How We Got the Bible

Not an easy story, but one filled with intrigue and martyrdom and long, quiet lives of scholarship.  Just like thousands of people have died to give us the free country we live in, thousands of people have died to make sure we have these Bibles.  Even today, in other countries, people put their lives in the balance to get the Word to others.  For their sake, as well as the people of the past, and of course for the sake of the Lord who gave us the Word, we should have great respect.  I am disturbed when I see people throwing Bibles around and not taking care of them, or worse, ignoring them.   We have far too many Bibles in our house that we have accumulated over the years and I would like to put them to better use than sitting on my shelf.

But the reality is, we want a message from the Word but some aspects of Bible study are not easy.  We have questions such as:

How did we get the Bible, how can we be sure it’s all there and we aren’t missing parts, what is the best way to study it, is all of the Bible equally important to our lives, why are some of the strange parts included, and why are there so many different versions?  I hope I can answer some of these questions.

How did we get the Bible?

1.  First and foremost, we have to start with the belief that “God wants to communicate to the world.”  
1. In the Great Commission Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel….”  Although we take that first of all as a command to do missions, and it is, it has a more foundational truth:  God communicates.  God has a message and he has put it out there for everyone.  A key verse is Hebrews 1:1.  1.God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,2.has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
2. Paul states in Romans that the Jews were the primary instrument through whom God communicated for many centuries.  Romans 3: 1.What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?2.Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.3For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?4.Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged."
3. Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount, Mathew 5:14:  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel,  but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.   Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
4. In Acts 26:26, Paul is speaking to King Agrippa and Festus, and Festus accuses him of madness in preaching the resurrection, but Paul says, “26.For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner.
5.  The fact that God communicates will be important when we look at some of the esoteric or mystical texts that are behind things like the DaVinci code.
6. An important theological question is, does God still communicate today?  Let’s talk about that.  Did revelation end with the apostles?  Why do we believe it did?  Does God speak in other ways?  How?  I heard Sarah Palin say something about God speaking to her, and I know the secularists go wild with that, but I believe God speaks to us constantly—we just don’t listen.  But I don’t believe he is revealing new doctrines or theological truths.  That would be chaos.  I’m not even sure that we are revealed guidance for other people.  God can take care of that.
2. So how did/does God communicate to the world.  Two verses in the NT are usually quoted in this respect.
1.  2 Timothy 3:16
2. 2 Peter 1:20-21
3. These tell us a lot, but scholars still debate what they mean.  There are different theories of “inspiration.”

                                          i.    God dictated directly to the writer, without his conscious knowledge.  In that case, why would it matter who wrote it?

                                        ii.    God moved the writer but used his own personality and style; the word “superintended” is usually used here.  Other words used are Plenary and Verbal, meaning all of it is inspired and the words themselves are inspired (God breathed), not just ideas.  This is the hard part for us to get our heads around, but it is one way that scholars know about the unity of a book.  Paul’s writing is very similar throughout, especially with personal and biographical details (and this is why Hebrews is not referred to as Paul’s writing—why would he have not claimed it?)

                                       iii.    God gave general ideas and the writer went from there.  For example, Paul knew he needed to write about submission to authority but the actual commands about how it should work was up to Paul.  Paul does say, I don’t have a command from the Lord on this in a couple of places, meaning the rest must be inspired.  I Corinthians 7.

                                       iv.    More liberal theologians would say the Bible is only inspired like literature is or that it is “inspired” when we read it and it gives us a message. 

                                        v.    Any belief we have about inspiration has to include it at the time of writing, not just when we read it (although that is also true, John 16:13), and the choice/individuality/personality of writer.

                                       vi.    The Bible claims itself to be inspired—this is not something people made up later.  And Peter refers to Paul’s writings as inspired.   

                                      vii.    Is the Bible all that God wants to tell us?  I think it is, but it’s not everything about God there is to know.  There’s a lot we don’t know, and so sometimes I think we Christians act like we are so smart when we really have very limited knowledge—we know what God wants us to know.  Jean Cauvin said that in the Bible God used “baby talk.”  I understand what he meant, when you think about it.  Other theologians talk about progressive revelation—that what was revealed to the OT saints and patriarchs was a part, then later we got more (Hebrews 11:40 seems to bear this out). 

