What is the Bible about?
The Bible contains 66 books: 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. It was written over a 1500 year span by great men of God that were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is also an accurate history book. Archaeologists and others can present evidence that supports the validity of the Bible.
Old Testament
The Old Testament talks about the creation of the world and of man. The first man and woman disobeyed God and fell from a perfect relationship with Him. They ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When they did this, the capacity to understand right and wrong began. Sin and death entered their life. From that time forward, sin and death passed upon all people. Romans 5:12 “wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
Many years later, man became very sinful, wicked and violent. It grieved God at his heart and He repented making man. He set forth a plan to destroy the world. However, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So, Noah and his family, along with male and female of all the animals entered into an ark (ship) that Noah had built. God sent a flood upon the world and destroyed all living things. Only those that were in the ark were saved and life began again. Genesis Chapters 6-9.
Many years later, God chose Abram to start a people to bear his name. Abram separated himself from his family and traveled to a different land as God had instructed. Abram becomes Abraham and father of two sons. The firstborn son was named Ishmael which was born to a servant (bond) woman. The second born son was named Isaac. He was the child that God had promised to Abraham and his wife Sarah. Sarah was the wife that God had given him and Isaac was the child that God had promised him. Therefore, Isaac was the free and Ishmael was the bond. This becomes one of the great battles between physical and spiritual: the bond (servant) vs. the free (of promise). When Isaac is grown, he has a son named Jacob. Later, God renames Jacob and gives him the name Israel. This is the start of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people. He has chosen a people to bear His name and be a light to the world so that all men can know Him.
The rest of the Old Testament deals with the nation of Israel. Even though Israel is from Isaac and is of the free, God teaches and trains Israel through physical means about spiritual things. It is a preparation for the things to come that God has prepared for mankind. Since the beginning, when sin entered into the world, it has separated people from God. He is holy, righteous, and just. We're all born into sin and sin against God. When the nation of Israel started and for many years thereafter, Jesus was not born yet. God taught his people through the law about sin and that it is impossible to keep all the law. Someone must save them from their sins. Through the laws, He gave them a physical picture of the spiritual cleansing of their sin. This was done by sacrifices of animals. The blood in the death of animals was painting a picture of the future human sacrifice(Jesus) that was required for the payment of sin.
Israel throughout the years would keep the laws and God's commandments for a while and then they would turn their back against Him. God sent many prophets throughout the years to prophesy of their fate for not following him. The prophets also prophesied of the one to come and to deliver them from their sins. Israel, in their hardness of heart, killed the prophets.
The Old Testament paints a physical picture of the spiritual things to come in the New Testament, the reconciliation of man to God.
New Testament
The New Testament is about the Savior, the deliverer that was prophesied in the Old Testament. Only the death and shed blood of an innocent man could take away the sins of people and reconcile man to God. The books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the four Gospels. They are different individual accounts of the life of Jesus the Savior. The rest of the books speak of subjects such as how to be saved (see: Salvation video) and how to live as a Christian. All of the books in the New Testament were written by apostles of Jesus. There is also prophecy in the New Testament especially in the book of Revelation. This prophecy is about the end of the world and the kingdom to come.
God reconciled the world to himself by coming down from heaven in the form of a man. He sent us his only begotten son (which was God in the flesh) to die for us- to pay the penalty for our sins. After Jesus’ death, God raised him from the dead and he was seen by over 500 people (Christians) to show that death does not have a hold on him (1 Corinthians chapter 15). Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and fulfilled the law. The law is impossible for someone to keep by trying through his physical self. Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to live inside the believer to do that which is impossible for man. Sin reigns in the physical body but can only be overcome by the spiritual. The way to overcome the physical is by love. God is love. Love fulfills the law. Without God living inside of us, we have no love. We do however have feelings but feelings are not love. When God lives inside of us, He gives us the spiritual means to control the physical desires. Although we're still in this physical body and it has physical needs, God changes the heart, and we don't want to do those things that are against Him anymore.
