KindiakMath

One of the goals of these blog posts is to establish that God speaks through His Words, and His Words are recorded for us in the Bible—namely, the Protestant Old Testament and the New Testament. We remark that God’s words cannot contradict, so that any source claiming to speak God’s words and yet contradicts these written revelations discredit their own claims.

Furthermore, we remark that we make no comment on the Apocrypha or the Deuterocanon, since Christians from various disagree on their validity (i.e. canonicity), but all agree on the Protestant Old Testament minimally. All Christians agree on the New Testament.

Lemma 1. Using contemporary labelling, the Old Testament consists of 39 books.

Proof. The Old Testament is also known as the TaNaK; where each consonant abbreviates each chunk in the Old Testament: Torah (Ta), Nevi’im (Na), and Ketuvim (K). In more contemporary terms, the Torah is known as the Law or the Teaching, the Nevi’im is known as the Prophets, and the Ketuvim is known as the Writings:

• The Torah recounts Israel’s origin story as a society whose God is the LORD, who gives Israel life-giving instructions that lead to a kind of blessed living that sets them apart from every other nation. It consists of 5 books titled in English as follows: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
• The Nevi’im describe Israel’s national history, from the Promised Land to the kingdom’s rise and fall, and the prophetic rebukes and encouragements in-between. It consists of the following 6 + 3 + 12 = 21 books: Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
• The Ketuvim details Israel’s accumulated wisdom in its many various genres across vast time periods, like songs, pithy sayings, existential crises, as well as post-exilic recounts. It consists of the following 3 + 5 + 5 = 13 books: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles.

In total, using contemporary labels, the Old Testament consists of 5 + 21 + 13 = 39 books.

The Bible Project summarises the core storyline of the Old Testament below:

While they are all related, some books are more closely related than others, and these relations are detailed in Remark 1 below.

Remark 1. We note the following technical remarks for some of the aforementioned books:

• 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel is written as one book ‘Samuel’ but split into two due to scroll length.
• Likewise with 1 Kings and 2 Kings and 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles.
• The books Hosea through Malachi are grouped as ‘the Twelve’ and, cumulatively, have a similar total length to the other prophetic books (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) each.
• The Ketuvim is sometimes referred to as the Psalms since the largest book Psalms (a collection of 150 songs), opens the Ketuvim.
• Ezra and Nehemiah are actually one single piece of post-Babylonian work, un-creatively labeled ‘Ezra-Nehemiah’.
• Finally, Chronicles has nontrivial overlap with Samuel and Kings, but is written as an abbreviated history of Israel’s history in anticipation of the future Messiah.

Remark 2. We use the word “book” in a purely contemporary sense; the modern “book” with hard-covers and whatnot only arises from the printing press, and ancient writings were recorded on carefully-preserved and transmitted parchments.

Lemma 2. Using contemporary labelling, the New Testament consists of 39 books.

Proof. The New Testament consists of the writings of Jesus’ earliest followers.

• The Gospels are four eyewitness biographies of Jesus of Nazareth—His life, teachings, death, and resurrection via 4 different nuances: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels due to their synoptic similarity.
• The Acts of the Apostles is a follow-up account of the Gospel of Luke that traces the early church and the spread of Christianity beyond Jerusalem and into the rest of the Roman Empire and even beyond. This book introduces Jesus’ earliest disciples, as well as the missionary efforts of the Apostle Paul, who prior to conversion was feared as the terrorist Saul of Tarsus. It consists of 1 book: Acts.
• The Pauline Letters were letters written by the Apostle Paul to various fledgling churches that he or his mission team started. He wrote these letters to reinforce correct Christian doctrine and fiercely rebuke specific erroneous teachings that have invaded these early Jesus communities. There are a total of 13 such letters: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon.
• The more general Apostolic Letters were letters written by these early Jesus-following Jewish church leaders to fledgling churches on the core doctrines of Christianity, and hence, the indispensable moral codes of Christians—members of Christianity. These 8 letters includes the following: Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude.
• Finally the Apocalypse is written by an elder named John (presumably the same author as the Gospel of John and the letters of 1–3 John) regarding the revelation of Jesus pertaining the certainty of His return and the increasing tension and conflict that must take place leading up to it. It contains one very difficult-to-analyse book: Revelation.

