By Pastor Samuel Namatiiti
The Bible is a library containing sixty-six books, mainly referred to as the Canon Bible. The main author of all the sixty-six books is the Holy Spirit, who is one of the Trinity.
By the Trinity, we mean God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All the three of them together make up the God head. They team up together, but with different responsibilities for each. Therefore, one of the main responsibilities of The Holy Spirit, right from the beginning of time, was to be the chief author of the Holy Word of God.
The Holy Spirit came upon men of God to write the Bible. It is the letter from God to mankind, through which we learn about the mind of God towards man: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Unique library
The Bible is a unique library of books, written by a variety of individuals influenced by the Holy Spirit. These writers came from varied backgrounds- kings, prophets, shepherds, fishermen, doctors, and tax collectors. They lived in different parts of the world and in vastly different historical contexts, yet their writings align in remarkable harmony. This demonstrates the power of God that works to bring uniformity and unity.
Main theme
The main theme of the Bible is Jesus Christ – God the Son. In every one of the sixty-six books of the Bible, Jesus can be traced in types and pictures. For example, in Genesis 18, He appears to Abraham as the Angel of the Lord, accompanied by two other angels on a mission to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Isaiah 53 narrates the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, from birth to resurrection:
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely, He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment, He was taken away.
Yet who of His generation protested? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people, He was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressor”
(Isaiah 53:1–12)
During the journey through the wilderness, He was the Rock that supplied water to the children of Israel:
“And drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:4)
The Canon of the Bible
All writings in the Canon – the sixty-six books of the Bible – were God-inspired for our spiritual nourishment.
The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.
Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practise it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, spiritual food to sustain you, and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveller’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter.
Here, paradise is restored, heaven is opened, and the gate of hell is disclosed.
Christ is its grand Object, our good its design, and the glory of God its end.
It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide our feet.
Read it slowly, frequently, carefully, and prayerfully.
It is a mine of spiritual wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.
It is given to you in life, will be opened in judgement, and remembered forever.
It involves the biggest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred content (Amplified quotation from the HB commentary).
Author and structure
The main author of the Word of God is the Holy Spirit Himself. He came upon holy men to write the Holy Bible. The authentic Canon Bible contains only sixty-six books – from Genesis to Revelation – penned by different individuals inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible, which contains the Word of God, is a kind of library divided into two main sections: Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament has thirty-nine books; the New Testament has twenty-seven.
However, serious Bible readers should also note that the whole Bible can be seen in three segments:
- The Old Testament – where God the Father is the main Actor.
- The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) – where Jesus Christ, God the Son, is the central Figure.
- From the Book of Acts to Revelation – spearheaded by the Holy Spirit as the main Actor, working through genuine apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). This work continues today.
Therefore, let it be engraved in our inner being – the real you and me, that whenever we read the Word of God, we are face to face with the Trinity communicating with us. God wants to speak to you through His Word, just as you speak to Him through prayer. You need to know that there is never anything new to God in prayer. Before we go to Him, He already knows. He waits for sincere communication, ready to respond.
Heavenly letter
The Bible is a letter containing God’s message to you and me. It is God-breathed information meant for the inner man of our being. Therefore, it is extremely important that we set aside time to read it for our spiritual nourishment and growth.
In the Bible, we are introduced to the reality of life beyond this earthly existence, which so often occupies us with worldly affairs.
In the book of John, Jesus Christ revealed the determined plot of humanity’s greatest enemy, Satan:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).
Satan’s main intention is to deny mankind the possibility of life beyond the grave. He does all in his power to distract us from considering the world to come and the future of our souls.
One of his daily weapons is to occupy us with the cares of this world, leaving no room for the Word of God or even time to pray. We all have only twenty-four hours in a day. You and I must schedule our activities within that time. It is important to set aside even a small part of the day to read a portion of God’s Word, meditate on it, and pray. We desperately need spiritual covering under the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ before going about our daily routines.
The Holy Scriptures are the very thoughts of God. Reading the Bible brings spiritual healing and revives our bodies. The power of Scripture is unlike anything else on earth. It is a force to be reckoned with – containing intrinsic power: high enough to give us insight, deep enough to give us peace, wide enough to mould our personalities, and strong enough to bear us through the most difficult days.
Make time to read and meditate on the Word of God, and to present yourself before Him in prayer – for we are living in days filled with uncertainty.
