WHY I BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
(divine rather than merely human in origin)
Intro:
Christians believe is the 66 books that make up the Holy Bible are the words
of God, not because we have blind faith, but rather because we have faith in
evidence. In other words, we can demonstrate this to be the case.
4 So the Christian faith is never irrational.
It’s based on revelation, but it’s not irrational. We say not that there is a
victory of reason in Christianity, but rather a victory of revelation which
informs reason.
If all you have is reason, you’re like a man with perfect 20/20 eyesight
sitting in a dark room. Your eyesight is laser sharp, but if you’re in a
room pervaded by darkness, no matter how good your eyesight is, you can’t see.
Revelation informs reason and God has given us revelation not only through
nature but also through sixty-six books of knowledge. In others words the
Bible, the first of which is the book of Genesis.
Here is one helpful hint among many that will help you as you read
the Bible.
If you start with the wrong
presupposition instead of that God is condescending to speak to us in language
that we can attain to, you might very well get the wrong impression. Why would
God say to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” If God knows everything, He would
know where they are. Now if you don’t understand that the language of the Bible
condescends to our corrupt fallen nature and speaks to us in language that we
can attain to, then you’re going to get the wrong impression of what Genesis is
communicating.
Other examples: God
covers us with his wings and God walked with Adam in the Garden and God hears
our prayers.
These are metaphors for we
know God does not have wings, feet or ears.
Many literary forms are used by God to reveal truth to mankind – after
all God created language just as He created everything else.
The Bible also uses hyperbole (extreme exaggeration)
such as ‘Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus.’ Obviously no one actually
believes every last single human being went out to meet him.
Or when it says ‘And if your
eye
causes you to stumble,
gouge it
out and throw it away.’
No one actually
believes God wants us to mutilate our bodies.
God just intends that we know how serious he is about sin.
He is deadly serious.
Also when the Bible says "If anyone
comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers
and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my
disciple.”
God is not telling us we must
actually hate our families.
He is using hyperbole
to stress emphatically that He must come first in our lives and we must love
him with all our mind, strength, soul, and spirit.
God is
the only source of eternal life
and we must not take that lightly.
People who don’t understand these principles of language and literature
will logically find contradictions in scripture where none exist in reality.
Critics will say ‘should I read the Bible
literally or symbolically?’
The question
is in error. The answer is yes to both.
You
are to interpret all literature which includes the Bible literally the way it
was intended whether its poetry, song, historical narrative, parable, symbolic,
apocalyptic, etc.
Symbolic language has
a literal meaning.
And the reader knows
from the context of each form how to interpret it.
All forms are to be taken literally within
its context.
So the question should I
read it literally or symbolically is in error. We are to read historical narrative
literally and symbolic narrative literally and interpret both as intended by
the author.
To properly interpret
symbolic language you sometimes need to do further research and study to
understand what the author is trying to communicate. And when you find out the
meaning you take it literally whatever the meaning is.
We all know Jesus is called the Lamb of God
which is symbolic term used not to mean Jesus is an actual lamb, but that Jesus
sacrificed himself and shed his blood to pay for our sins once and for all time
(past present and future).
So you see the
literal meaning of the symbolic term ‘Lamb of God’ is literally what I just
delineated to you.
Once you understand
the literal meaning of the symbol the explanation is not necessary except to
those who have never heard or children.
Without the prior knowledge or someone explaining it to you it’s
understandable that you’d see contradictions and foolishness in the Holy Bible
as you read it.
Proverbs 25:2 It is the
glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the
words of this law.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The person without the Spirit does not accept
the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and
cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to
us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,…
Mark 4:
21He
said to them,
“Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or
a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22For
whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant
to be brought out into the open. 23If
anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued.
“With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.
25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they
have will be taken from them.” If you
think that sounds harsh I agree but if you think about it, it’s fair not to
mention good business. It represent the
separation of the righteous and sinners at the final judgment spoken of in many
ways throughout the Bible as a warning call to all. As for good business, say for example a
business owner has 5 factories in the land and 4 are prosperous and 1 is not. The owner tries many ways to bring that
factory around but to no avail. He
eventually sells the land and redistributes the remaining assets to the other 4
profitable units. It’s a perfect picture
of what will happen to everyone unless they repent of their sin and believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ the one and only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).
