The Word of God
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired by Holy Spirit, without error in the original manuscripts, written and preserved by God, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The word ‘inspiration’ literally means “God-breathed”, which expresses the concept of exhalation by God. As Edward J. Young defines, “inspiration is a superintendence of God the Holy Spirit over the writers of the Scriptures, as a result of which these Scriptures possess Divine authority and trustworthiness and, possessing such Divine authority and trustworthiness, are free from error.” The word ‘Bible’ means ‘The Book’, is the record of revelations from God to mankind about the being of God and His program of salvation. The Bible was written by 40 different writers from various backgrounds. Among them, there were educated and uneducated men, kings, prophets, shepherds, fishermen, etc, who wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It comprises of 66 books, 1189 chapters, and 31173 verses written over a period of 1600 years. The Bible has two parts, namely the ‘Old Testament’ with 39 books and the ‘New Testament’ with 27 books. It is an unusual book with one central message, which is salvation through Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is centered around the history of Israel, the nation chosen by God, and the promise of the Messiah. The New Testament is centered on the Lord Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, His redemptive work and the program of His Church.
As the Bible is God’s only revelation to man, it is the source of information on:
- God – His being, His works, and His program
God reveals Himself through the Scripture, which portrays His character and establishes His absolute holiness and sovereignty over all things. In the Old Testament, He revealed Himself through the avenues of angels, dreams, visions, and prophets. In the New Testament, God revealed Himself more clearly through the Lord Jesus Christ. The special revelation through the Bible has been completed, and God’s revelation to mankind is sufficient to know Him.
- Creation – The truths about the creation and the existence of earth and man.
While mankind has engineered many godless theories about the origin of earth and man, the Bible proclaims that they are created and sustained by God.
- Man – his identity, character and spiritual needs
The Bible clearly speaks about how the man was created. It also talks about the purpose of mankind. The man has fallen from the standing he once enjoyed before God because he committed sin. It enunciates on man’s sin, his fallen nature, and the divine judgment. Bible clearly states – “There is none righteous, not even one” and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It also reveals to mankind the plan of redemption available through the sacrificial and substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- God’s program of redemption of the fallen man through Jesus Christ
Since man has fallen short of the glory of God by committing sin, the judgment of Righteous God was inevitable. But in his eternity-encompassing plan, He decided to send the Messiah to the world for the redemption of His people. This was promised throughout the Old Testament by the prophets. Jesus Christ was incarnated as a complete human being and came into this world. He took upon Himself the human nature, yet without sin. He is fully man and fully God. He lived as a perfect man on this earth. Though He did not commit any sin, He died on the cross as the propitiation for the sins of the mankind. The Bible says “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life of the glory of God.” God unveiled the plan of redemption through Jesus Christ by His grace. The Bible also proclaims that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Therefore, the redemption of mankind is only through the Lord Jesus Christ.
- God’s standard of right and wrong
From the first book Genesis to the last book Revelation, the Bible is clear on the absolute and the objective moral standards of God. Thus, for man to live by the standard of his own design is to err. Book after book, the Bible demonstrates the deadly effects of falling short of God’s standards. God’s moral standards are unchanging and eternal. God wants his children to grow according to the standard set by him.
- God’s plan for man’s future
The Old Testament repeatedly talks about the kingdom ruled by the Messiah. Associated with that kingdom would be the salvation of Israel, the salvation of Gentiles, the renewal of the earth from the effect of the curse due to sin and the bodily resurrection of God’s people who have died. In the New Testament, it is made clearer that the king, Jesus Christ, was rejected and executed by man. However, He promised to come back in glory, bringing judgment to sinners and His Kingdom for all who believe in Him. God will establish a new heaven and earth, which will be free from the curse of the fall, eternally separated from the ungodly who will be cast into hell, and all of God’s children will live with him.
The book of Revelations says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
The Bible also explains about the judgment of sinners. All who reject the Lord Jesus Christ and his salvation will be rightly condemned to the eternal hell. The Bible gives the principles of Godly living and provides guidance for all of the life’s circumstances. It is described in the Bible itself that the word of God is “more desirable than gold, yes than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb”. There is no other book in the world comparable to the Bible. There is no other book which can transform a man the way the Bible does.
There is no book in the world published as widely and commonly as the Bible, nor has there ever been a book that has faced the onslaught of attacks as ferocious as those directed at it. It has been preserved from generation to generation, and has through history, continues and will continue to affect great changes in the lives of individuals.