The Word of God

The Bible is the Word of God. (Mark 7:13; Romans 10:17; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 4:12) It is God speaking to man. Other Biblical names for it are the Scripture (Mark 12:10; 15:28; Luke 4:21; John 2:22; 7:38; 10:35; Romans 4:3; Galatians 4:30; 2 Peter 1:20) and the Scriptures (Matthew 22:29; Mark 12:24; Luke 24:27; John 5:39; Acts 17:11; Romans 1:2; 2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Peter 3:16).¹

The word bible comes from the Greek words biblos (Matthew 1:1) and biblion (Luke 4:17). They mean book. The word biblos came into being because ancient books were written on papyrus reed. Papyrus reed is called biblus. Eventually, the word biblos referred to the sacred books. (Mark 12:26; Luke 3:4; 20:42; Acts 1:20; 7:42)²

The Bible is a written document of the divine revelation from God. It is the final authority concerning God and His relations to the universe. It is genuine, credible, canonical and inspired by God.³

Genuine means the Books of the Bible were written by the person or persons named by ancient tradition, during the respective time periods ancient tradition says they were written and the facts in them are real.

Credible means the content of the Books of the Bible are truthfully told.

Canonical means the Books of the Bible have been measured, found satisfactory and proved to be inspired by God. The word canon comes from the Greek word kanon. It means a rod, as in a measuring rod. A canon is a rule or standard by which other things are measured. Acceptance of the Books of the Bible as the inspired word of God canonized them (made them into a canon). The collection of the Books of the Bible is called the Canon.

Inspired means the Books of the Bible were written under the guidance and supervision of the Holy Ghost. Biblical authors wrote according to their own personalities. However, the Holy Ghost supervised the content and the words used to write it. The content of the Bible is accurate and complete.

Authors

Forty different authors wrote the Bible over a period of 1600 years. Although written by many authors, it is one Book. It is the sole source of Theology. It reveals knowledge of God, knowledge of God’s plan for man, knowledge of how man became alienated from God and knowledge of how man can be reconciled to God. Its divine inspiration has been proven by the fulfillment of its prophecies. For a complete list of the Books of the Bible, their respective authors and dates they were written, see Appendix A.