We believe that "the entire Bible in its original writings is inerrant, being verbally inspired of God and is of plenary authority."
The word "bible" comes from the Greek word biblia . It means "books." That word comes from a more ancient word meaning the inner bark of thte papyrus reed. Ancient books (or scrolls) were made from papyrus.
The words biblia, biblion , and biblos , are translated "books" in the English translation of the New Testament and Septuagint. By the 13th century A.D. all the books of Scripture were called "The Bible."
Jesus referred to the Old Testament Books as "the Scriptures." The Apostle Peter called Paul's writings "Scriptures."
The Old Testament was written almost entirely in Hebrew. Hebrew is a Semitic dialect akin to Phoenician and Ugaritic. Portions of Ezra, Daniel and Jeremiah were written in Aramaic.
The New Testament was written entirely in Greek. This was the common, everyday language of the contemporary Graeco-Roman world.
The Bible is free from error. It is infallible. People in the Bible made errors, but the writing of Scripture is free from error. It is an accurate record.
What was said was said. What was said was said was said. Facts are facts and lies are lies. What happened happened.
God so guided and superintended the writers of the sacred text, making use of their own unique personalities, that they wrote all that He wanted them to write, without excess or error.
Inspiration Basics
The English word "inspired" means the act of inbreathing or inhalation. The Greek word translated "inspired" or "inspiration" means "God-breathed." God breathed into the writers and brought into being His infallible Word. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
("Private interpretation" follows the verb ginetai . It means "originates." Peter is saying that no prophecy of Scripture originated in the mind or will of man, but that holy men spoke as they were borne or carried along by the Holy Spirit.)
The Bible is complete and full as we have it. It has the total authority for communicating God's Truth. There is nothing more to add to it.
What do people think of when we say "The Bible?"
The Torah (Law) --- Genesis - Deuteronomy
The Nebhiim (Prophets) --- Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve
The Kethubhim (Writings) --- Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Eccclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.
The Christian Bible contains the same material as the Hebrew Bible in addition to Christian writings of the 1st Century A.D.
The formal collection became known as the Old Testament and the New Testament after the 2nd Century A.D. Tertullian was the first to use the term Novum Testamentum (New Testament).
The Catholic Bible adds several books to the Christian Bible. The New Testament is the same, but the Old Testament is different. In addition to the books in the Christian Bible, the Catholic Bible has what is called the Apocryphal Literature: 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Daniel 13 & 14, The Song of the Three Hebrew Children, The Prayer of Manasseh, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees.
There are many reasons why we do not accept the additional books in the Catholic Bible as being inspired by God.
What is a canon? The word comes from the Greek kanon . It was a reed used for a measuring rod and came to mean "standard." It was the standard the church put against all books to see if they were the inspired Word of God.
Jesus Christ testified to the Hebrew Canon: Luke 24:44.
Another evidence is Luke 11:51. Abel was the first martyr (Genesis). Zechariah was the last martyr to be named in the Hebrew order.
There are also numerous quotations by Christian apostles. Many extra-biblical writers also attested to the Hebrew Canon.
What about New Testament canonicity?
The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:20 that the church was "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets."
Acts 2:42 states that the Jerusalem Church continued in the "apostles teaching."
Apostolic authority and approval is at the heart of the New Testament Canon. That authority comes directly from God. The canon is not based on what men say, but what God says through men.
There were three basic reasons for developing the New Testament Canon:
The earliest canon of New Testament Scripture comes from Athanasius of Alexander (A.D. 367). His list is exactly like our present New Testament.
Shortly after Athanasius, Jerome and Augustine defined the canon of 27 Books as we have them today.
Early Church Fathers (Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Ignatius) spoke of the writings of the Apostles as Scripture.
The Council of Hippo in A.D. 393 and Carthage in A.D. 397 suppored the canonicity of the 27 New Testament Books we have today.
Many books in use during the early centuries did not make it into the New Testament Canon:
Now, a word about the term "Testament." It is used 14 times in the New Testament: Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, 14 and Hebrews 7:22 are examples. The Greek word translated "testament" is diathekes . It does carry the classical meaning of a testament or will. It means an "agreement" and is better translated "covenant." The KJV translates the word as "covenant" in 20 verses: Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:17 and Hebrews 8:6 are examples. There is no reason to translate the word "covenant" in one place and "testament" in another.
