E12 - The Bible - Bible Standard Ministries

798 Pages·2013·3.52 MB·English

by  The Bible Standard

EPIPHANY
STUDIES
IN THE
SCRIPTURES

"The Path of the just is as the Shining Light,
That Shineth More and More
Unto the Perfect Day."

SERIES XII

THE BIBLE

7,000 Edition

"My Word is Truth" (John 17: 17).

PAUL S. L. JOHNSON
As Executive Trustee of The Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
PHILADELPHIA, PA., U. S. A.
1949
To the King of Kings and lord of lords

IN THE INTEREST OF

HIS CONSECRATED SAINTS,

WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION,

—AND OF—

"ALL THAT IN EVERY PLACE CALL UPON THE LORD."

"THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH;"

—AND OF—

THE GROANING CREATION, TRAVAILING AND WAITING
FOR

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD,

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED.

"To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God," "Wherein He hath
abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having
made known unto us the mystery of His will, accord-
ing to His good pleasure which He hath pur-
posed in Himself; that in the dispensation
of the fullness of the times He
might gather together in one
all things, under
Christ."
Eph. 3: 4, 5, 9; 1: 8-10.

____________

COPYRIGHT 1949

BY PAUL S.L. JOHNSON
As Executive Trustee of The Laymen's Home Missionary Movement
ii
FOREWORD

IN THIS book it is designed to discuss the Bible as a
subject. It is not its design to discuss the contents of the
Bible as such. Rather, it is its design to set fo rth the
teachings of the Bible as to itself. Along with those
teachings a number of things more or less connected wi th
the history of the Bible as the sacred wirtings of Christians
will be treated. In other words, it is the purpose of this
treatise on the Bible t o elucidate the Bib'sle theory of the
Bible as such. Accordingly, the re will be treated herein
such subjects as the generalities, literature, origin, coann,
genuineness, credibility, revelation, inspiration, attributes,
uses, etc., of the Bible. That such a discussion is in place is
evident from the position that the Bible hol ds with God's
people, as sole source of faith and main rule of practice.
Moreover, the study of such subjects conduces to a prope r
understanding and appreciation of the Bible, and has,
therefore, a sanctifying effect (John 17: 17). Then, too, in
our times, through a misuse of the proper study of Biblica l
Introduction by an infidelistic approach to, and engagement
in that study, the unbelieving theories of Higher Criticis m
are undermining confidence in the genuineness, credibilit y
and inspiration of the Bible as a revelation from God; and
the Christian should be armed against such infidliety. But
above all, as a means of honoring God in our own lives fo r
His bestowment upon us of the priceless gift of the Bible,
and as a means of helping others to glorify God for the
same reason, such a stud y as is here proposed should be
eminently assistful. And for its proper pursuit let each of us
pray the Lord for such a spirit as will honor Him in the
study, and as will be able to undertake and prosecute the
study profitably; for without such a spirit stud y would be
without honor to God and unprofitable to us.

The Bible is the collection of the Old and the New
Testament writings, al l of whic h are accep ted by 'sG od
people as His authoritative revelation. This is a p roper
definition of the Bible; but sometimes the word is
figuratively used to designate the sacred writings of others
iii
than Gods' people, e.g., the sacred books of the Hindus,
Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Babists, Mohammedans,e tc., are
often called the bibles of these. Such a use of the word w e
deem improper, since it is a word restrictive ins eu to the
Christians' sacred writings. Sometimes the Jews use t his
word for the Old Testament, which they regard as the onl y
authoritative Divine revelation. But even that use of the
word is not fully justified, though the Old Testament is part
of the Bible. We should restrict the word to the designation
of both Testaments. Sometimes we hear people call the Old
Testament the Old Bible, and the New Testament the New
Bible. Both of these uses of the term are unfortunate. O ur
use of the word is restricted to designate the writings that
constitute the Old Testament and the New Testament, as
the embodiment and authoritative history osf God'
revelation of Himse lf and of His plan, given by Him
through His Son, by means of certain of His servants to His
Old Testament and New Testament peoples (Heb. 1: 1, 2; 1
Pet. 1: 11; 1 Cor. 8: 6 A; mos 3: 7). For this collection o f
writings the instructed Christian claims a unique place, to
which no other writings are entitled. Hence he gives the m
the reverence and obedience tha th e believes is fitting t o
bestow upon the utterances of Jehovah, the God of heaven
and earth. That this study may be blessed by the B'si ble
Author is the prayer of the author and, it is desired, of t he
reader.

Your brother and servant,

PAUL S. L. JOHNSON.

Philadelphia, PA.,
September 14, 1945.
iv
CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
THE BIBLE'S GENERALITIES.

GENERAL BIBLE FACTS. GENERAL REMARKS ON IT AS
LITERATURE. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CANON OF THE O LD
TESTAMENT. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CANON OF THE N EW
TESTAMENT. .................................................................................................. 7

CHAPTER II.
THE BIBLE, A DIVINE REVELATION.

