Unit 1 Session 3 - How Did We Get the Bible - Personal Study Guide (ESV)

8/13/2019 Unit 1 Session 3 - How Did We Get the Bible - Personal Study Guide (ESV)

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WINTER 2013-14: Personal Study GuideEd Stetzer General EditorTrevin Wax Managing Editor

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2 TGP Personal Study Guide

THE GOSPEL PROJECT FOR STUDENTS

PERSONAL STUDY GUIDE, WINTER 2013-14

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2

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SESSION 3

HOW DID WE GETTHE BIBLE?

Did you know that the modern pencil dates back to the

1400s? It is a simple writing instrument that has stood the

test of time! The design is simple: a piece of wood with a

small graphite rod in the center, topped with a rubber-like

synthetic eraser.

Have you ever stopped to think about everything that goes into the

creation of this 10-cent writing instrument? It starts with someone

planting cedar trees, someone else mining graphite, and a chemist in

a lab somewhere working out the formula for synthetic rubber. The

trees grow. They are cut down, loaded on a truck, and hauled to a

sawmill. The cedars are cut into blocks that are then sliced into pieces

the width of half a pencil. After the graphite is removed from the earth,

it is grounded down to powder and then mixed with clay. Finally, the

graphite strings are inserted between two cedar planks to cover the

graphite inside the pencil. Then, it is topped off with a synthetic piece of

rubber. Quite a lot for a simple pencil!

This week we will examine the way God gave us His Word. First, we

will look at the truth of God’s inspiration of human authors to write the

Scriptures. Next, we will explore the process of “canonization”–how

God’s people recognized the authority of His Word. Then, we will see

how God has preserved His Word over time that we might hear His voicetoday and proclaim His gospel to the world.



READY YOUR HEART

2WINTER 2013-14

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for

reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be

complete, equipped for every good work.

I LOVE GIFTS–but then again, who doesn’t? I love gifts of all kinds. Small or big, it doesn’t

matter. My favorite gifts are the ones that take me by surprise. In fact, my wife loves to

surprise me with small gifts every now and then. On one particular occasion she gave

me a set of tools. Having never really owned many tools before, I thought that this was

a pretty cool gift. It had everything from a hammer to a ratchet set, as well as a power

drill and skill saw. It wasn’t too long before I realized that her kind gesture of giving me

a gift of tools was really a message. It was more than the gift of a tool set. It was her

wanting me to be equipped to be able to handle the work around the house. From fixingthe faucet to hanging pictures, I was now equipped to be the handyman of our home.

One of God’s greatest gifts is the fact that He has revealed Himself to us, that He

has made Himself known. And one of the primary ways God has chosen to do this is

through His Word. Look at verse 16. God gave us the Bible by inspiring the writers of

Scripture to write His very Word. In other words, the Bible is not a collection of human

writers writing what they wanted to write. Instead, it is God revealing who He is by telling

us His story and how we are a part of it. Also, we see in verse 17 that God’s Word isn’t the

type of gift that is meant to be left sitting on a shelf but is the very tool that He uses so

that you and I may be equipped and complete for every good work. Praise God for such

an awesome and gracious gift! May we be faithful in unwrapping the truth of His Word

everyday of our lives.

GREAT GIFTS

PAUSE AND REFLECT ▷ Do you consider God’s Word to be a precious gift? Why or

why not?

▷ If you consider God’s Word to be a precious gift, how isthis reflected in your life? Do you spend time alone withGod in His Word, or do you neglect the gift that has beengiven? Why?




READY YOUR HEART



complete, equipped for every good work.

THE FIRST TIME I TRIED BAKING anything it was for a Bible study group. It was one

of those times where I had been volunteered to bring a snack. And in my effort to

impress everybody, I was going to make homemade brownies. I got my grandmother’s

recipe, wrote down all the ingredients, and headed to the store. After picking up all the

ingredients, I headed back home to bake brownie goodness for my Bible study group.

