THE BIBLE BEING THE HIGHEST AMONG ALL
THE CLASSICAL WRITINGS
In this [article] we will explain to you the reason that the Bible is
so unique. We will give four reasons for its uniqueness.
The Bible Being the Highest in Its Record
The first fact is that the Bible stands alone among all books in its
record of authenticity. Many canons of other religions are filled with
myths and legends. But within the pages of the Bible we find countless
references to actual events, people, and places. The science of archaeology,
along with secular historical records, confirms the precision of the references
in the various biblical books. The attention to minute detail observed
by the biblical writers is unparalleled in any other ancient literature.
The Bible tells of an all-powerful, eternal Creator who created the
universe, including the heavens, the earth, and all created things, from
nothing. The Genesis account of creation, while not a scientific narrative
in itself, is completely harmonious with scientific evidence. According
to ancient Greek mythology, the heavens were held up by a giant called
Atlas, and the ancient Indian writings tell of the earth being a square
and held up by four fish. But twenty-seven hundred years ago, before man
discovered that the earth was round, the Bible said that the earth is
a circle (Isa. 40:22) and that it hangs upon nothing (Job 26:7).
The Bible also records the origin of man. It tells us that man was made
by God in His image (Gen. 1:26-27). Modern science on genetic structure,
as well as the discovery of the wonders of the human body, have convincingly
proven that, since man is such a complex being, there must be an intelligent
Being behind man's creation. A computer cannot evolve from a mesh of wires,
nor can a spacecraft be formed by a series of accidents and coincidences.
Every intelligent object must come from a more intelligent creator. The
Bible gives the origin of man in a simple and meaningful way: man is created
in the image of God.
One of the amazing features of the Bible is the faithfulness with which
it records human history. The Old Testament is an account of the history
of mankind in the ancient world, especially of the history of the Jews,
and the New Testament is an account of the history of the early church.
All of the details recorded in both Testaments can be confirmed by modern-day
archaeology.
In addition to being a record of the history of mankind in the past,
the Bible contains prophecies concerning mankind in the future. Daniel,
one of the writers of the Old Testament, wrote at the time of the Babylonian
Empire about a dream that the Babylonian king had. In that dream the king
saw an image with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, an abdomen
and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly
of clay. While the king was watching, a stone cut out without hands struck
the image at its feet, and the entire image was crushed and was carried
away by the wind like chaff from the summer threshing floors, so that
no trace of it was found. The stone that struck the image became a great
mountain and filled the whole earth (Dan. 2:1-45). This image was a picture
of the succeeding human empires that appeared in human history. The head
of gold signifies the Babylonian Empire, which lasted from 605 B.C. to
539 B.C. The breast and the arms of silver signify the Medo-Persian Empire,
which under King Cyrus destroyed the Babylonian Empire and lasted from
539 B.C. to 330 B.C. The abdomen and thighs of bronze signify the Grecian
Empire, which under Alexander the Great defeated the Medo-Persian Empire
and became the world power from 336 B.C. The legs of iron and the feet
partly of iron and partly of clay signify the Roman Empire, which took
over the land of the Grecian Empire. Its reign began in 30 B.C. and lasted
for over four centuries, after which it was divided into the eastern part
and the western part, signified by the two legs. All these correspond
accurately with the historical records. The world today is a continuation
of the Roman Empire and is part of the legs and feet of the image. The
Bible predicts that at the end of this age "a stone cut out without hands"
will destroy all human governments and will set up its own government
over the entire earth. This "stone" is Jesus Christ, who will set up His
kingdom on earth (Rev. 11:15). The image is a picture of human history
that spans over twenty-six hundred years. Most of this prophecy has been
fulfilled, and some of it will be fulfilled in the future. This is an
example that shows us the marvelous facts recorded in the Bible pertaining
to human history.
The most amazing prophecies in the Old Testament concern the coming
of the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ. The Old Testament contains at least
three hundred direct references to Christ; it tells of the place He was
to be born, the way He would grow up, and the way and the place He would
die. All these prophecies were fulfilled.
The Bible Being the Highest in Its Wisdom and
Profoundness
Second, the Bible bears the super wisdom concerning man's relationship
with God and his relationship with his fellow man, his thought, his intention,
his behavior, and his daily living. At the time of the Old Testament,
most of the cultures on earth believed in polytheism, the belief in more
than one God. The majority of the so-called gods were depicted as cruel,
fierce, or at times even licentious. But the Bible reveals one unique
God who is infinite and personal, who cares for human beings as a Father
and a Husband, and who personifies love, respect, justice, and mercy.
This is in contrast to other gods of the ancient world who were to be
obeyed and served out of fear rather than from loving respect.