                                    viii.    I believe all the Bible is for us to read but not all of it is applicable to us.  This is where I might differ from some people, and we will get

Into this next week.  Some of the Bible is for the Jews, but it contains truths about God we need to know. 

3. These are the foundational truths.  The writers, however, actually produced the “autographs” (original manuscripts) in different ways.
1.  Secretaries or amanuenses.  Paul refers to this many times at the ends of his books; he even mentions that he is signing his own name. Col 4:18 and at another he says, “see how big my handwriting is” Gal 6:11
2. Research:  Luke was more like a modern historian, going to different sources and compiling them (Luke1:1-4, Acts 1:1-2).  Matthew also probably used parts of Mark in his gospel.
3. Writing directly down as they get a message.
4. They wrote on papyrus in rolls.  Parchment is animal skins, and it is also mentioned. 
5. They wrote in Hebrew, Aramaic (rare), and Greek of the marketplace. 

 papyrus (a plant, strips, glued together, Egyptian)  roll

“We now know that the normal form of book, from the great days of the classical literature of Greece to the beginning of the fourth century after Christ, was the papyrus roll. The roll might be of various dimensions, according to need, but practical convenience dictated that it should not be more than 30 to 35 feet long -- a length which was sufficient for a single book of Thucydides or a single Gospel. The height might vary from about 5 inches for a pocket volume of poetry to 15 inches for a register of taxes; but a normal height for a work of literature was about 10 inches. The writing was arranged in columns, which for poetry would be regulated by the length of a line of verse, but for prose were generally between 2.5 and 3.5 inches wide. There would be narrow intervals (usually about half an inch) between the columns, and wider margins at top and bottom, where words accidentally omitted would sometimes be inserted. There was normally no ornamentation, no separation of words, and very little punctuation. It is very odd that this should have been so, since it must have added to the difficulty of reading quickly, and increased the probability of misunderstanding through a wrong division of words. Also it must have occasioned a good deal of difficulty in the verifying of quotations, and encouraged a writer to quote from memory rather than take the trouble to look up a passage in a roll. Yet this habit continued throughout the classical period, and it is a fact that with practice the non-separation of words does not occasion great difficulty, but only occasional hesitation. Certain it is that the separation of words only came in gradually during the Middle Ages, first for Latin and later for Greek; and that punctuation continued to be casual and incomplete until after the invention of printing.  http://www.bible-researcher.com/kenyon/sotb3.html”