I grabbed the mixing bowl and started to add all the items just like my grandmother’s

instructions said. Afterward, I even tasted the brownie batter, and, may I say, it was

quite delicious. I was quite proud of myself. I put the batter in a baking dish and putit in the oven at 350 degrees and set the timer. By the time 25 minutes had passed, a

wonderful brownie aroma had filled the kitchen. When I went to take the brownies out,

however, I noticed something was wrong. I didn’t have nice fluffy brownies. What I had

was a brownie cracker. It didn’t rise. It was thin and hard. I couldn’t believe it. What went

wrong? I searched the instructions and realized I had forgot to add the baking powder.

Without just one ingredient, I didn’t have brownies.

In a similar way, the Bible wouldn’t be the Bible without a key ingredient–it must

be God-breathed. We learn about this key ingredient in 2 Timothy 3:16. When the early

church was trying to recognize what books were going to be included in the Bible, the

main criteria was that it had to be just like Paul described in verse 16. A book can have

a lot of great and even right things in it, but without the key ingredient of being God-breathed, it’s not a book to be included in the Bible. This is why, among other things,

the words of the Bible are able to pierce our hearts, convict us of sin, give us hope for

tomorrow, and equip us with wisdom for life. They are living words because they are

God’s words.

PAUSE AND REFLECT ▷ Why is it important that the entire Bible be God-breathed,

and not just parts of it? ▷ What are some ways to see that the Bible is inspired

by God? ▷ Does knowing that God inspires the entire Bible change

the way you look at it?

KEY INGREDIENTS



READY YOUR HEART

2WINTER 2013-14



complete, equipped for every good work..

My mom wanted to make sure that I was good when it came to food in college. When

she visited, she would cook huge meals and freeze them for my roommates and me.

Even more than that, on more than one occasion she even shipped us steaks from

my hometown butcher. They would come sealed in a cooler with dry ice. When my

roommates and I would do our own shopping we would buy things like Ramen Noodles

and Twinkies. So in a sense, we pretty much had all of our food needs taken care of. Here

is the way we always made our food selections: first, we ate the steaks, and when those

ran out, we went for the home-cooked frozen meals, and then finally, when the goodstuff was gone, we survived on Ramen noodles and junk food until the process would

repeat itself. Why in that order? Here is a hint: We didn’t want to waste any of the food.

We ate the food in the order in which it would spoil. We ate the steaks first because

we knew they would go bad after a week in the refrigerator. Next up were the home

-cooked meals my mom had put in the freezer for us. Those would only last a few

weeks. And the last resort was always last because it seemed like they would never

expire. What made the difference? Preservatives made the difference. There were none

in the steaks, very little in Mom’s meals, and plenty in the Ramen noodles.

The Bible has been preserved because its words are God-breathed words–God’s

words last forever. In 1 Peter 1:21, we see that His Word will never fade or wither away.

In other words, it will never go bad. God, in various ways, preserved His Word overthousands of years. More than just being preserved, it has been provided for us to read

in our own language. You have access to the very words of God because He preserved

them throughout the generations. That’s impressive!

PRESERVATIVES

PAUSE AND REFLECT ▷ How does knowing that God’s Word will never go bad an

encouragement for you to trust in Him? ▷ In knowing that God’s Word has been faithfully preserved

down through the generations, how does that encourage you in your faith?



The Bible Came To UsBy Way of... This lesson will examine the way God gave us His Word.It will look at the truth of God’s inspiration of humanauthors to write the Scriptures. Next, it will explore theprocess of “canonization”–how God’s people recognizedthe authority of His Word. Then, we will see how God haspreserved His Word over time that we might hear Hisvoice today and proclaim His gospel to the world.

Read 2 Timothy 3:16It’s not just Christians who claim

the Bible is God’s Word. The Bible testifies about itself that it isthe inspired Word of God. The apostle Paul made this clear in hissecond letter to Timothy. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul invented the wordthat we translate as “inspired by God.” A closer look at this wordhelps us understand inspiration. The word Paul used is actuallya combination of two words. The first is “God,” and the secondliterally means “to aspirate” or “to spring forth.” So, when the textsays, “inspired by God,” it is referring to a specific action. We get aword picture from this term, a picture that shows Scripture beingbreathed out, springing forth to us directly from God Himself.

