Bible overview: basics and introduction Part 1 of 3

Bible overview: basics and introduction Part 1 of 3

The goal of the series is to be able to gain the basics of handling the bible for yourself. What do you want to know about the Bible? 2

JUNE 18 BIBLE LET S GET STARTED PUTTING ANCHORS DOWN Grace to You Opening The Bible Christian Bible Grace with You Word Of God Born of the Spirit Hearing God Structure Overview Main Character Main Plot Salvation Plan JULY 16 BIBLE ORIGIN, HISTORY TO PRESENT Bible How did we get it? Today Translation History What do we believe about it Creeds & Catechisms Structure / Order / Chronology Book Introductions AUGUST 13 BIBLE OVERVIEW AND INTAKE HANDLING IT FOR YOURSELF Bible Jesus in all the Bible Cultivating A Life in God Bible Jesus in the Old Testament Old Testament Overview New Testament Overview Bible intake & other practices Reading plans 3

The Bible What is it? Who is it for? Why? Word of God 4

As Jesus talked with Nicodemus, He said, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. How can a man be born when he is old? Nicodemus asked. Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother s womb to be born! Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again (John 3:3-7). "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband s will, but born of God" (John 1:12-13). 5

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3 What happens if we stay a baby and don t continue to grow? But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 1 Cor 3:1-3 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:11 6

Grace to you & Grace with you Enjoying Jesus Opening the Bible, Word of God, Jesus is the Word In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1 Christian you are born of the Spirit: New Life, Spiritual Food Two ways to be alive? What does it mean to be alive in our bodies? like breathing, eating, feeling What does it mean to alive in our Spirit? In our Spirit: three ways to grow: Hearing God, speaking to God and being with his family. 7

Grace & love to receive: "Grace has been on the move since before creation, roaming wild and free. Even before the foundation of the world, it was the untamed grace of God that jumped the bounds of time and space and considered a yet-to-be-created people in connection with his Son, and chose us in him (Eph. 1:4). It was in love to the praise of his glorious grace that he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus (Eph. 1:5). Such divine choice was not based on foreseeing anything good in us. He chose us by grace not on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace (Rom. 11:5 6). It was not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began (2 Tim. 1:9). "The grace of God is gloriously beyond our skill and technique. The means of grace are not about earning God s favor, twisting his arm, or controlling his blessing, but readying ourselves for consistent saturation in the roll of his tides." 8

Bible basic contents: the Old Testament in front and the New Testament in back. Or Books, Chapters, Verses Index 39 Books in the Old Testament 17 History (5 of Moses + 12 History ) 5 Poetry 17 Prophets (5 Major + 12 Minor) 27 Books in the New Testament 5 History (4 Gospels + 1 Acts) 21 Epistles (13 Paul + Hebrews+ 7 General) 1 Prophecy (Revelation) This describes how the church has organized the canon of the Bible s books 9

God and man Relationship created Relationship broken Relationship restored offered Relationship and Judgement fulfilled & complete Created with freedom, created for fellowship. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. (Genesis 1:26 ESV) I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3 ESV) The greatest blessing of heaven will be unhindered fellowship with God himself. The goal of God s covenant, God with us (Isa.7:14, ESV footnote; Matt. 1:23), foreshadowed in the OT tabernacle and temple, will be achieved. his people their God. See Lev. 26:11 12; Ezek. 37:27. 10

The Bible s own approach in presenting salvation: it is the Bible s own way of relating God s way of salvation. This is what God calls for us to believe, so that all who believe the Bible s story believe in covenant theology. The Bible s primary message deals with two great issues: sin and redemption. It relates these to two different covenants, one of which man broke and other of which Christ fulfilled. These two covenants the covenant of works and the covenant of grace provide the architecture on which the Bible s teaching is erected and serve as the key to our understanding of salvation. 11

Covenants A covenant is a compact God makes with man for life and blessing. Example: When a man and a woman enter into a covenant to live in the blessings of marriage, they make a compact a formal, binding agreement in what we call a wedding. A wedding binds them in marriage, with certain privileges and obligations. Likewise, God bound Himself to men with covenants, according to His own sovereignly imposed terms. 12

