The Amazing Word of God - Selected Quotes
Table of Contents
Introduction
2 Three Themes of the Old Testament
3 Three Themes of the New Testament
4 The Books of the Old Testament
5 The Books of the New Testament
6 Greek: The Language of the New Testament
7 Hebrew: The Language of the Old Testament
8 Systematic Theology
9 How to Research the Word
10 How to Teach the Word
11 How to Apply and Enjoy the Word
From the Introduction:
About twenty-five years ago, shortly after my time at seminary, I set out to teach the leaders in our church the most important, interesting, and useful things I had learned in seminary. I called the course "Equipping the Equippers" and decided to make it somewhat like a college course since I was a university professor at the time. But I also wanted to make it move through the material quickly and be as practical as possible for those who would teach the Word themselves.
Since then, as I've continued learning about the Word, I've enhanced the material with information, insights, and heart attitudes that have proved invaluable to me. From all this, this book was written. As I've watched my own daughters grow up, I've wished to impart all I have learned to them and to their generation. So I've become increasingly inspired to write this material down for them to read and apply as they, in turn, touch the generations coming after them.
About the Bible at First Glance:
If you had never heard of the Bible and someone were to tell you that God had written a book, you probably would imagine that it must be a very orderly account covering every aspect of God: God is all-powerful, God is kind, God is just, and so forth. In other words, you would expect it to be like a theology book. If you were to open the Bible for the first time, however, you would be in for a surprise.
Once we start discovering what the Bible is all about, we will find there are profound reasons why it is the way it is. It is, in fact, tailor-made to convey its themes and purposes. Once we see this, we will realize that no one would have sat down to write a book like this in their own humanity. If you wanted to write your own book and say God wrote it, you would not make yourself or your friends look so bad. No one in their right mind would do that. The only answer that makes sense is that it really is God's book. When we start seeing the reasons why it is written the way it is, we will see that God wrote it with a passion—a passion that its words would come alive as we and countless others read it—a passion that we would become transformed by him as we begin to know him. In it we will also discover our destiny in him, which is far beyond what we could think or imagine.
About the Themes of the Old Testament:
I've heard many teachers talk about the themes of certain books or passages of the Bible, but this chapter is going to talk about the themes of the entire Old Testament itself. These are the major themes that thread their way through the Old Testament and, as we will see in the next chapter, are picked up again in the New Testament. It is important to keep these in mind when we focus on particular passages in Scripture because the individual passages always fit into the tapestry of a bigger picture and often tie into the grand themes that God is trying to convey. Recognizing these themes will shed light on all we talk about when looking into the amazing Word of God.
About the Themes of the New Testament:
The three themes of the Old Testament discussed in the last chapter, having been left mostly unfulfilled, continue on as major themes in the New Testament where they are fulfilled in surprising ways. The New Testament is about the life and ministry of the Messiah—born of the lineage of Abraham and David in the town of Bethlehem—Jesus of Nazareth. Who he was and what he did is the dominant theme in the New Testament. It is the root from which the other two themes are fulfilled.
About the Books of the Old Testament:
The books of the Old Testament are ordered so that they fall into three major categories:
I. Historical: Genesis to Esther (17 books)
II. Poetic: Job to Song of Songs (5 books)
III. Prophetic: Isaiah to Malachi (17 books)
About the Books of the New Testament:
The books of the New Testament are divided into three major categories, much like the structure of the Old Testament:
I. Historical: Matthew to Acts (5 books)
II. Letters: Romans to Jude (21 books)
III. Prophetic: Revelation (1 book)
About Greek: the Language of the New Testament:
There were actually two forms of Greek being used in the days of the New Testament: classical Greek, the language of Greek literature, and Koine (meaning common) Greek, the language of the common man. In that day a movement of purists, called Atticists, regarded classical Greek as the only acceptable standard for writing prose. It is interesting that the New Testament was written in Koine Greek. It had no pretenses—it was written in the language of common people in order to touch the hearts of common people.
About Hebrew: the Language of the Old Testament:
Because it is so different from English, Hebrew tends to be harder to learn than Greek. Yet that makes it fascinating, too. The biggest differences are that it reads from right to left, and the letters are unlike anything most people have seen. Also, prior to AD 800, the alphabet only represented the consonants—the pronunciation of the vowels was passed down orally.
About Systematic Theology:
As I said at the beginning of this book, God did not write the Bible to be like a theology book. That does not mean, however, that we should not collect what we learn about God and write it out it an orderly fashion. That is an immense help not only in solidifying our own understanding, but in assuring that everyone in the church has a grasp on the foundational truths of our faith. It also helps us as teachers to make sure that we "major on the majors" and not over emphasize minor points.
About Researching the Word:
On the next page, you will see a list of twelve steps that are useful for doing a Bible study on a specific text. For a given verse, you will find that some of these steps may not yield a lot, while other steps may lead to gold mines. Since it is not always obvious which will yield the most fruit, it is best to go through them all. In this chapter I will expand on each step and also give an example which illustrates how that step can add to your teaching.
About Teaching the Word:
In the previous chapter I described how to do a teaching based upon one verse. That is called a textual Bible study. Sometimes you may want to teach on a subject and, in so doing, use several different verses. This is called a topical Bible study. There are many ways of doing this. Sometimes the topic lends itself to how you will teach it. Other times it is what you feel is best for you and your hearers. In this chapter I will discuss several different ways you might teach on a topic which, I hope, will ignite your creativity as you partner with God in teaching what is on his heart and yours.
About Applying and Enjoying the Word:
So when Jesus spoke to the multitudes, what was his passion and underlying desire? What must he have been like when he spoke? People would come in droves and sit all day, often with nothing to eat, just to hear him talk. They couldn't stay away! He spoke words of truth and life. There was life in his eyes, and they knew his authority was different than anything they had ever known. They could feel his heartfelt passion for their well-being—how much he loved them. He wanted them to know the beauty of the Kingdom he was there to offer. It pained him to see the trouble they were in—suffering in a broken world, strong-armed by the hand of the enemy, ultimately to be led off to their eternal death. He wanted to pull them from this into his Kingdom, where they would be safe and know true life, light, freedom, and truth. His desire for this to happen was so deep that it led him to the cross.