Inspiration.How did we get the Bible? To answer this question,

we need to go back to the Bible’s composition.Questions about how the Bible was composed takeus, of course, to the Author and the authors–orbetter said, the Author who inspired the authors.God not only revealed Himself in creation, He choseto reveal Himself in the Person of Jesus Christand in the written Word that testifies of Christ.How did He give us His Word? Through His workof inspiration.

▸ In your own words, how would you explainto someone what it means for the Bible tobe “God-breathed?” How does the truth ofinspiration shape the way you see the Bible?

▸ Do you think the following phrase is helpfulor is lacking? “God said it; I believe it; thatsettles it!” Why is it important to understandthe way God gave us His Word?



Conclusion It is important to know not only whatyou believe but why you believe it. When it comes to howthe Bible came to us, we can be confident that inspiration,canonization, and preservation were some of the main toolthat God used in bringing to us a true text that faithfullyrepresents Himself. If we believe Jesus’ words that “Manmust not live on bread alone but on every word that comesfrom the mouth of God,” we will give the Word a place ofprominence in our lives.

▸ Suppose that you saw something on television abouttheir being “lost books” in the Bible. How could yourespond based upon what you now know of inspirationcanonization, and preservation?

God’s providence in preserving the Scripturesis remarkable to consider. The Old Testamentwas transmitted by a special group of priests,called scribes, who meticulously made newcopies of the Scriptures when older copieswore out. Tradition tells us that these scribeswere so painstaking in their work that theydevised a system to count every word ona scroll to verify that the manuscript theycopied was an accurate copy.

▸ Were you aware of all that went into puttingthe Bible together? How does it help to knowthe care that went into the establishment ofthe BIble?

Canonization.Paul called these writings “Scripture,” which means“sacred writings.” When Paul referred to “all Scripture,was pointing to a collection of writings that share specqualities. And this collection of books Paul refers to as“Scripture” are sacred because they are breathed-outby God. Inspiration is the quality that makes the writing

sacred. But canonization is the next step–recognizingwhat books are inspired.

▸ Take a look atwhat God’s Wordaccomplishesin the lives ofbelievers in 2Timothy 3:16-17.How do each ofthese relate toour mission asbelievers?

Preservation.When we hold our English Bibles in ourhands, we should recognize that we are thebeneficiaries of selfless men and women who

committed to preserve God’s Word by copyingmanuscripts, translating it into the commonlanguage, and ensuring that God’s people

would benefit from hearing His voice.

▸ How does the tug of slavery to sstill affect our hearts even aftwe are redeemed




ENCORE

1. INSPIRATION (2 TIM. 3:16-17).

How did we get the Bible? o answer this question, we need to go back to the Bible’s composition.Questions about how the Bible was composed take us, of course, to the Author and the authors–orbetter said, the Author who inspired the authors.

First, the authors. Te Bible was written over a span of more than a thousand years. Moses likelyrecorded Genesis around 1400 BC. John probably wrote the book of Revelation in the late 80s-90s

AD. Nearly 40 different authors wrote the Bible. Tese 66 books were written from multiplelocations by people scattered over three continents.

But what about the capital “A” Author? Christians see a remarkable coherence in this library ofbooks. We claim the Bible to be the very Word of God. It is the definitive book for knowing Godand His grand purposes in the world. Te Bible tells a story–the true story of the whole world.

It’s not just Christians who claim the Bible is God’s Word. Te Bible testifies about itself that it isthe inspired Word of God. Te apostle Paul made this clear in his second letter to imothy.

God not only revealed Himself in creation. He chose to reveal Himself in the Person of JesusChrist and in the written Word that testifies to Christ. How did He give us His Word? Trough His

work of inspiration. God inspired the authors of Scripture so that the very words they wrote down were the Word of God. God’s inspiration of the Scriptures is described by the apostle Peter in this way: the authors were “moved by” or “carried along by” the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:19-21).