ITS NEED. INTERNAL PROOFS. ITS PLAN. WISDOM, POWE R,
JUSTICE AND LOVE PERMEATE THE PLAN. THE ATTRIBUTES OF ITS
GOD. ............................................................................................................. 103

CHAPTER III.
THE BIBLE, A DIVINE REVELATION (Continued).

CHRIST'S CHARACTER, OFFICES AND NATURES. PERMISSION OF
EVIL. THE RANSOM. THE BIBLE'S EXCELLENCIES. .......................... 209

CHAPTER IV.
THE BIBLE, A DIVINE REVELATION (Continued).

MIRACLES. PROPHECY. EXPERIENCE. PRODUCTS. CIVILIZER. ..... 347

CHAPTER V.
THE BIBLE, A DIVINE REVELATION (Concluded).

THE GREAT YRAPMID. ANALOGOUS TO COURSE AND
CONSTITUTION OF NATURE. THE HEAVENS DECLARE GODS' PLAN.
PALESTINE DECLARES GOD'S PLAN. ................................................... 451
v
CHAPTER VI.
THE BIBLE'S INSPIRATION.

ITS DESCRIPTION. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. BIBLE PASSAGES .
BIBLE FACTS. HIGHER CRITICISM. OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. ... 529

CHAPTER VII.
THE BIBLE'S ATTRIBUTES AND USES.

ITS FOURTEEN ATTRIBUTES. ITS FOUR USES. ................................... 685
vi
CHAPTER I
THE BIBLE'S GENERALITIES

GENERAL BIBLE FACTS. GENERA L REMARKS ON IT AS
LITERATURE. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CANON O F TH E
OLD TESTAMENT. GENERAL REMARKS ON TH E CANON O F
THE NEW TESTAMENT.

THE WORD Bible is derived from the Greek word biblia, a
neuter plural diminutive noun [literally, little books] which,
among other senses, is used in Greek to designate, amon g
other writings, the books of the Old and New Testaments.
Chrysostom, who was one of the four Greek church fathers,
and who died in 407 A.D., appears to have been the first t o
use this term as the appellation of the Holy Scriptures. This
word, biblia, is derived from the Greek word biblos, which
primarily means the inner bark of the papyrus, whence it
came to mean book. The Septuagint uses th ee xpression ta
[the] biblia [books] in translating the corresponding
expression in the Hebrew of Dan. 9: 2, w here the
expression is used of the Old Testament Scriptures alread y
then written. There is a partial allusion to this name in th e
Prologue to the (Apocryphal) book of Jesus, the so n of
Sirach [Ecclesiasticus], about 200 B.C., where the t hird
division of the Hebrew Old Testament is called "the rest of
the books." In another Apocryphal book (1 Macc. 12: 9) the
whole of the Old Testament is called "the holy books." This
name for the Old Testament was early adopted by Christian
writers (2 Clement 14: 2); and from the time of Chrysostom
onward it came to cover both of the Testaments combined .
The Western Church adopted this Greek word as the nam e
of both Testaments; and until the thirteenth century th ey
were, accordingly, called Biblia, "the books." During the
thirteenth century this neuter plural Greek word,B iblia, by
a grammatical mistake became used in the Latin as a
feminine singular noun, and thus "the
7
8 The Bible.
Books" were called "the Book"; and this usage, which w e
think is a most happy one, entered into the living languages
of Europe, among others, into English, whence we have our
name Bible, not Bibles, for one copy. It first appeared in
English about the time of Wyclif, who died December 31,
1384. Thus we see that the name has in part a Biblical an d
in part an extra-Biblical origin.