The New Testament is also about spiritual war. There is a spiritual war against Satan and his demons. There's a spiritual war against the physical and spiritual. The physical is also referred to as the flesh and carnal. Daily we have the struggle between our flesh and our spirit. Now this is what the flesh wants to do, Galatians 5:19-21,” Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such the like…” The spirit of God wants these things, Galatians 5:22-23,” But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…” Unfortunately, we want what we want and it is the physical. We're very selfish. We want our physical and emotional self to be what we want it to be and not what God wants it to be. Daily we must die to our self (our selfishness) and pursue the spiritual things of God. This is can only be done through the Holy Spirit of God and his grace.
There's a war between love and fear (where there is fear, there is no love). Without love, people only have their physical abilities and emotions to fill the empty hole in themselves which only God can fill. People try to fill that hole with relationships, drugs, alcohol, buying things, work, etc…The only way to fill the emptiness is with love, and God is love.
There's a war between faith and works. Since we're so fleshly minded, we think that we can do things out of our own strength, which is works (the things that we can physically do). We do not have faith and trust in God that he can save us without our works. We also don’t trust Him in our decision making in our daily lives. Our faith fails and we trust in our works instead of God. This ought not to be.
There's a war of good and evil. Satan and his demons are in this world spreading lies, deceit and wickedness. The people that have not sought God for salvation are vulnerable to Satan using them at his will. He twists their perception and makes them think that what they think is right. He uses them to mentally and/or physically attack the saved of God. He also tries to influence the saints (the saved) of God to think and do wrong things. The saints must wear the armor of God to be able to withstand him, Ephesians 6:14-17.
The bible is an incredible book! It tells us how to live, gives us perspective, how to have a relationship with God, and others. The Bible is the Word of God. It is spirit and it is life. Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). The word is Spirit and can only be spiritually discerned, 1 Corinthians 2:14. The Bible is a guidebook to live by. God created us and knows what we need; He gives us guidance in physical and spiritual matters. By not knowing the Bible, the word of God, we are vulnerable to false doctrine and lies. We are in the end times and many are out to deceive the people but those that are firmly grounded in the Word of God cannot be deceived. Sadly, many of the saints of God do not read the Bible. They find it boring and hard to understand. If they were diligent to read the bible, it would enhance their walk and understanding of God therefore increasing their desire to want more of His word. The power of this book can change lives and is essential to living victoriously in this world.
See: What is the Bible About? video
Old Testament
The Old Testament talks about the creation of the world and of man. The first man and woman disobeyed God and fell from a perfect relationship with Him. They ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When they did this, the capacity to understand right and wrong began. Sin and death entered their life. From that time forward, sin and death passed upon all people. Romans 5:12 “wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
Many years later, man became very sinful, wicked and violent. It grieved God at his heart and He repented making man. He set forth a plan to destroy the world. However, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So, Noah and his family, along with male and female of all the animals entered into an ark (ship) that Noah had built. God sent a flood upon the world and destroyed all living things. Only those that were in the ark were saved and life began again. Genesis Chapters 6-9.
Many years later, God chose Abram to start a people to bear his name. Abram separated himself from his family and traveled to a different land as God had instructed. Abram becomes Abraham and father of two sons. The firstborn son was named Ishmael which was born to a servant (bond) woman. The second born son was named Isaac. He was the child that God had promised to Abraham and his wife Sarah. Sarah was the wife that God had given him and Isaac was the child that God had promised him. Therefore, Isaac was the free and Ishmael was the bond. This becomes one of the great battles between physical and spiritual: the bond (servant) vs. the free (of promise). When Isaac is grown, he has a son named Jacob. Later, God renames Jacob and gives him the name Israel. This is the start of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people. He has chosen a people to bear His name and be a light to the world so that all men can know Him.
The rest of the Old Testament deals with the nation of Israel. Even though Israel is from Isaac and is of the free, God teaches and trains Israel through physical means about spiritual things. It is a preparation for the things to come that God has prepared for mankind. Since the beginning, when sin entered into the world, it has separated people from God. He is holy, righteous, and just. We're all born into sin and sin against God. When the nation of Israel started and for many years thereafter, Jesus was not born yet. God taught his people through the law about sin and that it is impossible to keep all the law. Someone must save them from their sins. Through the laws, He gave them a physical picture of the spiritual cleansing of their sin. This was done by sacrifices of animals. The blood in the death of animals was painting a picture of the future human sacrifice(Jesus) that was required for the payment of sin.
