We know its kind of last minute, but summer is upon us, so please come join us this Friday (6/18/10) at 7 for fun, fire (as in fire pit) and fellowship. If you have an instrument and feel like playing please bring it along with a favorite lawn chair or blanket, bug spray and refreshment…our address is 54 South Pleasant St, in Bradford. here’s a map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=42.770494,-71.077659&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mi&mrsp=0&sz=17&sll=42.770487,-71.077627&sspn=0.003891,0.006877&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=17

We are planning on several of these times together throughout the summer. So if you can’t make this one, Lord willing there will be more.

Please let us know if you can make it!!!!
Danny, Cyndie, Samantha and Emma

However, at home, may your fellowship in Christ flourish throughout the day!

Blessings,
Pastor Danny & Pastor Mike

Our 13th annual HCC Block party will be held this year at GAR Park on Saturday, September 26, 2009, from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM, and will be a time for families to enjoy an afternoon of FREE music, FREE games for children, FREE food, and LOTS of family fun.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/september/14.27.html

We were privileged this week to have our good friend Rick Harrington come to preach. Rick is the Teaching Pastor of First Baptist Church in Haverhill, MA (across the street from us). He is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL (Master of Divinity) and of Gordon College in Wenham, MA (BA). He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Below are the four videos from the baptisms.

Ancient Near East: a term referring to the historical period of about 3000-400 BC in the ancient regions of Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt

Apocrypha: a collection of Jewish writings from the Intertestamental period (400-5 BC) which are helpful in understanding the history of the Jews prior to the coming of Jesus in the 1^st century AD

Assyria: an ancient empire along the Tigris River infamous for its brutality which dominated Mesopotamia and took Northern Israel into captivity in 722 BC

Babylon: an ancient empire along the Euphrates River which dominated Mesopotamia and under Nebuchadnezzar destroyed ancient Israel’s temple in Jerusalem as well as the entire city and took Southern Israel into captivity in 586 BC

Bible Translation: the translating of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into other languages either word for word or phrase for phrase

Canon: the collection and list of inspired books of the Bible which serve as the Church’s standard of faith and practice (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments)

Canonization: the process of recognizing those written texts which are uniquely inspired by God or are the written revelation of God

Covenant: an ancient type of relationship with a non-relative which involves obligations and is established through an oath to God or a god

Covenant Lawsuit: a complaint of God with his people Israel issued by a prophet that Israel had broken the covenant God made with them at Mt. Sinai which would declare judgment

Dead Sea Scrolls: works of a Jewish sect found in 1947 by the Dead Sea (Qumran) dating to around 200 BC which includes copies of Old Testament books, commentaries on OT books, and other documents relating to the community whose library they were

Egypt: an ancient civilization in northeast Africa on the Nile River famous for its pharaohs, pyramids, and advanced mathematics which also held the ancient nation Israel in slavery which needed to be delivered by God through Moses around 1400 BC

Evangelical: those Christians in the Protestant tradition who believe in the inspiration, inerrancy, and sole authority of the Bible

Genre: a type or style of writing (example: poetry, letter, historical narrative)

Greek: the original language in which the New Testament was written in

Hebrew: the original language in which the Old Testament was written in

Holy Week (Passion Week): the last full week before Jesus was crucified

Intertestamental Period: time between the writings of the Testaments (400-4 BC)

Josephus (37-100 AD): a well-educated Jew who lived in Palestine until the Jewish War of 66-70 AD and is easily our most important source of information about the times of Jesus since he wrote various books, most notably a history of the Jewish War, and then also a history of the Jewish people, the Antiquities.

Mesopotamia: a term which refers to the ancient region of modern day Syria, Iraq, and Iran which occupies the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and where ancient civilizations like the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and Persians conquered

Mosaic Covenant: the Suzerain-Vassal covenant that God established with Israel at Mt. Sinai after he delivered them from Egypt around 1400 BC

New Covenant: a covenant ratified by the death of Jesus which has its roots in Genesis 3:15 and 12:1-3 and was promised to Israel (in spite of their breaking of the Mosaic Covenant) that God would forgive their sins and write His law on their heart

Persia: an ancient empire located in modern day Iran which was the largest of the ancient world and supported the rebuilding and repopulation of Jerusalem and it’s temple with Jews in captivity from 538-445 BC

Rome: an ancient empire coming from modern day Italy which dominated Europe and the greater region around the Mediterranean Sea (including Turkey, Israel, and Northern Africa) and sponsored the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple as well as the crucifixion of Jesus around 30 AD

Septuagint (LXX): a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which began around the 3^rd century BC and contained what we know as the Old Testament (it was the Bible of Jesus and the apostles)

Second Temple Period (Judaism): the period of Jewish history from the time of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem in 516 BC to the destruction of Herod’s temple in 70 AD

Suzerain-Vassal Covenant: a covenant between a larger ruler (suzerain) and protected nation (vassal) sometimes issued when the larger ruler/nation steps in to help the other in a military campaign and is the type of covenant God established with Israel through Moses at Mt. Sinai around 1400 BC

Textual Criticism: the study of ancient copies of the Old and New Testaments with the purpose of finding the original wording of the texts since there is not 100% agreement in all of the copies

Resources for this week:

Nine Marks of Healthy Church, by Mark Dever

The Nine Marks site: www.9marks.org

• mediator (1 Tim.2:5)
• minister/servant (Rom.15:8,16; Eph.3:7)
• law (Rom.2:12; 3:19; Gal.2:16)
• commandment (Rom.7:13)
• bless/curse (Rom.12:14; Gal.3:10)
• righteousness (Rom.4:3: 2 Cor.3:9)
• Father/Son (Rom.1:3-4; Phil.1:2; Col.1:2)
• sin/transgression/iniquity (Rom.3:23; Gal.6:1; 1 Thes.4:6)
• atonement/propitiation (Rom.3:25)
• Sabbath (Rom.14:4; Col.2:16)
• heir/sonship/adoption (Rom.4:13; Gal.4:7; Eph.1:5)
• redeem/redemption (Gal.4:5; Tit.2:14)
• witness (2 Cor.1:23; Phi.1:8)
• offering/sacrifice (Eph.5:2; Phil.2:17)

We focused on 2 Corinthians 3:1-4:6. In this passage, he zeroes in on the Letter/Spirit contrast between the Mosaic and New Covenants.  He even goes as far as to label the Law of Moses as “the ministry of death” (vs.7) and “condemnation” (vs.9) as it was, written on tables of stone.  He contends that this “letter” brings death, surely drawing from his argument in Romans 7:7-11:

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment deceived me and through it killed me.

He likens the Law to the glory that was on Moses face which needed to be concealed to Israel by a veil over his face (vs.7).  Even then, there was a veil over their hearts every time they read the Law (vs.15) because their hearts were hardened by it (vs.14).  However, the glory of the New Covenant revealed in Christ is infinitely superior because it does not fade and has no end (vs.11).  It is written not on tablets of stone, but on the tablet of the heart (vs.3), drawing on Ezekiel 36:26 and Jeremiah 31:33.  Since this covenant is imparted directly by the Spirit on the heart with no outside mediator, those in it are now with “unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord and being transformed into the same image” (vs.18).  So we can summarize by saying that the Letter/Spirit contrast is about the difference in the nature of the Mosaic and New Covenants.

I. The New Covenant in Galatians 3-4

In Galatians 3-4, Paul focuses on the purpose of the Mosaic Covenant in light of the New Covenant.