The Bible also covers all kinds of knowledge, such as theology, the
humanities, astronomy, geology, science, philosophy, sociology, government,
education, culture, and eschatology. All science textbooks must be revised
to a new edition after a certain number of years. But the Bible never
changes; it always remains the same. The laws in the Old Testament take
care of the proper relationship between man and his environment; for example,
in besieging a city, the attackers were not to destroy the trees and thus
devastate the environment (Deut. 20:19). These laws also take care of
the proper balance of social wealth, through the institution of a year
of jubilee every fifty years, in which all debts were forgiven and all
lands returned to their original owners (Lev. 25:8-17). The Ten Commandments
(Exo. 20:3-17) form the basis of the western legal system in its humane
and fair treatment of fellow human beings. The Lord's Sermon on the Mount
(Matt. 5—7) forms the basis for a benevolent and just society. These
and many other examples reveal the profound wisdom of the Bible in all
aspects of the human life.
The Bible Being the Highest in Its Ethics and
Morality
No other book contains as high a standard of ethics and morality as
the Bible. It describes proper love as a human virtue, which suffers long,
is kind, is not jealous, does not brag, and is not puffed up (1 Cor. 13:4).
It defines love in the extending of forgiveness even to one's enemy (Matt.
5:44). It exemplifies love in God's own act of giving up His only Son
for man (John 3:16). Christians are those who walk in love (Eph. 5:2),
and the church is a community built up in love (Eph. 4:16).
The Bible also speaks of righteousness in its highest form. Whoever
sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed (Gen. 9:6), and all
those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword (Matt. 26:52). God
Himself renders to those who by endurance in good work seek for glory
and honor and incorruptibility, life eternal, and He renders to those
who are disobedient, wrath and fury (Rom. 2:6-8).
Throughout its pages the Bible describes to us a God who is holy and
who separates Himself from all forms of unholiness. In the Old Testament
He commanded that His people be separated from the sinful and idolatrous
practices of the heathen nations (Deut. 18:9). In the New Testament He
exhorts the believers to be separated from all fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts
of anger, factions, divisions, sects, envyings, bouts of drunkenness,
carousings, and things like these (Gal. 5:19-21).
The Bible also speaks much about faithfulness. It exhorts men to be
faithful to their spouse (1 Cor. 7:2), parents to be faithful to their
children and children to their parents (Eph. 6:1-4), and each person to
be faithful to his words (Matt. 5:37) and to his work (Luke 16:12); above
all, one should be faithful to God, as God is faithful to him (I Cor.
10:13; Rev. 2:10). The Bible speaks of sincerity and of humility, saying
that one should not be double-tongued (I Tim. 3:8) or use deceit (Rom.
3:13) and that one should count others more excellent than himself (Phil.
2:3) and should not be wise in himself (Rom. 12:16).
The Bible has much to say about the family, and the Christian standard
differs greatly from modern philosophies and human ideologies. It advocates
filial piety in honoring one's parents (Eph. 6:2), respecting the elderly
(Lev. 19:32), and being subject to the elders (1 Pet. 5:5). History has
proven that where the Bible is honored, the family is preserved and society
is adjusted and uplifted.
The marital relationship is defined clearly in the Bible. Fornication
and adultery are strictly prohibited, and divorce is not allowed on any
ground of incompatibility. The husband is to love the wife, and the wife
is to submit to the husband (Eph. 5:22-33). Furthermore, the husbands
and wives are to honor each other (1 Pet. 3:6-7) and to take care of each
other's relatives (1 Tim. 5:8). They should honor their marriage (Heb.
13:4) and should not take advantage of each other's weaknesses (1 Pet.
3:1, 7). Parents should raise their children to be in subjection with
all gravity (I Tim. 3:4) and should nurture them in the discipline and
admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Proper discipline is necessary for
the edification of children (Prov. 19:18), but such discipline must be
carried out in tenderness and sensibility (Col. 3:21).
The Bible Being the Highest in Its Influence
The last and most important factor in ranking the Bible as the most
distinctive book is its influence upon men. Although the Bible is a great
treasure as far as its literary, philosophical, and historical contribution
to humanity are concerned, the greatest value of the book lies in its
great influence upon individuals. Through its pages man is exposed concerning
his true condition before God. The word of God is like a two-edged sword
that pierces through the reasonings and natural excuses of man and convicts
him of his sins before God (Heb. 4:12). Saint Augustine was an undisciplined
and licentious man in his youth, but his mother prayed for him while he
was growing up. After living a wanton life for many years, one day at
the age of thirty-one he read the Bible under a fig tree and came to the
portion that says, "Let us walk becomingly as in the day; not in reveling
and drunkenness, not in fornication and licentiousness, not in strife
and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision
for the flesh to fulfill its lusts" (Rom. 13:13-14). These words convicted
him of his sins, and he repented to the Lord and became a great servant
of Christ.
Throughout history many famous people have been inspired to believe
in Christ through reading the Bible. The French emperor Napoleon, after
being defeated and exiled to the island of St. Helena, confessed that
though he and other great leaders founded their empires upon force, Jesus
Christ built His kingdom with love. He also confessed that though he could
rally men to die for his cause, he had to do so by speaking to them face
to face, whereas for eighteen centuries countless men and women had been
willing to sacrifice their lives for Jesus Christ with joy without having
seen Him once. The reason that so many have been willing to give up everything
to follow Christ and to be martyred for Him is that they have seen the
Christ revealed in the Bible. The Bible has become the source of inspiration
for many to believe in Christ. Although many kings, emperors, and governments
have tried throughout the past two thousand years to stamp out the Bible,
beginning from the Roman emperors of the first century and continuing
down to the communists of this century, no power on earth has been able
to take away man's attraction to this book and the wonderful person it
contains. The Christ revealed in the Bible is as fresh today as He was
two thousand years ago. No biography of any man on earth has changed as
many lives as the life of Jesus Christ.
For Christians the Bible is a constant source of teaching and revelation.
It convicts, corrects, and instructs the Christian in righteousness and
equips him for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It affords him life-transforming
power that changes his disposition and transforms his soul. It gives him
power to overcome sin and Satan, and it feeds his spirit with the heavenly
food. It is a believer's spiritual milk (1 Pet. 2:2) and his bread of
life (Matt. 4:4). Many Christians at times experience tribulation and
sickness, but when they read a portion or a sentence of the Bible, they
have the enduring strength in their hearts, and they receive unspeakable
comfort and thus obtain hope that is beyond their expectation.
THE BIBLE BEING THE HOLY WORD OF GOD
The reason that the Bible is different from all other books is that
its nature is divine. The Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). This
tells us that the Scripture did not come out of man's thought, man's mind,
but, rather, it was God's breathing His thought and His word through His
Spirit into and out of the writers. Hence, the Bible contains God's element
and carries His flavor. A Christian's greatest joy and blessing is to
be able to contact God and taste Him daily through the word of His breath.
Since the Scripture is God's breathing His word out from men through
His Spirit, no word of the Scripture can be of man's will; rather, men
were borne by the Spirit and spoke from God. The word "men spoke from
God while being borne by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21) has a twofold
meaning: first, men were borne by the Spirit; second, men spoke from God.
In the original Greek, being borne by the Holy Spirit refers to being
carried along like a ship by the wind. The writers of the Bible received
God's inspiration, and they were under the power of the Holy Spirit, being
borne and carried along by Him to speak out God's word. Furthermore, when
they spoke, they spoke from within God. It was the Spirit of God carrying
men along to speak, and it was also men speaking from within God. In other
words, it was God speaking His own word from within men through their
mouth.
THE CANON OF THE BIBLE
The canon of the Bible comprises the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, is composed of thirty-nine
books. There are at least thirty-two writers of these books. Among them
there were men of letters, statesmen, and military men; there were priests,
kings, and prophets; and there were common people, shepherds, and farmers.
The New Testament, from the Gospel of Matthew to Revelation, is composed
of twenty-seven books. It was written in both Jewish and Gentile lands
by a tax collector, a doctor, an ordinary disciple of Jesus, two fishermen,
two flesh brothers of the Lord Jesus, and a scholar.
The scope of the Bible covers a wide span, from the beginning of the
universe, through man's fallen history and Christ's salvation, to the
end times. It gives details of the history of the first man, Adam, and
his fall, and it traces his descendants down to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It consummates with the end of this age, the coming of the next age, and
the final new heaven and new earth.
THE MAIN SUBJECTS OF THE BIBLE
In the subsequent booklets in this series, we will explain to you some
of the different subjects of the Bible. Here we will briefly introduce
the main subjects in the Bible.
The first subject in the Bible is God with His plan. The God revealed
in the Bible is a God of wisdom and purpose. Just as any person who is
intelligent and purposeful is always full of plans, our God, who is most
wise, has an eternal plan, which has much to do with man and the world.
The second subject is man and his destiny. The Bible tells us where
man came from, how he was made, and where he is going. It also tells of
God's plan for man.
The third subject of the Bible is Christ. Christ is the central figure
of the Bible. The Old Testament is a prophecy concerning Him, and the
New Testament is the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Bible tells us
how this Christ accomplished redemption and salvation for mankind.
The fourth subject is the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of God.
He is mentioned very much in relation to man's experience of God.
The fifth subject is the divine life, that is, the life of God, which
a person receives when he believes in Christ. This divine life lives within
those who believe in Christ and directs and transforms their living.
The sixth subject is the believers, who are in Christ. The New Testament
tells us the meaning of being a believer in Christ and the way to live
a proper Christian life.
The seventh subject is the church, which is God's community of believers
on earth today. The Bible explains what the church is and how believers
should meet as the church.
The eighth subject is the kingdom of God, which is the sphere where
God exercises His rule and authority in this age and in the coming ages.
The last subject is the new heaven and the new earth, which speaks of
the things that will happen in eternity in the future.
If you are a person who is seeking after the truth and would like to
know the meaning of your life, you need to read the Bible, and you should
call on the Christ who is presented to you in the Bible. God has given
every person a spirit (Job 32:8) so that he can understand and receive
the things of God. We hope that you will begin your reading of this wonderful
book, the Bible, by reading the New Testament, and we also hope that you
will begin a fruitful and abundant life today through meeting Jesus Christ
in this book.