4. Needless to say, the Bible we hold in our hands is a miracle.  66 books, 39 and 27, It is the work of over 40 authors over close to 2000 years.  The oldest book is Job, which may have been written by Moses, who also wrote some psalms, and the last Old Testament book was Malachi, 400s B.C).  Oldest New Testament book was James, 45 AD, youngest is Revelation, 96 AD, John being the last apostle to die (he was quite young during Jesus’ time on earth.  And they were not written by scholars.  All kinds of jobs—fishermen, shepherds, kings, farmers, prophets, physician, tax collector, etc. 
5. However, the biggest question of the last twenty years has been, why are these particular books the ones the church accepts?  There were in the Bible times other writings by Jewish writers that were considered sacred.  In 90 AD a group of rabbis and scholars decided which books were truly OT and which were not.  The ones that were not are called the apocrypha.  They are worth reading if interested in the history of the Jews, and you will find them in some Catholic Bibles.  The church leaders of the time agreed with the Jewish scholars, so we get what is called the OT canon.  Canon means ruler or standard, and the Jews had a ruler or standard for deciding which ones went in. 
6. On the other hand, how did the New Testament books get chosen?  That is a much more complicated and controversial issue.  By about 170 AD, there was a set of books that were considered the NT by church leaders.  In the first three centuries, the church was persecuted, and on top of that there was a fight for true Bible doctrine, especially about who Jesus was (the Son of God, Trinity) and what was necessary for salvation (no works, faith alone).  The books that were accepted taught these truths and were written by eyewitnesses and apostles, that is, they were not written after all the apostles had died.  Many critics will say that the books of the NT did not get chosen until 325, Constantine, and were only chosen to support the people in power, and that many books that were widely accepted at the time were thrown out.  Why do they say that?
7. It has to do with the Nag Hammadi library.  What is the Nag Hamadi exactly?  In 1945 a group of farmers in this area of northern Egypt found 13 books in leather cases in an earthenware jar.  These 13 books had fifty texts.  They burned one, but the others were kept.  They are believed to have been buried there by a group of monks who lived in a monastery nearby.  They are written in Coptic.  They contain writings that were probably being buried because the church would have considered them heretical.  They were Gnostic writings.  Gnosticism emphasizes secret knowledge that only specially initiated disciples were allowed to have, not for everybody.  Think of the church as if it were a Masonic lodge.  You get to go up steps or degrees and know more and more of the secret knowledge.  Gnosticism also is more mystical and not based on historical fact.  This is directly against everything the Bible teaches:  Go into all the world and make disciples of all.  Doesn’t sound like secret to me.  Also is the origin of the Sophia mythology, feminism worship, has records of things Jesus said and did.  I read some of the gospel of Thomas, the most talked about of these.   It was clearly more “hidden knowledge” oriented and not like what Jesus would normally say, coming from a different view.  It was also Eastern, sort of like Buddhism or Hinduism, not based on the cross, or on Judaism.  Some are just plain weird.  “Whereas Christianity is based on the historical truth, the Gnostic and hermetic trends attach great importance to symbolism and even the allegorical.”

29. Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels.
Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty."
30. Jesus said, "Where there are three deities, they are divine. Where there are two or one, I am with that one."
69. Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who have been persecuted in their hearts: they are the ones who have truly come to know the Father.
Congratulations to those who go hungry, so the stomach of the one in want may be filled."
70. Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you."
114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."
Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

Some of them sound like the Bible, if you don’t know what Jesus really said.  Points:

KNOW THE WORD.  Others of them are clearly about “self-salvation”

Thank the Lord for preserving his word.  There is a reason those books were hidden for hundreds of years!  They weren’t right.  I am reminded that Satan will send them a strong delusion.