In total, using contemporary labels, the New Testament consists of 4 + 1 + 13 + 8 + 1 = 27 books.

The Bible Project summarises the core storyline of the New Testament below:

Without re-hashing the core storyline of the Bible, I’d like to explore why Christians need to concern themselves with the Bible in the first place. The Bible faithfully records God’s words to us, and so Christians hear God through His Word. How does that happen?

Theorem 1. Through reading the Bible, we can hear God speak and personally know Him.

Proof. The author of Hebrews tells us that God has revealed Himself to humanity through prophets in the days of old, and most recently and ultimately, through His Son:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [Hebrews 1:1–2]

The prophets included the key figure Moses, who is primarily responsible for scribing the Torah:

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. [Deuteronomy 34:10–12]

The prophets also included key figures like Elijah, who served as a covenant watchdog for Israel’s loyalty to the LORD:

And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. [1 Kings 18:36–38]

The rest of the prophets’ writings are recorded in the Old Testament for our benefit. Through their writings, God speaks to humanity, calling them to return to Him:

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
to a nation that was not called by my name. [Isaiah 65:1]

Years later, God revealed Himself by His Word—God the Son—becoming human:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [John 1:1; 14; 17]

The New Testament records the words of Jesus through His disciples’ writings:

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. [John 15:26–27]

The words of Jesus are the words of God—for Jesus is the Word of God:

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 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 1:19–20]

Furthermore, when rightly understood, the entirety of the Old Testament points to Jesus:

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [Luke 22:44]

Therefore, when we hear the words of God as recorded for us in the Bible, we are hearing the actual words that God Himself spoke:

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. [1 Thessalonians 1:13]

And when we read God’s words, God’s Spirit causes us to understand these words and thus personally know the Jesus of the Bible, and therefore, the God of all creation:

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. [1 Corinthians 2:12–13]

As such, the classic verse pertaining divine inspiration not only directly refers to the Old Testament, but furthermore, extends to the New:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16–17]

Theorem 2. Through reading the Bible, we receive the words of life and experience this life with greater clarity.

Proof. The first psalm describes life in God’s words as life-abounding:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. [Psalm 1:1–3]

God’s words will last forever:

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. [Isaiah 40:8]

The words of God enlighten the eyes and delight the soul:

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. [Psalm 19:7–10]

God’s words are powerful in defeating all spiritual evil:

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. [Ephesians 6:16–18a]

God’s words confront our addictions to sin and bring us into real freedom from it:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. [James 1:22–25]

God’s words set us apart from the sin-addicted world:

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. [John 17:17–19]

God’s words lead us in a future that we can never understand:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. [Psalm 119:105]

Finally, God’s words prepare us for every good work:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16–17]

We can therefore sing God’s words as the only words of life forevermore:

Remark 3. There are many genres of writing in the Bible, so reading with genre-specific lenses increases the fruitfulness of our reading.

Remark 4. For the vast history of Christianity, most Christians were illiterate, and could not technically read. They “read the Bible” largely through audio rather than visual: hearing the Bible through one another, as their church leader speaks the Bible during weekly gatherings, and as they spoke the Bible to one another. In other words, to “read the Bible” does not require the visual words-based medium (even if it were, in some sense now, the most direct way to read the Bible). It is worth noting that the Old Testament was designed to be dialogued about and contemplated over and over again that bring life, rather than a one-stop shop of historical facts:

Blessed is the man…(whose) delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. [Psalm 1:1; 2]

Thus, we can receive God’s words of life regardless of medium, as long as we are receiving God’s Words as recorded for us in the Bible.

I believe any other benefit of reading the Bible can be elaborated without restraint, but for this post, Theorems 1 and 2 ought to do the trick. We have a God who delights to speak to us, and even speak with us, and hear us speak to Him. We call speaking to Him the word prayer—more on that in the next post.

—Joel Kindiak, 2 Dec 25, 2105H