Wednesday, 12 November 2008

The Presentation of the Bride to the Lord Jesus Christ Through the Purging Process

What is the next program of the Lord? It is the presentation of the Bride namely the church to the Lord Jesus Christ through the purging process. The church must be bold denouncing error and separating from the unbelieving world which will destroy the Word. Any thing that destroys the Light must be dealt seriously. Our coming judgement seat of Christ is compared to the great contest in the New Testament. As we read the use of race illustrated this point in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 saying “Knowing ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” God will provide gold metal to every Christian who meet God’s standard. This incorruptible reward and crown will continue forever.

In 2 Timothy 2:1-7 Paul tells his son Timothy certain qualifications that he needs to do to please the Lord. “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.” How much more does God need to say? Those who please God will be those who discipline themselves to put His Word and plan first in the line before anything else. We ask the Lord, “How do you want me to serve you, Lord?” The answer is that our love must be the greatest to the Lord Jesus who died for us and put His spirit in us. We need to trust Him faithful and we can not say, “I can not do it.” If we deny Him, He can not be your God. Thus as long as we live in this world we must please Christ.

Do we know what Paul says about reward? We read in Colossians 2:18 “Let no man beguile you of your reward.” It is sad to say that it is happening all the time. The Christians are hearing the different voice and following deliberately the wrong church and they are loosing their reward. However some may say “I do not care about reward.” We must care about it, for Christ had died and paid the infinite price to make possible for us to have reward. Truly we must be willing to take what He wants you to receive otherwise He is not our Lord. Thus Paul reminded us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that we must be careful and do not let anyone loose it.

When will all these happen? The answer is at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Revelation 19:7-9 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” When the church is raptured from this earth, the great tribulation will occur to this world and those who do not belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. But to those who love the Lord there will be a blessed day for them where they can see Jesus face to face. In Revelation 20:4, 6 we also see some of the rewards that will be given in the millennial kingdom. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.....they live and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Thus we will rule the world together with God for a thousand years and in that millennial kingdom Satan will be bounded. We will be like Jesus, and we will be revealed in the glory and final sanctification and to see Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

The Great Judgment Seat Of Christ

1. What is the Judgement Seat of Christ?

Do we need to go to the judgement seat of Christ? The answer is yes and all Christians will be there. One may continue to say that the moment we believe in the Lord we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ from all our sins and judgement forever. So what is the judgement seat of Christ for then? The answer is that judgment seat of Christ is not to determine our salvation but your reward for serving Christ and obeying His known will in our lives. 2 Corinthians 5:10 tell us, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” Take notes what Paul said here when he used the pronoun “we” in the phrase “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” He was talking to the Christians and not to the unbelievers. Everything will all be exposed and unveiled in that time before the Lord. In Romans 14:10 Paul warned the Christians who are in pride and judging others. “But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Every Christian who ever lived will appear before the Judgement seat of Christ. It will not be a pleasant experience for many Christians but a sad experience because of what they have done in their Christian living on this earth.

Thus Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 that the Christians have the foundation built upon the Lord Jesus Christ. “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” This passage tells us about the Christians who will be fired and rested their works by the Lord Jesus Christ. All things the Christians have done on this earth will be fired.

What is this fire? In Revelation 1:14 says that Jesus Christ has eyes as a flaming fire. This is to say that the Lord Jesus Christ does not have outside fire as His help to know what He is examining. His own eye can provide fire because “For our God is consuming fire” (Hebrew 12:29). The Bible gives us an example through the life of Lot who lived in the midst of the wicked people and compromised with them. Lot suffered lost because of his disobedience and he lost his family by fire but he himself will be saved.

2. The Method of Judgement of God

How will the Lord judge the Christians? And what method will He use? It is important to know that the way of judgement that God will do will be more different from our method of judgement each other even ourselves. In Luke 8:17 Jesus said, “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.” Everything in that day will be revealed. Romans 2:16 tell us that “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5). “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Based on these passages we can see the different method of judgement of God and of man. Our judgement upon other people even for ourselves based on our visible things but God’s is based on heart searching.

The Lord will not only judge people according to their secret attitude but He will also judge them according to how much they really know God’s revealed word. In Luke 12:47-48 Jesus Christ says concerning knowing the will of God, “And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” In this passage we notice that the servants of God who are partly ignorant of the will of God will suffer less than who know God’s will and rejected it. But both these servants are beaten, because ignorance is not the excuse when we have opportunity to discover God’s truth. The Lord is aware of our motives for neglecting His Word but nevertheless those who are in the greater light have the greater responsibility.

3. The granting of the reward

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” As we read again 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, what then do we think about the gold, silver and precious stone that are mentioned here to guarantee our survival in the judgement seat of Christ? In the first place we need to understand that the things we do for the Lord Jesus Christ must be based on our love for Him. We remember the sadness of the heart of Jesus in the book of Revelation 2 for the church of Ephesus. After the Christians in the church of Ephesus have worked so hard, the Lord Jesus said to them, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee because thou have left thy first love.” This is to say that the Lord Jesus is more concerned on why we serve Him than how much we serve Him. He is more interested on why we give sacrificially for His works than how much we give to Him. If we do things because of our love for Christ and for His glory we will be rewarded and honoured in that great day. The church of Ephesus in Revelation 2 was doing many things in the church but it was based on routine and tradition. Thousands of Christians are doing the same things right now in this world. It is just a habit in attending the church each Sunday and giving the offering but nevertheless it is just a routine. This is worthless before the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ said to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:5 “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

In addition to what the apostle John has recorded in the book of Revelation, the apostle Paul said in Romans 12:9 “Let love be without dissimulation Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” It means that we do not play game with truth and error, Satan and God, and darkness and light. We need to have the attitude like the Lord Jesus Christ that He absolutely hated the error, evil, corruption, deception and apostasy. There is no compromise and loving confrontation with evil. John the Baptist was the greatest man that ever lived born of the woman who lived without compromise (Matthew 11:11). Because the strong conviction of John the Baptist in his message without compromise he loved to tell the truth to Pharisees, Saducees and those who lived in those days. Therefore let love be without dissimulation.

The Bible tells us that the only possible way to perpetuate the most precious the church has namely the truth of God in the written word, is to separate from those who distort, damage, pollute, and destroy the Word of God. It means we need to separate ourselves from those who involved in this matter. This is to say we need to excommunicate those who have involved in these matters. What did Paul say to those who lost their discernment concerning truth in the church of Corinth? We read in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Having read this passage we say this is unpleasant. The issue here is that just like a doctor talking to one person that part of his body must be removed and need to have surgery. If it is not done, it will destroy his entire life and die. However the most pleasant thing that the doctor can say is to tell that person that there will be separation of the contaminating, poisoning part of the body or else death will come. Amputation is the loving act in order to save that person.