Taking the initial Hebrew letters of the nam es of the
three divisions of the Hebrew Old Testament: Torah (Law),
Nebiim (Prophets) and Kethubim (Writings), the Hebrew s
have formed a meaningless word as a name for the Old
Testament-Tanach. Self-evidently the New Testament does
not give itself in its entiret y any nam e at all; but St. Pe ter
does imply that St. 'sP auelpistles had an eq ually
authoritative standing with the Old Testament Scriptures (2
Pet. 3: 16). The most common nam e that th e New
Testament, both by Jesus and th e Apostles, gives the Old
Testament books is "The Scripture," i.e., The Writing, and
"The Scriptures," i.e., The Writings, sometimes with th e
word "Holy" added. The following is a complete list of
these: Matt. 21: 42; 22: 29; 26: 54, 56; Mark 12: 10, 24; 14:
49; 15: 28; Luke 4: 21; 24: 27, 32, 45; John 2: 22; 5: 39; 7:
38, 42; 10: 35; 13: 18 ; 17: 12; 19: 24, 28, 36, 37; 20 : 9;
Acts 1: 16; 8: 32, 35; 17: 2, 11; 18: 24, 28; Rom. 1: 2; 4: 3;
9: 17; 10: 11; 11: 2; 15: 4; 16: 26; 1 Cor. 15: 3, 4; Gal. 3: 8,
22; 4: 30; 1 Tim. 5: 18; 2 Tim. 3: 15, 16; Jas. 2: 8, 23; 4: 5;
1 Pet. 2: 6; 2 Pet. 1: 20; 3: 1 6. In the A.R.V. of 2 Tim. 3:
15, we have as a better translation the words acred instead
of holy, in the expression," holy Scriptures." Luke (Luke
24: 44) refers to the threefold division of the Hebrew O ld
Testament by the expression , "the Law of Moses, and th e
Prophets, and the Psalm"s (the first book of the third
division here i s made to stand for all the books o f that
division). But Jes us more frequently abbreviate s the
expression into that of "the Law and the Prophets" (Matt. 5:
17; 7: 12;
The Bible's Generalities. 9
11: 13; 22: 40; Luke 16: 16, 29, 31; 24: 27 ;J ohn 1: 45).
Other New Testament uses of this expression are :A cts 13:
15; 24: 14; 26: 22; Rom. 3: 21. In some passages the word
"Law" is used with reference to the entire Old Testamen t,
and that because the books of Moses, being the most
important, give their name to the —wthheo le most
important part standing for the whole (Luke 5: 17 ;J ohn 7:
49; 10: 34; 12: 34; 15: 25; Acts 5: 34; 6: 13; 22: 12; 23: 29;
1 Cor. 14: 21 ;G al. 4: 21). The New Testament uses t he
word "oracles" to designate hte Old Testament, as the
following passages prove: Acts 7: 38; Rom. 3: 2; Heb. 5:
12; 1 Pet. 4: 11. Ther e are other Biblical expressions th at
designate the Old Testament. It is called: the Book ( Ps. 40:
7; Heb. 10: 7), the Law of the Lord (Ps. 1: 2; here the New
Testament is also included), the Book of the Lord (Is. 3 4:
16), the Law and the Testimony, which also includes the
New Testament (Is. 8: 20) and the Scripture of Truth (Dan.
10: 21). The contents of the whole Bible, rather than the
Bible as such, are referred to in expressions like the
following: Good Word of God (Heb. 6: 5), Sword of the
Spirit (Eph. 6: 17), the Word (Jas. 1: 21-23; 1 Pet. 2: 2), the
Word of God (Luke 11: 28; Heb. 4: 12), the Word of Christ
(Col. 3: 16), the Word of Life (Phil. 2: 16) and the Word of
Truth (2 Tim. 2: 15; Jas. 1: 18). And from the standpoint of
putting the container for the thing contained, we may
properly apply these names to the Bible as such. If we so
do, we are to remember that this is done by metonymy (the
container for the thing contained), and not as the na mes
Scripturally given to the Bible by direct appellation.

It has become customary in English to cal l the two part s
of the Bible the Old Testament and the New Testament, the
word testament ordinarily in English means a will; but such
is not the sense attached to the two names current as to th e
two parts of the Bible. The Bible nowher e calls these tw o
the Old and New Testamen ts. In these na mes the w ord
testament means
10 The Bible.
covenant; and with this meaning in mindh et misleading
character of these names becomes apparent to the
instructed; for the pre-Gospel-Age revelation of God, while
it contains the Mosaic Covenant, which St. Paul (2 Cor. 3 :
14, 15) properl y calls the Old Covenant (see A .R.V.;
improperly rendered testament here and in v. 6 in the A.V.),
contains much matter (more than three-fourths of it) which
is not a part of the Mosaic or Old Covenant, even as St.
Peter tells us, very much of it pertains to Christ and the
Church, i.e., belongs to the Sarah Covenan t (1 Pet. 1: 10-
12), and as our study has in part of it proven. Furthermore ,
the Gospe-lAge revelation of God treats in almost its
entirety of the Sarah Covenant, and has very little to say o f
the New Covenant, which is to operate Millennially and
post-Millennially and does not operate now. This name,
New Testament, Covenant, given to the -GAogsep el
revelation of God is more responsible for the popular erro r
that the New Covenant has been operating since Calv ary
and Pentecost than anything else, as it is ma ost effective
hiding of the truth that the covenant now operating is the
Sarah Covenant. The above considerations prove that t he
names Old Testament and New Testament, especially t he
latter, are misnomers. But, as names, they are so de eply
rooted in the speech of the masses that it would be useles s
to attempt to agitate a change of names for thes e two part s
of the Bible. At least this palliates the error: that most
people do not associate the meaning of th e wordc ovenant
with that of testament, and that, accordingly, they use these
names not to mean two covenants, but the two parts of th e
Bible, without especially associating the idea of covena nt
with them. The A.R.V. and the R.V. have set aside the
word Testament and substituted the word Covenant in the
names of these two parts of the Bible, an unfo rtunate
change, as the above remarks prove.

This brings us to a consideration of the divisions of th e
Bible. Of course, these two Testaments are its