CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES

The Unity of the Bible

 

Our first lesson dealt with reasons for believing in God. Having established reasons for faith in a Supreme Being, we are now ready for a second step, which is to prove that the Bible is a Special Devine Revelation from God to man. Our first point of proof is in the wonderful unity of the Bible, which is our lesson for now.

Before noticing several examples of unity, we must first of all understand the circumstances under which the Bible was written. The following quotation well expresses the manner in which the Bible came into existence.

“ The Bible consists of sixty six books written by forty different men over a period of sixteen hundred years. It was written by kings, soldiers, shepherds, farmers, and fishermen . It was begun by Moses in the lonely desert of Arabia and finished by John on the isle of Patmos . Some of it was written in king's palaces, some in shepherd's tents, some besides still waters, and part of it was written in prison. Part of the Bible was written in different languages and different countries. Yet, when all the books of the Bible are brought together they blend into one great whole. They are a unit, hence, The Book! There are no contradictions; there is no discord. It is never necessary to re-write the Bible and bring it up to date. It is always up to date and was free of error from the beginning. These men could have written such a book only by divine guidance. Just as the materials for Solomon's temple joined perfectly together because they were prepared under the direction of a great architect, so the books of the Bible blend harmoniously because they were written under the direction of the Holy Spirit of God. ” ( Why We Believe the Bible, George Dehoff, Pg. 102-103).

The following are some examples of this grand unity:

Unity in its Main Theme.

The grand theme of the Bible is God and His redemption for man. Throughout it teaches the same consistent doctrine of God, man, morality, sin, salvation, and immorality. Not a discordant note is to be found on these themes. Man is always sinful, while God is always completely righteous. But there is always the hope of salvation and a future life for man. This great theme is found over and over in the Bible.

The grand theme is centered on one specific character, the Messiah. In addition the unity is further seen in the fact that each age or dispensation of the Bible's history, three things are required for remedy from sin, which is priests, sacrifices, and altars. All of these would be culminated in the Messiah.

Unity of Ethics and High Morality.

Throughout the Bible there is a high standard of morality. Sin of every kind is always condemned, which shows that the writers were directed by a righteous God. While many sinful things are recorded in the Bible, they are never given God's approval, but are always condemned. Every writer has the same conception of righteousness.

“ For example, let us take the Ten Commandments as an illustration. Now where in the Bible is there an approval expressed of actions contrary to these fundamental laws. Contrary actions are often recorded, but never with approbation.” ( The Basis of Christian Faith , Hamilton, Pg. 157-158).

Unity In Prophecy.

Other lessons will be given later on examples of fulfilled prophecies in the Bible. But some must be mentioned here, for this is one of the examples of unity in the Bible. Of all prophecy, there is but one center: The kingdom and the King. The kingdom is to be one of righteousness and the King is to be Savior. These two things were foretold so clearly in the Old Testament that the Jews were expecting a Messiah when Jesus came. Though they did not believe that Jesus was the one of whom the prophets spoke, yet they did believe in one who was coming.

“But Notice particularly that when we examine the writings of the different prophets, we do not find contradictions between them. If it were only one person composing the messages and giving them to different individuals to put into their own language there could not be greater agreement than there actually is. There is every evidence even on the wording of the prophecies themselves to say nothing of their fulfillment to indicate that there was one Master Mind which inspired the words which each prophet expresses in his own language.”

( The Basis of Christian Faith , Pg.157)

Unity of Literary Emphasis.

Throughout the Bible we likewise find a unity in the emphasis which is placed on important subjects. Take for example such themes as the blood of Christ, the death of Christ, His resurrection, His second coming, His divinity, man's need of grace, the faith of Abraham, etc.

On every one of these and other important subjects, each writer agrees with what the others have written. The teachings of the New Testament on the blood of Christ may serve as an example of what we mean. If one single writer had taught that the blood was not important or was not essential to man's salvation, then we would find a contradiction. But they, every one, teach the same truth regarding the blood. The following references may show this to be true: Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12-14; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; etc.