As the Lord set the church and the church should serve the Lord but the church must destroy the elements which destroy the purity of the church and the truth of the Word of God. The truth of the Word of God is the most neglected by many so-called Christians. Compromising is the main issue in many churches in this world but the truth can not be compromised. The apostle of love said in his epistle concerning those who destroy and contaminate God’s truth in 2 John 10-11 “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” Thus if we do not love God enough and doing the things that He entrusted to us according to His command, and if we open deliberately the door of our Bible class, church and home for teaching and influence to the ones who undermine and deny the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, then we will loose our reward. So the basic truth that we study here is we must love the Lord Jesus Christ wholeheartedly and be faithful to what the Lord has given to us.

The Future Plan Of God For The Church

1. According to Jesus

What is the Church? And what is the future plan of God for the Church? In what programs of God the church will be included? In order to know the answers to these questions it is important to study what the Lord Jesus Christ said about the church while He was in this earth during His public ministry. We read in Matthew 16:18 when Jesus said, “I will build my church.” This is to say that the program of God for the church is still in the future when He says this word. It implies that the Lord Jesus Christ sees the different plan of God for Israel and the church. God has a special purpose for Israel and the church as well, but the plan of God to both groups of people is not the same. Israel already exists for many years but the church (local church) does not exist during the ministry of Jesus in His first coming. John the Baptist also indicates about the plan of God for the church in John 3:29-30 that the church is not only in the future but he himself does not have opportunity to belong to it. As he says, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” The friend of the bridegroom is different from the bride because the bride is the church. So the question is when is the beginning of the church? After the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, His disciples based on the great commission that they received, went out to preach the gospel not only in Jerusalem but also in Judea and Samaria which we can see as the beginning of the church.

2. According to the apostle Paul

Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:5-6 that the church is the brand new thing which is never known before. Paul says, “Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” What is that hidden in the past but now revealed? It is “That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.”

Before the Pentecost, the believers were in two groups namely the Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles should become the Jews in some extents to be fully involved in the program of God. But Paul said in this passage that now the mystery is the new arrangement in the plan of God. The Gentiles do not need to become Jews in order to be acceptable before the Lord because in the body of Christ there is no Jew and Gentile. This mystery was revealed and begun in the day of Pentecost as the Lord Jesus Christ says that few days after he left to heaven, the Holy Spirit of God would baptise them who trust in Him namely the bride of Christ, the true church of Jesus Christ. The proof of this promise was fulfilled in the day of Pentecost. God is calling people to this new organism, the church to Himself and when it is complete; there will be rapture of the church. Now Jesus is preparing for the time of the rapture that every believer will meet Him face to face in the air. This will be the end of God’s program for the church on this earth.

In the study of the plan of God for the church, we are not only to know when the church is begun in God’s program, but we need to understand who will belong to this church. The church is not only the small percentage Christians on this earth but every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ from generation to generation. They are the sanctified people in the Lord because in Hebrew 10:10 said that we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are sanctified by the blood of Christ, once for all. In Philippians 1:6 Paul says, “Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform until the day of Jesus Christ.” Every Christian the moment he is born again he is sanctified by God and he is in this earth in the process of sanctification day by day. His sinful nature will be banished away and he is called a saint. However we need to understand clearly that the idea of saint that we are talking about is totally different to what the world offers to man. Many people have said that only those who have done great things to people and to the church are worthy to be called the saints. What they have said is absolutely a contradiction to what the Word of God says. Every born again Christian in the New Testament is worthy to be called a saint. In 1 Corinthins 1:2-3 we read what Paul says to the Christians in the church of Corinth. “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Chris Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

a. The Sanctified people is the Saint

What do we have to do to be a saint? What do we have to do to be sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ? The only answer to these questions is we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is nothing that the Christians need to do to be sanctified. It is all settled the moment we believe in Him. God is taking care of this matter but the process of sanctification is begun at the moment we are saved, up to the time of the rapture. In this process, the Holy Spirit is used by God to sanctify us through the written Word of God. However it is sad to know that many Christians set aside the Scripture and focus on the matter of dreams, visions and speaking in tongues, and ever experiencing and some other things.

In John 17:17 Jesus prayed saying “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” The Word of God is the instrument sanctifying God’s people. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18 “ We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” We need to come to the Word of God to reveal ourselves clearly. Thus in the process of sanctification, the Word of God does two things for us, Christians. Firstly, it shows that we are not in the light of other people but in the light of God. Secondly, it shows us how far we have fallen short from God’s standard of Christian living. Thus the Bible is the cleansing agent to remove the defilement of our sins as Ephesians 5:26 when Paul spoke of the washing of the water by the Word.

Monday, 10 November 2008

The Old Testament Teaching on The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

While Jesus Christ was with His disciples, His teachings were not lacking concerning His Second Coming to prepare them for that great day. When Jesus ascended before His disciples, two angels spoke to the disciples in the Mount of Olives saying “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). He will be coming to the earth at the same top namely at the Mount of Olives and He will come visibly, physically in glory. Thus we must be ready.

The prophecy of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus was not mentioned by Jesus Himself or His apostle but the Holy Spirit has been speaking about His Second Coming hundreds years before His first coming. This is to say that the Old Testament Scriptures does not only give the prophecy of His first Coming such Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5 and Zechariah 9 but also hundreds of passages devoted for His Second Coming. The passages right from the book of Genesis to Revelation contain many prophecies of His return. The following passages are eight prophetic passages in the Old Testament about the Second Coming as at His first coming.

1. Genesis 3:15

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

2. Numbers 14:17-19

“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.”

3. Deuteronomy 30:1-20

“And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

4. 1 Samuel 2:30-35

“Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.”

5. Psalms 2:7-9

“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

6. Psalms 72:8-11

“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.”

7. Psalms 110:1-4

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

8. Isaiah 2:1-4

“The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Apart from these eight prophetic passages there are still many prophetic passages given in the Old Testament about the Second Coming and what He will do for this world through Israel at the coming of His beloved Son. The problem today is that there are many people who are ignorant for His Coming, though it is not because of the lacking of Bible references. God the Father has told about the coming of His Son, and the Lord Jesus Christ told the disciples and the people about the things related to His Second Coming, and yet we are slow in heart to believe what the Lord said. Thus we may conclude that we must study the word of God faithfully and diligently because God loves the diligent student of His Word.

