The Bible is a collection of 66 books written over 1500 years by around 40 authors. It reveals who God is, His will for mankind, and documents prophecies about and the ministry of Jesus Christ. The central character of the Bible is Jesus, as the Old Testament predicts His coming and the New Testament describes His life, death, and resurrection. The entire Bible bears witness to Jesus, who fulfilled Scripture and through His death and resurrection offers salvation to humanity. The overarching purpose of the Bible is to teach about Jesus, who is God in human form and through faith in Him believers can have eternal life.

1. Learnmore about the Bible – 10th
June 2016
Jesus said,"Yousearch the Scriptures,because you thinkthat in them you have eternal life;and it is
these that bear witness of Me." (John5:39).
The word “Bible”comesfromthe Latinand Greekwordsmeaning“book,”a fittingname,since the Bible
isthe bookforall people,forall time.It’sabooklike noother inthe whole world.The purpose of the
Bible istoreveal whoGod is,Hiswill formankind,andto documentthe propheciesabout,arrival of,and
ministryof Jesus.Overall,the Bibleisahistorybookthat conveysthe accountof God's workfromthe
beginningof creationinGenesistothe endof the worldin Revelation.Asstatedabove in John5:39
Jesussaid, "Yousearchthe Scriptures,because youthink that in them youhave eternal life; andit is
these that bear witness of Me." So, we can say that the focusof the Bible isaboutJesussince He said
that the entire Scripturesbearwitnessof whoHe is.
Sixty-sixdifferentbookscomprise the Bible.Theyinclude booksof law,suchasLeviticusand
Deuteronomy;historical books,suchasEzra and Acts;booksof poetry,suchas PsalmsandEcclesiastes;
booksof prophecy,suchas Isaiahand Revelation;biographies,suchasMatthew and John;and epistles
(formal letters) suchasTitusandHebrews. The Bible alsotell usthatJesusChristisGod infleshaswe
can learnfromJohn 1:1, In the beginningwasthe Word,andthe Word was withGod,and the Word
was God”and againfrom John1:14, “The Word became fleshandmade his dwellingamongus.We
have seen his glory,the glory ofthe one andonly Son,who came fromthe Father, full ofgrace and
truth” andalsofrom Colossians2:9,“For inChrist all the fullnessofthe Deity livesin bodilyform”. The
bible alsoteachesusthatJesusChrist bore our sinsinHis body onthe cross as we learnfrom 1 Peter
2:24, “ “He himselfbore our sins” inhis bodyon the cross, so that we mightdie to sins andlive for
righteousness;“byhiswoundsyou have been healed” and alsothat He diedandrose from the dead as
we learnfrom 1Corinthians15:3, “Forwhat I received I passedon to you as of firstimportance[a]
:that
Christdied for our sinsaccordingto the Scriptures, 4
that he was buried,that he was raised onthe third
day accordingto the Scriptures”.Therefore,itcanbe saidthat the historyof the Bible isthe background
that supportsandtestifiestowhoJesusisandwhatHe did.
Whowrote this book? The ‘Authors’ consistof about40 different people whocontributedtothe Bible,
whichwaswrittenovera periodof about1500 years.The authorswere kings,fishermen,priests,
governmentofficials,farmers,shepherds,and evendoctors.Fromall thisdiversitycomesanincredible
unity,withcommonthemeswoventhroughout. The Bible’sunityisdue tothe fact that,ultimately,it
has one Author—GodHimself.The Bible is“God-breathed”aswe can readin 2 Timothy3:16, “All
Scripture is God-breathedandis useful for teaching,rebuking,correcting and trainingin
righteousness”.The humanauthorswrote exactlywhatGodwantedthemto write,andthe resultwas
the perfectandholyWord of God 2 Peter 1:21, “Forprophecy never had itsoriginin the humanwill,
but prophets,thoughhuman,spoke from Godas they were carried alongby the Holy Spirit”.
The two Divisions:The Bible isdividedintotwomainparts:the OldTestamentandthe New Testament.
In short,the OldTestamentisthe story of a nation,and the New Testamentisthe storyof a Man. The

2. nationwasGod’s wayof bringingthe Man—JesusChrist—intothe world. The New Testamentdetails
the comingof that promisedMan.Hisname was Jesus,andHe fulfilledthe propheciesof the Old
TestamentasHe livedaperfectlife,died asthe atoningsacrifice andthus the Saviorforall who
believed.We canlearnthatJesuswasthe ‘one time sacrifice’forthe sinof the world because Jesus
broke the bondsof sinanddeath.Thisenablesusto know the outcome thatremovesouruncertainty
and that helps calmsourfears and know that throughfaithinHimwe have the possibilityof achieving
heaven.
The Central Character in the bible is Jesus—thewholebookisreallyaboutHim.The OldTestament
predictsHiscomingand setsthe stage for Hisentrance intothe world.The New TestamentdescribesHis
comingand Hiswork to bringsalvationtooursinful world.Jesusismore thana historical figure;infact,
He ismore than a man. He isGod inthe flesh,andHiscomingwasthe most importanteventinthe
historyof the world.God Himself became amaninorder to give usa clear,understandable picture of
whoHe is. As Christians whenwe are asked“whatisGod like? we mustknow that He islike Jesus;
because JesusisGodin humanform as we can learnfrom John1:14, “The Word became fleshand
made hisdwellingamongus. Wehave seen hisglory,the gloryof the one and onlySon,who came
from the Father, full ofgrace andtruth”.We can also learnwhenJesus Himself explainedwhoHe was
inJohn 14:9, “Jesusanswered: “Don’t youknow me, Philip,even after I have been amongyou such a
longtime? Anyonewho has seen me has seen the Father.How can yousay, ‘Showus the Father’?.
Presentedabove are onlyafewkeyaspectsof the Bible. AsChristianswe mustclearly know thatOne
can onlylearnmore about the Bible byfaithfullyreading,learningandmeditatingonwhatisreadfrom
the bible.The whole objective beingtoofferthe opportunityforthose whoare “lost”andin sinand
sinfulness,sothattheymaylearnto consciouslychange tobecome adifferentpersonanda new entity
inthe likenessof ChristJesus.