The Hebrew word, berith , is always translated as "covenant" in the Old Testament.
Now, to the terms "old" and "new." These are biblical terms. Jesus spoke of the "blood of the New Covenant." It was His blood. The Apostle Paul wrote about the "new covenant in His blood:" meaning the blood of Christ. Paul wrote about God making him a minister of the "new covenant." Paul also wrote that peoples' minds were blinded to the truth of Christ as they read the "old covenant."
However, there is a problem when we use the terms "Old" and "New" Testaments for the whole Bible. The biblical "Old Covenant" began with Abraham. It was first put in written form by Moses.
2 Corinthians 3:14-16
There were at least 2,000 years between Adam and Abraham. Some historical documents add thousands of years to that time. The time between Abraham and Moses is estimated at 430 to 654 years. That means humanity existed for thousands of years before the Covenant called "Old." It also means that at least the first 11 chapters of Genesis do not fall under the Old Covenant.
The "New Covenant" is not mentioned until Luke 22:20, when Jesus told His disciples: "This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is shed for you." The New Covenant to the Hebrews pointed to Christ's death as fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy. (Hebrews 8:1-13 & 9:11-15) The New Covenant began with the blood-death of Christ. That means most of what happened in the Gospels happened under the Old Covenant.
The New Covenant was made specifically with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. It was new in that it fulfilled, canceled, and took the place of the Mosaic Covenant, which in the process became old.
The New Covenant is:
How does the New Covenant fit with the Christian Church? First, we need to make it clear that the Old Covenant is not to be followed by God's people today. (Romans 6:14-15 & 7:6; 1 Corinthians 9:20; Galatians 2:15-16; 3:1-5, 10-14, 21-25; 5:1-6)
The Apostle Paul had many sharp disagreements about this issue. (Acts 15:1-5, 24-29; Galatians 2) Paul stood up for the freedom of the Christian Church from the Law of Moses. The Old Covenant is old and obsolete as to religious practice. It contains Truths that are profitable for us to know and understand, but it is not written to us in the Body of Christ for our specific obedience. It was written to the people of the nation Israel.
However, after Christ's death and resurrecton, His followers continued practices from the Old Covenant while learning about the New Covenant. They obeyed Christ's teaching to obey everything in the Law while learning about the blessings of the New Covenant in Christ's blood. The promises continued until the national representatives of Israel rejected Christ in Acts 7 with the stoning of Stephen and the violent persecution of the followers of Christ. It was shortly after that event that God saved Saul and used him to introduce the mystery of the dispensation of His Grace to the Gentiles.
It's interesting to note that Paul put aside the practice of baptism for the Church (Old Covenant - 1 Corinthians 1:14-17)), but kept the practice of the Lord's Supper for the Church (New Covenant - 1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
Paul pointed out that Gentile believers were sharing in Israel's spiritual blessings (Romans 15:27). Paul called himself an "able minister of the new covenant." He explained in Ephesians 2:11-22 how the New Covenant affected Gentiles. Notice how Paul segued from the making of one new man out of the two into an explanation of his administration (dispensation) of Grace to the Gentiles. (Ephesians 3:1-12)
Here's a review of what we believe about the Bible:
One last note on external evidences to the reliability of the Bible. Archaeology is the study of material remains of past human life and activities. An archaeologist is the person who conducts the research of those material remains.
Here's what some of the great archaeologists and students of archaeology had to say about how material remains of past human life and activities affected the Bible.
The evidence is clear. The Bible "is" the Word of God. We should obey God's Word and do what He wants us to do. What God wants us to do is God's Will. God's Will for our lives is presented clearly on the pages of His Word. God's Word is Trustworthy and Plain. Read it. Do it. Live by it. Die by it. Enjoy it.
Taking God's Grace to the World!
"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © , 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers."
Please return to The GraceLife(tm) Menu Page for other studies about "What We Believe."
Last Updated: 12/20/1999
Terms for Understanding
"But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."