Bible Study & Quiz Lesson 1

“... See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

(Matthew 6:28-33)

How God Speaks To You

This introductory lesson is to acquaint you with the specific purposes of the course, explain how to proceed with the study, and give you some general facts on how God communicates with man. Throughout the ages, God has consistently shown His love for man. God has communicated this love in several ways, starting from the time man was created and placed in the Garden of Eden. The specific ways God has communicated with man will be considered in more detail in a later lesson.

God has asked for love, praise, and obedience from man, and has consistently rewarded those who have lived as He has directed. Today God is communicating with man through the writings of the Bible, giving every man on earth a convenient way to fully understand His will. We have only to study the Bible to know God's wishes and promises for us.

FINDING BIBLE SCRIPTURES

You may already know the names of the books of the Bible, but if you do not, there are two ways to locate scripture. You can use the index in the front of your Bible, which will give you a page number for each book. The best way is to memorize the names of the books. This will help you find the references more quickly. When you have found the desired book, then the chapters and verses are in numerical order.

The Old Testament is made up of 39 books while the New Testament has 27. These books can be grouped by their purpose and general content:

OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS:

Law (5)              History (12)              Poetry (5)

Genesis                 Joshua                    Job

Exodus                  Judges                    Psalms

Leviticus                Ruth                        Proverbs

Number                 1 Samuel                 Ecclesiastes

Deuteronomy        2 Samuel                 Song of Solomon

                              1 Kings

                              2 Kings

                              1 Chronicles

                              2 Chronicles

                              Ezra

                              Nehemiah

                              Esther

Major Prophet (5)                    Minor Prophets (12)

Isaiah                                                Hosea

Jeremiah                                           Joel

Lamentations                                    Amos

Ezekiel                                              Obadiah

Daniel                                               Jonah
                                                          Micah

                                                          Nahum

                                                          Habakkuk

                                                          Zephaniah

                                                          Haggai

                                                          Zechariah

                                                          Malachi

NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS:

Life of Christ (4)               Early Church (1)                 Paul's Letters (14)

Matthew                              Acts of Apostles                          Romans

Mark                                                                                        1 Corinthians

Luke                                                                                         2 Corinthians

John                                                                                         Galatians

                                                                                                 Ephesians

                                                                                                 Philippians

                                                                                                 Colossians

                                                                                                 1 Thessalonians

                                                                                                 2 Thessalonians

                                                                                                 1 Timothy

                                                                                                 2 Timothy

                                                                                                 Titus

                                                                                                 Philemon

                                                                                                 Hebrews (?)

Letters (7)                      Prophecy (1)

James                               Revelation

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

APPLYING BIBLE TEACHINGS

God has given different commandments and laws to men in different ages. He gave certain commandments to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden which did not apply after they left the garden (Genesis 2:16-17). He gave commandments to the people who lived before the flood, communicating with them through the heads of families. We have very little of this recorded. We know that He gave Abraham certain commands because He said that Abraham was “faithful and righteous”, making it obvious that God had expected Abraham to live by certain standards.

The Old Testament records in great detail the law of Moses, which was given only to the Israelite nation (Deuteronomy 5:1-3). We know little of the laws given to the other people of that period except they were referred to as “righteous” or “sinful” showing God had a law for them (Romans 2:14-15). God's unfailing love was shown throughout these ages for all righteous people.

The Bible explains that the special care given to the Israelite nation (the descendants of Abraham) was for the purpose of “blessing all nations” with a Savior for the entire world (Genesis 18:18). The Bible clearly states that this special law given only to the Israelites, was fulfilled and is no longer in effect after the death of Christ (Colossians 2:13-14).

With the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God gave a new universal law and covenant for all men. Understanding this is necessary to determine which commandments in the Bible apply to us today. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” A main objective of this study is to help you “correctly handle the word of truth.”

The Old Testament is very important to study as it gives the history of God's dealings with man, and shows how He loved and cared for His creation when men obeyed Him. It also shows how God prepared the world for the coming of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is a wonderful foundation for building a stronger faith in God, and developing your love for Him.

EXACT DETAILS RECORDED YEARS AHEAD

Consider how the 100 or more prophecies of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament were fulfilled in exact detail during His life on earth. The following list contains only a few of the many prophecies but they should be more than ample to prove the point that the inspired writings of the Old Testament were looking forward to the coming of Jesus. They very accurately identify Him as the promised Savior of the would written hundreds of years before Jesus lived on this earth.