Galatians 3:1 – 4:31 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.  2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?  3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  4 Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain?  5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith- 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?  7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.  8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”  9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.  10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”  11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”  12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”  13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”-  14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.  15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.  16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.  17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.  18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.  19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.  20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.  21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.  22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.  23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.  24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.  25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,  26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 4:1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything,  2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.  3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.  4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”  7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.  8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.  9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?  10 You observe days and months and seasons and years!  11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.  12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong.  13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first,  14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.  15 What then has become of the blessing you felt? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.  16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?  17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.  18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,  19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!  20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.  21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?  22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.  23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.  24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.  25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.  26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.  27 For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”  28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.  29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.  30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.”  31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

He is trying to remind the Galatians very forcefully that no one will be justified by the works of the Law (3:11).  In other words, no one can please God at the final judgment by trying to execute their duties as prescribed by the Law of Moses.  The reasons for this are because no one is truly able to execute this covenant so we are cursed in trying to do so (3:10), and the purpose of the Law was to make transgression fully visible and never to offer eternal life (3:18-19).  This covenant came to bring us into slavery and imprisonment so that we could be rescued by Christ (vs.23-24).  So Paul is setting up two different covenantal strands that find their culmination in the allegory of Hagar and Sarah in 4:21-31.  Hagar corresponds to the slavery that exists under the Mosaic Law and is demonstrated in the contemporary Judaism that is visible in Jerusalem (vs.25).  Sarah corresponds to the freedom that exists under the New Covenant and is demonstrated in the promises God offers His people in the New (spiritual) Jerusalem (vs.26-28).  So the Mosaic Covenant existed to serve as a physical template that would anticipate the spiritual realities to come in the new age that has been inaugurated in the death and resurrection of Christ.  Thus, in order to partake of this inaugurated Covenant, we need to believe in what Christ accomplished on our behalf and so cast out the “slave woman” (the Mosaic Covenant) (vs29-31).

II. The New Covenant in Hebrews

Some other major passages that go into detail on the contrast between the Mosaic and New Covenants are found in Hebrews.

Hebrews 8:1-13 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,  2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.  3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.  4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.  5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”  6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.  7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.  8 For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,  9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.  10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.“

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 12:18-29 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest  19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.  20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”  21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”  22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,  23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.  25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.  26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken- that is, things that have been made- in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.  28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,  29 for our God is a consuming fire.

In light of these passages, I think it is evident that the Mosaic/Old Covenant was an external code which does and can only demand. God designed it this way in order to magnify sin in Israel, as Israel is simply Adam on a corporate/national scale (Hosea 6:7). Neither Adam nor Israel could ever have kept, executed, or complied to the Law given to them. Even if they could have, there was no promise for eternal life. It wasn’t the function of the Law given to them. But, both Adam and Israel’s failure have become the canvas for God to promise grace in the death of Jesus. The death of Jesus ratified the New Covenant which does and can only promise eternal life.  In the New Covenant there is no code to keep or demand upon us, but the promise of life in Christ itself produces faith in us which will result in us keeping the law of God/Christ, which is essentially loving God and loving our neighbors.

1. Waxed Tablets – (Luke 1:63) “erasable” tablets of wax written on with stylus
2. Papyrus – weaved together from fine strings of plants (used until 200’s AD)
3. Parchment – animal skins, tanned leather (used by 4^th century AD)
4. Paper – invented by Chinese but not in the West till 11th century AD

Kinds of Book Forms:

1. Scroll – spindled roll from 20 glued or sewn sheets of papyrus
2. Codex – 3-4 sheets folded with ends glued or sewn together

I. Old Testament Manuscripts

At present there exist over 3,000 Hebrew manuscripts of the OT, 8,000 manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate, over 1,500 manuscripts of the Septuagint, and over 65 copies of the Syriac Peshitta.  Here are the primary OT sources:

Codex Leningradensis:  The oldest complete copy of the Masoretic Text (MT), dated to a.d. 1008. Both the BHS and the BHQ follow this text.

Aleppo Codex:  The oldest, incomplete copy of the MT, dated to about a.d. 930. About one-quarter of this manuscript was burned by fire, but its text is very similar to the Codex Leningradensis. The Hebrew University Bible Project uses this text as a base.

Dead Sea Scrolls:  More than 200 biblical manuscripts dated from about 250 b.c. to a.d. 135 from the area around the Dead Sea. The largest number of these texts agree closely with the readings of the proto-MT (35 percent of manuscripts) and help confirm the accuracy of the MT.

II. New Testament Manuscripts

In comparison with the remaining manuscripts of any other ancient Greek or Latin literature, the NT suffers from an embarrassment of riches. It is almost incomprehensible to think about the disparity. When it comes to quantity of copies, the NT has no peer. More than 5,700 Greek NT manuscripts are still in existence, ranging in date from the early second century to the sixteenth century. To be sure, the earliest ones (i.e., through the 3rd century) are all fragmentary, but they cover a substantial amount of the NT. And Greek manuscripts do not tell the whole story. The NT was translated early on into a variety of languages, including Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Gothic, and Arabic. All told, there are between 20,000 and 25,000 handwritten copies of the NT in various languages. Yet if all of these were destroyed, the NT text could be reproduced almost in its entirety by quotations of it in sermons, tracts, and commentaries written by ancient teachers of the church (known as church fathers or Patristic writers). To date, over a million quotations from the NT by the church fathers have been cataloged.

How does this compare with the average classical author? The copies of the average ancient Greek or Latin author’s writings number fewer than 20 manuscripts! Thus, the NT has well over 1,000 times as many manuscripts as the works of the average classical author.

When it comes to the temporal distance of the earliest copies of the NT from the original, NT textual critics again enjoy an abundance of materials. From 10 to 15 NT manuscripts were written within the first 100 years of the completion of the NT. Within two centuries, the numbers increase to at least four dozen manuscripts. Of manuscripts produced before a.d. 400, an astounding 99 still exist—including the oldest complete NT, Codex Sinaiticus.  The gap, then, between the originals and the early manuscripts is relatively slim. By comparison, the average classical author has no copies for more than half a millennium.

Comparing the NT text to some better-known ancient authors, it still has no equal. The chart below illustrates this by comparing the copies of five Greco-Roman historians’ works with the NT. If one is skeptical about what the original NT text said, that skepticism needs to be multiplied many times over when it comes to the writings of all other ancient Greek and Latin authors. Although it is true that there are some doubts about the precise wording of the original in some places, NT textual criticism has an unparalleled abundance of materials to work with, in terms of both quantity and age of manuscripts. Nothing else comes close.

Comparison of Existing Historical Documents

Major Papyri of the New Testament

Major Parchment of the New Testament

III. Textual Criticism

Textual criticism is the study of copies of any written work of which the written autograph is unknown, with the purpose of ascertaining the original text.  Today, any group of Christians gathered together can all read exactly the same words in their Bibles. That luxury is made possible by the invention of the movable-type printing press over five centuries ago. But such a luxury can also breed a false sense of confidence that the precise original wording of the Bible can be known. When it comes to the NT, the original 27 books disappeared long ago, probably within decades of their composition. Handwritten copies, or manuscripts, must be relied on to determine the wording of the original text. Yet no two manuscripts are exactly alike, and even the closest two early manuscripts have at least half a dozen differences per chapter (most of them inconsequential variations, however, as will be seen). The discipline known as NT textual criticism is thus needed because of these two facts: disappearance of the originals, and disagreements among the manuscripts.

The Greek NT, as it is known today, has approximately 138,000 words. The best estimate is that there are as many as 400,000 textual variants among the manuscripts. That means that, on average, for every word in the Greek NT there are almost three variants. If this were the only piece of data available, it might discourage anyone from attempting to recover the wording of the original. But the large number of variants is due to the large number of manuscripts. Hundreds of thousands of differences among the Greek manuscripts, ancient translations, and patristic commentaries exist only because tens of thousands of such documents exist. Further, the vast majority of textual alterations are accidental and trivial, and hence easy for textual critics to spot.

Reasons for Textual Variances:

1. Spelling and Nonsense Errors. Nonsense errors occur when a scribe wrote a word that makes no sense in its context, usually because of fatigue, inattentiveness, or misunderstanding of the text in front of him. Even given a strong desire to maintain an authoritative, standardized text, common copyist errors can creep in, including: confusion of similar letters, homophony (substitution of similar sounding letters or words), haplography (omission of a letter or word), dittography (doubling a letter or word), metathesis (reversal in the order of two letters or words), fusion (two words being joined as one), and fission (one word separated into two).

