Brothers and sisters, today I came to discuss the Bible.
My point is: Only the truth in the Bible
can lead us into the kingdom of heaven.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16,
Amen!
So, what is written in the Bible
are all the words of God.
But some people say not all of them are God’s words.
Aren’t they denying the Bible and deceiving others?
Right! … Amen! …
Humph!
They’ve got such a nerve. They even dare deny God’s word.
That’s right.
You denied the Bible. Are you a believer in God?
The Bible is obviously inspired by God.
Amen!
Brothers and sisters,
regarding “all scripture is given by inspiration of God,”
first we need to know the background of Paul’s word.
When Paul wrote letters to Timothy,
there was only the Old Testament.
The New Testament hadn’t been compiled yet.
And there were just dozens of letters
kept in the churches.
So Paul’s word refers to the Old Testament,
because the Israelites
only regarded the Old Testament as scripture.
The New Testament came into being after 300 A.D.
At that time, the leaders of those churches
had a meeting together.
They thought the end time was near,
they should collect Jesus’ words and the apostles’ letters,
compile them into a book, like the Old Testament,
and give it out to every church.
So, they gathered the letters
Jesus’ disciples and apostles had written.
Finally, through study and confirmation,
they selected 27 letters, as the canon of the New Testament.
Later they were compiled with the Old Testament,
which is the full content of the Bible.
This is how the Old and New Testaments came into being.
Besides, about the Bible’s formation, we have to know
who had written it and who had recorded it.
The Bible has scores of authors,
but none of them said that their letters were all inspired by God.
Brothers and sisters,
if God said the whole Bible was inspired by Him,
He would have said it through the prophets.
But there was no such word in the books of the prophets.
The Lord Jesus never said it,
and the apostles never said
that their letters and testimonies were all inspired by God,
much less dared say they were God’s words.
That’s the fact!
But later, the believers in God all believed
that God only spoke those words in the Bible.
Although the Testaments were written by men,
they were inspired by God.
Then, have we considered whether the saying is factual?
The Bible is inspired by God,
and all the words in the Bible are God’s words.
It’s a fact acknowledged by Christianity.
The words in the Bible represent the highest authority.
Could it be wrong?
Brothers and sisters, these are only man’s views.
Man’s views can’t represent God.
Only God is clear about the Bible.
Let’s see how Almighty God’s word tells us.
OK!
Please turn to page 956.
Let’s read another passage of God’s word. Page 955.
Brother Zheng, please read it for us.
OK!
Brothers and sisters,
Almighty God’s words have made it very clear.
The Bible isn’t a record of all God’s personal utterance
but an account of God’s work.
In the Bible, Jehovah’s words, Jesus’ words,
and the words God revealed to the prophets are truly God’s words,
and the rest are mostly the record of history and man’s experiences.
So, “the Bible is all inspired by God and is all God’s word”
doesn’t match historical facts!
Right, it doesn’t fit the facts!
It seems the “Eastern Lightning” is not simple.
They are quite clear about the formation
and structure of the Bible….
Jiahui,
the key point of today’s lesson
lies in 2 Timothy 3:16.
You must remember it!
Every word in the Bible is inspired by God.
They are God’s words.
Anything that denies the Bible is all inspired by God
is a heresy.
Among the students, you are the most excellent.
To be a good servant of the Lord in the future,
you should put more effort in the Bible.
As long as you obey the teaching in the Bible,
the Lord will surely approve you….
All the words in the Bible are God’s words
and have God’s authority.
It’s acknowledged by all Christians. (Amen!)
Since Paul said that the Bible was all inspired by God,
it can’t be wrong.
God told people through Paul
that the Bible was all inspired by God
and was God’s word.
Amen!
This fact, how dare you deny?
Right! The Bible is God’s word.
If you deny the Bible, you deny God!
Right! What Paul said can’t be wrong!
Amen!
Sister Feng,
the issue you mention is very typical.