STUDY ASSIGNMENT Prophecies About              Old Testament             New Testament           Jesus                             References                     Fulfillment Hands and feet pierced          Psalm 22:16              Matthew 27:31-36 Soldiers cast lots for coat       Psalm 22:18              Mark 15:20-34 Betrayed by a friend               Psalm 41:9                John 13:18 Born of a virgin                       Isaiah 7:14                Matthew 1:22-23 Born in Bethlehem                  Micah 5:1-5               Matthew 2:1 Crucified with sinners             Isaiah 53:12              Luke 23:39-40

The New Testament tells of the birth of Jesus, tells of His life, and His teachings. It tells of His death and resurrection, and the establishment of His kingdom, the church. This course will deal mainly with the teachings of the New Testament, and with the New Covenant God has mad with all nations, the covenant He has made with you and me.

VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE

This course will quote from one of the more recent translations, The New International Version, because it is written in our present day language, and is easier to understand. You may use any version you desire because all the main versions state the same truths, sometimes expressed in different wording.

The most popular version, known as the King James, was translated in 1611 in the language of that day. It is a beautiful, romantic writing, but one that is difficult to understand in those cases where the meaning of words has changed during the 403 years since it was translated. The Revised Standard was translated from the Greek in 1946, and is considered to be a good version. There are also several other good versions such as The New American Standard Bible, The New Kings James Version, The English Standard Version, etc.

THE BIBLE – GOD'S MESSAGE TO MAN

To reinforce your belief that the Bible is God's own words written by men for Him, here are several internal and external proofs of its inspiration. The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years by a group of about forty men. These writers spoke different languages; many never met the other writers; they lived in different areas; and were from various walks of life. They were kings, prophets, tax collectors, fishermen, physicians, and shepherds. Some of the writers were highly educated, some unlearned, some rich, and some poor. Yet, with all these divers factors, the books of the Bible have an amazingly complete harmony, without a single contradiction. There can be only one answer to this perfect unity. It had to be totally inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

GOD'S WORD IS ETERNAL

The Bible has proven to be indestructible. It has withstood the tests of time, and has consistently shown its wonderful influences for a better life wherever it has been studied and followed. In every age it has been challenged and strong efforts have been made to completely destroy it. All of these attempts have failed. Diocletian, a Roman Emperor ruling most of the world in A.D. 301-304, made a concentrated drive to destroy all Bibles. He failed; and instead, his efforts made the Bible available to more people.

Voltaire, a well-known French agnostic of the 18^th century, predicted that the Bible would be an unknown book within 100 years. It is interesting to note that the Geneva Bible Society has was located for a time in Voltaire's former house. Many of the communist countries are trying to suppress the Bible, yet thousands of copies are flowing into these countries because of the demand for Bibles. Throughout the years, those who have opposed the Bible have caused it to be read and believed by more people. God's Word is eternal and cannot be destroyed by man.

SCIENTIFIC FACTS STATED BEFORE MAN WAS AWARE OF THEM

As mentioned before, the Bible is scientifically correct with many accurate scientific references made hundreds of years before these facts were accepted as true by men. Isaiah 40:22 says, He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth.” This scripture referred to the earth as being round, while the entire world thought it to be flat until the time of Columbus.

Psalm 8:8 refers to the “paths” of the seas. It was discovered only in recent times that the ocean has currents or paths and the ships are now careful to follow them, taking advantage of these currents. These are but a few of the many scientific references made in the Bible, written hundreds of years before man had any knowledge of these facts. These scientifically correct statements established the fact that the Bible had to be written under the direction of God.

THE BIBLE'S TEXT PROVEN ACCURATE

Many ask if today's translations of the Bible are accurate. The Old Testament writing began about 1500 B.C. (Before Christ). They were in ancient Hebrew. The New Testament was penned in the first century A.D. In ancient Greek. Today we have accurate copies of these writings translated into most of the languages of the world. Accuracy is assured by the fact that we have manuscript copies of the writings in the original languages that are over 1,000 years old. Three famous copies are the Sinaitic Manuscript written about A.D. 340, the Vatican Manuscript, penned about A.D. 350, and the Alexandrian Manuscript from the fifth century. The Sinaitic and Alexandrian Manuscripts are in London, and the Vatican Manuscript is in Rome. There are thousands of other ancient manuscripts in Hebrew and Greek that can be compared to prove the accuracy of our translations.

These manuscripts can also be shown to be accurate by comparing them with many of the ancient translations. These include the Vulgate, the official Roman Catholic version, which was translated into Latin by Jerome in A.D. 405. writings of church leaders from the first, second, and third centuries quote from the Bible, some probably from the original texts. Authorities state that the New Testament could be completely reproduced from the quotations made by these early writers, another cross-check on the accuracy.

Recently a copy of the Book of Isaiah was found in a cave by the Dead Sea, now referred to as the “Dead Sea Scrolls.” These manuscripts date back to the century before Christ, and the text is virtually identical to our text today. These are examples of how God's providential care has protected the Bible as stated in 1 Peter 1:24-25, “... the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”