Jesus' Teaching on His Second Coming

1. According to the gospel of Luke

a. Luke 9:26-31

What was Jesus saying about His Second Coming in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? The answers to this question we will see just from one book namely the gospel of Luke. The very word of Jesus concerning His coming we find in Luke 9:26-27 when he says, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s and of the Holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.” What does it mean when Jesus says He will come with the glory of the Father and of the Holy angels? And what does it mean also when the Lord Jesus says that “there be some standing here, which shall not of death, till they see the kingdom of God?” The answers are found in the following verses. “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:28-31). This was regarding His crucifixion, which He will accomplish in Jerusalem. Three of the disciples saw the transfiguration of Christ which the preview of His Second Coming. This is the advance indication to the three disciples what Christ looks like to see him in the glory. This was the preview because the two dead men came and the voice of the father from heaven saying, “this is my beloved son in which I am pleased.”

b. Luke 12:36-40

Another passage that recorded by Luke the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning His Second Coming to this earth is found in Luke 12:36. It says, “And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” In this verse, Jesus describes Himself as the bridegroom who is going to bring His bride. And Jesus continued to say, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, have suffered his house to be broken through” (Luke 12:37-39). This is to say that no one knows when the coming of the Lord Jesus except God the Father. We need to be ready at all times as we continue to read in Luke 12:40 “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” We should not think that He will not come and then we do our own things and not of the Lord. In this short passage we see the constant reminder for every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ that we need to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord and be ready at any time.

c. Luke 13:24-30

Luke 13:24-27 “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” Hearing this word from the Lord Jesus Christ we are reminded that it is not the wonderful and dramatic works that the Lord expect from all of us but the faithfulness of us to what He has commanded us to do. We think of those who are just professing Christians, they may claim to the Lord for what they have been doing as so-called Christians but at the end the Lord does not count their works. The judgement will be given to those people.

Furthermore the Lord Jesus continued to say what the things will happen in His Second Coming as we see in Luke 13:29-30. He says, “And they shall come from the east, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” There will be a great joy for those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. All believers in the world will be gathered together in the kingdom of God. The question we ask, what about those who are just merely pretenders as Christians? The answer is given in Luke 13:28 that “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” How horrible it is for those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! Knowing this great judgement from the Lord the unbelievers may say that they do not want to enter such situation but when they are urged to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is absolutely rejected. This is the situation of many people that they do not want to go to hell but their attitude and behaviour never bother about the reality of hell. If in this life a man does not come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, then there is no opportunity anymore after his death as the writer of Hebrews said “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” (Hebrews 9:27).

d. Luke 17:20-24

When Jesus Christ was with the Pharisees, they asked a question of when the kingdom of God is coming. As we read in Lukas 17:20-21 we see the clear answer from the Lord Jesus Christ to those unbelieving Jews. Luke 17:20-21 saying, “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” In other word, Jesus was saying “I am the King and I am in the midst of you and I am here.” However the Lord Jesus said to His disciples not to the Pharisees concerning the coming of the Lord. We read in Luke 17:22-24 “And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. (Why?) For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.” These are the things that will happen just before the Second Coming of the Lord because of the apostasy of the church and the growing numbers of the apostates, the great deception will occur. If there are people who claim as the King we should know one thing that Christ is the King. We do not have to wonder whether He is coming or not, because everybody will see Him. There is nothing secret but it will be visible.

e. Luke 18:8

Luke 18:8 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily, Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” It implies that the situation at the Second Coming of Christ in the world will be so terrible. The Antichrist will absolutely control the world with his power because it is the final program of the Antichrist. However the Lord will show His mercy to His people and Israel will be saved despite of the horrible things happen in this world.

f. Luke 19:12

In Luke 19:12 Jesus gives the parables saying, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.” The context of this passage tells that this nobleman gave certain responsibility to each of his servants while he was not around that when he came back he would find his servants doing what he had commanded. However this parable tells that some have done much, some have done little but one man has done nothing because he is a disobedient servant. Whatever the Lord gives to us, we must do it wholeheartedly to please our God. We need to do what He has commanded us in His Holy Scripture.

g. Luke 21:7

In Luke 21:7, we notice that the more Jesus spoke about His Second Coming, the more anxious the disciples were. In this occasion the disciples were asking Jesus concerning His Second Coming. As we read, “And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?” To answer this question, the Lord Jesus in the whole chapter of Luke 21 explained all the details that will happen in the coming of the Lord.

h. Luke 22:16-18

Luke 22:16 “For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” When Jesus said this word to His disciples in the upper room, He was telling them the nearest of His crucifixion and death. In 1 Corinthians 11 reminded the Christians in the church of Corinth concerning what the Lord Jesus said in Luke 22:16. Paul wrote this revelation of God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit saying, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). This is the Holy Communion that every church of the Lord Jesus Christ must do because in so doing, the believers in the Lord will remember what Jesus has done for us and anticipate for His coming when we will see Him face to face. There is no greater comfort then knowing the coming of the Lord Jesus. He right now is preparing a mansion for us and He will take us there. This is the tremendous assurance for those who believe in Him.

The Apostles' Teaching on The Second Coming of Christ

1. According to the apostle Paul

In 2 Thessalonians 3:5 we read “And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.” What Paul wrote here is the example of the church of Thessalonica as they journey this earth and waiting for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For every church today must follow as what Paul said to the church of Thessalonians namely we need the love of God and the patient in waiting for Christ.

Another aspect of the events in the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ we find in 1 Corinthians 15. The passage tells us exactly what kind of resurrection body we will have when the Lord fixes the day. The body that we have right now is made of dust of this earth and the Lord will not allow this kind of body to enter His kingdom. Flesh and Blood can not inherit of the kingdom of God but we shall pattern after the resurrection body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has the body that is flesh and bone and not flesh and blood. The book of Leviticus clearly said that the life of the body is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). Thus our body in the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus will be changed in to the glorified body as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Paul did not only teach the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ on these two epistles but rather in all his epistles he did emphasise that the recipients of his letters might continue to be ready for the return of the Lord.

2. According to the apostle James

In James 5:7-8 “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of he earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” This is the practical emphasis James gave concerning the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the recipients of his epistle were living as strangers and pilgrims in other lands, James comforted them with this wonderful of God. On the other hand, James reminded the believers about the judgement of the Lord as he said in James 5:9 “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.” The Lord Jesus said that God has committed all judgement to the Son of man. Jesus Christ will also judge the world and every one of us must appear before the throne judgement of God.

3. According to the apostle Peter

In 2 Peter 3:3-4 we are also told about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their owns lusts. And, where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” Peter knew that there would be people who would be asking in that way because they have doubted concerning the promises of God. For this reason Peter gave the answer in 2 Peter 3:5-6 “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” Furthermore Peter describes the details of the fulfilment of God’s promises (2 Peter 3:7-9). Indeed God never forgets His promises but He will come to judge the world. In the past because of the wickedness of the people the Lord has judged the world with Genesis’ flood and He will judge and destroy the world again for the same reason at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now Peter warned the recipients of his epistles to be ready in any time for the Coming of the Lord because no one will know when He will return. Thus 2 Peter 3:10-12 tells the absolute truth of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. It says “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” Every material and substance in this world will be destroyed automatically by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ then followed by the new heaven and new earth that is the prophetic program of God who can not lie. Everything will be fulfilled according to what the Lord said in His word.