How did the Bible get translated into English, and why are there so many English versions  First translations were even before printing, but printing made the translation and                                                       dispersal of the Word possible, also, to be honest, lucrative. 2.            Several English versions before the King James.  The New Testament is based                                                                 on what is called the Textus Receptus, or a set of Greek texts that were available at the time and  compiled by a  scholar named Erasmus.  At this point in history,   there was no archaeology.    People really didn’t value something from ancients civilizations like we do, and didn’t dig for it.  Manuscripts/texts that were available were copies of copies of copies;  they were old, but since them                                                                    archaeologists  found older manuscripts that go back to within 200 years of their writing;  they found them in monasteries and old churches  in the middle east, for example.  So, in the 1800s                                            these newer manuscripts were found (called codices, because they were books, not rolls or scrolls).  A new compiled set of the Greek texts was found, and there were places where the Greek texts used by Erasmus were different from the new ones—but nothing major, nothing Having to do with doctrine, salvation, the deity of Jesus, or anything like that.  The two big Differences, and you have probably seen this in your Bibles, are the end of Mark and the story Of the woman taken in adultery, John 8.  I would never teach that passage for that Reason.   However, the thing to keep in mind is that we have a very, very reliable collection The ancient manuscripts in our hands.  Most modern versions will tell you where there is A “difference” between the Textus Receptus and the newer manuscripts.  On top of that, in the 1940s, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, authenticating the OT.    Modern scholars have very few manuscripts of Julius Caesar’s writings or Plato’s and Aristotle’s.  In comparison, there are over 24,000+ New Testament manuscripts, the earliest one dating to within 200 years after Christ. However, saying that, does not mean that all versions are created equal.  I could at this Point become pretty critical about the state of Bible translations.  We have dozens and Dozens of English versions and there are countries that have none, so I feel like too much Of this is for money, not for the right reason.  Like I said, I have too many copies sitting Around and I am not going to read them.  Each version has its own idiosyncracy. Original King James Version—beautiful language, but Textus Receptus and too hard for most People to understand.   Language has changed too much in 400 years.  Yet I memorized All my scripture in it! New King James:   NIV – uses newer texts and a method of translating called dynamic equivalence, instead of Literally translating.  Dynamic equivalence tries to make the Bible make sense for the Culture it is being translated into.  In some Ways it is easier for people to understand but in                                others it oversimplifies for people, tries to take out “paternalistic language” and makes  the Bible read like the newspaper, which it is not.  However, it Sounds like you’re being elitist if you try to make it as it the Bible shouldn’t be readable by Everyone.  I think of it as milk vs. meat.  A young Christian should read the easy versions, but a Christian who really wants to study the Bible should use the literal translations and compare. The Message, The Living Bible:  not translations.  Paraphrases by one man. Conclusion:  This has just been a start at looking at the origin of the Bible.  It is a subject Of much debate and I am enjoying my study of it.  But three things to remember:  God preserved His word, and we must know it to be protected from Satan and secular onslaughts.  Third:  it’s About Jesus.  If you study the Bible for any reason other than to know about Jesus, you are Missing the point. Jesus in all 66 Books of the Bible Old Testament In Genesis –        He is the seed of woman. In Exodus -          He is the Passover Lamb. In Leviticus-        He is Our High Priest. In Numbers-        He is the Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night. In Deuteronomy- He is the Prophet like unto Moses. In Joshua -           He is the Captain of our Salvation In Judges -           He is our Judge and Law giver. In Ruth  -              He is our Kinsman and Redeemer. In 1 & 2 Samuel - He is our Trusted Prophet. In 1 & 2 Kings  -   He is the Lord our King. In 1 & 2 Chronicles -He is our Reigning King. In Ezra -                He is our Faithful Spouse. In Nehemiah   -     He is the Builder of broken down walls. In Esther   -           He is our Mordecai. In Job        -           He is our Redeemer. In Psalms     -        He is the Lord our Shepherd. In Proverbs        -  He is our Wisdom. In Ecclesiasties  -   He is our Lover. In the Song of Solomon -He is our Beloved Fair one. In Isaiah- He is the Prince of Peace In Jeremiah – He is the The Balm of Gilead. In the Lamentations - He is the weaping Prophet. In Ezekiel – He is the wonderful four faced Man. In Daniel  - He is the fourth man in the Fiery Furnace In Hosea – He is the faithful Husband In Joel – He is The Holy Ghost Baptizer In Amos – He is the Burden Bearer In Obadiah – He is Mighty to Save In Jonah – He is our foreign Missionary In Micah – He is the Messenger  with Beautiful feet In Nahum – He is the Avenger of Gods Elect In Habakkuk – He is God’s Evangelist In Zephaniah – He is Our Savior In Haggai – He is The Restorer of God’s Lost Heritage In Zechariah – He is the Fountain Open in the house of David In Malachi – He is the Son of Righteousness with Healing in His Wings. New Testament In Matthew -He is The Messiah In Mark – He is The Wonder Worker In Luke – He is The Son of Man In John- He is The Son of God (he is the Word) In The Acts – He is The Foundation of the Church In Romans – He is our Justifier In 1 & 2 Corinthians – He is our Sanctifier In Galatians – He is the Redeemer from the curse of the law In Ephesians – He is the Christ with Unsearchable Riches In Philippians – He is The God that Supplies All of Our Needs In Colossians – He is the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily In 1 & 2 Thessalonians - He is Our Soon Coming King In 1 & 2 Timothy- He is the Mediator between God in Man In Titus – He is The Faithful Pastor In Philemon – He is the friend that sticketh closer than a brother In Hebrews – He is The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant In James- He is Our Great Physician In 1 & 2 Peter- He is The Chief Shepherd In 1- 2 & 3 John  - He is Love In Jude- He is The Lord Coming with 10,000 of His saints In The Revelation – He is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords