Church of Christ, Seremban

“...the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 3:15
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HOW WE GOT THE BIBLE series... 1. The Bible: A Brief Introduction 2. Revelation Communicated 3. The Canon and Text of the Old Testament 4. The Canon and Text of the New Testament 5. Obtaining the Text of the Bible 6. Inspiration and Canonicity 7. The English Bible Prior to the KJV 8. The English Bible: The KJV to the Present ESCHATOLOGY series... 1. Christian Eschatology 2. Realized Eschatology 3. When Did Christ Establish His Covenant? 4. When Was the Book of Revelation Written? 5. What and When Is the Resurrection? 6. New Heaven and New Earth and the Second Coming 7. A Summary Chart Comparing Realized Eschatology with Biblical Eschatology PROVERBS series... 1. Proverbs: A Brief Introduction 2. Doing What Is Right, Just and Fair 3. Love, Faithfulness and Trust 4. Woman Wisdom vs. Woman Folly 5. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 1) 6. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 2) 7. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 3) 8. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 4) 9. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 5)	THE BIBLE: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION by Ong Kok Bin The Christian faith (along with Judaism and Islam) is unique in two respects: (1) its monotheism and (2) its claim to have a written revelation from God. This written revelation, as encoded in the Bible, contains all that is knowable about God, all that is known concerning the origin of matter and life, and all that is to be known about what it takes for human beings to live in relationship with this God, here on earth and thereafter in heaven. In essence, believers and practitioners of the Christian faith constitute the people of the word of God; for it is the word, the written revelation from God, that gives form, purpose and substance to the lives of these people. The word ‘Bible’ comes from the Greek *biblion* (meaning ‘book’), which itself is derived from the word *byblos, a name for the papyrus sheet obtained from a reed plant which grew on the marshes of the River Nile in Egypt. Papyrus was a writing material made from strips of the reed plant arranged and glued together in two layers, one vertically and the other horizontally. Writing was usually done on the cleaned horizontal layer and sheets of the papyrus would be spliced together end to end and wound around a wooden navel to form a scroll. It is this form of scroll which was called a biblios* in Greek. Later, a more ingenious way of putting the papyrus sheets together was developed. Instead of splicing them together, the papyrus sheets were stacked one on top of another and folded in the middle and bound to form a *codex. Christians soon adopted this method of book making. Parchment (prepared animal skin) was to replace the papyrus sheet because it was thinner, more durable and could be written on both sides, enabling more pages of writing material in a single codex. The early Greek-speaking Christians referred to the books of their holy scriptures as ta biblia, ‘the books’. The Latins incorporated biblia* in their language but used it in the singular form: thence, ‘Bible’ in English. Anyone familiar with the Bible will know that it is a collection of 66 books that are divided into two main parts: (1) the Old Testament and (2) the New Testament. This nomenclature comes from the Latin rendition of the two parts as *Vetus Testamentum* (‘Old Testament’) and *Novum Testamentum* (‘New Testament’). *Testamentum* is the Latin translation of the Greek *diatheke, which is the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew berit, which more properly means ‘covenant’. A covenant is essentially an agreement between two parties that governs and shapes their relationship together. The Bible at various instances speaks of covenants that God had made or promised to make with various people. Thus, God covenanted with Noah that he would not destroy the world again with the flood waters (Gen. 9:8-17). He covenanted with Abraham that he (God) would make him (Abraham) a great nation and through him all nations would be blessed (Gen. 12-22). In Jeremiah 31:31-34, God promised to make a new covenant with the house of Israel that he would put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts. In the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, the inspired writer claims that this promise made through the prophet Jeremiah has now been fulfilled through Jesus Christ (see Heb. 8; cf. Lk. 22:20) except that it is a covenant opened to the whole world instead of being just limited to Israel; thus, bringing about the Abrahamic covenant to pass (e.g., see Rom. 4). Seen in the light of the meaning ‘agreement’ in the word covenant (berit, diatheke), the word ‘testament’ may not be quite a proper word to describe the two portions of the Bible since it has undergone a shift in its popular meaning and usage. It now properly means ‘a person’s will, especially the part relating to personal property’ (The New Oxford Dictionary of English*). Nevertheless, by dint of habit and long usage, the two portions of the Bible remain as the Old Testament and the New Testament with very few English translators having the courage to make the passage from ‘Testament’ to ‘Covenant’. The Bible then is not a single entity of one composed book by one author; but, as mentioned in passing earlier, is a