4. According to the Apostle Jude

The apostle Jude has a testimony for the coming events connected to the coming of our Lord. We notice the whole book of Jude is talking about the apostasies that will happen in the church as the signs of the nearest return of the Lord Jesus to this earth. As Jude explains what those apostates will do in the church and to the believers, Jude reminds his recipients that they have a God who is able to keep them from falling. As we read in Jude 24 saying “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” Thus despite of the wickedness of this world by the power of God we who believe in Him will be preserved and saved for God’s glory. The Lord will preserve us till the Lord Jesus Christ returns where we can see Him face to face.

5. According to the apostle John

The apostle John whom Jesus Christ loved was exiled at the land of Patmos until the end of his life. However it was during his exile in this island, sixty years after Jesus had died and returned to heaven, Jesus gave him the panorama of the coming events connected to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle John before the Lord gave him the marvellous revelation of God concerning the coming events in the book of Revelation; Paul has reminded the believers in his first epistle concerning the coming of the Lord. This is to prepare us for the book of Revelation as we read in 1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” Furthermore John said in 1 John 3:2-3 “but we know that, when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Thus we need to get ready for His coming. We must not be ashamed when He comes but we must be purified by looking and having anticipation, long for the coming of the Lord.

In the book of Revelation chapter 1, Christ gave us a symbolic presentation of His Second Coming and chapter 2-3 is representing the church of the age. In these two chapters of Revelation we see the warning that the Lord gave to each of the seven churches that they might listen with their spiritual ears because Christ will come. Every church is tested according to their works and faithfulness to His word and not according to what they have achieved in this world.

Beginning from Revelation 4 to 19 we see that God sends forth the horse. The seventieth year week of Daniel namely seven years period between the Rapture of the church and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with His glorified church and during these seven years, fantastic things will happen upon this earth and the planets in heaven above where the church will be purified at the judgement seat of Christ. It is during this period of time that the people of Israel in this earth will make a covenant with the Antichrist. In the midst of troubles and war in Israel, two witnesses will come down from heaven to Jerusalem prophesying about the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result of their preaching there will be 144,000 Jews shield by God. They will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and as soon as they are saved they will be evangelists in Jerusalem and the whole world. Some people will be saved as a result of their evangelistic preaching but in those days they will be persecuted and martyred. Thus there will be horrible chaos and destruction for the whole world that never be known before. Everything that the Lord has said will be fulfilled.

Having seen what will happen in the seventieth year week of Daniel, in Revelation 20:1-6, we see the great promise of the great millennium. This event will follow immediately after the end of the seven years of the great tribulation. One thousand years of the reign of Christ in this earth will be inaugurated by His Second Coming in which those who trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ will be allowed to enter His kingdom for a thousand years. After the millennial, Satan will be loosed from the bound and even those who reject Christ in their heart will be resurrected, facing the Lord Jesus Christ as a Judge in the great white throne for the final judgement of the world.

Lastly in Revelation 21-22 we see the new heaven and the new earth, the New Jerusalem, the marvellous promise of God about His kingdom. It is marvellous to know that the whole last book of the Bible devoted to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, which Paul never knew because he had already died before the book of Revelation was written. Therefore the Thessalonians knew the times and the seasons perfectly, which they knew nothing about the book of Revelation as we have in the completed Bible. Thus we may conclude with this question, why did Paul, James, Peter, Jude and John write so much about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? The answer is because the Lord Jesus Himself emphasised so much about His Second Coming to this world. In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we are told so much about the Lord’s coming. Therefore just before Jesus went to heaven He gave the terminuses command to the apostles as the great commission. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (Matt 28:19-20). These are the things that Paul, John, Jude and Peter were doing. All the apostles have committed to obey what the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded to them in the great commission. As for us believers in the Lord Jesus Christ the same command is given that we must do as the apostles have done. We need to have the proper emphasis of the Second Coming of Christ otherwise the church has not done and preached the whole counsel of God.

The Importance of Studying The Second Coming of Jesus Christ: The Example Of The Church Of Thessalonica

The church of Thessalonica was the only church in the New Testament times in which the apostle Paul acknowledged their great understanding of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The knowledge that the church of Thessalonica had can not be compared even to the most faithful churches in our days. Looking at the background of these Thessalonians that before the coming of Paul to this city, there was none even one Christian in the city. However, Paul, having spent time to teach and preach the word of God, the church had grown rapidly in their understanding of the mystery of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. At the Missionary Journey of Paul

The beginning of the church of Thessalonica was at the second missionary journey of Paul together with Silas and Timothy. Before they entered the city of Thessalonica, Paul and his companions Timothy and Silas were badly treated at the first arrival in Europe in the city of Philippi. They were unjustly beaten, put to the prison because of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. However by the providence of God they managed to escape from this city and continued their ways westward across and reached the country of Macedonia. Act 17:1-4 recorded that their arrival was truly by the leading and direction of the Lord. It was in this time that Paul held one of the greatest Bible Conferences in all the history. “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbaths days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.”

Paul and his little band missionary arrived in the new mission field where apparently there was not even Christian there before they came. There was no any means to tell others about the gospel such TV, Radio, etc. There was not financial guarantee at all, in fact only three to four weeks available to do the necessary things and preach the gospel but it brought the greatest impact to the people. The powerful testimony for Christ was established in that city. Not only the church was established but also their understanding of the Word of God and faith had grown in their hearts of the program of God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. The Sending of the Letter to the Church of Thessalonica

The main key Luke has recorded in Acts is the teaching concerning the dead and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as predicted in the Old Testament. After the departure of Paul and the group from the city of Thessalonica, then Paul soon wrote a little letter to them concerning the teaching of the word of God, concerning the meaning of the dead and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote to them about the heart of the gospel, he was able to tell them about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ that amazed us that how much they knew about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

First Thessalonians is the first letter Paul wrote to the brand new church of Thessalonica. This was written for even after Paul pleaded from that city, he still did not know what had happened to those new Christians, whether they were so discouraged and scattered, or whether the church was broken up and destroyed. The heart of Paul was deeply burnt, and then he wrote a letter to them as he said in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. (Why) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”

When we read that verse, we, Christians who live in this generation are amazed about the knowledge that the Thessalonians have. Their knowledge of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was so perfect, mature, complete and even the great apostle said that he did not need to tell them about all these. The times and the seasons are prophetic time and season just like Jesus told to his disciples in Acts 1:7 that the time and the season are in the father’s hand and you do not have to know when will be the time. This is to say that the new Christians in the church of Thessalonica knew perfectly what will happen and what the order of the events when Christ returns. The church of Thessalonica was just a new-born church in which Paul served for few weeks but their understanding of the Word of God was really great. This is the question to all believers in this generation, how long have we known the Lord Jesus Christ and how long have we had the Bible in our own language to read, study and understand? We are ashamed to ourselves because of the knowledge that we have so little though we have the Bible in our own hand.