In 2 imothy 3:16, Paul invented the word that we translate as “inspired by God.” Te word Paul

used is actually a combination of two words. Te first is “God,” and the second literally means “toaspirate” or “to spring forth.” So, when the text says “inspired by God,” it is referring to a specificaction. We get a picture from this term, a picture that shows Scripture being breathed out, springingforth to us directly from God Himself. Inspiration means that the words themselves are the wordsGod spoke, and the human authors wrote down what God spoke. Paul was saying, “All Scripture isbreathed out by God.”

2. CANONIZATION (2 TIM. 3:16-17).

In addition to inspiration, 2 imothy 3:16-17 points us to another answer to the question, “Howdid we get the Bible?” While the apostle Paul was not making this point directly, he nevertheless

implied there is a difference between “Scripture” and what is “not Scripture.” In other words, there isa distinct set of writings considered “inspired,” while other writings are not.

Paul called these writings “Scripture,” which means “sacred writings.” When Paul referred to “allScripture,” he was pointing to a collection of writings that share specific qualities. Inspiration is thequality that makes the writing sacred. But canonization is the next step–recognizing what booksare inspired.

HOW DID WE GET THE BIBLE?

The Bible came to us by way of...

by Keith Whitfield



3WINTER 2013-14

ENCORE

Just as the Jewish people recognized the books of the Old estament as sacred Scripture, theChristian church came to recognize the New estament to be sacred Scripture as well. Over time,the church recognized the 66 books of the Old and New estaments as the church’s “canon.”

Before the close of the first century A.D., a number of the early church leaders treated the New

estament books as possessing divine authority for the church. Te church continued to affirm theNew estament books as canonical through the first four centuries of the church.

At the end of the fourth century, a complete list of the New estament books was provided by Athanasius in a letter to his parishioners. Tese books were recognized as being divine based on fourprinciples: 1) Was the book written by an apostle or someone recognized as having authority? 2)Doesthe book agree with the apostolic teaching? 3)Was the book universally accepted by the church? 4)Does the book have a self-authenticating divine nature?

3. PRESERVATION (2 TIM. 3:16-17).

When thinking about how the collection of sacred writings got into our hands and into our

language, consider the function of Scripture Paul describes in 2 imothy 3:17–to prepare all ofGod’s people (from every time and place) to be “complete, equipped for every good work.” Te

Word of God is sufficient for this task. Why? Because it is inspired by the Spirit. Likewise, the Wordaccomplishes this task by penetrating the hearts of Christians from one generation to the next.

At every point in history, God’s Word has been protected for and provided to God’s people. Temessage of God’s grand plan of salvation–through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ–is thesame message we have today.

As we read our Bibles, the promise of 1 Peter 1:21 is being fulfilled. Te grass may wither and theflowers may die, but the Word of God will endure forever (1 Pet. 1:21).

While it does not directly address how the Bible is preserved for all of God’s people across time,

2 imothy 3:16-17 points us to the function of God’s Word, which presupposes the truth that God will preserve His Word in order to equip His people to accomplish His mission.God’s providence in preserving the Scriptures is remarkable to consider. Te Old estament was

transmitted by a special group of priests, called scribes, who meticulously made new copies of theScriptures when older copies wore out. radition tells us that these scribes were so painstaking intheir work that they devised a system to count every word on a scroll to verify that the manuscriptthey copied was an accurate copy. With this care, they believed the newer copies would actually bemore accurate then the tattered and aged older copies. In addition, the people who copied the Newestament were diligent in making copies, which is why we have over 5,700 manuscripts of variousportions of the New estament. Te total number of manuscripts is amazing when you compare itto a work like Homer’s Iliad, one of the most famous ancient books in history. (Tere are less than

700 copies of his book.)

CONCLUSION

It is important to know not only what you believe but why you believe it. When it comes to how theBible came to us, we can be confident that inspiration, canonization, and preservation were someof the main tools that God used in bringing us a true text that faithfully represents Himself. If webelieve Jesus’ words that “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from themouth of God,” we will give the Word a place of prominence in our lives.

Unit 1 Session 3 - How Did We Get the Bible - Personal Study Guide (ESV)

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Transcript of Unit 1 Session 3 - How Did We Get the Bible - Personal Study Guide (ESV)