The Living Oracles I. INTRODUCTION A. The "Living Oracles." 1. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, an "oracle" was the medium by which deities made known their wisdom and will to mankind. a. This is precisely what the Bible claims to be: the revelation of God's wisdom and will to mankind, 1 Cor. 2:6~13; However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For whc!~man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Rom. 16:25,26. Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith. b. It is appropriate, then, to refer to the Scriptures as the "oracles" of God, see Acts 7:38; "This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, 1 Pet. 4:11; If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 4: 11 NKJV) Rom.3: 2. Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God...._--...
Hebrew. 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 2. The Bible is a "living" book, and so may be appropriate designated as the "living oracles," Heb.4:12; For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 1 Pet. 1:23-25. having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the lord endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.. B. God has not given His book any single designation, but it is known to us and in the Scriptures by several designations. 1. We call it "the Bible." a. "Bible" is from BYBlOS, which is the name of the Phoenician city from which papyrus, of which books were made, was imported. b. The simple meaning of the word is "book," but it is not to us just a book, but it is "the Book," or we sometimes refer to it as "the Book of books." c. This designation for the Scriptures began to be used during the days of Chaucer and Wycliffe. 2. There was no designation for the complete body of scriptures in use during New Testament times, because only the Old Testament had been written. a. Prophecy of scripture," (or, "prophetic writings"), 2 Pet. 1:20. knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. B The scriptures," (or, "the writings"), Matt. 21 :42; Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the lord's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'? Mark 14:49; I was daily with you in the temple teaching, Scriptures must be fulfilled." and you did not seize Me. But the
Luke 24:32; And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" John 5:39; You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. Acts 18:24; Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. Rom. 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. c. "Holy scriptures," Rom. 1:2. which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, D Sacred writings," 2 Tim. 3:15 (ASV). 1. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Covenant scriptures. a. Five books of law, all of which were written by Moses and are commonly called "the Pentateuch." (1) Genesis -- the book of beginnings (2) Exodus -- the story of the Israelites leaving Egyptian bondage (3) Leviticus -- the laws of God governing the Israelites (4) Numbers -- the journey to the Promised Land (5) Deuteronomy -- the second book relating God's laws for the Israelites b. Twelve books of history. (1) Joshua -- the conquest of the land of Canaan (2) Judges -- three hundred years of oppression and deliverance (3) Ruth -- a story of love and devotion (4) 1 Samuel -- organization of the kingdom (5) 2 Samuel -- the reign of David (6) 1 Kings -- division of the kingdom (7) 2 Kings -- history of the divided kingdom (8) 1 Chronicles -- the reign of David (9) 2 Chronicles -- history of the southern kingdom of Judah (10) Ezra -- a second return from captivity (11) Nehemiah -- rebuilding Jerusalem and restoring the Law (12) Esther -- a queen saves the Jewish people c. Five books of poetry. (1) Job -- the problem of suffering (2) Psalms -- hymns of the Jewish people 3