3. The Maturity of the Christians in the church of Thessalonica

The church in Thessalonica perhaps was just two months old and yet they have known so much about the significant of the dead and resurrection the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament. They also knew about the things that will happen at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact in 1 and 2 Thessalonians Paul wrote to this little church that every single chapter of this book is referring to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For example, let us see some of the passages in first Thessalonians concerning the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of 1 Thessalonians 1 in verse 10 “To wait for his Son from heaven....even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.” In 1 Thessalonians 2:19 says “For what is our hope, or joy or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? In 1 Thessalonians 3:13 “To the end he may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” The Lord Jesus Christ will be coming therefore we must be prepared in our heart for that great event. This was further described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of th archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” This is the great promises of the rapture of the church that will take place. In 1 Thessalonians 5 is full of prophecy of the events of the coming of the Lord and the climax is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That every part and every aspect of our being might be so sanctified and cleansed from the habits of sins for the joyful union with the Lord in that day.

In 2 Thessalonians 1 we can see also some of the things and promises that will happen at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and His angels. Everything has been described in the book including the coming of the Antichrist as mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 that the Antichrist will claim that he is God. Thus Paul told them in 2 Thessalonians 2:5 “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” Paul has told them about the great apostasy and what the Antichrist will do in the temple because all these are the prophetic programs of God. Having seen all this truth mastered by the church of Thessalonians, we marvel for the zeal of learning that these believers have concerning the Word of God. It is absolutely that there is no even one church in our days that have such zeal in the Word of God. In fact we wonder when are the church and Bible classes started, how much the Bible prophetic of the word of God is given? Some may say that the study of the prophetic books is difficult to understand and complicated. But one thing that we need to know is that all the prophetic truth in the Bible is intended by God for us to know and learn.

Sunday, 9 November 2008

The Infallible And Innarancy Of The Bible

A. THE BIBLE IS THE FINAL REVELATION OF GOD

In what basis do we believe the Bible? The God who created the world has told us emphatically, expressively, repeatedly that everything He wrote in His book is absolutely dependable, infallible, and inerrant. One of the many things that God tells us in the Bible is that the Bible is true, otherwise we could not be sure of anything that the Bible teaches. This is the foundation of doctrines of our faith as Christians, just as the foundation of doctrines of Israel before the Church was created. God has spoken and He did not lie but He has communicated the absolute truth which is guaranteed by the Lord Jesus Christ, every single part of the Bible is infallible and inspired because God has written it. In fact the Lord Jesus guaranteed also in advance all the New Testament Scriptures that would be written after His ascension to heaven. Sixty years after His ascension the Lord Jesus Christ said this word through His beloved apostle, John, in Revelation 1:18 “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” He continued to speak to His people as He did to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. The Lord Jesus Christ said that the New Testament, which is now called as new covenant which, is just as inspired as the old covenant. Therefore the Old Testament consists of 39 books and the New Testament consists of 27 books and thus there are 66 books which are infallible and inspired.

B. THE WRITING OF THE SCRIPUTRE IS GUARANTEED BY GOD

What does God say to guarantee us that whenever we teach and preach what this book says we are standing on holy ground? To answer this question we need to study not only what Jesus says about the Bible but also what the apostles of Him who have the authority of what they wrote and thus constituted the foundation of the church. Apart from this, we can know nothing for who Christ is and what he did. The apostles have the authority to what they wrote. We can not do but only the apostles because they are special.

1. According to the apostle Paul

a. 1 Corinthians

In 1 Corinthians 2:12 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that freely given to us of God.” Paul was saying here that “we are not guessing, neither speculating but we know what we are saying to be true.” Furthermore in verse 13 says “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” In this verse we can see clearly the verbal inspiration of every word Paul wrote came not from human’s wisdom or opinion but from God Himself. That is why almost the end of his book in 1 Corinthians 14:37 as we recalled the problems of the Corinthians that some of them wanted to follow Paul, some to follow Apolos and some to follow Jesus Christ, Paul said his writing is the Word of God. Thus we read in 1 Corinthians 14:37-38 “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” Although there were some who despised Paul and yet Paul says to the Corinthians that the final ultimate test is whether you are truly spiritually minded people or whether you are truly prophets from God, you will be measured according to the writings of Paul. This is to say that those who claim to possess the mind, the message of Christ they must recognize everything that Paul wrote is infallible (1 Cor. 14:37). If anyone says in this generation, everything that he writes is infallible; we need to be extremely careful that we do not fall to his trap.

b. 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:13 we read “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” The Thessalonians were not the same as the Corinthians which have so many problems with regard to the Word of God. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians the response was different from the Corinthians. The Thessalonians responded humbly and thankfully because they knew and believed what Paul had written to them was truly the Word of God that they must follow and obey.

c. 2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 3:6 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.” This is the command and warning that Paul says to the Thessalonians that they may walk according to what they have received from Paul.

In this verse we notice one special Greek word used by Paul namely the word tradition “paradosis.” According to the context of this passage, the meaning of this word is that Paul was saying to the Thessalonians that everything you learn from God through us, you are infinitely responsible for because we came by God’s authority. This is to say that if anyone who resists following what Paul has said, the Thessalonians should take note of him. As He said in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” In other words, the person who disregarded, underestimated, ignored, and questioned the absolute authority of the apostle Paul in everything he wrote; he is a very dangerous person in the assembly of God’s people. Thus every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ must be fully obedience to what the apostles have written because it is the word of God.

d. Galatians

Galatians 1:6-8 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” This chapter of Galatians is absolutely terrifying. One may say, “I do not believe that Paul wrote such letter. Was not he who wrote 1 Corinthians 13 about love? How could he write such word to Galatians? The answer is because Paul is writing the Word of God and what he writes is from God as we see in Galatians 1:11-12 “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In other words Paul was saying here that if anyone who distorts the message I have taught you Galatians, he would answer to our mighty God and be under His judgement. This is to say that what Paul said is what Christ would have said. In fact Paul said, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). So what Paul writes is what Christ is writing through the Holy Spirit in His precious book and has infinite authority.

2. According to the apostle Peter

a. 2 Peter

In Galatians 2:11-14 we find that there was a conflict between Paul and Peter, because Peter who was once convinced that there is no different circumcision and uncircumcision in the Lord Jesus Christ. However when someone came from Jerusalem into their midst which was of the circumcisions, Peter withdrew and separated himself from those Gentile Christians in Antioch. For this attitude, Paul rebuked him publicly.

Although Paul rebuked Peter publicly, Paul has the heart to forgive and forget. On the other hand Peter also has done the same thing and even regarded the writings of Paul as truly from the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter said in his epistle clearly in 2 Peter 3:14-16 “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” Peter was saying that Paul’s epistles were epistles from God whosoever distorted them will bring destruction to them. Therefore the epistles of Paul and Peter were the infallible and inspired by God.