collection of 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. It is written by some 40 different authors stretched over a period of some two thousand years. Some of the authors were kings, prophets, priests, rustic farmers, fishermen, tax-collectors, tent-makers and even a physician. Yet, despite this wide ranging diversity of authors spread across time, language and culture, there is a tenacity of unity in the book of God. There have been some who have tried to deny this unity in the Bible. Marcion who lived in the second century A.D., for example, had argued that there was no connection between the Old and New Testaments. He argued that the God of the Old Testament was different from the God in the New. To him, the God of the New Testament was a loving, beneficent and gracious God; but, the Yahweh God, the Creator God, in the Old Testament was often vengeful, punitive and even downright hateful. It is true that there is a different emotive feel to the Old and New Testaments (just try reading the book of Joshua in the OT and then the book of John in the NT, for instance) but this does not necessarily mean that the New Testament is completely divorced from the Old or that there are two different Gods acting in the two Testaments respectively. Jesus, in response to a question on marriage and the resurrection, makes the God of the resurrection (NT) the same God in the time of Moses (OT) because this God is the God of the living and not the dead (see Lk. 20:34-38). As much as he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he is also the God of all who are to be raised to life in the final analysis. The Old Testament was the Bible of Jesus Christ and acknowledged as ‘Scripture’ by the writers of the New Testament (e.g., see 2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Peter 1:20). The unity between the two is the unity of continuity as expressed by Jesus himself: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them” (Mt. 5:17). And again, as Jesus was to tell his disciples shortly before his ascension into heaven: “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” [i.e., the Jewish tripartite division of the OT]. In short, the unity in the entire Bible is Jesus Christ. The Old Testament informs that the Christ (or, the Messiah) will come; the New Testament claims that he has come and anyone seeking salvation must come into a faith relationship with this Christ (Acts 4:12; cf. 2 Tim. 3:15). < prev \| next >
\| Home \| About Us \| Archive \| Articles \| Comment \| Directory/Churches \| Links \| News \| Youth \| _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this page may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission, oral or written, from the Church of Christ, Seremban, Malaysia.

“...the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 3:15
	\| Home \| About Us \| Archive \| Articles \| Comment \| Directory/Churches \| Links \| News \| Youth \|
HOW WE GOT THE BIBLE series... 1. The Bible: A Brief Introduction 2. Revelation Communicated 3. The Canon and Text of the Old Testament 4. The Canon and Text of the New Testament 5. Obtaining the Text of the Bible 6. Inspiration and Canonicity 7. The English Bible Prior to the KJV 8. The English Bible: The KJV to the Present ESCHATOLOGY series... 1. Christian Eschatology 2. Realized Eschatology 3. When Did Christ Establish His Covenant? 4. When Was the Book of Revelation Written? 5. What and When Is the Resurrection? 6. New Heaven and New Earth and the Second Coming 7. A Summary Chart Comparing Realized Eschatology with Biblical Eschatology PROVERBS series... 1. Proverbs: A Brief Introduction 2. Doing What Is Right, Just and Fair 3. Love, Faithfulness and Trust 4. Woman Wisdom vs. Woman Folly 5. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 1) 6. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 2) 7. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 3) 8. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 4) 9. Devotional Thoughts on Proverbs (Week 5)	THE BIBLE: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION by Ong Kok Bin The Christian faith (along with Judaism and Islam) is unique in two respects: (1) its monotheism and (2) its claim to have a written revelation from God. This written revelation, as encoded in the Bible, contains all that is knowable about God, all that is known concerning the origin of matter and life, and all that is to be known about what it takes for human beings to live in relationship with this God, here on earth and thereafter in heaven. In essence, believers and practitioners of the Christian faith constitute the people of the word of God; for it is the word, the written revelation from God, that gives form, purpose and substance to the lives of these people. The word ‘Bible’ comes from the Greek *biblion* (meaning ‘book’), which itself is derived from the word *byblos, a name for the papyrus sheet obtained from a reed plant which grew on the marshes of the River Nile in Egypt. Papyrus was a writing material made from strips of the reed plant arranged and glued together in two layers, one vertically and the other horizontally. Writing was usually done on the cleaned horizontal layer and sheets of the papyrus would be spliced together end to end and wound around a wooden navel to form a scroll. It is this form of scroll which was called a biblios* in Greek. Later, a more ingenious way of putting the papyrus sheets together was developed. Instead of splicing them together, the papyrus sheets were