Divine Revelation

What We Believe

Summary “Divine Revelation”:
We believe that God has revealed Himself in the Scripture of the Old and New Testament, the inspired Word of God, and ultimately through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-18 (NLT)

The Word (of God) “logos”

• Predominantly used of Christ
• Expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit

"39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!"
John 5:39 (NLT)

"27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."
Luke 24:27 (NLT)

The Bible – Facts

• from the Greek biblia, meaning “books”
• 66 – Books
• 39 – Old Testament
• 27 – New Testament
• How many authors are there in the Bible?
  • One – God

"20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God."
2 Peter 1:20-21 (NLT)

"16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

The Bible – Writers

• How many human writers are there in the Bible?
  • 40 different human writers (on 3 different continents)
  • three different languages, under different circumstances
  • writers of almost every social status
• Professions of the writers:
  • Royalty
  • Shepherds
  • Fisherman
  • Doctors
  • Farmers
  • Prophets
  • Priest
  • Musicians
  • Tax Collector
  • Many Others
• Educated and uneducated
• Jews and Gentiles

The Bible – Facts Cont.

• Writing at various periods during the space of about 1,400-1,600 years
• How many years of human history are covered in the Bible?
  • 4,000 years of human history
• How did the Bible become the word of God?

Old Testament

"44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures."
Luke 24:44-45 (NLT)

New Testament

"15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction."
2 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)

• How is the Bible being misused?
  • To reinforce our personal convictions
  • Justify our desires and actions

“God’s indwelling Holy Spirit convicted me that those assertions from that book were clear distortion of God and His word.”

Christopher Yuan

"28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am."
John 14:28 (NLT)

"13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future."
John 16:13 (NLT)

"16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

"12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

Psalm 19

• Creation (vv. 1-6)
• The Word of God (vv. 7-11)
• Our Conviction (vv. 12-14)

How do you use the Word of God?
———-
Reinforce your personal conviction?
Justify your desired and actions?
Experience a life-transforming
relationship with Jesus Christ?
———-
All the evidence in the world that proves that the Bible (the Word of God) is true, accurate, and historical will not come close to the life lived by the impact of those Words guided by the Holy Spirit.

Pastor David Possinger