Covenants: 1. Christians believe that God made a covenant with Adam, permitting him to live on the condition of perfect obedience. But Adam broke that covenant by eating from the forbidden tree, falling under God s curse through sin, and all his offspring with him. 2. But God promised another covenant by which He would offer salvation by grace alone, through the blood of a perfect sacrifice. Later, when God determined to destroy sinful mankind with a flood, He made a covenant with Noah to save the man of faith and preserve a holy people for Himself. Later yet, God made a covenant with Abraham, promising a land of blessing and descendants as numerous as the stars, requiring that Abraham believe. Then God sent Moses to deliver Israel from bondage in Egypt, making a covenant to establish God s holy nation. Then God made a covenant with David, promising an eternal throne for a son from David s line. New Covenant. This covenant, found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, promised that God would forgive sin and have a close, unbroken relationship with His people. The promise was first made to Israel and then extended to everyone who comes to Jesus Christ in faith (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:15). Finally, The New Covenant, Christians believe that God sent His own Son, Israel s promised Messiah, whose perfect life and sacrificial death established God s gracious salvation promises for those who believe. 13

Covenant of Works - conditional God entered into a covenant with Adam. In this way, God imposed the terms by which Adam and his posterity might continue to enjoy life in the garden, namely, perfect and personal obedience (Westminster Confession of Faith, 7.2). A test was implemented with regard to one tree: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God ordained that in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (Gen. 2:17). Through obedience, Adam would retain life in the garden, but if he broke the covenant, he would suffer death. Reformed theology refers to this as the covenant of works, since by Adam s own works he would either stand or fall. Adam s breach of the covenant of works is the great problem for which the rest of the Bible presents God s answer. This answer is the covenant of grace, which God promised as His remedy for the broken covenant of works. Since the serpent (representing the devil) had tempted the first humans into sin, God s grace was first presented in terms of his defeat. God told the serpent: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Gen. 3:15). Theologians call this the Protoevangelion, that is, the first preaching of the Gospel. God then displayed how the covenant of grace would succeed: a sinless sacrifice would die in the place of sinners, providing His righteousness for them and paying their penalty in His blood. Genesis 3:21 says, The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 14

Covenant of Grace - unconditional The covenant of grace provides unity to the Gospel s unfolding in successive generations. God s covenant with Noah preserved the covenant of grace, so that the human race would continue until the birth of its Savior. God s covenant with Abraham promised not just many offspring, but also the single offspring in whom the covenant would be fulfilled (see Gal. 3:16). By the time of Moses, Abraham s family had become a nation, and God s covenant with Moses provided priests who would offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins. God s kingdom also needed a sovereign, and God s covenant with David promised a king who would never fail or die. But through all the long generations, the broken covenant of works remained unfulfilled Adam and his line still needed the righteousness that comes only through perfect obedience. So, as Paul put it, When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law (Gal. 4:4 5). This is covenant theology at its finest. As Jesus stated, He came to fulfill the Law (Matt. 5:17); that is, he came to fulfill the covenant of works on our behalf. Then, by dying on the cross, Jesus laid the foundation for God s grace for sinners in the covenant of grace. This is the meaning of Christ s words in establishing His new covenant, bringing the covenant of grace to fruition for those who believe. Anticipating His atoning death, Jesus declared, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28). 15

Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace Covenant theology is vital not merely for understanding the Old Testament and the Gospels, but also for the apostolic doctrine taught in the Epistles. How, for instance, can God be just and yet be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:26)? Covenant theology provides the answer: believers in Christ are justified both by His fulfilling the covenant of works on our behalf and by the atonement in His blood offered by the covenant of grace. Here is another important question: How can faith make us righteous before God, apart from works of our own? Covenant theology gives the Bible s answer: Jesus performed the works we owe to God under the covenant of works, which we receive by faith alone under the covenant of grace. 16

Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace Covenant theology presents the Bible s own framework for salvation, because like the Bible it unfolds the person and work of Jesus Christ. When Paul wrote, For all the promises of God find their Yes in him (2 Cor. 1:20), he was pointing to God s covenant promises. What has God promised as His gift of grace? The answer is found in His covenants, which offer life, preservation, a land of promise, a glorious people, a ministering priest, a righteous king, and an atoning lamb. These promises are all Yes and Amen only as we trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ of the covenants. The Bible history taught by covenant theology is truly His story, so that we might find the fullness of God s grace in Jesus Christ alone. 17

Grace to receive Spiritual life Plan of Salvation Made for relationship & friendship 18

Session 2 July Session 3 August Resource Page: www.wordpress.knowjesusnow.com Additional materials Spreadsheet with list of books Bible reading plan Bible reading plan #2 Resources Used: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/redemptive-history/ 19