3. According to Luke

a. Luke 1

As we see how the apostle Peter regarded the writing of Paul, now let us see how the apostle Paul regarded the writing of Luke. Luke was the only non-Jew who wrote the Scripture but in comparison Luke wrote more, than 13 books of Paul combined.

In 1 Timothy 5:18 “For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” Where is this quotation from? The phrase “the labourer is worthy of his reward” is only found in Luke 10:7. Paul was saying that what Luke wrote in his gospel is the Scripture.

The word “grape” in Greek occurred 50 times in NT and every times it occurs it means “God saith.” Thus Paul was saying here that what Peter and Luke wrote are the Scriptures. On the other hand Peter was saying that what Paul wrote are Scriptures. And what Jesus said concerning the apostles’ writing are scriptures. Therefore what we have now is “A basic foundation for the authority of the New Testament of Scriptures.”

Then one may ask this question, how do we know that what the Bible teaches is infallible truth from God? Some said I agree that the Bible is the basic foundation but not every detail, individual concerning history, science, geographical is infallible and inspired. This is not correct. If anyone has this kind of understanding concerning the word of God, this is to say that he has the beginning of the enemy to undermine the foundation of the Word of God. If we are not sure for the details that found in the Bible are infallible, then there is no assurance for the general either. As Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:12 “if I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” If we can prove the Bible is erroneous in the thing that we can check upon, how do we know that the Bible is not erroneous in the things that we can not check upon such heavenly, hell, creation and eternity, regeneration and forgiveness of sins?

In Luke 1:3-4 “It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.” Luke was saying, “I am not interested in communicating of one single error.” But we must remember that the Holy Spirit overruled and protected Luke from the writing of the error even he did not want to. The Bible said about this truth two thousands times from Genesis to Revelation namely “thus saith the Lord.” In Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie.” Titus 1:2 “God who can not lie.” Hebrew 6 “it is impossible for God to lie.” Thus everything that God said in the Holy Scripture is true and infallible.

C. IS IT RIGHT TO MAKE A BOUNDARY LINE TO DIFFERENTIATE THE WRITING OF MAN AND OF GOD?

1. God gave the absolute authority to His servant to write His word

What is the boundary line to differentiate the writing of man and of God? In the writing of Moses we can see some of the things that we need to know concerning the word of God and what we must do and what we must not do. Deuteronomy 4:2 “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” Why is God so concerns about adding and taking from His word? Deuteronomy 4:8 “And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day.” God was saying because My Word is infinitely above any other so-called “word” and so-called “gods,” do not try to improve on my word neither revise, nor add to it, nor subtract from it, because it is perfect.

In Deuteronomy 12:32 Moses commanded the people of Israel to obey what all the things that he has given to them. Deuteronomy 12:32 “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it, thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” Furthermore Moses warned the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 13:1-3 “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Thus based on the Word of God in the book of Deuteronomy we may conclude that we must not make any boundary line to differentiate the word of the human writer from the divine writer. If anyone is doing so, he will be a false prophet. Only the false prophets and teachers dare to divide the Bible according to their wishes.

2. God did not accommodate human’s error in the writing of His Word

In the writing of God’s Word God did not accommodate human’s error in science or history recorded in His word because firstly, He is the Lord of human language. God knows how to talk, in fact He said to Mosses in Exodus 4:11 that He knows how to make people to communicate. That is why His Word is very impressive, just like Jesus who communicates absolute truth through human language. Secondly, since the Scripture is eternal, it would be forever witness to His use of error, if He ever accommodated human’s error anywhere in this book. The book of Psalms 119:89 says, “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” This is to say that because the Word of the Lord is already settled in heaven, thus there is no need to differentiate the writings of men and of God, all the things we have is the final product of God’s revelation. Thirdly, if God indeed makes the erroneous idea as a means of speaking to us, He will be setting a false example for us when He told to put away false thought and to speak the truth as Ephesians 4:24 tells us. How can God tell us to speak nothing but the truth and yet He cooperated in human error in the only book that He ever wrote? Thus God never did such things in the writing of His Holy Word. Fourthly, the Word of God is inerrant. There are many people said that the purpose of the Bible is written is to tell us how to be saved and it is not telling us about the science and history. However, it is the fact the Bible was not written for this purpose only although this is one of the purposes. The Bible also is telling us about the angels, creation, and etc. The main purpose may be about salvation but there are hundreds of purposes are mentioned here. If we do not believe it as true how do we know salvation is true?

In Proverb 30:5-6 we find the statement after hundreds of years from Moses, saying “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” This passage tells us about the many commentaries today. We need to be careful about the footnotes on the study Bible. We should not take them as the Word of God because they are not inspired. Every word of God is tested from all eternity. He knew what exactly He says because what He has given in the Bible is His final revelation.

However though some books of the Bible contain the very difficult passages which cause people to ignore, underestimate, misinterpret and finally reject, we, the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should study the Word diligently and carefully. The book of Revelation is one of the books contained many hard passages but we are commanded to study it in order to understand what it means. In Revelation 22:18-19 the Lord gave us the warning concerning His word that we must not add and nor take away what He has given in His Word. As He says “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” There is more than one way to reject the word of the Bible. For example, to ignore the meaning of some portions of Scripture is actually rejecting the Word of God. Many people in the university and Seminary have rejected the Word of God, the Bible. God knows what the people of this world have done to His word. Thus we may conclude that the Bible is exactly what God says what it was and it is exactly what God claims to be.

Sunday, 2 November 2008

The Verbal And Plenary Preservation Of The Scriptures

In the study of the verbal and plenary preservation of the Scripture we find many people have failed to understand that the Bible is truly preserved by God for His people. Everything that is written in the Bible is the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. However this truth was not taken and considered by many people seriously. During the last two centuries there have been many attacks on the preservation of the Holy Scriptures. Many people said today that the Bible only contains the word of God. On the other hand many people have determined the preservation of the Scripture based on their own selfish gain. One may say “when I read some of the Psalms I just fell so warm and so inspired, but when I read the genealogy in the book of Chronicles I can not believe anything that is inspired because that is not inspired me.” This is the way many people have done to determine whether that particular portion of Scripture is the Word of God. But the absolute truth is that nothing in Holy Scripture that is infallible based on how we might feel about it when we read it. The Bible is absolutely inspired of anything that is found in this book such as genealogy, or scientific of any kind.