One Shot, One Book, One God
SYNOPSIS
Christians are often asked, How do you know that the Bible is the Word
of God?
One succinct answer we can give is that the Bible bears God’s
fingerprint: order. Order involves a multiplicity of objects or
parts that are unified according to a definite plan. The existence of order, or
design, implies that an intelligent designer has been at work. Order is
observable in the realms of science and ethics and points to the fact that an
intelligent, personal, creative, powerful God exists. Order is also evident in
the Bible. It is a multiplicity of books, written by many authors, over many
years, in many literary styles, that contain many stories about many people,
places, things, and events. It also displays an intricate, multilayered unity.
It is
one story, about
one God, who is administering
one
plan of salvation, that is centered around
one person (Christ),
who is attested to by
one body of signs, and who is worshiped by
one
people, according to
one worldview. Like a spiral galaxy or a
hummingbird’s wing or a strand of DNA, the order found in the Bible could not
have been created by a mere mortal, but only by God.
Sometimes you have only one shot. If so, you have to make it count.
This was the case with me once, following a history lecture I attended at
our local senior center. During discussion time, I had mentioned that modern
archeology has repeatedly demonstrated the amazing historical accuracy of the
Bible. I thought that nothing further would come of the comment, but I was
wrong. Immediately after the lecture ended, an agitated man made his way
straight for me. Before we could even exchange pleasantries, his question burst
forth: “How can you possibly believe that the Bible is the Word of God?” He
wanted an answer and, with some difficulty, was waiting for it. Leaning on the
Lord, I gave him my best shot:
Sir, there is one piece of evidence above all others that persuades me that
the Bible is God’s Word. It’s called the unity of Scripture. The Bible is
actually a collection of books — 66 of them, written by more than 40 authors,
over the course of some 1,500 years; yet it is one unified book. It tells one
story, about one God, who sends one Savior — Jesus Christ — into the world. The
more you study it, the more you see Christ — not just in the New Testament, but
also in the Old Testament. Have you read Isaiah53? It predicts details of
Christ’s death more than 600 years before it happened. Have you heard of the
Passover Lamb? It pointed to Christ, the Lamb of God, 1,500 years before He
came into world! The Christ-centered unity of the Bible is so intricate and so
beautiful that no mere mortal could possibly have produced it. It has to be the
product of a single divine Mind working through the different authors. It is
this amazing unity that persuades me that the Bible is the Word of God.
With that, the man turned and walked away.
ORDER, ORDER, EVERYWHERE!
In taking my best shot, I pointed this troubled man to one of the great
supernatural realities in the world today — what I call “the biblical order.”
In the paragraphs ahead, I want to examine this order in some depth. Let’s
begin with a few remarks about a common but richly significant phenomenon:
order.
Webster’s Dictionary defines order as
an arrangement of different
objects integrated into a system according to a definite plan.
1
This definition highlights the main elements of any order. First, there is
multiplicity
— a finite number of different objects or parts. Second, there is
unity
— a perceivable oneness, integrity, or systematic quality that characterizes
the multiplicity. This unity is created by the third element:
arrangement
— the way the component parts are put together. Note carefully, however, that
just any arrangement will not do; for order to exist, the arrangement must be
according to a definite plan. In other words, it must display the fourth
element of order:
design,
or
rationality.
This last element is
significant; for when we come upon a multiplicity of objects that have been arranged
into an intricate and beautiful design, we immediately experience an
inescapable awareness that an intelligent person with a purpose — a
designer
— has been on the scene. Order implies and reveals design and design implies
and reveals a designer. They are a little trinity; the first cannot exist
without the other two. Order always bears upon itself a fingerprint of personal
intelligence, purpose, and power at work.
The concept of order is a
vital partner in the apologetic task. In order to fully appreciate the order or
unity of Scripture we must look for a moment at two other areas in which order
is found: in nature and in ethics.
