The Bible

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. Give the internal evidence that the Bible's unity points to a single divine Mind.
2. Explain what is meant by the timelessness and all-sufficiency of Scripture.
3. Treat the Bible as the complete, authoritative Word of God for faith and life.

Thesis

The Bible — sixty-six books by some forty writers over sixteen centuries, yet of one mind — is the timeless, all-sufficient Word of God, furnishing man completely for every good work.

Burden

We hold in our hands the most familiar and the most neglected book on earth. Familiar, because it sits in every home; neglected, because we rarely stop to consider what it actually is. Boles asks us to look at the Book itself — its impossible unity, its agelessness, its sufficiency — and to feel again the weight of what we are carrying. A man who really believes the Bible is what it claims to be will read it, obey it, and stake his soul on it. The burden of this lesson is to put that conviction back in our hands along with the Book.

Introduction

"Bible" simply means "the Book." It contains sixty-six books bound into ONE BOOK, written by about forty men. Boles draws out its unity, its timelessness, man's need of it, its blessing to man, and its scope. Take up the Book and consider it.

I. The Unity of the Bible (2 Pet. 1:21)

1. About sixteen hundred years lie between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21.
2. The writers were scattered across that span; one did not know what others had written, nor what others would write.
3. You cannot get forty men in one room today to agree on one disputed thing.
4. Yet these forty writers, across the centuries, agree — one unfolding story, one consistent doctrine, one Redeemer from promise to fulfillment.
5. There is only one possible conclusion: one Mind guided them all — "men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21). The unity of Scripture is itself an argument for its inspiration.

II. The Timelessness of the Bible (Matt. 24:35; 1 Pet. 1:24-25)

1. It is never out of date, while other books grow obsolete.
2. Many books, once prized, are now out of print and forgotten.
3. Nothing has been added to it or taken from it since it was completed (cf. Rev. 22:18-19).
4. Men cannot add to the wisdom of God.
5. Men may differ as to what a passage means, but it remains the Word of God regardless. "The word of the Lord abideth for ever" (1 Pet. 1:25).

III. Man Needs the Bible (Ps. 119:105)

1. It is the best light for the PAST — telling man his origin (Gen. 1).
2. It is the biggest light for the PRESENT — telling man his duty.
3. It is the brightest light for the FUTURE — telling man his destiny.
4. In sum, it teaches man his origin, mission, and destiny — questions no other book can answer. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet" (Ps. 119:105).

IV. How the Bible Has Blessed Man — Its All-Sufficiency (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

1. It has taught man of God.
2. It has taught man of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
3. It furnishes man completely unto every good work — "that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Because Scripture furnishes us completely, nothing need be added — no creed, no later revelation, no tradition of men. The all-sufficiency of the Bible is the ground of the plea to speak where it speaks and be silent where it is silent.

V. The Scope of the Bible

1. It gives the eternal thoughts of God brought down to man (Isa. 55:8-11).
2. It gives a vision of the one sweeping movement of God — the single redemptive purpose running from Eden to the new heavens and new earth, centered in Christ (Eph. 1:9-10).

Application

If the Bible is the Word of one divine Mind, then to argue with it is to argue with God. If it is timeless, then it is not a relic to be updated but a authority to be obeyed in our own day. If it furnishes us completely, then we need nothing added to it and dare take nothing from it — and the man who supplements Scripture with the creeds or revelations of men insults its sufficiency. Open it daily; submit to it fully; add nothing; subtract nothing. The Book that has outlived every critic will judge us by its own words at the last day (John 12:48).

Conclusion

Forty writers, sixteen centuries, sixty-six books — and one Mind, one message, one Lord. The Bible is never out of date, cannot be improved, and furnishes the man of God completely. We hold no ordinary book. Let us read it as the Word of God, for that is what it is.

Invitation

This Book was written "that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ... and that believing ye may have life in his name" (John 20:31). It tells you your origin, your sin, and your Savior, and it tells you plainly what to do: believe on the Lord Jesus, repent, confess Him, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). The all-sufficient Word leaves you without excuse and offers you life. Will you obey the Book today? Come while we sing.

Word Study

• "Inspiration" (2 Tim. 3:16, Gk. theopneustos): literally "God-breathed" — Scripture proceeds from the breath of God, accounting for the unity Boles observes.
• "Furnished completely" (2 Tim. 3:17, Gk. exartizō): fully equipped, finished — the word for outfitting a ship for a voyage; nothing lacking, nothing to be added.

Scripture Interlock Table