Israel throughout the years would keep the laws and God's commandments for a while and then they would turn their back against Him. God sent many prophets throughout the years to prophesy of their fate for not following him. The prophets also prophesied of the one to come and to deliver them from their sins. Israel, in their hardness of heart, killed the prophets.
The Old Testament paints a physical picture of the spiritual things to come in the New Testament, the reconciliation of man to God.
New Testament
The New Testament is about the Savior, the deliverer that was prophesied in the Old Testament. Only the death and shed blood of an innocent man could take away the sins of people and reconcile man to God. The books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the four Gospels. They are different individual accounts of the life of Jesus the Savior. The rest of the books speak of subjects such as how to be saved (see: Salvation video) and how to live as a Christian. All of the books in the New Testament were written by apostles of Jesus. There is also prophecy in the New Testament especially in the book of Revelation. This prophecy is about the end of the world and the kingdom to come.
God reconciled the world to himself by coming down from heaven in the form of a man. He sent us his only begotten son (which was God in the flesh) to die for us- to pay the penalty for our sins. After Jesus’ death, God raised him from the dead and he was seen by over 500 people (Christians) to show that death does not have a hold on him (1 Corinthians chapter 15). Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy and fulfilled the law. The law is impossible for someone to keep by trying through his physical self. Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to live inside the believer to do that which is impossible for man. Sin reigns in the physical body but can only be overcome by the spiritual. The way to overcome the physical is by love. God is love. Love fulfills the law. Without God living inside of us, we have no love. We do however have feelings but feelings are not love. When God lives inside of us, He gives us the spiritual means to control the physical desires. Although we're still in this physical body and it has physical needs, God changes the heart, and we don't want to do those things that are against Him anymore.
The New Testament is also about spiritual war. There is a spiritual war against Satan and his demons. There's a spiritual war against the physical and spiritual. The physical is also referred to as the flesh and carnal. Daily we have the struggle between our flesh and our spirit. Now this is what the flesh wants to do, Galatians 5:19-21,” Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings and such the like…” The spirit of God wants these things, Galatians 5:22-23,” But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…” Unfortunately, we want what we want and it is the physical. We're very selfish. We want our physical and emotional self to be what we want it to be and not what God wants it to be. Daily we must die to our self (our selfishness) and pursue the spiritual things of God. This is can only be done through the Holy Spirit of God and his grace.
There's a war between love and fear (where there is fear, there is no love). Without love, people only have their physical abilities and emotions to fill the empty hole in themselves which only God can fill. People try to fill that hole with relationships, drugs, alcohol, buying things, work, etc…The only way to fill the emptiness is with love, and God is love.
There's a war between faith and works. Since we're so fleshly minded, we think that we can do things out of our own strength, which is works (the things that we can physically do). We do not have faith and trust in God that he can save us without our works. We also don’t trust Him in our decision making in our daily lives. Our faith fails and we trust in our works instead of God. This ought not to be.
There's a war of good and evil. Satan and his demons are in this world spreading lies, deceit and wickedness. The people that have not sought God for salvation are vulnerable to Satan using them at his will. He twists their perception and makes them think that what they think is right. He uses them to mentally and/or physically attack the saved of God. He also tries to influence the saints (the saved) of God to think and do wrong things. The saints must wear the armor of God to be able to withstand him, Ephesians 6:14-17.
The bible is an incredible book! It tells us how to live, gives us perspective, how to have a relationship with God, and others. The Bible is the Word of God. It is spirit and it is life. Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). The word is Spirit and can only be spiritually discerned, 1 Corinthians 2:14. The Bible is a guidebook to live by. God created us and knows what we need; He gives us guidance in physical and spiritual matters. By not knowing the Bible, the word of God, we are vulnerable to false doctrine and lies. We are in the end times and many are out to deceive the people but those that are firmly grounded in the Word of God cannot be deceived. Sadly, many of the saints of God do not read the Bible. They find it boring and hard to understand. If they were diligent to read the bible, it would enhance their walk and understanding of God therefore increasing their desire to want more of His word. The power of this book can change lives and is essential to living victoriously in this world.
See: What is the Bible About? video