The Natural Order
Nature is the totality of all physical objects — the cosmos. We
observe that order pervades the parts and the whole. It is present in the
tiniest building blocks of nature — the atomic elements; in the largest objects
in nature, such as stars, galaxies, and galactic clusters; and in all the
objects in between, including crystals, clouds, conches, crickets, cuckoos,
crocodiles, and chemists. It is seen in the structure of things, the motions of
things, the relationships of things, and the beauty of things. It is also
strikingly seen in the fantastic complexity
of certain things, such as
a strand of DNA, a living cell, an asparagus fern, a hummingbird’s wing, or a
human brain or eye. The more we look at nature, the more we see that the things
we call “things” are actually orders — unities of component parts arranged
according to a rational plan.
In Paul’s letter to the
Romans, he explained that order in nature reveals to all humans the existence
and attributes of its divine creator. When we see order in nature, we cannot
help but see design. Seeing design, we cannot help but see a designer — a
person with a purpose. Seeing that person, we cannot help but see that he is
divine; for what other kind of person could fashion an order such as this?
Order in nature reveals that a divine, personal creator exists and that he is
infinitely intelligent, artistic, powerful, and good (Rom. 1:18–32).
Do you like what you’re reading?
This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 27,
number 5 (2004). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian
Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org
– You’ll be glad you did both for yourself and your family.
The Moral Order
The moral order is spiritual rather than physical. It is different from the
natural order, yet it is no less real. Paul also discussed this moral order,
affirming that all humans innately know its several elements (
Rom. 2:1–16).
The first of these elements is the
moral law — a fixed code of moral
absolutes, planted like solemn sentinels deep within each human heart. Next,
there is
moral obligation — an objective spiritual reality perceived
by the faculty we call conscience. Conscience, together with moral obligation,
urges us to align ourselves with the moral law and to reconcile ourselves to it
when we break it. Finally, there is
moral cause and effect. Our innate
awareness of this moral law assures us that good will triumph over evil and
that human deeds will bring reward or retribution, if not in this life, then
surely in the next.
The moral order is no less pervasive, complex, beautiful, or influential
than the natural order. It, too, manifests design and points to a designer — a
person with a purpose. It, too, reveals that this person is divine; for what
other kind of person could create and sustain an order such as this? This
order, however, also reveals that the divine person is a holy sovereign and a
righteous judge, and that he would have us live according to the moral order he
has created.
A Revelatory Order?
Suppose you are a seeker. Pondering the natural and moral orders, you come to
the conclusion that there must be a divine person — an “unknown god” — behind
them both; but no matter how hard you look at these orders, you cannot figure
out his name (if he has a name), his plans for the world, why his good creation
is riddled with so much evil and suffering or what (if anything) he plans to do
about it. The orders have awakened you to the existence of an unknown god, but
they supply frustratingly little in the way of answers to life’s ultimate
questions.
Then it hits you: “If there really is a god, he surely has the answers to
all these questions. Maybe he has sent us a teacher or a group of teachers to
reveal them. Maybe they have written a book that contains the answers. Maybe
I’m supposed to start looking for such a book. How do I know that it even
exists? If it does exist, how will I recognize it among all the other holy
books?”
I would say to you, “Friend, I have good news: there is such book, and you
already have the tools to identify it. You know, based on your experience with
nature and conscience, that the unknown god reveals himself in orders. He shows
his intelligence and artistry by arranging multiplicities of different objects
into intricate and beautiful unities
.
Order is his signature, his trademark. Doesn’t it make sense, then,
that if he gave us a holy book that reveals the answers to the questions of
life, that he would put his signature upon it? Like nature, wouldn’t it, too,
be an intricate and beautiful order — a ‘revelatory order’?
Christians have been claiming for centuries that the Bible is the
revelatory
order for which the God of the natural and moral order has prepared the
human heart. What exactly is it about the Bible that persuades them that He has
indeed put His signature upon it? It is now time to find out.
THE MULTIPLICITY OF THE BIBLE
We cannot appreciate the Bible’s order and unity unless we see them against
the backdrop of its great multiplicity. The Bible contains a multiplicity of
books — 66 of them. It was written over a multiplicity of years — about 1,500
of them. It was written in a multiplicity of places — on three separate
continents (Asia, Africa, and
Europe), in city
and country, in palace and prison, at home and abroad. It was written in a
multiplicity of languages — Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
It was written in a multiplicity of literary genres—at least eight of them,
including historical narrative, law, poetry, drama, proverb, prophecy, epistle,
and apocalyptic vision. The historical narrative alone is epic in scope,
containing a great multiplicity of stories that reference thousands of persons,
places, things, and events.