2. Minor changes, including synonyms and alterations.  A common variation is the use of the definite article with proper names. Greek can say, “the Barnabas,” while English translations will drop the article. The manuscripts vary in having the article or not. Word-order differences account for many of the variants.

3. Meaningful changes that are not “viable.” “Viable” means that a variant has some plausibility of reflecting the wording of the original text. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 2:9, instead of “the gospel of God” (the reading of almost all the manuscripts), a late medieval copy has “the gospel of Christ.” This is meaningful but not viable. There is little chance that one late manuscript could contain the original wording when the textual tradition is uniformly on the side of another reading.

4. Meaningful changes that are viable. These comprise less than one percent of all textual variants. “Meaningful” means that the variant changes the meaning of the text to some degree. It may not be terribly significant, but if the variant affects one’s understanding of the passage, then it is meaningful. Most of these meaningful and viable differences involve just a word or a phrase.

There are two large textual variants in the entire NT, each involving 12 verses: Mark 16:9–20 and John 7:53–8:11. The earliest and best manuscripts lack these verses. In addition, these passages do not fit well with the authors’ style. Although much emotional baggage is attached to these two texts for many Christians, no essential truths are lost if these verses are not authentic.

Should the presence of textual variants, then, undermine the confidence of ordinary laypersons as they read the Bible in their own language? No—actually, the opposite is the case. The abundance of variants is the result of the very large number of remaining NT manuscripts, which itself gives a stronger, not weaker, foundation for knowing what the original manuscripts said.

In addition, modern Bible translation teams have not kept the location of major variants a secret but have indicated the ones they think to be most important in the footnotes of all “essentially literal” modern English translations, so that laypersons who read these footnotes can see where these variants are and what they say. (Textual variants are noted in the esv with a footnote that begins, “Some manuscripts . . .”) The absence of any such footnote (which is the case with far more than 99 percent of the words in the English NT) indicates that these translation teams have a high degree of confidence that the words in their English translation accurately represent the words of the NT as they were originally written.

The documents of the Old Testament were originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic (Ezra 4:7–6:18; 7:12–26; Jer. 10:11; Dan. 2:4–7:28) and the documents of the New Testament were originally written in Greek. These were not “inspired” or “holy” languages as some have thought, but were simply the languages of the people God revealed himself to.

I. The Hebrew of the Old Testament

The form of Hebrew found in the Bible was probably spoken from as early as 1500 BC to some time after 400 BC. The Hebrew of the OT is what is referred to today as “Classical” Hebrew to be distinguished from “Modern” Hebrew. Technically, the Hebrew we find in the OT is a dead language and is not spoken or understood in the way Modern Hebrew is spoken or understood. Linguists today are unsure of how it was pronounced when it was spoken. Ultimately, the OT documents are the only documents we know of that contain this Classical Hebrew. The Dead Sea Scrolls (cir. 2nd century BC) are the closest other documents with Classical Hebrew, but they were written centuries after of the final parts of the OT were written. Hebrew is a Semitic language, quite similar to Aramaic, and is read from right to left.

Hebrew, Aramaic, and some neighboring Semitic languages share an alphabet of 22 consonant letters only. The form of Hebrew script generally used until at least the Babylonian exile, and still found in some Dead Sea Scrolls, is known as the Paleo-Hebrew script. Some of its letters still resemble their equivalents in the Greek alphabet. During the rule of the Persians (539–332 BC) the square Aramaic (or Assyrian) script was adopted for writing Hebrew, with the result that the forms of letters originally used for Aramaic are now almost universally associated in people’s minds with Hebrew.

The alphabet itself has had an effect on the form of certain texts in the OT. A number of the Psalms (Psalms 9; 10; 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119; 145) are arranged as types of acrostic poems composed around the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as are the first four chapters of Lamentations.

Mat 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

II. The Greek of the New Testament

Although the native language of Jesus and his disciples was probably Aramaic, the New Testament was written in Koine (“common”) Greek. As with Hebrew, Koine Greek is considered a dead language in that it is not written or spoken today. Koine Greek is different from Attic Greek (in which Homer wrote cir. 8th century BC), Classical Greek (in which Plato wrote cir. 4th century BC), Byzantine Greek (in which the Greek Orthodox Church used cir. 6th century AD), and Modern Greek (which modern Greeks speak today). The age of Koine Greek lasted roughly from 4th century BC to the 4th century AD. It was the “people’s” language, used in every day speech and writing. More formal documents during that time were written in classical Greek, Latin, or Aramaic. Greek is an “Indo-European” language, and is read from left to right.

Starting in May of 334 BC, Alexander, the 21-year-old king of Macedon, led his victorious army through four pitched battles, two sieges, and innumerable smaller engagements that enabled him to conquer territory that now goes under the names of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Reaching the banks of the Beas River in Pakistan, he reluctantly turned back as his exhausted troops threatened mutiny. Three years later, in 323 BC, he died (at age 32) in Babylon, just as he was planning an expedition all the way from Egypt along the North African coast to the Atlantic.

When Alexander died, his empire broke up into separate kingdoms headed by his disgruntled generals. But he had changed the world. In the old, now liberated cities of Asia Minor—Ephesus and Pergamum—as well as in the newly founded cities of the Middle East—Antioch and Alexandria—the culture and language of the colonial aristocracy was Greek. Three centuries after Alexander’s death, when the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth was written down, the language used was not Jesus’ native Aramaic but Greek, which, thanks to Alexander’s conquests, had become the common language of the Mediterranean world. The conclusion now universally accepted by philologists is that the Greek of the NT, in all essential respects, is the vernacular Koine of the first century a.d., the language of the Roman imperial period.

In addition to the Greek NT, the Koine has left other literary monuments that are invaluable sources of light on the sacred text, including papyri, inscriptions, the writings of numerous Jewish and early Christian authors, and above all the Septuagint (LXX), the ancient version of the OT that became the Bible of the early church and was used extensively by the NT writers.

Rev 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Keep in mind that since Jesus spoke mostly in Aramaic, that almost all of the quotations of Jesus are translations into Greek. It is thought by many scholars that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Aramaic or Hebrew.

Gary Pratico & Miles Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew (Zondervan, 2007)
William Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar (Zondervan, 2003)
William Mounce, Greek for the Rest of Us: Using Greek Tools without Mastering Biblical Greek (Zondervan, 2007)

III. What To Learn With an Understanding of the Original Languages

1. Words are Circles of Meaning, not Points. What I mean by that is that words have meaning ranges and the exact meaning is determined by the context in which the word is used. Consider the examples of phileo and agapao in John 21:15-17. We should seek to be driven by biblical concepts not by biblical words. Why? You can say the words of the Bible and mean error by them.

2. Follow the Flow of Thought When Reading Biblical Passages. When reading your English translations, seek to follow the flow of thought of the passage rather than trying to hang your hat on isolated words.

3. Use Many Translations. No one translation is perfect (we’ll talk about that in the coming weeks), so own and read as many translations as you can and be sure to compare them. By comparing translations, you will be able to see what was difficult for the translators to translate.

4. Promote the Study of Hebrew and Greek. Consider the words of saints from Church History:

Martin Luther (cir. 1530’s) “The apostles themselves considered it necessary to put the New Testament into Greek and to bind it fast to that language, doubtless in order to preserve it for us safe and sound as in a sacred ark. For they foresaw all that was to come and now has come to pass, and knew that if it were contained only in one’s heads, wild and fearful disorder and confusion, and many various interpretations, fancies and doctrines would arise in the Church, which could be prevented and from which the plain man could be protected only by committing the New Testament to writing the language.”

Without languages we could not have received the gospel. Languages are the scabbard that contains the sword of the Spirit; they are the casket which contains the priceless jewels of antique thought; they are the vessel that holds the wine; and as the gospel says, they are the baskets in which the loaves and fishes are kept to feed the multitude.