The problem of understanding the preservation of the Holy Scripture for those so-called Christians does not only occur in this last two centuries but it was the problem for the Jews in the time of Jesus Christ’s ministry on this earth. The Jews had the problems to understand the Old Testament because the Jews would consider that the writings of Moses were really inspired. On the other hand they regarded the writings of the other prophets like, Samuel, Joshua, Kings, those of in the form of prophet, they believed those writings were not as inspired as what Moses wrote. For example the book of Psalms, the third category of the Bible in Old Testament according to the Jews, they put those books down and considered them as low value. This attitude of Jews was also reflected in the translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, which is called Septuagint, 200 years before Christ. The Jews handled the books of Moses carefully but not the rest of the Old Testament. Thus when Jesus Christ quoted Psalms 82:6 in John 10:34 “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are Gods? At the end of verse 35 Jesus said, “the scripture cannot be broken.” This is to say that Jesus Christ considered the book of Psalms as part of the law and it can not be broken because the whole Old Testament, the 39 books are totally infallible and inspired, breathed out of God. We do often times innocently the same thing as the Jews do. There are people who read the red letter of the Bible as the most word of God. There are many who think that they do not need to bother what Peter and Paul say, what they need is to know what Jesus says. To such attitude in understanding the preservation of word of God we may say that if a person does not believe what the apostles say and reject them, then he is rejecting the Word of Jesus because Jesus is the one who authenticates them. Thus we can not distinguish in the New Testament what is most inspired and what is almost inspired and what is not inspired?

1. Verbal and plenary preservation of the Old Testament Scripture according to Jesus

During the temptation of Jesus Christ, soon after His baptism, Jesus replied Satan three times with this phrase “it is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). What is “it is written”? God’s word and God’s final authority is written. When Jesus said this word, Satan understood it correctly. Satan did not comment what Jesus said or asking further discussion on the merit of so-called ‘inspired text.’ Satan knew that he was defeated. James said it in this way that “the Devil also believe and tremble” (James 2:19). On this regard Satan knows more than liberals and unbelievers in the world today who claim to be scholars. Jesus set the example for us that is the ultimate, final authoritative, not our opinion but it is what God has said. We must be sure that we must do as what Jesus does. He made an accurate and relevant quotation from the Old Testament Text when He was facing temptations. This is to say that Jesus knew His Bible.

One proof was recorded in the Holy Scripture that Jesus knew His Bible very well was that when He was at twelve years old, He knew more than the greatest theologian in Israel did. This event is record in Luke 9:42-47 when Jesus was brought to Jerusalem by Joseph and His mother. On their return home, Jesus was left behind in the midst of doctors of the law and they had marvelled to see His understanding of the Holy Scripture. Jesus did not master what the Rabbi said but He mastered only the inspired and infallible Old Testament scriptures. Thus we need to master the message and quote it authoritatively.

Another proof that Jesus Christ said to two of His disciples after His resurrection and after having the glorified body, Jesus taught the disciples to know the very important fact about the Holy Scriptures. We read in Luke 24:25, 27 that Jesus spoke this word when they were walking on a road to Emmaus with His two frustrated disciples. “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Jesus was saying here that the two disciples must believe the word of God, beginning from the writing of Moses namely the Torah and the writing of all the prophets namely the writing of Joshua and all down to the Major Prophets and historical books. Thus in Luke 24:25, 27 Jesus had covered two categories of the Holy Scripture in the Old Testament. Now in Luke 24:44 another category namely the Psalms Jesus said that everything has already mentioned in these three categories about the Lord Jesus Christ must be fulfilled. As we read Luke 24:44 “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” Thus Luke 24:44 covered the whole books in the Old Testament and it is the Word of God and we must understand what the Holy Spirit has given in the Old Testament.

Having seen Jesus’ explanation on the inspiration of the Holy Scripture, now it is important to see what Jesus says concerning the verbal and plenary preservation of the Holy Scripture. Matthew 5:17-18 we read “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The question we need to ask is that what is ‘jot’? And what is ‘tittle’? ‘Jot’ is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet namely ‘yodh,’ and ‘tittle’ is the smallest part of the Hebrew letter. Thus Jesus was saying here that not even the small letter or the small part of the letter should in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Because Jesus does not only believe on verbal inspiration but He believed in jot and title inspiration. Jesus said to the wise theologian of His days, the Saducees who are in charge of the temple and the high priesthood “ye do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God (Matthew 22:29). The Saducees and Pharisees had the double disasters because, firstly they did not know the scriptures and secondly they did not know the power of God. Therefore the conclusion on this matter Jesus said “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). If we follow what He says in His word we will survive from disaster of the world and we will never be destroyed.

In John 5:46 we see another evidence in which Jesus Christ proclaimed His existence in the Scripture. “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.” This verse is the rebuke to the Pharisees when they persisted not to believe what Jesus had taught them. The Pharisees and Saducees often claimed only Moses and his writings that they believed and not the word of Jesus. Thus Jesus Christ has to correct them concerning their understanding of the Scriptures. If they truly have searched the Scripture it is surely they must understand that Jesus Christ has existed before Moses was. Jesus Christ is one of the three persons in Godhead who told Moses what to write. However one may ask a question, how could Jesus tell Moses what to write when Moses lived in 1400 BC? The answer is found in John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is to say that Jesus Christ is forever and ever exist and there is nothing before Him. Jesus does not have any problem to tell Moses what to do. In fact Jesus appeared to Moses in the burning bush. Thus everything we read in Genesis came from God through Moses and God has guaranteed every single word found in this book. We need to believe what Moses wrote. If we do not believe on Moses’ writings then there is no warranty to believe what Jesus says. It means everything that we read in the book of Genesis absolutely infallible such as how the world is created, in what order the things happened and how long it took, how the curse came to human rebellion, Genesis flood and every word from Genesis 1-11 is infallible. The Old Testament books are guaranteed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Verbal and plenary preservation of the New Testament Scripture according to Jesus

Having seen the Lord Jesus Christ guaranteed the Old Testament books, now it is important to consider the New Testament Scriptures and what the Lord says about these books. In John 14:26 we can see the absolute guarantee of the writing of the Scripture after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ to heaven. Jesus gave this word to those eleven frightened men in the upper room in the night he was betrayed, the night before His crucifixion. He said “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” How do we know that the apostle John who wrote this gospel 60 years later, was writing accurately every word that Jesus said? It because the Holy Spirit brings to remembrance every word that Jesus said. That is why we have the warranty in advance of what we are reading is true. Furthermore in John 15:26 we are told the Holy Spirit will testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” Jesus was saying here that “you will know, and all you need to know about me in written form in the future series of documents called the New Testament books by which you can be saved, sanctified and some day glorified.” The Lord Jesus Christ guaranteed the writing of His Word in advance.

Another guarantee given by the Lord Jesus Christ in John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” The point here is that Jesus would not only tell them everything that He would say in the four gospels, His works in the epistles, and the things to come in the book of Revelation. All things and prophetic passages in the New Testament are guaranteed by Christ.

In John 17:20 we read Jesus’ prayer before He was crucified saying “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” What is the meaning of this verse? Jesus Christ was not saying, “Please bless those who hear me” but He said, “please bless those who believe in me through their word.” Why? Because nobody in this world today can be saved by hearing Jesus talks to him. Jesus is not talking to anybody except through the words of the apostles. We can not talk to Jesus directly nor can we hear Him speaking to us directly. The only way that we can know anything about Him is through what the apostle and prophet wrote about Him. That is why Ephesians 2:20 said that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets because every word in the New Testament was written through them. Hence the Lord Jesus could say that the only exclusive means by which we know of Him is through the writing of these men whose authority Jesus has guaranteed us in advance. As we read in Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Therefore when we hear the Word in the New Testament books, we are hearing the absolutely infallible, inerrant written revelation from Jesus Christ and nobody can be saved apart from this book and its message.