It was written by a multiplicity of authors — about 40 of them. These
authors were not just priests or theologians, but men from many different walks
of life — kings, peasants, fishermen, poets, statesmen, a herdsman, a military
general, a cupbearer, a doctor, and even a tax collector! Many of them were
opposed by the spiritual leaders of their day, and some were even regarded as
heretics. The Bible, clearly, is not the handiwork of a closely knit religious
cult.
These historical facts concerning the origin and literary character of the
Bible reveal that this striking, multilayered unity is neither the product of
one man, nor of the collusion of many. If it is not from either of these,
however, then from whom is it?
THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE
The unity of the Bible is indeed striking, multilayered and, I would argue,
patently divine. I will now try to make that case by expanding on the following
thesis statement: The Bible
is
one story,
about
one
God,
who is
administering
one plan of salvation,
that is
centered around
one person (Christ), who is
attested to by
one body of signs,
and
who is
worshiped by
one people,
according to
one (eminently
satisfying) worldview.
One Story
The Bible tells a single story. This story has a beginning, middle, and end.
In essence, it tells of the creation of humans (Gen. 1:27) and the cosmos,
their wounding by the sin of the first human (Rom. 5:12), and their glorious
restoration through the righteousness of Christ. This story has many
characters, including divine, angelic, and human. It has many themes, including
the love of the Father for the Son; the love of the Son for the Father; the
love of God for humans and nature; and the triumph of good over evil, truth
over lies, and humility over pride. It has a plot and many subplots. There is
rising action, developing conflict, apparent defeat, and sudden, unexpected
deliverance and final victory. There is romance, mystery, comedy, and tragedy.
Finally, for everyone who plays his part in the story well, there is a happy
ending.
In short, the Bible displays an outstanding
literary unity that
reveals
the hand of a single divine Author. Note carefully,
however, that the Bible resists being categorized as
mere story (i.e.,
myth or legend), but because of certain characteristics forcibly presents
itself as the kind of story we call
history. Indeed, believers see it
as
the story
par excellence — the true cosmic history from
which all lesser stories, be they history or fiction, derive whatever beauty
and truth they may contain. If this is so, it would explain mankind’s perennial
fascination with the Bible. Many people sense that their lives have
significance and meaning. They are like Sam Gamgee in
The Lord of the Rings,
who said, “What a tale we have been in, Mr.Frodo, haven’t we?” Many people know
they’re in a tale and they long to find the book in which the
whole
tale, including their own appointed part, is told. The literary unity of the
Bible will often draw them to it.
One God
In the Bible’s one story, a single character towers above all others: God.
Part of the drama of the story is that as it unfolds it reveals more about God,
including His names, attributes, purposes, plans, prerogatives, mighty works,
and mysterious ways. Then, as the story nears its climax, something of
extraordinary interest is unveiled: the one God is actually a Trinity of
persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The details progressively unfold, yet the message of the Bible remains the
same: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4 NASB).
“There is no other besides Him” (Deut. 4:35 NASB). In other words, the Bible,
unlike the ancient pagan scriptures with their elaborate theogonies and vast
pantheons of gods, displays a consistent
theological unity. This is
consistent with the fact that all humans intuitively know that there is, and
can be, only one God. It is hardly surprising, then, that His book reveals that
part of His mission in history is to expose and dethrone every other so-called
god, so that “in that day there will be one Lord, and His name [Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit] the only name” (Zech.14:9 NIV; cf. John4:22–24; Phil.2:8–11).
One Plan of Salvation
The Bible is fundamentally a history book — the history of God’s redemptive
acts, past, present, and future. This “salvation history,” especially the part
called the New Testament, reveals that God is always acting according to a
plan. The Bible, therefore, may best be understood as a
history of the
administration of a single divine plan for the redemption of the cosmos.
