bible is known by two additional names – Scripture and the Word of God. Scripture or scriptures generally refer to the sacred writings of a certain religion. Therefore, when the Bible is labeled as Scripture, it is referring to the fact that the Bible is the holy and sacred text of the Christian faith. The Bible is a book that tells us who God is and how we, as His people, are to worship and serve Him.
But can the Bible be trusted to accurately tell us about God? It can! The Bible is also known as the Word of God or God’s Word, which is referring to the fact that the Bible is inspired by God (we’ll talk more about this in the next section). The Bible is God’s message to His people. God is a truthful and trustworthy God, so we can trust that what He tells us in the Bible is accurate, trustworthy, and true.
The Characteristics of the Bible
The two names of the Bible listed above give us six key characteristics of the Bible. The first key characteristic is inspiration. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote,
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16-17, CSB
The Bible is inspired by God. The English Standard Version translates “inspired” as “breathed out.” Now, this does not mean that God told the biblical authors exactly what words to write. It is clear when you read from the different biblical authors that each author has their own style that they write in. But this also does not mean that the biblical books are purely human writings. The Holy Spirit guided the authors on what to write about or what to teach, but He left the actual writing of the information to the author (2 Peter 1:20-21).
The next two characteristics of the Bible, inerrancy and infallibility, go hand in hand. If the Bible is the Word of God and God is an entirely truthful being who can never tell a lie, what is written in the Bible must be true (Isaiah 45:19, Numbers 23:19). The Bible is inerrant, which means that it contains no theological errors or inconsistencies. It is perfectly accurate-
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;” Psalm 19:7, ESV
The Bible is also infallible, which means that the Bible is both trustworthy and true. What is written in it is completely reliable-
“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.” 2 Peter 1:19, NIV
The fourth characteristic of the Bible is authority. Every person has an “authority,” a person or thing that they look to to know what is true and right. For some, it may be a political leader, a social media influencer, or even themselves. For the Christian, the Bible is their authority. The Bible is authoritative because it is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God. It is only full of truth, so we should always look to it as our source of truth.
The Bible’s next characteristic is necessity. Kevin DeYoung writes,
“The doctrine of the necessity of Scripture reminds us of our predicament: the One we need to know most cannot be discovered on our own. And it assures us of a solution: this same ineffable One has made himself known through his word.”[1]
While it is true that people can know that there is a God, that there is a Creator by observing the world around them (Romans 1:20), it is impossible for people to truly understand the gospel and their need for it without the Word of God. Therefore, the Bible is necessary.
Finally, the Bible is sufficient. DeYoung also writes,
“The Scriptures contain everything we need for knowledge of salvation and godly living. We don’t need any new revelation from heaven.”[2]
The sufficiency of Scripture means that everything we need to know to be saved and sanctified is found in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:17). We don’t need any new word or new revelation to truly know who God is or who we are. We don’t need any pastor or priest to confess our sins or pray a salvation prayer. Everything we need to live as a Christian is found in the sufficient Word of God.
The Details of the Bible
Now that we have covered the general characteristics of the Bible, let’s look at some of its more specific details. The Bible was written by about 40 men over a span of 1,500 years in three different languages – Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It is split into two testaments (or covenants). The Old Testament is centered on the old covenant God made with His people Israel while the New Testament is centered on the new covenant God made through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament is made up of 39 books that fall into four major genres – the Law, History, Wisdom/Poetry, and Prophecy. The books of the Law (which are also known as the Torah or the Pentateuch) are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books cover the creation of the world, the beginning of Israel, God’s chosen people, and the laws God gave to His people that taught them how to live and worship Him.
The historical books of the Old Testament include Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. These books tell the history of Israel. They tell the stories of how Israel entered their Promised Land, how Israel fell into the sins of their neighbors, and how God appointed judges to bring them back to Him. They tell the stories of the good and bad kings of Israel, how Israel split into two kingdoms, how both kingdoms became exiled, and how the Jews were able to return.
