The book we will be using is A Firm Foundation ($15.00 cost). On your honor, please pay in full tonight in the offering or you can pay $2.00 each week for 8 sessions of this semester. Internet students can purchase a copy of the book via the internet by clicking on I-Shoppe, then click on Enter I-Shoppe, then click on Firm Foundation and Add to Cart. THINGS MOST SURELY BELIEVED (Luke 1:1, KJV) Pastor Charles P. Schmitt, teaching SESSION TWO Study Guide I. BRIEF REVIEW OF LESSONS ONE AND TWO II. THE BIBLE, THE HOLY WORD OF GOD (LESSON 3) Here are four things you must always remember about your Bible: 1) It s authoritative. They were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority they were all amazed saying, What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out (Lk 4:32-36 NKJV). The forces of darkness around us must recognize and submit to God s authoritative Word. So stand on it! 2) It s creative. By God s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed (2 Pe 3:5 NIV). His Word alone was enough to create all that exists. He doesn t have to strive or sweat, He just has to say it and it s done. So speak God s Word! 3) It s effective. My word will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11 NIV). Every Word God speaks is on a mission and is guaranteed to accomplish it in accordance with His will, His strategy and His timing. So put God s Word to work! 4) It s dynamic. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life (Jn 6:63 NIV). When you receive the Bible as the Word of God, it produces life-changing results. It can t just sit there and do nothing, it must generate, for it is the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV!) Immanuel s Devotional A. What is the Bible? The Bible [ Books ] is one book composed of 66 individual books which took over 40 generations to complete, involving 40 different authors living as far apart as 1,500 miles, in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) and yet all with one grand theme the person and saving work of our
Lord Jesus Christ! The Bible has been read by more people and published in more languages than any other book in the world! B. What does the Bible say about itself? 1. The Bible calls itself the Holy Scriptures [ Writings ], (2 Timothy 3:15) 2. The Holy Scriptures are eternal. Your word, O LORD, is eternal (Psalm 119:89) 3. The Holy Scriptures are inspired. All Scripture is God-breathed [inspired] (2 Timothy 3:16). NOTE: Concerning the Scriptures, Peter declares: men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). Not dictation but inspiration. 4. The Holy Scriptures are flawless without mistake (infallible) or error (inerrant)! Every word of God is flawless (Proverbs 30:5). NOTE: The Holy Scriptures are accurate scientifically, historically, archaeologically, and prophetically. (But see 1 Samuel 13:1) 5. The Holy Scriptures are changeless. The Scripture cannot be broken [changed or annulled] (John 10:35). 6. The Holy Scriptures are singular. Every word of God is flawless do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar (Proverbs 30:5, 6). 7. The Holy Scriptures are alive. The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates it judges (Hebrews 4:12). 8. The Holy Scriptures are foundational. We are built on the foundation of the apostles [their 27 books in our NT] and prophets [their 39 books in our OT] with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). What are the Canonical Scriptures? 1. The early Church Fathers referred to the 66 books of the Holy Bible as the Canon of Holy Scripture, from the Greek word Kanon, meaning ruler or measuring rod. Every other writing, tradition and revelation was to be measured against the Holy Scriptures! 2. The books of the Apocrypha [ obscure ] were rejected as non-canonical by Israel and by the early Church Fathers and by the Reformers, but were declared canonical by
the Roman Catholic Church in 1546 and by the Greek Orthodox Church in 1638. 3. Ivan Panin s work in Bible Numerics (around the number seven) provides amazing proof of the divine inspiration of the 66 books of canonical Scripture. Some Scriptures have 70-100 such numerical features; the chance of a passage having even 24 such features is 1 in 191 quintillion! (See Lesson 3, page 6) 4. The Scriptures alone are our sole authority in spiritual matters. Every word of God is flawless do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar (Proverbs 30:5-6). The Catholic Church adds Tradition (see Lesson 3, Appendix) The Mormons add 3 of Joseph Smith s writings The Christian Scientists add Mary Baker Eddy s writings The Jehovah s Witnesses add their governing body, the Watchtower organization 5. The twelve blessings which come to us from the Holy Scriptures By the Spirit they reveal Jesus Christ to us By the Spirit they create saving faith in Him By the Spirit they are the seed by which we are born of God By the Spirit they provide us an assurance of salvation By the Spirit they nourish us spiritually By the Spirit they cleanse and sanctify us By the Spirit they heal us By the Spirit they illumine, admonish, encourage, and instruct us By the Spirit they are our weapon against the enemy By the Spirit they are the reservoir for anointed ministry in the Church
By the Spirit they bring to us an eternal inheritance By the Spirit they are our sole foundation individually and corporately! [Our Practical Personal Response] III. OUR TRIUNE GOD? (Lesson 4) Introduction: The word trinity comes from the Latin triune, literally meaning tri (three) and unus (one). These three are one (1 John 5:7, KJV) A. The Great Divide in Thinking, Between 1. God in Three Persons (Tertullian, 200 AD) The Greek mind 2. God in Three Manifestations (or Modes) as Father, as Son, as Holy Spirit The Hebrew mind B. The Best Position We believe in one God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit C. 20 th Century Repercussions: the Early Pentecostal Outpouring D. Modern-day Aberrations Mormonism Father, Son and Holy Ghost each of these persons is a God these three are the only Gods we worship. Jehovah s Witnesses Jesus never claimed to be God Jesus was a created spirit being, just as the angels. Islam They do blaspheme who say: God is Christ the Son of Mary. Some Evangelicals A popular belief among Christians divides the work of God creation to the Father, redemption to the Son, and regeneration to the Holy Spirit This is not wholly so, for God cannot so divide Himself. A.W. Tozer Max Lucado writes: My God, my God! Why did You abandon Me? The two who have been one are now two. Jesus, who had been with God for eternity, is now alone. The Christ, who was an expression of God,
is abandoned. The Trinity is dismantled The unity is dissolved. The Gift for All People, Multnomah Pub., 1999. God is not divisible all of God does all that God does He never divides Himself to do anything. Foundations of Theology [Our Practical Personal Response] FOR NEXT SESSION Review the above Study Notes on Lessons 3 and 4 In preparation, read Lessons 5 and 6 in A Firm Foundation.