The biblical timeline outlined below provides a glimpse of that plan.
2
The Eternal Covenant of Grace. This is the heart of
salvation history. The New Testament reveals that even before the creation of
the world, God foreknew Adam’s sin and its terrible consequences for humans and
nature; but He also had a plan to redeem them. The writer to the Hebrews called
this plan “the eternal covenant” (Heb.13:20). Scripture reveals that this
covenant is an agreement involving two
parties: God and humankind; a
promise
to all who willingly enter into it: forgiveness of sins and eternal life
in fellowship with God; a
penalty for all who spurn it: eternal
punishment away from the presence of God; a
provision by which God can
justly offer eternal life to humankind: God’s incarnate Son, living and dying
in behalf of His people; and a
proviso, or demand: simple faith in the
person and work of Christ. God determined that for many years the elements of
this covenant would remain hidden in Him; only at the time He appointed — at
the appearing of His Son — would He reveal to all nations the great mystery of
this covenant.
Creation, Probation, and Fall. The sin of the first Adam,
the head of all humankind, alienated the human race from God, forfeited the
tree of (eternal) life, and plunged the whole world into bondage to a host of
evils, including sin, suffering, Satan, death, and the peril of hell. There was
only one hope: another, better, “Adam” must come to recover what the first Adam
had lost and to undo what the first Adam had done.
The Era of Promise and Preparation. God began to administer
the eternal covenant to sinful men and women during the lengthy Old Testament
era, urging and expecting them to respond. He revealed the eternal covenant,
but in a
veiled manner. God accomplished this by using
types
— historical persons, places, things, events, and institutions that symbolized
the covenant realities that were yet to come (see table1). Types are a shadow
of which Christ and the covenant elements are the body (Col.2:17).
Consider the following example from the events of the fall: When God
administered the covenant to Adam and Eve, He killed an animal so that they
might be covered by its skin and not be ashamed before Him. In this respect,
Adam and Eve were a
type of God’s people. The innocent animal that was
killed in their place by God Himself was a
type of Christ. The animal
skin typified Christ’s righteousness and the merits of His sacrifice that cover
sin. The guilty pair’s willingness to receive the covering and so meet the
condition for entering the covenant with God typified faith toward Christ.
Despite their sin, God was again their God and they His covenant people.
God increasingly gave previews of the covenant realities as the Old
Testament era progressed, thus awakening hope in His people. He did so by means
of prophecy. In essence, Old Testament prophecy consisted of promises that the
provision of the covenant (Christ, the Messiah) would come, and that through faith
in Him, God’s people would receive the covenant blessings. Isaiah, for example,
cast the Messianic era as a day of pardon (53, 55), spiritual renewal (44:3),
holiness (35:8), healing (61:1–3), the banishment of Satan (27:1), victory over
death (25:6–8), a restored cosmos (65:17), and the manifestation of the glory
of God (40:5). The eternal covenant
to come, therefore, is the hidden
theme that mystically unites all Old Testament history and prophecy.
The Era of Fulfillment. In this era, the
covenant blessings are unveiled at last. During its first stage — the period of
proclamation between Christ’s incarnation (birth as God-man) and His second
coming — the saints experience the covenant blessings in part and behold them
by faith. During the second stage — the eternal period of consummation (i.e.,
completion) that begins at Christ’s return (second coming) — they will
experience them in fullness and behold them by sight. This is
gospel —
“good news”! The Redeemer has come and the mysteries of the eternal covenant
are now an “open secret” to the people of God (Rom.16:25–27).
Here, then, in too few strokes, is something of the Bible’s complex
soteriological
unity (i.e., unity regarding God’s plan of salvation). The myriad stories
of the two Testaments unite like tiles in a mosaic to show us a single God,
administering a single plan, for the salvation of a single beloved people. No
one on earth could devise and carry out such a plan — or such a book to tell us
about it.
One Person
In the same way that Christ is the focal point of the eternal covenant — the
one Mediator between God and man — so, too, He is the focal point of the
Scriptures; like planets around the sun, the Scriptures revolve around Him.
Jesus Himself said, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me”
(John5:39NIV). He told His disciples, “All things must be fulfilled, which were
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning
me” (Luke24:44 KJV).
