4. We will not know God of He
does not reveal Himself to us. One of
the special ways God reveals Himself
to humankind is through the Bible.
The Bible is the divinely inspired
written record of how God made
Himself known to certain people in
history. This is why the Bible is also
called Scriptures, which means
“sacred writings.”
6. 1.The Bible is about God.
Through the Bible, we can get
to know our God—His
identity, His character, and
His purpose for creating,
redeeming, and sanctifying
us.
7. 2. The Bible is about the people.
A part of the bible consists of narratives
about real men and women—heroes and
villains, fathers and mothers, sons and
daughters, servant girls and queens,
judges, prophets, and kings—who were
chosen to play a role in God’s saving
plan. We can learn valuable lessons Gods
wants us to learn from their successes
and failures.
8. 3. The bible is about salvation history.
The Bible records almost
2,000 years in the history
of a small but significant
group of people in the
Middle East—the Israelites.
9. 4. The Bible is about faith.
The Bible is not merely a collection of
religious stories or simply one of the many
surviving examples of ancient religious
literature from the Middle east. It is, rather,
a book of faith that grew form a believing
community. It is the living witness to God
and the central source of His revelation of
Himself and His gift of salvation to us
today.
10. 5. The Bible is about us.
Do not think hat the story of
the ancient Israelites has
nothing to do with our lives
today.
11. More than any book in the world,
the Bible reaches every age and
every nation because salvation,
faith, and belief in God are as
universal and present today as love
itself. By reading the Bible, we grew
in the knowledge of ourselves,
others, and God, which is the most
Important knowledge we can
acquire.
13. The Bible did not fall from
heaven amidst thunder and
lightning. Neither did people
discover it in some mysterious
place. The formation of the Bible
took centuries and many groups
and individuals were involved in
the long process of its creation.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19. The Christian Bible has
two major parts—the
Old Testament and the
New Testament.
Testament means
“agreement” or
“covenant.”
20. Part I: The Old Testament. The old
testament centers on the covenant
God made with the Israelites and
the many consequences of this
covenant on their lives not only as
individuals but especially as a
nation. This covenant is recorded in
the old Testament as part of the
religious history of Israel before the
coming of Christ.
21. To the Jews, the Old
Testament is their Hebrew
scriptures divided into three
groups of books, namely (1)
The Law, (2) The Prophets,
and (3) the Writings. These
three indications indicate the
gradual self-revelation of
God.
22. 1. The law of Torah contains the
Pentateuch, the five books of
Moses, which are genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. The Torah is the
most sacred text to the Jews for it
contains God’s revelation of
Himself as the one making the
covenant with the Israelites.
23. 2. The Prophets contains
the writings and speeches
of the prophets who
reminded the Israelites to
be faithful to their
covenant with God. Below
are the books belonging
to this group.
24. Books of the Former or
Nonwriting Prophets
Joshua
Judges
Second Samuel
First Kings
Second Kings
25. Books of the Latter or Writing Prophets
Major Prophets
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Minor Prophets
Hosea
Joel
Habakkuk
Amos
Zephaniah
Obadiah
Haggai
Jonah
Zechariah
Micah
Malachi
Nahum
26. 3. The Writings contains the
remaining book of the Old
Testament, which are the
Historical and Wisdom
Books. These books
elaborate in one way or
another (mostly in poetry
form) what a covenant with
God means .
27. Psalms
Provebs
Job
Song of
Songs
Ruth
Lamentations
Ecclesiastes
Esther
Daniel
Ezra
Nehemiah
First Chronicles
Second Chronicles
Wisdom
Sirach
Tobit
Judith
Baruch
First maccabees
Second Maccabees
28. Part II: The New Testament. The
New Testament deals with the New
Covenant of God’s people with
Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten
Son who became man to save
humankind from sin. Jesus’ death
and Resurrection fulfilled God’s
promises in the Old Testament of a
Savior and brought universal
deliverance for all humanity.
29. The books of
the New
Testament are
grouped into
four.
30. 1.The Gospels (Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John)
-are four different accounts on
Jesus’ redeeming life,
teachings, and work. The
climax in each group gospels is
Jesus’ Passion, Death, and
Resurrection.
31. 2. The Acts of the Apostles
-is the sequel to the
gospel of Luke. It records the
events in the early Church
from Christ’s ascension to
Paul’s missionary journey to
Rome.
32. 3. The Apostolic Letters or Epistles
-are the letters of Paul and
three other apostles, namely Peter,
John, and James, to the early
Christian communities. These
letters provide teachings and
instructions in Christian faith and
practices.
33. 4. The Book of Revelation
-is the last book of the Bible. It is
the only apocalyptic book
(apocalyptic means concerning the
end of the world) in the sacred
Scriptures. It contains John’s vision
of Christ’s Second Coming and of the
completion of God’s Kingdom.
34.
35. 1. READING THE BIBLE WITH
FAITH
Can a person without faith
understand the contents of
the Bible? Perhaps. But it is
only when we read the
bible with faith can we
experience God’s Word in a
life-giving way. When we
read the Bible with faith,
we accept completely that
God Himself is speaking to
us through the passages in
the Bible.
36.
37. 3. Studying the Bible
God’s message in the Bible is
meant for all He often repeats
His message in various ways.
His language can be so concrete
sometimes. When studying the
Bible, we must always make a
constant effort to focus on its
faith message.
38. 4. Living the Bible
To live by the Word of God
is the ultimate goal of our
reading, praying, and studying
the Bible. The more we apply
the Bible’s message in our daily
lives, the more we understand
and appreciate.