Next, let’s fellowship about
whether the epistles written by Paul and other apostles
were inspired by God
and whether they can represent God’s word.
Then we’ll know how to treat these apostles’ letters.
Before we fellowship,
let’s read two passages of Almighty God’s word.
OK!
Page 956.
Right! God’s words make a very good point
and have disclosed the mystery about the Bible.
Brothers and sisters,
from Almighty God’s words we can see
although the apostles’ letters
mostly agreed with God’s will,
yet agreeing with God’s will
is different from being God’s word.
Peter and Paul’s epistles
appeared after the Lord Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.
When those letters were sent to the churches,
how would the brothers and sisters of that time treat them?
They would say, “These letters are from Brother Peter.
Those are from Brother Paul.”
The brothers and sisters at that time
wouldn’t treat those epistles as God’s words.
Because the apostles had never said
that they themselves were God.
They just claimed to be disciples
who followed the Lord Jesus.
So, the brothers and sisters of that time
would treat their epistles and their words
as the words from a brother.
Peter and Paul had never said that
their words were inspired by God and were God’s words.
This is the historical background.
But today we treat the letters of the apostles
and the words of the apostles as God’s words,
and even equate them as God’s words.
It’s against the historical facts!
He’s right!
The apostles’ letters
were only written out of their burden for the churches
and were for sustaining the churches of that time.
Their epistles couldn’t represent God’s words.
Why didn’t I ever think of that?
I’ve read the Bible for so many years.
I’m sure the apostles’ letters are inspired by God.
They are God’s words.
Amen!
Brothers and sisters,
God’s words are God’s words
and man’s words are man’s words.
If we don’t discern in the Bible
which are God’s words and which are man’s,
this is a serious problem.
In fact,
only a part of words in the Bible are God’s words.
Only the words Jehovah personally said,
the words Jehovah revealed to Moses,
the words Jehovah let the prophets convey,
and the words Jesus said personally
are truly God’s words.
We can see that
there is a special mark in all the prophets’ words.
They said, “Thus said the LORD”
and “Thus says the LORD.”
It shows that they were conveying God’s words.
And people could see clearly
that they were simply repeating God’s words.
So, only God’s words conveyed by the prophets,
and Jehovah’s words which were recorded,
and Jesus’ words recorded by the apostles,
are truly God’s words.
In the Bible, only this part is truly God’s words.
Except for this part,
the words spoken by the apostles
and the things recorded by God’s servants
are man’s testimonies and man’s words.
“Thus said the LORD.”
“The LORD God of Israel said.”
It was what the prophets said.
Why didn’t I notice them when reading the Bible before?
Brothers and sisters,
if according to only one word in the apostles’ letters,
we say that the Bible is inspired by God
and is all God’s word,
this is not correct.
In the age of apostles,
no one treated the letters
of the apostles Peter and Paul
as God’s words.
And no one regarded apostles as Christ.
And those apostles never dared to call themselves Christ.
Only Christ represents God and the Holy Spirit.
So, we shouldn’t treat the apostles’ words
as God’s words.
The apostles’ words don’t represent God,
much less the Holy Spirit.
Besides, God has never testified the Bible like that.
The Lord Jesus only acknowledged
the Bible was God’s testimony,
but didn’t say it was inspired by God
and was all God’s word.
Besides, the Holy Spirit
had never testified the Bible to anyone like that.
Only the Holy Spirit and God’s incarnation
are clear about the Bible’s inside truth.
No one else can fathom it.
The Bible is an account of God’s work
written by those who served God
and is testimony of men’s experiences.
It’s only men’s conveying of God’s words
or their testimony of God’s work through their experience
after being inspired and enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
All these weren’t written by God personally.
It’s a fact.
Mm!
Although the apostles’ records and letters
had the Holy Spirit’s inspiration,
they couldn’t represent God’s words.
So, the view that “the Bible is all inspired by God
and is all God’s word” is wrong.
It goes against the facts.