This, the
christological unity (i.e., unity regarding Christ) of the
Bible, reflects the Father’s purpose that all people should honor the Son
(Christ) just as they honor Him (John5:23). In the New Testament, therefore,
Christ is at the center, or “in the midst.” The New Testament places Him
historically in the midst of the disciples, the religious leaders, the crowds,
Moses and Elijah, the 7 lampstands, the 24 elders, and the very throne of God.
It places Him doctrinally in the midst of creation, providence, redemption, and
the triune Godhead itself. He is in the midst of the Old Testament, likewise,
by means of christophany (i.e.,temporary appearances of Christ in physical
form), type, and prophecy. If the Bible may be called the body of truth, then
its skeleton is the history of God’s administration of the plan of salvation,
its sinews are the 66 books, and its heart — burning in the midst of all — is
the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
One Body of Signs
The Father purposes to draw a people to His Son, so that they may enter His
covenant and experience its blessings (John6:44). He does this by means of a
body of signs — extraordinary, supernatural phenomena that cause men and women
to marvel and therefore inquire about Christ and the gospel (John5:20,31–36).
God has posted such signs all along the highway of salvation history.
In the New Testament, God shines a spotlight on Christ by means of His
virgin birth, angelic visitations, theophanies (i.e., temporary appearances of
God in physical form), mighty miracles, and most importantly, His resurrection
from the dead. God’s people are also a sign, and have been right up to our own
day (Acts1:4–8).
The Old Testament signs are especially important. There are two principal
kinds: messianic types and prophecies. The Old Testament types and their New
Testament fulfillments are astounding for their abundance, intricacy, and
beauty; so, too, are the prophecies. How can it be that long before He was
born, the Old Testament prophets predicted the entire course of Christ’s
earthly and heavenly life? How could they speak of His divine nature and
preexistence (Ps.110), His virgin birth (Isa.7), His birthplace (Mic.5), His
miraculous ministry to the poor (Isa.61), the minute details of His atoning
death (Isa.53), His resurrection (Ps.16), His heavenly reign (Ps.2,110), and
His second coming in power and glory to judge, redeem, and usher in the Kingdom
of God (Dan.7; Isa.66)? These signs naturally evoke wonder and curiosity and
move seekers to inquire about the One who fulfills them.
The one body of messianic signs contributes substantially to the
evidential
unity of the Bible and is vital equipment for the apologetic task (defending
our faith). It is God’s chosen vehicle for directing lost sinners to His Son,
for persuading them that the Old and New Testaments constitute a single,
Christ-centered book that is, indeed, the very Word of God.
One People
The Bible reveals a divine Father who gathers a single people to worship His
Son, just as it reveals a divine Son who gathers the same people to worship His
Father. This group of people is a multiplicity of Jew and Gentile, male and
female, (a few) rich and (many) poor, slave and free, good and (formerly) evil;
yet, because of their God-given love for Christ, they are one. The Bible
highlights this unity by many striking images: they are a seed, a people, a
nation, a race, a priesthood, a congregation, a bride, a body, a temple, a
flock, and a new man (1Pet.2:9–10). Jesus named this people His church — those
who are divinely
called out of Adam’s doomed world-system and
called
into God’s marvelous family, where they worship Him in spirit, truth,
gratitude, and joy.
3
One Worldview
The purpose of the signs is to draw these people not only to Christ, but to
the biblical worldview. Therein can be found fascinating answers to all of
life’s great questions: What is the ultimate reality? What is the origin of the
universe, life, and man? Why is there evil and suffering in the world? What, if
anything, can be done about it? What is the meaning or purpose of life? How
shall we live? What happens when we die? Where is history heading? How can we
find spiritual truth?
The biblical worldview offers answers that are intuitive, reasonable,
hopeful, and ethically sound — far more so than those offered by any other
world religion or philosophy. The Bible also speaks to humanity’s existential
anxieties; for example, it not only identifies the ultimate reality (God), but
explains how alienated sinners may be united with it. It not only tells about
an afterlife in either heaven or hell,
but it reveals the grounds on which
anyone may be sure that they are going to one and not the other.