(3) Proverbs -- the wisdom of Solomon (4) Ecclesiastes -- the vanity of everything except serving God in one's life (5) Song of Solomon -- glorification of wedded love d. Five books of "major" prophets (generally, these books are longer). (1) Isaiah -- the messianic kingdom (2) Jeremiah -- God's message to the Jews -- "repent or perish." (3) Lamentations -- Jeremiah's sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem (4) Ezekiel-- God's prophet to His exiled people (5) Daniel -- God's prophet to the Babylonian and Persian kings e. Twelve books of "minor" prophets (generally, these books are shorter). (1) Hosea -- the apostasy of Israel (2) Joel -- prediction of the revelations of the Holy Spirit (3) Amos -- the ultimate, universal rule of the Messiah (4) Obadiah -- the destruction of Edom (descendants of Esau) (5) Jonah -- God's concern for the people of Nineveh (6) Micah -- the Messiah's birth (7) Nahum -- the destruction of Nineveh (8) Habakkuk -- destruction by the Babylonians and the just shall live by faith (9) Zephaniah -- God's judgment against the Jews and surrounding nations (10) Haggai -- the rebuilding of the temple in the days of Ezra (11) Zechariah -- the rebuilding of the temple (12) Malachi -- a call to repentance and the restoration of the Law 2. There are twenty-seven books in the New Covenant scriptures. a. Four books of biography (the gospel ["glad tidings, "] or the story of the life of Jesus) (1) Matthew -- written by Matthew, one of Jesus' apostles, at about 50 AD., telling the story of Jesus, the Messiah, from a Jewish perspective (2) Mark -- written by Mark, disciple of Jesus and fellow-worker of the apostle Paul, in 67 or 68 A.D., and presents the gospel as a collection of candid "snap shots" of the life of Jesus (3) Luke -- written by Luke, a physician and a fellow-worker of the apostle Paul, at about 58 A.D., and presents the gospel as a documentary of the life of Jesus, the Son of Man (4) John -- written by the apostle John, between 85 to 90 A.D., and presents the gospel as an x-ray examination of Jesus' life to show who He was b. One book of history -- the Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke in 61 A. D. and is a record of how men and women first became Christians, the beginning of congregations and how the gospel was spread to the whole world c. Twenty-one epistles (or, "letters") (1) Thirteen written by the apostle Paul to: (a) Romans -- written in Corinth at about 56 A.D. to congregations meeting in Rome to set forth the work of Christ in redemption 4
(b) 1 Corinthians -- written at about 54 or 55 AD. to a congregation in Corinth to correct many problems among the saints there (c) 2 Corinthians -- written shortly after the first letter in 55, AD. to defend his apostleship (d) Galatians -- written in about 55 or 56AD. to several congregations in the province of Galatia to answer false teaching regarding whether the Law was binding on Christians (e) Ephesians -- written while a prisoner in Rome in about 60 AD. to a congregation in Ephesus, and shows the preeminence of the church. (f) Philippians -- written while a prisoner in Rome to a congregation in Philippi, at about 61 AD., and deals with the matter of unity among Christians (g) Colossians -- written while a prisoner in Rome in about 60 AD. to a congregation in Colossae to show the preeminence of Jesus Christ (h) 1 Thessalonians -- to a congregation at Thessalonica at about 50 or 51 AD.and deals with the second coming or,jesus (i) 2 Thessalonians -- a second letter to the congregation at Thessalonica at about 51 AD., and also deals with the second coming of Jesus. U) 1 Timothy -- written in about 64 or 65 AD. to his young friend and co-worker, Timothy to instruct him in his work as an evangelist (k) 2 Timothy - written during Paul's second imprisonment in Rome, at about 67 or 68 AD., with further instructions regarding the work of an evangelist. (I) Titus -- written at about 65 AD., between Paul's two imprisonments, to Titus, co-worker and fellow-traveller of the apostle Paul, with instructions concerning his work as an evangelist (m) Philemon -- written to Paul's friend, Philemon, who was a wealthy slave owner, in about 60 AD., and appeal to him to set his slave, Onesimus, free. (2) Hebrews -- the name of the author is not given in the book, but it was likely written by the apostle Paul in about 67 to 69 AD., and its purpose was to exhort and encourage the faithful Christians in Jerusalem to remain faithful in spite of the severe persecutions they were enduring (3) James -- written by James, the brother of Jesus, to Jewish Christians who were living in different places in the Roman empire, at about.sz or 63AD. (4) Two letters that were written by the apostle Peter-- (a) 1 Peter -- written in about 65 AD. to Christians living in different cities of Asia Minor, and to encourage them and give them hope while suffering 5