If we neglect the literature we shall eventually lose the gospel … No sooner did men cease to cultivate the languages than Christendom declined, even until it fell under the undisputed dominion of the pope. But no sooner was this torch relighted, than this papal owl fled with a shriek into congenial gloom … In former times the fathers were frequently mistaken, because they were ignorant of the languages and in our days there are some who, like the Waldenses, do not think the languages of any use; but although their doctrine is good, they have often erred from the real meaning of the sacred text; they are without arms against error, and I fear much that their faith will not remain pure.

Further comments on the Old Testament:

What we know as the Old Testament was recognized as the authoritative Scriptures as early as the 5-4th century BC. The Septuagint (LXX) was a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures beginning around the 3rd century BC and contained our 39 books, and became the accessible edition of the Bible which later Greek speaking generations quoted from, including Jesus and the authors of the New Testament. The Dead Sea Scrolls (cir. 2-1st century BC) included copies or fragments from every book of the Old Testament except for Esther. Other outside evidence for our books of the OT:

2 Maccabees 2:13-14 (cir. 160 BC) The same things also were reported in the writings and commentaries of Nehemiah; and how he founding a library gathered together the acts of the kings, and the prophets, and of David, and the epistles of the kings concerning the holy gifts. 14 In like manner also Judas gathered together all those things that were lost by reason of the war we had, and they remain with us.

Josephus (cir. 90 AD), Against Apion 1:38-42 For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from, and contradicting one another, [as the Greeks have], but only twenty-two books, {g} which contain the records of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine; 39 and of them five belong to Moses, which contain his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till his death. This interval of time was little short of three thousand years; 40 but as to the time from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, who reigned after Xerxes, the prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of human life. 41 It is true, our history has been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but has not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there has not been an exact succession of prophets since that time; 42 and how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation, is evident by what we do; for, during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold as either to add anything to them, to take any thing from them, or to make any change in them; but it is becomes natural to all Jews, immediately and from their very birth, to esteem these books to contain divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them.

Jesus and the NT authors quote the words of the OT approximately 300 times (uncertainty about the exact number arises because of a few instances where it is not clear whether it is an OT quotation or only an echoing expression using similar words). They regularly quote it as having divine authority, with phrases such as “it is written,” “Scripture says,” and “God says,” but no other writings are quoted in this way. Occasionally the NT writers will quote some other authors, even pagan Greek authors, but they never quote these other sources as being the words of God (see Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12–13; Jude 8–10, 14–16), as they do the canonical OT books.

Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

2 Timothy 3:14-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

I. The Eyewitnesses as the First Testimony to Jesus

Unlike the formation of the Old Testament Scriptures, the New Testament or New Covenant Scriptures did not take hundreds of years to come about. Since the lifetime of Jesus was probably less than 40 years, and he seems to have had a “public” ministry for 3-4 years, all of the writers of were in the same generation as Jesus. Therefore, the carriers of the message of Jesus were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. These eyewitnesses simply had the Septuagint (LXX or Greek Old Testament) and their memory of what they had seen and heard from Jesus.

Luke 24:13-27 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Acts 1:6-9 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Act 2:29-33 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-19 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

1 Peter 5:1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed…

So again, they had the Old Testament in one hand, and their memory of Jesus in the other hand.

II. The New Testament Scriptures as the Record of the Eyewitnesses

The writing of what we know as the New Testament was simply the written record of the eyewitnesses to Jesus. Matthew was Levi, one of the Twelve, who wrote his account. Mark wrote down Peter’s account of Jesus. Luke undertook an investigation for his account and interviewed the eyewitnesses, and leaning heavily on the apostle Paul. The apostle John wrote his account after the others were well circulated.

John 19:31-37 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness–his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth–that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

John 20:30-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 21:24-25 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Luke 1:1-4 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Acts 1:1-3 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

2 Peter 1:16-21 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 1:1 – 2:10 Paul, an apostle–not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead– 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me. 2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in–who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery– 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)–those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

The evidence that these eyewitnesses agreed and stood in agreement is that there is agreement on the major events and teachings of Jesus. All you have to do is put the Gospel accounts side by side see such agreement. Also, the major apostles recognized each other’s authority.

2 Peter 3:15-18 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Moreover, they anticipated and encouraged that their writings would circulate to other church communities in their care.

Colossians 4:16-18 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

I. The Canon of Scripture

“The word ‘canon’ (Greek for ‘a rule’) is applied to the Bible in two ways: first, in regard to the Bible as the church’s standard of faith and practice, and second, in regard to its contents as the correct collection and list of inspired books. The word was first applied to the identity of the biblical books in the latter part of the fourth century A.D., reflecting the fact that there had recently been a need to settle some Christians’ doubts on the matter. Before this, Christians had referred to the ‘Old Testament’ and ‘New Testament’ as the ‘Holy Scriptures’ and had assumed, rather than made explicit, that they were the correct collections and lists.” Thus, when we refer to “canonization” we mean the process of recognizing those written texts which are uniquely inspired by God or are the written revelation of God. It is important to note that there was a progressive recognition of books included in Holy Scripture by the first readers and hearers from the time of the original authorship. It was not the case that at one point it was decided by some random council in the 4th century that 66 books were Holy Scripture and previous to that no one ever recognized them. Rather, over a 1500 year period, as each book or portion of writing was written it was recognized by the earliest readers/hearers that it was inspired or divinely authorized. That does not mean that that “collection” was always bound together in one “book” that just got added to each time something new was written. The dynamics are more complex or complicated than that (we can explore this in detail as we have future classes on Old and New Testament surveys).

KEEP IN MIND: What was revealed by God to people in history was not always written down right away or written down at all. Remember John 21:24-25:

24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

In many cases, God used the recall or memory of eyewitnesses, of written records, or oral history/tradition, and of the authors themselves. In some cases, God told the author what to write and it was written immediately, or what to say and it was written down later.

II. How the Old Testament Was Recognized

The first “Scripture,” or written revelation of God, was written by God himself on tablets of stone in the Ten Commandments:

Exodus 31:18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

God also told Moses to write down a record of the covenant he gave to Israel (“Book of the Law/Covenant”) and the events leading to the conquest of the “promised land”.

Exodus 17:13-14 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

Exodus 24:3-4 Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 34:27-29 And the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. 29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

Numbers 33:1-2 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD, and these are their stages according to their starting places.

Deuteronomy 31:9-11 Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

Deut 31:24-26 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 26 “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.”

This record written by Moses is what we know now as the first 5 books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We call it the Pentateuch, the Torah, the Law of Moses. Upon being written, the books were immediately viewed authentically as the Word of God by all of Israel, the people of God. Joshua viewed it and obeyed it as such. After the battle of Ai, it is written:

Joshua 8:30-35 At that time Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

God said that he would raise up prophets like Moses that would follow him (Deuteronomy 13 outlines the prophetic markers).

Deuteronomy 18:15-17 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken.

Thus, there was a verbal and written prophetic tradition that continued after Moses died, beginning with Joshua. Their job was to hold Israel to the Law of Moses, offering council to Israel’s leaders and pronouncing judgment according to the curses in the Law if they were disobedient.

Joshua continued the written record of the history of the campaigns of Israel in the “promised land” and it was gathered with the book of Moses:

Joshua 24:25-27 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.”

After Joshua, the next writing prophets were Samuel, who most likely wrote Judges, Ruth, and most of 1 Samuel, and also Nathan, Ahijah, Gad, and Iddo as they probably wrote parts of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel.

1 Samuel 10:25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.

1 Chronicles 29:29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer, 30 with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.

