The Bible is a “God Book.” It is the most widely circulated book in the world and is consistently a best-seller. The following excerpt was obtained from from the Guinness World Records website, which speaks for itself. “Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book. A survey by the Bible Society concluded that around 2.5 billion copies were printed between 1815 and 1975, but more recent estimates put the number at more than 5 billion.”
“By the end of 1995, combined global sales of Today’s English Version (Good News) New Testament and Bible (copyright for which is held by the Bible Societies) exceeded 17.75 million copies, and the whole Bible had been translated into 349 languages; 2,123 languages have at least one book of the Bible in that language.”
The Bible is not just another book. It is the divine revelation of Almighty God to man. The Bible begins with God and not with discussions about His existence. Instead, it begins very logically with the creation of the universe and man, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), and ends with “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1). It has the answers to all life’s problems and situations. God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, wisely chose some forty human authors to write the scriptures.
God Himself is the divine author “All scripture is breathe out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, and for training in righteousness correction, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible also says, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Some people claim that the Bible contradicts itself. There is absolutely no truth to that statement. In fact, the Bible contradicts them. “Let God be true and everyone a liar” (Romans 3:4). Theologians and Bible students will tell you that the Bible is the best commentary on itself. The problem here is that at times a biblical text is taken out of its context and falsely used as a “pretext” in an attempt to prove a point. The end result is error, confusion and misunderstanding. Furthermore, “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:13). Scripture is always corroborated by other scripture(s), and must be kept within the intended context.
Psalm 119, with 150 chapters, is the longest book in the Bible, and is all about this timeless Bible, which is infallible, and trustworthy. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path: (Psalm 119:105). This means that God’s word shows what is happening around us and a light to see where we are going. No mortal being is able to this.
Being the Book of books, the Bible has a total of sixty-six books, consisting of two main sections called Old Testament, with 39 books and New Testament, with 27 books. Both Testaments complement each other, and God is revealed in both as being holy, merciful, and righteous. The New Testament begins with the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), which record the human ancestry, conception, birth, life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew’s theme is “Jesus the King,” Mark’s theme is “Jesus the Servant,” Luke’s theme is “Jesus the Man,” and John’s theme is “Jesus in His Deity.” Thank God for His Word.
As Christians, the Bible will keep us from sin, or sin will keep us from the Bible. Let us be committed to read, study (commit to memory), and apply the scriptures. In doing so, we are honoring God, who states in His word, “For those who honor Me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30).