(b) 2 Peter -- written in about 66 or 67 A.D. and probably to the same group of Christians to whom the first letter was written, and it deal with false teaching and false teachers (5) Three letters that were written by the apostle John -- (a) 1 John--possibly written to the Christians in the congregation at Ephesus, at about 85 to 90 AD., and deals with the false teaching of Gnosticism and true sonship (b) 2 John -- written at the same time as the first epistle to the "elect lady and her children," who cannot be identified with any certainty, but was evidently a very influential woman and a close friend of John's; it warns against a departure from the doctrine of Christ (c) 3 John -- addressed to Galus. a respected and very close friend of the author, at about 85 to 90 AD.; and deals with a problem in the congregation of which Gaius was a member (6) One letter written by Jude -- written by Jude, a brother of Jesus, in about 75 AD.,and deals with false teachers who had crept into the church d. One book of prophecy -- Revelation -- written by the apostle John at about 65 AD. to Christians in the Roman empire, and especially in Palestine, who were being persecuted by the Romans during the reign of Nero to give them encouragement and hope that they would enjoy an ultimate victory through Jesus Christ. B. The writing of the Bible. 1. The Bible was written by about forty men. a. We do not know who the authors of all of the books of either the Old Covenant or the New Covenant scriptures were. b. All of them, however, were inspired by the Holy Spirit in what they wrote so as what they wrote was everything God wanted written, and completely free of all errors and mistakes,see 2 Peter 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16,17. 2. The earliest writer of the Bible was Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible in about 1500 B.C., and the last writer was the apostle John, who composed his epistles late in the first century A.D. 3. In spite of the long period of time during which the Bible was written, and the fact that it was written by so many different men, many of whom did not and could not have known each other as they separated by time and space, the Bible is a unified book with a single story and it contains no contradictions. C. Though written by men, the real author of the Bible is God. 1. 2 Tim. 3: 16,17 -- all scripture is given by the inspiration of God 2.2 Pet. 1:20,21 -- holy men of God spoke (and wrote) as they were moved by the Holy Spirit 3. 1 Thess. 2: 13 -- what was spoken (and later written down) by the apostles was to be received as the word of God D. The Bible is the complete revelation of God's will to man; we do not need anything else to know what God wants us to do in religion. 6
1. Jere. 10:23 -- Man is unable to guide himself when it comes to serving God. 2. Jude 3 -- the gospel (lithe faith") has once for all been revealed to the saints 3. Rom. 16:25,26 -- God's revelation of Himself and His will ('the mystery") has been made known to all the nations E. The Bible, as the Word of God, must not be altered in any way. 1. Deut. 4:2 -- We must not add to nor take away from the scriptures 2. Gal. 1:8,9 -- Any who would change the gospel are condemned 3. Rev. 22: 18,19 - Those who add to or take away from the book of Revelation will be punished. F. The Bible can be understood. 1. 1 Cor. 14:33 -- God is not the author of confusion, but of peace 2. Eph. 3:4,5 -- We can understand the scriptures by reading them 3. Eph. 5: 17 -- God would not give us a book and expect us to understand when it is impossible to do so. 4. In order to understand the Bible, God wants us to study it. a. 2 Tim. 2:15 -- we must learn to handle the word of God correctly b. 2 Pet. 3: 18 - we must grow in grace and knowledge G. The Bible reveals what God wants us to do in serving and worsnlpping'hlm. 1. Matt. 7:21 -- We must do the will of the Father as revealed therein in order to enter heaven 2. Heb. 5:8,9 -- Jesus is the author of salvation to all who obey Him H. The Bible will be used as the standard by which all men will be judged. 1. John 12:48 -- All men who have lived since Jesus' death will be judged by the gospel 2. Rom. 2:12-15 -- Others, who lived before that time, will be judged by the law to which they were amenable III. CONCLUSION A. Since the Bible is the word of God and will someday be used as the standard for our judgment, it is very important that we read and study it carefully in an effort to understand and obey it. B. Our knowledge of the word of God, correctly applied and obeyed, will prevent our being ashamed in the day of judgment, 2 Tim. 2:15. C. We should desire a knowledge of the Bible that we may grow thereby unto salvation, 1 Pet. 2:2. 7