Is The Bible True In Every Single Word That God Wrote?

The study of this topic shows to us that we are entering the very complex problem the professing Christians have in this century. It is sad to note that the vast majority Bible teachers, theologian absolutely deny the infallible and inerrancy of the Scripture in every single word that God wrote. In original autographs, the Lord gave through centuries His Word in Hebrew, Aramic and Greek. Thus what we have now in our hand is the translation of that original language of the Bible. The question usually is asked is that, is the translation that we have in our hand also infallible? Many scholars, theologians have failed to answer this question correctly. What they understand is that the original autograph of the word of God is infallible and innerant but not the translation that we have in our own language. However there is a very important consideration that we need to make on this matter namely that the Bible that we have now in our own hand is the translation of the original language. Thus this translation is also infallible to the extent that if it is translated accurately from the original autographs. Based on this conclusion, we teach with confidence, believe and obey what this translation says. As far as the English Bible is concerned the translation must be accurately transmitted to English what God said in the language that the Holy Spirit used to give the autograph of His revelation in the Scriptures.

In the early 1960s many leading seminaries in America began to question and deny the foundation truth of the infallibility of the Bible, though they still claimed to be Evangelical. Therefore the conservative leaders from various countries have to fight those who question and deny this truth. Up to this day, the fighting never ends till the Lord Jesus comes because many Christian leaders have fallen into the same trap. However to those who truly love the Lord and His word, there will be no doubt in their heart that the Bible is the Word of God, it is infallible and innerrant. The Bible is inspired, not because the Bible said it is inspired as many books and cultic literatures claim so, but if we observe from the beginning of the book of Genesis till the book of Revelation we will convince that the Bible is the Word of God. We notice in the Bible that How the people who love God, love also His word with confidence. Thus the only Book that God ever wrote in the history of this world is the Bible. The Bible is absolutely the Word of God, and God preserves His word for His people from all errors and mistakes.

A. GOD WAS THE AUTHOR OF THE SCRIPTURE

In the study of the Holy Scripture one must believe that the Bible is the Word of God written by God Himself. This is very crucial to everyone who studies the Word of God. Anyone who fails to acknowledge that God authored the Bible he will fail to understand what the Bible said about itself. This is a very vital foundation of Christian’s faith in the study of Christian doctrines. Thus if God was really the author of the Bible then we may conclude that God will preserve His word forever. The Bible will not contain any error despite of its writers were human, but the Lord would preserve His Word without mistake. Therefore the believers in the Lord must not neglect the study of the Holy Scripture but rather we need to spare no effort in searching the truth of the Scriptures.

The churches that do not do her responsibility in studying and searching the Word of God, God purposely will send false teachers to such churches in order to provoke God’s people to search the Scripture. We may see such church in the New Testament namely the church of Corinth. We read in 1 Corinthians 11:19 “For there must be also heresies among you, (why?) that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” Thus it is important that we do not only agree and believe what the Scriptures say but we need to know actually what to believe and why we believe on this vital foundation.

1. According to 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” The phrase ‘inspiration of God’ literally means “God-breathed.” This is to say that the word of God is the product of God’s breath. On this matter we need to understand that God does not have hand, head or body that He can breathe from his mouth. But the Jews understood God in such a way that God as if having a complete instrument of human being. In reality God does not have a form of human body. Though we have known this clear the fact is when God speaks the Bible exists.

We may remember the account of the creation in the book of Genesis that God also created the world with His word. The world exists because God spoke. God commanded, it happened and it did not take billion of years in order to exist. How the human being begins, it is exactly at the same way that God breathed in His nostril of breath of life, and man became the living being, and we are not from ape. The clay suddenly became alive. When God spoke everything happened perfectly and instantly. Therefore we can say exactly that every word in the Bible is God-breathed. However having known all these, the question is asked, is every single word in the Bible, not one exception is written by men about 40 men through 2000 years of history from Job to Revelation the Word of God? Although as if there is a contradiction seen here, the answer is definitely, yes, by studying the following passage.

2. According to 2 Peter

Listen what Peter said about the part that man had about the origin and composition of the Bible in 2 Peter 1:21 when he said “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Everything that men wrote by those who wrote the Bible, they wrote as the Holy Spirit moved them. The Greek word that the Holy Spirit used to describe this was the same Greek word that He used to describe what happen in the ship with Paul, Luke and others who were in their way to Rome in Acts 27. All of a sudden as they are leaving the land of Crete to west Rome their ship was carried along by the strong storm of the Mediterranean Sea. The captain and the pilot, all lost controlled and nobody knew where they were going or how fasts toward they were going. They have nothing to say and control to which the ship was going. The same Greek word appeared, “so they have carried along.” Thus we can see now that how the man wrote the Book. None of them had the desire or idea to be added to the Bible.

Supposed one of the writers of the Bible wrote one chapter according to his own desire or if the human community wrote the Bible we will not know what they are saying. There will be a lot of sort of contradiction found in the Bible. Thus we thank God for the Holy Spirit who determined what the man would write.

Then one may say that there is a contradiction here concerning the writer of the Bible. The question is that who then wrote the Word? To answer this question correctly we need to understand that though the Bible shows us the individual personality, style of each writer, but the Author of the Bible is God. We can say David wrote Psalm, or Paul wrote epistles. Each one of them has personality imprinted on the book but all the errors of thinking are removed. So the Holy Spirit did not snap out the individual characteristic of the writers or the situation and circumstances in which they wrote. For example when Paul wrote his letters he was writing out of his heart to those people who really involved them in the real situation. What Paul has written to the churches was not a dictation from the Lord. In the whole Bible there was only one occasion in which God dictated His Word to Moses in Mouth Sinai when God wanted to write on the tablet of stone. Therefore we may conclude that God used the personality of these men in the writing of the Scripture but He removed the errors and put exactly what He wanted at the end product. This final product is the Bible that is the Word of God and the word of men at the same time.

Based on the explanation above the theologians have called the Bible as the result of that discovery. The Bible is called Theanthrapic book, God-man book. The Bible is just like Jesus Christ for He is also Theanthropic, God-Man. Christ is God-Man in one person. He is perfect harmony with himself. He is human 100 % and Divine 100 % and there is no contradiction, no tension, He is one unified person with two natures. This is the miracle of God. Now we have also one unified book that has two natures, it is 100 % Divine, God’s word and human 100% the word of men, showing the personality and the vocabulary, circumstances, and situation in which each writer wrote what he wrote.

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