Expert: Dean Gade - 5/16/2008

Question
QUESTION: How do we know that the Bible is the true word of God?
When was it divided into scripture and verse and was this done simply for teaching purposes?

ANSWER: There are two things that I've learned over the years which leave me no alternative but to believe that the Bible, as we have it today, is the inspired word of God.

First, after many years of continual study, I see more and more that the whole book is cohesive in what it teaches. Once you begin to match up verses from one "book" to another, understand the history of the time and what God was trying to accomplish in the different times;  then the teachings and doctrines become clear.   There is a  goal that God has from beginning to end.  That goal is to reconcile people back to Himself in this world as well as the next.

Those who become His people again are protected by Him,  nurtured by Him and He is our source of all good things even though we have no righteousness or perfection of our own.  Those who oppose Him and/or His people are dealt with as enemies and either ignored or dealt with for our protection.

Secondly, I have seen experientially that God does what He says in the Bible.  Some things are for the future but those which speak of His relationship with me now, do take place in ways that can only be described as miraculously.   And the promises of God to those in His kingdom(rule and authority)are many.

The formation of our present canon came about over several hundreds of years after the ascension of Jesus back to His Father.  Followers of Christ around the Mediterranean who had become teachers of God's word began to take the writings of God's people and examine them to determine which were the inspired word of God.  That was only one of the criteria that was used in this examination.  (The OT was already well set as part of the canon)   Finally, during the fourth and fifth centuries there was a general agreement and acceptance of the NT.  The only great disagreement was over the Apocrypha which the church of Rome accepted but most of the others did not.

If you are asking about the paragraphing and numbering of verses, this was of relatively recent times....and yes, done for ease of teaching and discussing the Bible.

If you are seeking more details, please send a further question and I will attempt to answer you.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: If the Bible is the true word of God, how could a loving God expect something this difficult to understand be the yardstick to salvation.  It is not easy to understand by anyone, sorta like the children's book "Finding Waldo".  It just seems that the God I am in awe of and his son Jesus, would understand the limited ability we have when it comes to comprehending such a complex account of our creation and subsequent life. The only religion I was taught was from the Church of Christ which claims to be the only "true" church and of course they use this like a status symbol, the only church whose members will go to heaven.  The debates I used to listen to weren't anything close to Christian fellowship, just a "one-up-man-ship" when it came to interpreting and quoting scripture and verse.  Organized religion has caused more wars, split more families, stood in the way of brotherhood than anything I can think of.  I guess what I am asking is can you be a Christian without succumbing to any one doctrine.  I know full well if we had been born in the Middle East we would probably be a Muslin.  If we had been born in the Far East we no doubt would be a Buddhist or Hindu.  If we had been born in South America and most of Europe, we would either be Roman Catholic or atheist or Protestant...It is too complex and confusing and I am more afraid of exhibiting arrogance and self-righteousness than simply admitting that I do not have the answers, just the Hope.

Answer
The Christian denominations of the world have not made it easy to understand the Bible.  I sometimes think this is the "clergy's" fault because we miss some important details when teaching God's Word.

One of the details is that it IS God's word and not just the opinions or remembrances from men of old.  The Bible witnesses to itself that it is "theopneustos"(the original Greek) = "God-breathed" or "God-spirited".   It also says that it cannot be understood except by God's Spirit within a person.  God seems very opposed to man taking charge of His words and interpreting them according to the wisdom of man.

Here are some passages where He says what I wrote above:

2 Peter 1:19-21
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
NIV

2 Tim 3:15-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. NIV

1 Cor 2:10-15
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.   14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: NIV

1 Cor 1:18-21
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart."
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. RSV

God is God of the universe who created all things out of nothing...who loves those He has called with a love beyond any love that exists among mankind.  That makes Him both far above us while at the same time pleased to make His home in us so that we will always be with Him.  Who can grasp the love of this awesome being who humbled Himself low enough to take on the flesh of a created being, come to earth born of a woman, taking the just punishment of all people on Himself,  and submitting Himself to be physically put to death to redeem us to Himself.   That's not logical, reasonable nor even comprehensible.   Yet this is what He has done.

The Bible is an eternal book speaking to all people at all times in human history.   So there is much that might not be of interest to you at this time.  The importance of Bible study in small groups is that you usually meet with people who already understand some things of what it says and those things may be pertinent to you, personally.

St. Paul speaks about "infant Christians" and more "mature" Christians.  We aren't born with much biblical knowledge.  But as we learn and then match that learning to our ongoing EXPERIENCES WITH GOD, the teachings of the Bible..and our life..make much more "sense".   We are always "becoming" Christians.  We never learn all that we can;  and then there is much that we cannot learn while still in these bodies.  God has mysteries that we are all unable to understand now:

Deut 29:29

29 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
NIV

It is true that many people subscribe to the religion of their parents....at first.  But many become followers of the only God who promises to save from their sins all those who become His people ,  rather than to punish them.  This is why Jesus told us to go into all the world with His authority and proclaim the good news of the  our God who wants all to be saved. Most people of the world live as condemned under law and in the fear of death all of their lives. They need to know that God can give them an abundant life now and joy everlasting after they leave this earth.

I don't believe that those who have submitted themselves to God in Christ Jesus are the cause of wars or split marriages. We always have to keep our "flesh" in check to avoid any such "one-upman-ship" or personal arrogance. It is when "religious people" try to Be gods and use their religion to achieve their goals that they cause trouble. This may come about by self-deception or with a goal of deceiving others.    But our God is a God with a goal of peace.  

[The Theocracy of the OT was completely different than the spiritual kingdom God in Christ.  "Church and state" were completely intermingled for the people who were brought out of the 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They were chosen to keep the message of God's savior until the fullness of time.  At the completion of the old covenant, when the Christ appeared, we were told to "put up your sword" and that the state (secular government) would be in charge using the "sword" against crime or wars.

Don't give up on reading the Bible.  God gives spiritual wisdom to those who seek Him because He wants us to know, trust and love Him.

James 1:4-5
4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom , he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
NIV