stacked one on top of another and folded in the middle and bound to form a *codex. Christians soon adopted this method of book making. Parchment (prepared animal skin) was to replace the papyrus sheet because it was thinner, more durable and could be written on both sides, enabling more pages of writing material in a single codex. The early Greek-speaking Christians referred to the books of their holy scriptures as ta biblia, ‘the books’. The Latins incorporated biblia* in their language but used it in the singular form: thence, ‘Bible’ in English. Anyone familiar with the Bible will know that it is a collection of 66 books that are divided into two main parts: (1) the Old Testament and (2) the New Testament. This nomenclature comes from the Latin rendition of the two parts as *Vetus Testamentum* (‘Old Testament’) and *Novum Testamentum* (‘New Testament’). *Testamentum* is the Latin translation of the Greek *diatheke, which is the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew berit, which more properly means ‘covenant’. A covenant is essentially an agreement between two parties that governs and shapes their relationship together. The Bible at various instances speaks of covenants that God had made or promised to make with various people. Thus, God covenanted with Noah that he would not destroy the world again with the flood waters (Gen. 9:8-17). He covenanted with Abraham that he (God) would make him (Abraham) a great nation and through him all nations would be blessed (Gen. 12-22). In Jeremiah 31:31-34, God promised to make a new covenant with the house of Israel that he would put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts. In the New Testament, in the book of Hebrews, the inspired writer claims that this promise made through the prophet Jeremiah has now been fulfilled through Jesus Christ (see Heb. 8; cf. Lk. 22:20) except that it is a covenant opened to the whole world instead of being just limited to Israel; thus, bringing about the Abrahamic covenant to pass (e.g., see Rom. 4). Seen in the light of the meaning ‘agreement’ in the word covenant (berit, diatheke), the word ‘testament’ may not be quite a proper word to describe the two portions of the Bible since it has undergone a shift in its popular meaning and usage. It now properly means ‘a person’s will, especially the part relating to personal property’ (The New Oxford Dictionary of English*). Nevertheless, by dint of habit and long usage, the two portions of the Bible remain as the Old Testament and the New Testament with very few English translators having the courage to make the passage from ‘Testament’ to ‘Covenant’. The Bible then is not a single entity of one composed book by one author; but, as mentioned in passing earlier, is a collection of 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. It is written by some 40 different authors stretched over a period of some two thousand years. Some of the authors were kings, prophets, priests, rustic farmers, fishermen, tax-collectors, tent-makers and even a physician. Yet, despite this wide ranging diversity of authors spread across time, language and culture, there is a tenacity of unity in the book of God. There have been some who have tried to deny this unity in the Bible. Marcion who lived in the second century A.D., for example, had argued that there was no connection between the Old and New Testaments. He argued that the God of the Old Testament was different from the God in the New. To him, the God of the New Testament was a loving, beneficent and gracious God; but, the Yahweh God, the Creator God, in the Old Testament was often vengeful, punitive and even downright hateful. It is true that there is a different emotive feel to the Old and New Testaments (just try reading the book of Joshua in the OT and then the book of John in the NT, for instance) but this does not necessarily mean that the New Testament is completely divorced from the Old or that there are two different Gods acting in the two Testaments respectively. Jesus, in response to a question on marriage and the resurrection, makes the God of the resurrection (NT) the same God in the time of Moses (OT) because this God is the God of the living and not the dead (see Lk. 20:34-38). As much as he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he is also the God of all who are to be raised to life in the final analysis. The Old Testament was the Bible of Jesus Christ and acknowledged as ‘Scripture’ by the writers of the New Testament (e.g., see 2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Peter 1:20). The unity between the two is the unity of continuity as expressed by Jesus himself: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them” (Mt. 5:17). And again, as Jesus was to tell his disciples shortly before his ascension into heaven: “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” [i.e., the Jewish tripartite division of the OT]. In short, the unity in the entire Bible is Jesus Christ. The Old Testament informs that the Christ (or, the Messiah) will come; the New Testament claims that he has come and anyone seeking salvation must come into a faith relationship with this Christ (Acts 4:12; cf. 2 Tim. 3:15). < prev \| next >
\| Home \| About Us \| Archive \| Articles \| Comment \| Directory/Churches \| Links \| News \| Youth \| _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this page may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission, oral or written, from the Church of Christ, Seremban, Malaysia.