2 Chronicles 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

Jeremiah was most likely behind the writing of 1 & 2 Kings, along with his own collections of prophecies. He and others were able to put together “Kings” because there were detailed records (“Annuls of the Kings”) kept by both northern Israel and Judah:

2 Kings 8:23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

2 Kings 10:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

2 Chronicles 33:18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, they are in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 19 And his prayer, and how God was moved by his entreaty, and all his sin and his faithlessness, and the sites on which he built high places and set up the Asherim and the images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the Chronicles of the Seers.

He seemed also to have used Isaiah’s narrative accounts to weave things together (compare Isaiah 38-39 with 2 Kings 18:13-20:19) accepting Isaiah’s account. The prophets (Isaiah Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the Twelve) looked to each other’s accounts as authoritative for instance:

Daniel 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

Also compare Micah’s use of Isaiah 2:1-4 in Micah 4:1-5.

Isaiah 2:1-4 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that m the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Micah 4:1-5 It shall come to pass o in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, 2 and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; 4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. 5 For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

Jeremiah also referred to Micah’s prophecy (3:2), 125 years after it was given, as he records that people shared it in Jeremiah’s defense:

Jeremiah 26:18 Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’”

Other groups of writers of Scripture were kings, priests, and scribes. It is well documented that both Kings David and Solomon were prolific writers of Psalms and Proverbs and Solomon (see 1 Kings 9:29-34) wrote a philosophical contemplation (Ecclesiastes) and a love song (Song of Solomon). Ezra was a scribe and priest and was probably the author of Ezra and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Nehemiah was “scribal” and probably wrote the book bearing his name, Nehemiah.

Magnificent Magnificent. I was born I was born to be with you. In this space and time

After that and ever after I haven’t had a clue. Only to break rhyme. This foolishness can leave a heart black and blue Only love, only love can leave such a mark. But only love, only love can heal such a scar

I was born. I was born to sing for you. I didn’t have a choice but to lift you up. And sing whatever song you wanted me to I give you back my voice From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise…

Only love, only love can leave such a mark But only love, only love can heal such a scar. Justified till we die, you and I will magnify The Magnificent Magnificent Only love, only love can leave such a mark But only love, only love unites our hearts Justified till we die, you and I will magnify The Magnificent
Magnificent Magnificent

Part 7 of the sermon series “A Biblical Vision for a Healthy Church”. We looked at Colossians 1:15-20, and observed how Jesus Christ is central and supreme in all realms over all things.

A. Adam
God created Adam as the pinnacle of creation to resemble him more particularly than anything else as God made him in His image (Genesis 1:26-18). This answers the question whether this is the best that God could creation or could he have done better, because nothing in creation resemble or compares to him more than man.

1. Covenant
God tested this resemblance by conditionally covenanting with Adam such that Adam would be charged to do what God would do (discharged a divine duty) by judging the Serpent (Genesis 2:8-25). Now, this is not obvious because we are told that Adam should not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil (Genesis 2:17). However, because of the context of trees in the garden and the charge to keep and guard (Genesis 2:15) in the historical context lead me to believe that Adam should have judged the Serpent at the tree and banish or exile him from the garden.

2. Sin
As we all know, Genesis 3 recounts that Adam failed to discharge their duty, thus displaying that they are not God and cannot do his work (Genesis 3:6-7):

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

3. Exile
God banishes Adam (and Eve) from the Garden of Eden such that God guarded the way back to the Garden (Genesis 3:22-24):

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever–” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

4. Restoration
God then steps in to judge the Serpent, as only He can do, and in so doing unconditionally covenants to restore Adam/Eve by coming in the flesh as their Offspring to crush the Serpent (Genesis 3:15):

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

B. Israel
As this promise of restoration flows from Adam to his offspring, his offspring become evident as opposed to the Serpent’s offspring (see Genesis 4-11). This unconditional restoration promise flows particularly into the life of Abraham (formerly Abraham) (see Genesis 12 and following) for the creation of a nation. This nation Israel was promised a land that was likened to Eden (Genesis 13:10).

1. Covenant
After Israel was led by Moses from Egypt through the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai, God brought them to the mountain to give them a national covenant (see Exodus 19-20). They are charged to be holy as God is holy (Leviticus 20:7), and by judging the Canaanites (the seed of the Serpent) by casting them out of the land (Deuteronomy 7:1-26). Just as with Adam, he was testing the nation’s resemblance to Him:

Leviticus 20:7-8 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

2. Sin
Just like Adam, Israel fails to discharge her duties and breaks the conditional covenant God had arranged with her (Isaiah 1:2-31; Jeremiah 1:1-37; Hosea 6:7).

Hosea 6:6-7 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.

3. Exile
God banished Israel from the land (2 Kings 25:1-30; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21) and they were, as a nation, exiled to Assyria and Babylon.

2 Chronicles 36:20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons

4. Restoration
Throughout Israel’s failure over centuries after the covenant at Mt. Sinai, God graciously promised restoration in the “latter days” for Israel by way of New Creation (Isaiah 65) , a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31), a new Temple (Ezekiel 40-48), and a new Heart (Ezekiel 36). Although God had brought them back to the land a number of years after their initial exile, it was obvious that the remnants who returned were still awaiting the restoration of Israel in the future.

Isaiah 40:1-2 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

C. Jesus
Adam and Israel (a corporate Adam) failed to resemble God and do what he does, and thus proved that the greatest of God’s creation, both on small and large scales, cannot not truly compare to Him. The only way for both Adam and Israel to truly resemble God, was for God to incarnate them as Jesus of Nazareth: the New Adam and the New Israel.

1. The New Adam
The apostle Paul makes this clear connection for us in Romans 5:12-21 and 1 Corinthians 15:45-49:

Romans 5:12-21 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned– 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:15-28 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

1 Corinthians 15:45-50 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Jesus was tempted by Satan (Mark 1:12-13), but resisted and cast him out of people everywhere (Matthew 12:22-37)*. Jesus was called the Son of God, a title that truly only Adam could claim (Luke 3:38). His people are now being conformed to his image (Romans 8:29).

2. The New Israel
Although there is no one verse that says “Jesus is the New Israel”, it is very clear by description that this is the case. First, by way of analogy, Israel is understood as God’s Son and as I have stated, Israel is a corporate Adam. This is drawn out textually by Matthew’s quotation of Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:

Matthew 2:12-15 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Hosea 11:1-3 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.

The way to really do justice to the original context of Hosea is to understand Jesus as the True Son of God and, thus, true Israel. This is also demonstrated by the correspondences between Jesus and Israel. Jesus came out of Egypt as did Israel. Jesus came through the Jordan from east to be baptized as did Israel (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-10). Jesus was wandering in the wilderness for 40 days, as to 40 years for Israel. Jesus chose 12 disciples, as there were 12 tribes of Israel.

As the New Israel, he has come to expand Israel as God’s people, not replace them with Gentiles. As the New Adam, he fuses people from every tribe, language, and nation to be God’s people, Israel.

Romans 2:28-29 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

(image courtesy of Roy Ciampa)

…The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.

It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.

For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.

Jesus said some people hear the word of God, and a desire for God is awakened in their hearts. But then, “as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14).”

Quotes from John Piper’s book “A Hunger for God” on pages 14-15, & 23

You can download the entire book as a PDF book below.

Here are the notes:

I. Why Write a Book God?

As Evangelicals, we believe that what we call “The Bible” is a written record of the revelation of God. It would have been simple for God to align stars to spell His name for everyone, or to continue to manifest Himself in a cloud of fire and talk to people all the time, wouldn’t it? Or, he could have just told Adam or some prophet everything he wanted to say so that there could be a nice, neat manual on how to live life. No, instead, God rolled out a picture of himself over a painstakingly long period of time (over 2000 years), in hundreds of ways, to a relatively small group of people (and only around 40 of them wrote about it). Why do such a thing? For one reason: to prepare the way to come in the flesh and speak directly to people about who He is, who we are, and to definitively proclaim His greatness though His own death and resurrection. With such an infinitely laborious and comprehensive project, a written record is the only way to capture such magnificence outside of His immediate presence.