While poetry is found in many of the Old Testament books, there are five books that contain much more poetry than any of the others – Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. These five books are considered wisdom or poetry books. While each book in this genre contains different themes and lessons, they all can teach us how we are to relate to God and how we are to relate to the people around us.
The largest genre of the Old Testament is prophecy, and this genre is actually split into two parts – Major Prophets and Minor Prophets. The books of the Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The books of the Minor Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The Major Prophets are not “major” because they are better books or written by better authors. There are considered “major” simply because they are bigger, longer books (except for Lamentations, which is included in the Major Prophets because it was also authored by Jeremiah). All of the books of prophecy are full of God’s warnings and messages to His people (or even the enemies of His people).
The New Testament is made up of 27 books that also fall into four genres – Gospel, History, Epistles (or Letters), and Prophecy. There are four Gospels in the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each of these books tell the story of the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but each author provides a different and unique perspective on Jesus’ life.
There is only one history book in the New Testament – Acts. Acts follows the birth of the Church and how it grew and strengthened, despite heavy persecution. The book also tells the story of Saul (later known as Paul), a murderous Pharisee who hated Christians, and how he met Jesus, converted to Christianity, and became arguably the best Christian teacher and missionary this world has ever known.
Paul was not only a teacher and missionary. He was also an author of most of the epistles (or letters) found in the New Testament – Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. There are also a few other general epistles in the New Testament, which were written by other leaders in the early Church – Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. All of these letters were written to churches, specific people, or groups of believers to address issues or questions they may have had and to encourage them in their faith.
The final book in the New Testament is Revelation, a prophetic book. This book was written by John, an apostle of Jesus, and he records a vision that he saw about the end of times. While the book warns believers of the sufferings that will occur during the times of tribulation, it also encourages believers that Jesus is coming back soon to defeat sin and death once and for all.
The Story of the Bible
As this crash course comes to a close, I want us to zoom out from all these details to look at the grand story of the Bible, or what theologians like to call the metanarrative of Scripture. God created this world good. The plants and trees were good. The stars and planets were good. The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the earth were good. Even the humans were good. But that all changed when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered the earth. Sin and evil corrupted everything on the earth, including the human heart. God loved His people, so He promised that He would send a Messiah to save them from their sins.
But He didn’t come. He didn’t come during the lifetimes of Adam or Eve. He didn’t come during the lifetimes of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. He didn’t come when Israel was enslaved in Egypt. He didn’t come when Israel was wandering in the wilderness. He didn’t come when Israel finally entered the Promised Land. He didn’t come during the time of the judges. He didn’t come when Israel became a kingdom. He didn’t come when Israel split into two nations. He didn’t come when Israel was exiled by Assyria or when Judah was exiled by Babylon. He didn’t come when the Jews finally returned to Jerusalem. And He didn’t come when God was silent for 400 years.
But then He did come. He came as a baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. His name is Jesus, and He lived a perfect, sinless life on this earth, fully God and fully man, so that He could die on a Roman cross to pay for the sins of every single person who has ever lived. Three days after His crucifixion, He resurrected from the grave so that everyone who believed in Him as their Lord and Savior would have eternal life. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven, but He is coming back again soon to defeat sin, to defeat death, and to usher in the New Heavens and New Earth, where believers will live in perfect relationship and fellowship with God forever. This grand story is often summarized in four words: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration.
The Bible isn’t just some outdated fairy tale that some old men wrote thousands of years ago. It contains a real and true story that you can be a part of. You were created in the image of God, but because of your sins against your Creator, you were separated from Him. Jesus, the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world, lived a sinless life on this earth and died on a cross so that you may be saved and redeemed. If you have repented of your sins and believed in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have been reconciled to God, and you have the hope of a perfect, eternal future with God! And if you have not repented and believed, I hope you will do so today. The Day is coming soon.
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20, ESV
[1] Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), 86.
[2] Ibid., 44.
