Chapter 1
The Bible Is The Word Of God
A. GOD’S SPECIAL BOOK
The Word of God – the Holy Bible – is God’s special book. It is not like other books, but is a supernatural book. It was written by many different people, who wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, See 2 Timothy 3:16.
The Bible is the world’s best seller. It consistently outsells any other book.
The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book in the world. It was originally written in three languages – Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Bible you have has been translated by dedicated people so that you can have God’s words, thoughts and plans.
The Bible is also one of the oldest books in the world. The most ancient portions of the Bible date back almost 4,000 years. Yet it is still the most modern book in the world today; for in it we find the answers to life’s greatest questions:
• “Where did I come from?”
• “Why am I here?”
• “Where will I Go?” Even though the Bible is made up of 66 smaller books, it has only one central theme: God’s loving plan to rescue mankind.
At the front of the Bible you will find a list of the 66 books that can be found in the Bible. The Bible is divided into two sections:
• The Old Testament and
• The New Testament. `The Old Testament tells us about God’s work with His people before the birth of Jesus. The New Testament tells us about Jesus’ birth, His life, His great ministry of healing and forgiveness for sick and sinful people, His death on the cross, His being raised from the dead and His ascension (going back to Heaven).
It also tells us about the continuation of His healing, forgiving ministry through those who saw Him after His resurrection. Those who follow Jesus’ teaching do many miraculous works just as He said they would. See John 14:12.
The teaching of those who saw Him after He was raised from the dead is contained in the Epistles (Letters). These were written within the first fifty years after Jesus’ resurrection. These make up about half of the New Testament.
B. STUDY THE BIBLE
The most important relationship you can have in this life is with God. Through reading the Bible you come to understand what God is like – His thoughts, His plans, and His promises for you.
The list (index) in the front of the Bible will help you find the page number of the part of the Bible you may wish to study. To help you find specific parts of the Bible, the translators organized the text into:
• Books,
• Chapters within the Books, and
• Verses within the Chapters. For example, if you see a reference like “Genesis 3:15”, this would mean
• The Book of Genesis.
• Chapter three, and
• Verse fifteen.
C. HERE IS THE WORLD’S GREATEST PROMISE
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16
D. THE PURPOSE OF THE WORD OF GOD
“… the holy Scriptures…Are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” 2Timothy 3:15-16
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you might partake of the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” 2Peter 1:3-4
E. THE WORD OF GOD PRODUCES LIFE
“The words I have spoken unto you are spirit and they are life” John 6:63
1. It Is Creative
“By the WORD OF THE LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth … For he spoke and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm” Psalms 33:6,9 See also Hebrews 11:3.
F. THE WORD OF GOD IS LIKE WATER
1. It Cleanses
We start life in the Kingdom of God totally “washed clean” by the Word of God.
“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you” John 15:3 See also Ephesians 5:25-27.
2. It Keeps Us Clean
The Word of God, planted in our hearts, keeps us free from sin.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word … I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” Psalms 119:9,11
G. THE WORD OF GOD IS LIGHT FOR OUR LIVES.
“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in you hearts” 2Peter 1:19
1. It Gives Understanding In A Dark World
“…The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes” Psalms 19:8
“ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path … The entrance of your word gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” Psalms 119:105,130
H. THE WORD OF GOD IS SPIRITUAL FOOD.
“Jesus answered, It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” Matthew 4:4
1. It Causes Spiritual Growth
“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it…” 1Corinthians 3:1,2
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” 1Peter 2:2
God’s aim for each of us is expressed in Ephesians 4:12-15:
“…that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
I. THE WORD OF GOD IS SEED.
In Luke 8:14-15, Jesus told His disciples the parable of the sower.
In verse 11 He said: “The seed is the word of God.” God’s will for our lives is fruitfulness, Psalms 1:3.
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” 2Corinthians 9:10
J. THE WORD OF GOD IS LIKE A SWORD.
“Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Ephesians 6:17 See also Hebrews 4:12.
Note that Jesus used the word “sword” against Satan in His temptation in the wilderness, Luke 4:1-14, giving us an example of how we can use the Word of God in our own times of temptation.
K. THE WORD OF GOD HELPS US PRAY.
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” John 15.7 ‘Ask whatever you wish’ literally means to ‘ask as one who has the right – with authority (to command). Now the creative word is in OUR MOUTH!
L. THE WORD OF GOD IS STRONG IN US.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them in to practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had it’s foundations on the rock” Matthew 7:24,25 See also verses 26,27.
Jesus said that the wise man who built his house on the rock was a picture of those who hear His Word and obey it. The Word of God builds ‘inner concrete’ within our lives so that no matter what may come against us we will stand strong.
Source: The Shepherd's Staff
Chapter 2
God
God is far too great for us to fully understand. He has no beginning and He has no end. There is no place where His presence is not felt. The Bible asks in Job 11:7: “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?”
God lives in Heaven and He rules over the whole earth. The Bible tells us: “this is what the Lord says: ‘Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool...’” Isaiah 66:1
“God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne” Psalms 47:8
In this study we are going to be looking at special truths about God. These are facts about God’s unchanging character. Through these you will understand more of what God is like. You will come to understand God and how He cares for you personally.
A. WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
1. God Is The Creator Of Everything
“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you” Nehemiah 9:6
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb” Psalms 139:13
2. God Is All-Powerful
“…For who hath resisted His will? Hath not the potter power over the clay…?” Romans 9:19-21
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all” 1Chronicles 29:11
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20
3. God Is All-Knowing
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” Hebrews 4:13
“…God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” 1John 3:20
4. God Is Holy
“There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God” 1Samuel 2:2
5. God Is A Spirit
“God is a Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” John 4:24
6. God Is A Person You Can Know
“Come near to God, and he will come near to you…” James 4:8
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” Psalms 145:18
7. God Is A Loving Father
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are…! 1John 3:1
B. GOD IS TOO GREAT TO LIVE IN TEMPLES
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else…’For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’” Acts17:24,25,28
C. WE ARE
1. Created By God
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
“When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” Psalms 139:14-16
2. Owned By God
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own: you were bought with a price. Therefore honour God with your body” 1Corinthians 6:19,20
3. Called To Worship God
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” Revelation 4:11
D. MAKE A DECISION.
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” Matthew 22:37
The Bible tells us about a man called Joshua. He was a great leader of the Nation of Israel.
The people had been wandering for forty years in the wilderness, without a land of their own. Joshua, under God’s direction, led them in victory against the evil nations living in Canaan, and possessed their land for the homeless nation of Israel.
Joshua challenged all the people to make a decision:
“ …choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.
BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSEHOLD, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD” Joshua 24:15 The same challenge comes to each of us. Will you make the same commitment as Joshua this day?
MY COMMITMENT
This day I give my worship to the only true God of heaven and earth, and surrender my will, my life and possessions to Him. From this day I determine never to worship any other gods. My worship is for Him only, and I will teach others the truths about God.
A FINAL WORD
Remember the law of multiplying the Kingdom of God. It is your turn to teach someone else about God and teach them to teach another person. Just share what you know.
Source: The Shepherd's Staff