II. How Can the Whole Bible Be About Jesus?

When understood as fragments or pieces, it is very difficult to see how the whole Bible is about Jesus. The four gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) and the rest of the New Testament may be clearly centered on Him, but the Old Testament seemingly talks about Him indirectly and not very often. Well, from the opening chapters of Genesis, there is a promise and expectation of an offspring or child that will crush his enemies and rule over the world (Genesis 3:15). The Old Testament puts into place people, events, & places that give layers and meaning (significance) to this promise which is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus himself had this perspective of the Old Testament and taught it to His disciples.

Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Matthew 26:52-56 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

John 5:39-47 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Luke 24:13-27 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

How can this be so? The Old Testament never refers explicitly to the name Jesus the Christ or Jesus of Nazareth. If I wrote a letter or even a book about you, and never even mentioned your name, how could I say that what I was writing was about you? Well, I could refer to you in other ways other than your name. I could refer to you as the husband or wife of so and so. I could refer to you as the son or daughter of so and so. I could refer to you by your occupation or title at your work. I could refer to you as the man or women who live at such and such address. I could refer to you by way of comparison to other people you may resemble or the type of person you are in order to paint a picture in people’s minds. God employs all of these means to describe the coming Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world in the Old Testament. Jesus and the authors of the New Testament understood the patterns of description about Jesus in the Old Testament, and focused quite specifically on His resemblance to figures and events in the Old Testament. He is:

• A new Temple (John 2:18-22) 18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
• A new Sacrifice (John 1:29) The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
• A new Noah (Luke 17:26) Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
• A new Moses (John 1:17) For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
• A new Covenant (Mark 14:22-24) And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
• A new David (Matthew 12:1-6) At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
• A new Solomon (Matthew 12:42) The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
• A new Elijah (Mark 6:15) King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
• A new Jonah (Luke 11:29-30) When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
• A new Exodus (Luke 9:29-31) And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Here is the manuscript:

This week, I wanted to linger a bit in the precious reality that Pastor Danny presented to us last week, which was for many, perhaps, the first time they might have heard that God is God-centered.

Another way to say that is that God ultimately does everything that he does for His own glory, His own fame, His own pleasure, His own delight.

Yet another way to say that is that God loves Himself more than He loves anyone or anything that exists, or is yet to exist, or is real or is not real.

And yet another way to say this is that God loves himself more than He loves us at Haverhill Community Church.

Danny took the time last week to observe God’s God-centeredness in 3 areas and texts:

• Creation from Genesis 1 and Isaiah 43:7,
• Exile from Genesis 3:23-24, and
• Redemption from Ephesians 5:25-32.

I wonder how each of you received that.

I personally think that this concept is the most beautifully illuminating and eye-opening truth that I have ever heard.

It has entirely changed my orientation in the way I understand life and the Bible.

And it is no small matter for us here at Haverhill Community Church.

As our shepherd Danny has been recasting our vision in this new season, this distinctive is forging our new direction.

We need to appreciate that most Christians in America today do not believe such a truth.

We also need to appreciate that most Christians and non-Christians in the Haverhill area do not believe such a truth.

Therefore, I do not want to take for granted the timing of this opportunity to teach you.

Instead, I would like to peer into a very important biblical text that undergirds and further supports Danny’s subject last week on the God-centeredness of God.

So, turn in your Bibles with me to Romans 3, as we will be looking at verses 19-26. (my translation).

19. But we know that what the law says, it says to those under the law, so that every mouth might be silenced and the whole world might be brought to trial before God. 20. Therefore, by the works of law no one will be justified before Him, because through law is the knowledge of sin. 21. But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and Prophets, 22. the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, for there is no distinction 23. because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 24. being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25. whom God offered as a mercy-seat sacrifice through faith in his blood as proof of His righteousness because of the overlooking of sins which were previously committed 26. in the patience of God till the proof of His righteousness in the present time in order that he might be just and the justifier of the one having faith in Jesus.

Now, Romans is by far the densest of Paul’s letters, and entering his argument at that point is like entering a river in its most violent rapids.

So I will try to be a good and careful guide here by focusing our attention on a clear path.

As we dive in, let’s just note a bit of the context of our passage.

• So far in Romans, Paul has been making the case that God is angry with humanity. He is angry with humanity because they do not glorify Him or worship Him, but ignore Him and defy Him on every level. And when I say angry, I mean infinite wrath angry. Here’s a sampling:

Romans 1:18-25 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

As that last verse points out, humanity has exchanged God-centeredness for creature-centeredness.

• No one will be declared righteous as obedient law-keepers at the judgment before God because nobody keeps the law. Rather, the law of God is the standard by which we are declared guilty in God’s eyes. Since we are hopeless law-breakers, then law-keeping can never be the basis of our justification or declaration of innocence before God.

Romans 3:19-20 19 But we know that what the law says, it says to those under the law, so that every mouth might be silenced and the whole world might be brought to trial before God. 20 Therefore, by the works of law no one will be justified before Him, because through law is the knowledge of sin.

These notes of context lead us to Paul’s staggering assertion in our passage.

See in verse 21, “But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been revealed being witnessed by the Law and Prophets”.

That is to say, in this epoch or age or leg of redemptive history that God has revealed or unveiled a basis for our justification before Him that does not depend on our law-keeping.

And just in case the reader is tempted to think that this concept is new he adds, “being witnessed by the Law and Prophets”, which his way of referring what we call the Old Testament. So this revelation of God’s righteousness was anticipated in the Old Testament.

So what is this basis of God declaring sinners righteous? He tells us in verses 22-24,

22. the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, for there is no distinction 23. because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 24. being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus

God declares sinners righteous on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ as a gift through the redemption Jesus accomplished.

This is what is meant by “Justification by Faith”.

There is no nation or ethnicity or gender or age that lays exclusive claim to God’s declaration of righteousness because every last one of us has sinned and is guilty before God. Indeed, from our birth, we are centered on the creature and not our creator.

Now, if it is just or righteous for God to condemn every one of us for our sin, how can he declare us righteous by faith in Jesus and still be just? This question is at the pulse of Paul’s argument.

The answer lies in Paul’s amplification or defining of the “redemption which is in Christ Jesus” from verse 24. Of Jesus, he says in verses 25-26,

25. whom God offered as a mercy-seat sacrifice through faith in his blood as proof of His righteousness because of the overlooking of sins which were previously committed 26. in the patience of God till the proof of His righteousness in the present time in order that he might be just and the justifier of the one having faith in Jesus

God offered up Jesus Christ, His Son, the very embodiment of God, the incarnate God, as a sacrifice to Himself.

The crucifixion of Jesus served as a “mercy-seat” sacrifice.

Why did I translate it “mercy-seat” sacrifice? Most translations have “propitiation”, “atoning sacrifice”, “or sacrifice of atonement”.

Well, this word is a word which is used dozens of times to translate the phrase “mercy seat” in the Old Testament.

Just in case you may have forgotten, the “Mercy Seat” is part of the Ark of the Covenant which was located in the Holy of Holies in the temple.

Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest of Israel was permitted to go into the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice on behalf of Israel and he would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the Mercy Seat. It is located underneath the angels on the cover of the Ark.

Paul is saying that the death of Jesus on a Roman cross nearly 2000 years ago is where God poured out His wrath as atonement for the sins of all who believe in Jesus.

Before this Christ-event, there was no sign or proof of God’s wrath against sinners.

God had been patient and overlooked every sin previously committed.

The death of Jesus is proof that God is violently angry with sinners and that He is a righteous judge and punisher.

The sacrifice of Jesus is the basis upon which God justifies sinners and declares them righteous and innocent.

Therefore, this underscores the unique beauty and being of Jesus.

Only this holy one, this sinless one, this God-man can be a suitable sacrifice.

As we know from Hebrews 10:4, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins”; and Paul tells us later in Romans that an ordinary man’s condemnation is only effective or suitable for one ordinary man.

God killed his Son to demonstrate, to prove that God is both righteous and can justify the ungodly.