Finally, the Bible’s answers coalesce into a unified worldview — a view of
all things: things past, present, and future; things above, upon, and beneath;
things without and within; things human, angelic, and divine. Reality can be
seen and understood as a whole through the biblical worldview. The entirety of
this
philosophical unity will require a lifetime — perhaps an eternity
— to take in.
The natural and moral orders point to a personal God and His spiritual
truth. The biblical order is evidence that the same God has put His truth in
this one Book. If, then, you are not yet a Christian, please consider carefully
the amazing unity of the Bible; perhaps for you it will become a bridge to the
Christ it celebrates. If you are already a Christian, please keep that bridge
in mind, for in a tight witnessing situation, with only seconds to explain why
you believe the Bible is God’s Word, it may be your only shot — and your best.
Notes
1.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language,
college ed., s.v. “order.”
2. This timeline reflects the view of traditional covenant (i.e., Reformed)
theology, which sees salvation history as the outworking of an eternal covenant
of grace between God and humanity. Traditional dispensational theology would
draw the timeline somewhat differently. In this view, types in the Old
Testament era foreshadow certain New Testament realities, but God maintains His
purpose to fulfill His promises to
Israel literally. All would agree,
however, in representing salvation history as the administration of a single
Christ-centered plan in two basic eras: one of promise, the other of
fulfillment.
3. Dispensational theology holds that although Jews and Gentiles are spiritually
united in Christ as the people of God, the nation
Israel maintains an identity that
is distinct from the church in God’s plan.
4. Has God Spoken?: Proof of the Bible’s Divine
Inspiration Hardcover
by Hank Hanegraaff
Table 1 - TYPES
OF CHRIST AND THE COVENANT
Old Testament Torah or Pentateuch REFERENCE
|
TYPE of Christ
|
ANTI-TYPE (Fulfillment)
|
New Testament REFERENCE
|
PEOPLE
|
|
|
|
Gen. 3
|
Adam
|
Christ, head and progenitor of God’s
heavenly people
|
Rom.5:14; 1Cor.15:45
|
Gen. 14:18–20
|
Melchizedek
|
Christ, eternal king-priest without
predecessor
|
Heb.5:8–10;7:1–17
|
Num. 12:7; Deut.18:15
|
Moses
|
Christ, faithful prophet and servant of God,
mediator of the eternal covenant
|
Acts3:20–22; Heb.3:2–6
|
OBJECTS
|
|
|
|
Num. 21:9
|
Bronze snake
|
Christ, elevated for dying people to look
to for salvation
|
John3:14–15
|
Exod. 16:11–15
|
Manna
|
Christ, bread of life for God’s pilgrim
people in the world
|
John6:32–35
|
Exod. 12:3–6, 46; Num. 9:12; Ps. 34:20
|
Passover Lamb
|
Christ, slain to spare God’s people from
judgment
|
John19:36; 1Cor.5:7; Heb.10:4–10
|
PLACES
|
|
|
|
Exod. 1–15
|
Egypt
|
The world, a place of bondage to sin
|
Acts7; 1Cor.10; Rev.11:8
|
Num.
|
Sinai Wilderness
|
The world, a place of hardship and testing
|
Matt.4:1–11
|
Num. 14
|
Canaan
|
The new heaven and earth, future
inheritance of God’s people
|
Rom.4; Heb.11
|
EVENTS
|
|
|
|
Gen. 6–9
|
The Flood
|
The judgment of God, through which Christ
the ark of God delivers the people of God
|
Luke17:20–37;1Pet.3:18–22
|
Gen. 22, 24
|
Sacrifice of Isaac
|
The sacrifice of God’s only Son by the
Father, offered on wood and received back from the dead
|
John3:16; Heb.11:17–19
|
Exod.; Num.; Deut.
|
Exodus
|
The deliverance of God’s people from
bondage to sin by a Redeemer who leads them through hardship to a new heaven
and earth
|
Matt.2:14–15;1Cor.10:1–11;Heb.3:7–19;
4:1–11;11:23–40; Jude1:4–5
|
See Walter A. Elwell, ed.,
Topical Analysis of the Bible (Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991),72–78.