Any other Bible topic can be investigated the same way. The fact that the writings agree on the importance and emphasis of different things is an indication that they were all in unity with each other.

The Unity of the Bible is an Organic Unity.

Organic unity is the unity of many parts to form one organized being. Likewise, the Bible, though composed of many parts, forms one book. Organic unity implies three things: First, that all parts are necessary to be a complete whole; secondly, that all are necessary to complement each other; and thirdly, that all are pervaded by one life principle. Let us apply these laws to the Bible to see that they are true.

 I. All parts of the Bible are necessary to its completeness. Just as every part is needed for a complete physical body, so every part of the Bible is needed to complete the book.

Not one of the books of the Bible could be lost without maiming the body of truth here contained. Every book fills a place. None can be omitted. For example, the Book of Esther has long been criticized as not necessary to the completeness of the Bible, and particularly because it does not contain the name of God. But that book is the most complete exhibition of the providence of God.

Every book of the Bible may teach us something about God's love for us or our duty to Him. None can be left out.

 II. All parts of the Bible are necessary to complement each other. An example of how various parts may fit each other is seen in the following illustration.

For instance, the sharp-pointed tooth of the lion requires a strong jaw; these demand a skull fitted for the attachment of powerful muscles, both for moving the jaw and raising the head; a broad, well developed shoulder blade must accompany such a head; and there must be an arrangement of the bones of the leg which admits the leg paw being rotated and turned upward, in order to be used as an instrument to seize and tear prey; and of course there must be strong claws arming the paw. Hence from one tooth, the animal could be molded though the species had perished.

Thus the four gospels are necessary to each other and to the whole Bible. Each presents the subject from a different point of view, and the combination gives us a Divine Person reflected before us, like an object with proportions and dimensions.

The unity of the Bible is the unity of one organic whole. The Ten Commandments demand the Sermon on the Mount. Isaiah's prophecy makes necessary the story by the Evangelists. Leviticus explains, and is explained by the Epistle to the Hebrews. The Passover foreshadows the Lord's Supper, and the Lord's Supper fulfills and interprets the Passover. Even when you come to the last chapter of Revelation, you find yourself touching the first chapters of Genesis. You read in Genesis of the first creation; in the last chapter of Revelation, of the new creation, the new heaven and the new earth; there, of the river that watered the garden; here, of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God; there, of God who came down to walk with and talk with man; here, we can read that the tabernacle of God is with men; there, we read of the curse that came by sin, here, we read: “ And there shall be no more curse .” Finally, as you survey the whole trace of your thought, you find you have been following the perimeter of a gold ring; the extremities actually bend around, touch and blend.

 III. The third and last law of organic unity is that one life principle must pervade the whole. The life of God is in His word. Just as one life is imparted to the various parts of the body, God has inspired the various parts of His word ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Unity in Brevity.

In addition to the unifying facts of continuity, we also find unity in the brevity with which the writers expound the will of God. Men do not write in and of their own abilities with such restraint.

Consider, Genesis, with only 50 chapters tells the origin of the world and all that is in it, plus the first 2500 years of man's history on earth. In only 34 verses the creation of the entire material universe is told.

An individual newspaper article covering one basketball game takes more human explanation than the inspired revelation of creation. The monthly readers digest is longer to read than the first 2500 years of mans history and reveals less. In both of these examples the human effort is attempting to be as brief as possible for the conservation of space.

Yet, when the first Apostle was killed, Luke by inspiration only used 11 verses to record it, and we know everything we need to know about it. All inspired writers of the Bible wrote with this kind of Divine restraint.

Conclusion.

Isaiah 40:6-8 “The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever ."

Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away .”

1 Peter 1:24-25 “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, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever ." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

UNITY!

Next: “The Bible – it's Scientific Accuracy”