Therefore, the death of Jesus, which justifies us who believe in his blood, is unswervingly God-centered.

Luke gives us a similar window into Paul’s thought in his account of Paul at Mars Hill in Athens in Acts:

Acts 17:24-31 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

The Class Notes are below:

Patriarchs to Judges (c. 2166–1030 b.c)

United Monarchy (c. 1050–931 b.c)

Divided Monarchy to Exile (c. 931–586 b.c)

Return from Exile (c. 539–445 b.c)

Intertestamental Period (c. 444–5 b.c.)

Several other lesser Persian kings are then passed over without mention as the prophecy moves on to the next significant ruler, the mighty king who would bring down the Persian Empire and rule a vast realm (a great dominion), Alexander the Great (336–323 b.c.)New Testament Period (c. 5 b.c.–96 a.d.)

Timelines adapted from the ESV Study Bible (copyright 2008 Crossway Publishers) http://www.esvstudybible.org

Most Important Dates to Remember:

• 2000 BC – Time of Abraham
• 1500-1400 BC – Time of Moses and the Exodus
• 1000 BC – Time of David’s Rule
• 950 BC – Solomon’s Temple Built
• 931 BC – Kingdom of Israel divided
• 722 BC – Fall of northern kingdom Israel
• 586 BC – Fall of southern kingdom Judah & destruction of the Temple
• 538 BC – First return of exiles to Jerusalem
• 516 BC – Second temple completed
• 445 BC – Walls are rebuilt in Jerusalem
• 166 BC – Maccabean revolt against Antiochus IV
• 5 BC – Birth of Jesus
• 28-29 AD – Ministry of John the Baptist
• 30/33 AD – Death and Resurrection of Jesus
• 70 AD – Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem
• 95 AD – Last writings of New Testament completed

Here are the notes from our first Introduction to the Bible class:

The Bible is comprised of 2 Testaments, known as the Old & New Testaments. The Old Testament contains 39 separate books/documents in our standard English translations and the New Testament contains 27 separate books/documents in our standard English translations.

Genesis: The accounts of the creation of the world, of Adam & Eve, the sin in the Garden of Eden, the flood of the world, the tower of Babel, the lives and promise of blessed offspring and special land to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.

Exodus: The life of Moses who was raised up to deliver Israel out of slavery in Egypt, departing through the Red Sea, to receive the covenant from God at Mt. Sinai.

Leviticus: The detailed stipulations given to Israel as to how they will conduct themselves while God is in their midst dwelling with them.

Numbers: The account of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God and their subsequent wandering in the Sinai desert/wilderness for 40 years.

Deuteronomy: The giving again of God’s covenant to a new generation of Israelites before they enter the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.

Joshua: The account of Joshua leading Israel to conquest into the “promised land”.

Judges: Stories of Israel’s failure of truly conquering the “promised land”.

Ruth: Story during time of Judges of a Moabite woman who joins Israel and becomes descendant of the coming king David.

1 Samuel: History of Israel’s transition from Judges period to the reign of their first king, Saul.

2 Samuel: History of transition from Saul’s reign to David’s reign over Israel.

1 Kings: History of David’s son Solomon ruling as king, and then the kingdom dividing into 2 nations after Solomon’s death where we are introduced to the prophet Elijah, who is raised up to confront Israel’s idolatry.

2 Kings: History of mostly idolatrous kings from both nations, and Elisha taking over for Elijah, but ultimately both nations end up in captivity; northern Israel to Assyria and southern Judah to Babylon.

1 Chronicles: After a major collection of genealogies, another account of the life and reign of David over Israel.

2 Chronicles: Another account of Solomon’s reign over Israel, then the dividing of the kingdom, and then both nations being taken into captivity.

Ezra: How the Persians helped Israel to return from exile and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem under Zerubbabel and Ezra.

Nehemiah: How the Persians helped Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to lead the rebuilding of the city walls.

Esther: The story of an Israelite woman who becomes queen of the Mede/Persian Empire and helps her people evade genocide.

Job: The story of the righteous man Job, who is tested by God as he allows Satan to take away his land, family, and health to see if would curse God, and then contemplates his state of affairs with a few friends.

Psalms: The songbook of the Israelites, written mostly by Kings David and Solomon.

Proverbs: Book of wise sayings, penned mostly by King Solomon.

Ecclesiastes: The philosophical reflections of Solomon on the meaning of life on earth without and with the God of Israel.

Song of Songs: The intimate love songs between King Solomon and one of his beloved wives.

Isaiah: The collection of prophecies delivered Isaiah to kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of southern Judah, calling them to repentance, foretelling the coming exile and end-times restoration.

Jeremiah: The collection of prophecies delivered to Jeremiah to kings Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah of southern Judah, not only calling them to repentance and foretelling their end-times restoration, but also being taken into captivity with them.

Lamentations: Jeremiah’s mourning over the sacking and destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

Ezekiel: The collection of Ezekiel’s visions while he is in exile in Babylon, in which he prophesies the judgment of the nations and the end-times restoration of Israel

Daniel: The story of Daniel’s captivity to Babylon and his prophetic visions of judgment for the nations and Israel’s end-times restoration.

Hosea: The collection of Hosea’s prophecies during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Jeroboam of southern Judah which is embodied by Hosea in taking a harlot for wife, portraying Judah’s idolatry.

Joel: The prophecy of Joel delivered to northern Israel which envisions a coming locust swarm and desolation/famine that is likened to the end-times “Day of the Lord”.

Amos: The visions of Amos during the reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam of southern Judah which foretells of the coming exile and end-times restoration.

Obadiah: Brief vision of Obadiah concerning the nation Edom and the “Day of the Lord”.

Jonah: The story of the prophet Jonah who was sent to prophesy against the Assyrian city Ninevah, but refuses to do so, and is swallowed by a great fish in the sea, and is then delivered by God to bring repentance to Ninevah.

Micah: The prophecies of Micah delivered during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of southern Judah regarding the coming exile and end-times restoration.

Nahum: The grim prophetic judgment of Nahum delivered to the Assyrian city Ninevah.

Habakkuk: The prophetic oracles of Habakkuk foretelling the coming exile upon southern Judah.

Zephaniah: The prophecies of Zephaniah delivered to King Josiah of southern Judah likening the coming their coming judgment/exile to the end-times “Day of the Lord”.

Haggai: The story of the prophet Haggai’s encouragement to the exiles who returned to rebuild Jerusalem under the Persians.

Zechariah: The prophecies of Zechariah during the return from exile concerning the end-times restoration that would come to the remnant of Israel.

Malachi: The prophecy of Malachi to the priestly leaders during the return from exile concerning their hypocrisy.

Matthew: The account by the apostle Matthew of how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the end-times prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel.

Mark: The account by Mark, aided by the apostle Peter, of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth as fulfillment of end-times prophecies concerning true Adam and true Humanity.

Luke: The investigative account by Luke, aided by the apostle Paul, of Jesus of Nazareth as the anointed Messiah of Israel and King of the Earth.

John: The account by the apostle John of Jesus of Nazareth as the incarnate God who has come to take away the sin of the world and give eternal life.

Acts: Luke’s account of the beginnings of the early church lead by the apostle Peter, and expanding under the apostle Paul to the greater Roman Empire.

Romans: The apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome in which he gives a lengthy exposition of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians: The apostle Paul’s first letter to the church he planted at Corinth regarding their questions and struggles.

2 Corinthians: The apostle Paul’s last letter to the Corinthians in which he seeks to answer doubts about his apostolic leadership amidst his suffering.

Galatians: The apostle Paul’s letter to the church he planted in Galatia confronting their subtle slipping back to Judaism.

Ephesians: The apostle Paul’s letter written while he is in prison to the church he planted in Ephesus encouraging them by reminding them of God’s single, all-encompassing, redemptive-historic plan for humanity in Jesus.

Philippians: The apostle Paul’s letter written while he is in prison to the church in planted in Philippi exhorting them to have unity in the gospel of Jesus and not to be frightened by false teachers.

Colossians: The apostle Paul’s letter written while he is in prison to the church he planted to Colossae urging them to stand firm in the gospel of Jesus and to steer away from Jewish mysticism.

1 Thessalonians: The apostle Paul’s letter to the church he planted in Thessalonica about how encouraging they have been to him in spite of his afflictions.

2 Thessalonians: The apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians where he gives them some detailed teaching regarding the “Day of the Lord” and how that factors into their suffering.

1 Timothy: The apostle Paul’s letter to his friend and disciple Timothy, who is pastoring the church Paul planted in Ephesus, in which he gives him leadership instructions and encouragement.

2 Timothy: The apostle Paul’s last letter to Timothy while Paul is in prison awaiting his death and he gives further leadership instruction in light of the inaugurated end-times.

Titus: The apostle Paul’s letter to his friend and disciple Titus, who is pastoring the church Paul planted on the island of Crete, in which he give him leadership instruction similar to Timothy.

Philemon: The apostle Paul’s letter written while he is in prison to his friend Philemon appealing to him to forgive Onesimus who is a runaway slave.

Hebrews: A sermonic letter in which the writer urges a community of Jewish Christians not to go back to the law of the Mosaic Covenant under Judaism because the New Covenant in Jesus Christ supersedes it, rendering it obsolete, and their going back would evidence that they are not true followers of Jesus.

James: A letter of Jesus’ half-brother James to a broad church community instructing them on the practicalities of living by faith in Jesus.

1 Peter: The apostle Peter’s letter to a broach church community experiencing severe suffering in which he encourages them to persevere in the gospel of Jesus.

2 Peter: Another letter by the apostle Peter to a broad church community to endure suffering and to beware of false teachers trying to draw them away from the gospel of Jesus.

1 John: The apostle John’s letter to a broach church community encouraging them as the end-times people of God to be honest about sin, to love one another, and beware of false teachers.

2 John: A brief letter written by the apostle John to the broad church to persevere in love and beware of false teachers.

3 John: Another brief letter written by the apostle John to his friend Gaius encouraging him and his community to love one another and to imitate good things.

Jude: A brief letter from Jesus’ half-brother Jude to the broad church community to hold firmly to the gospel of Jesus and to be on the look out for false teachers as the end-times people of God.

Revelation: The revealing visions given to the apostle John while in exile in Patmos of the risen Christ and His appeal to the whole church to persevere in suffering as the end-times is upon it because His return will be swift and His reward will be with Him.

Class Description: Designed to introduce the basic building blocks about the Bible that can help us to better understand the Bible and its story as a whole.

Class Objectives: Although time is always limited and many of us are busy, the objectives for the learners in this class are as follows:

• To understand the overarching Bible story and it’s key historical events
• To learn all the books of the Bible and how they are organized
• To gain familiarity with how the Bible was formed
• To grow in appreciation of the historical context of biblical history
• To understand how the Bible is translated and get familiar with major translations
• To gain an appreciation and understanding of the importance of the study of original languages of the biblical texts
• To build a glossary/dictionary of terms related to studying the Bible
• To learn about God as he inspired men to write about Jesus Christ

Class Format: We will review at the beginning of each class, we will have around 45 minutes of teaching, and then we will take questions. Please save your questions for the dedicated Q&A session, so we can work through the material. Write them down as they arise. Dave reserves the right to take questions at any point depending upon the material. There will not be grades in this class. Repetition/review along with Q&A is the preferred methods of learning and teaching for this class. A “light” exam might be given at the end of our class.

Recommended Books:
Everything You Want to Know About the Bible, by Peter Downey & Ben Shaw ($12.44)
A Beginner’s Guide to Reading the Bible, by Craig Koester ($11.99)
How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, by Doug Stuart & Gordon Fee ($11.55)
ESV Study Bible, by Crossway Books ($29.99), accessible at: www.esvstudybible.org (email: info@haverhillcc.org, password: hcc)
These books are available at Christian Book Distributors (christianbook.com), Amazon.com, Allbookstores.com, etc. *Please contact us if you want any of these books but don’t know how to get them

Costs and Fees: This class is being offered FREE to anyone as a ministry of Haverhill Community Church. The only other costs are time and effort. The Bible is not easy for most people, and, in order to be learned properly, takes time.

Attendance: If you are serious about learning about the Scriptures, then attendance isn’t an issue. If you cannot make it on Wednesdays, we will be recording the sessions and will provide handouts for each session. We will make these available on our resource table each Sunday and post the materials on our website.

Our Plan for Study: We plan to cover the topics below for the next couple of months. This is a fluid schedule and not set in stone, so we may add, delete, or insert certain things as time allows.

2/11 – Introduction to class, Overview of the Bible
2/18 – Key Historical Dates/Events in Biblical History
2/25 – The Theological Nature of the Bible Part 1
3/4 – The Theological Nature of the Bible Part 2
3/11 – How the Books of the Bible Where Chosen
3/18 – The Original Languages of the Biblical Texts
3/25 – The Biblical Texts: How They Were Copied and Preserved
4/1 – How the Bible has Been Translated & Popular English Translations
4/8 – Other Ancient Cultures Related to Biblical History
4/15 – Ancient Texts That Help Us Understand the Bible
4/22 – What a Covenant Is and How It Helps Us Understand the Bible
4/29 – The Genres of the Biblical Texts
5/6 – How the Bible is Structured/Organized
5/13 – The Geography of Bible Times
5/20 – How the Bible has been Criticized

-Jonathan Edwards from his sermon entitled, “The Spiritual Blessings of the Gospel Represented by a Feast

Martin Luther’s Comments on Galatians 1.4
Who gave himself for our sins…

“Paul sticks to his theme. He never loses sight of the purpose of his epistle. He does not say, “Who received our works,” but “who gave.” Gave what? Not gold, or silver, or paschal lambs, or an angel, but Himself. What for? Not for a crown, or a kingdom, or our goodness, but for our sins. These words are like so many thunderclaps of protest from heaven against every kind and type of self-merit. Underscore these words, for they are full of comfort for sore consciences. How may we obtain remission of our sins? Paul answers: “The man who is named Jesus Christ and the Son of God gave himself for our sins.” The heavy artillery of these words explodes papacy, works, merits, superstitions. For if our sins could be removed by our own efforts, what need was there for the Son of God to be given for them? Since Christ was given for our sins it stands to reason that they cannot be put away by our own efforts. This sentence also defines our sins as great, so great, in fact, that the whole world could not make amends for a single sin. The greatness of the ransom, Christ, the Son of God, indicates this.”

Here are links for resources spoken about today:

Luther’s “Introduction to Galatians”
Henry Scougal’s “The Life of God in the Soul of Man”

“The people have been marketed, they have been pitched, they have been sold, they have had their felt needs assuaged. What they haven’t had is anyone get up and open the Bible, tell them who God is, what he has done and call them to repentance in a very clear, forthright way that respects their intelligence.”

This ethos is reflected in his desire to be both Biblically faithful in content and culturally “there” in the outworking of the Christian life, emphasizing both the “exaltation” of Jesus as well as His “incarnation”.
Give it a listen…comments welcome…

Mark 2:13-17   13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.  14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.  15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.  16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

After Jesus called Levi (aka Matthew), a Jewish tax collector on behalf of Rome, to follow him, his first impulse in the story is to invite his buddies to a party of behalf of Jesus. This is remarkable because Levi never took an evangelism seminar or Alpha training, and because Jesus actually went and reclined with them. This was a very shady and sketchy cast of characters to dine with, yet this dinner party demonstrates the very bottom-line of what Christianity is: Heaven invading Earth; the Holy coming to be among the unholy.  Can this be so?  Jesus has come and has chosen to spend time with people like you and like us!  Stunning to think that God still wants to be around us!  Beautiful is His saving us and shaping us into His image!