Systematic Theology Series (01) - the Bible

In this post, we will briefly explore what the Bible is. This post is adapted from my systematic theology book - Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible.
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​Our English word “Bible” comes from the Greek word biblia which means “books”.  At its simplest level, that is what the Bible is – a collection of books. The Bible is also referred to as “the Scriptures”.

Our Protestant[1] Bibles have a total of 66 books, which are divided into two sections: the Old Testament (39 books: Genesis - Malachi), and the New Testament (27 books: Matthew - Revelation).


The Old Testament

The Old Testament was primarily written in Hebrew, with some parts being written in Aramaic (also called Chaldee).  The history recorded in the Old Testament took place between the beginning of time and the 5th century BC. This does not include the subsequent events that were predicted by Old Testament prophets.

We can divide the Old Testament into five sections:
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• The Law / Pentateuch / Torah (Genesis – Deuteronomy)
• History of Israel (Joshua – Esther)
• Wisdom and Poetry (Job – Song of Solomon)
• Major Prophets (Isaiah – Daniel)
• Minor Prophets (Hosea – Malachi)

The Pentateuch contains the Law of Moses and the events that led up to the giving of that Law (the creation and fall of man, God’s covenants with Noah and Abraham, and Israel’s exodus from Egypt).
The History books contain the account of Israel’s possession of the Promised Land, their various kings, the splitting of the nation into two (Judah and Israel), Assyria’s conquest of Israel, Judah being taken into exile by the Babylonians, and the return of the Jews to their land.

In addition to the story of Job, the Wisdom and Poetry books contain wise sayings, songs, and prayers.
The Major and Minor Prophets contain messages that God spoke to His people (and to other nations) through the prophets during the years of their kingdom, exile, and return from exile.


The New Testament

The New Testament consists of 27 books which were written in Greek by Christian leaders in the first century AD after Jesus Christ ascended to heaven.  There were other books written after Christ ascended that the church did not accept as being worthy to be included in the Bible, doubtless because they were not considered to be divinely inspired, or because they contained information and claims that the early church knew to be false.

The 27 books of the New Testament can be divided into five sections:

• The Gospels (Matthew – John)
• History (Acts)
• Pauline Epistles (Romans – Philemon)
• General Epistles (Hebrews – Jude)
• Prophetic (Revelation)

The Gospels are four collections of the teaching, actions, and events surrounding Jesus’ ministry.  Each Gospel is written with a different style, with different levels of detail, and from a different angle.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because of their similarities.  Synoptic means “seen together”.

 The History book (Acts) is an account of events surrounding the early church.

The Pauline Epistles are letters written by Paul the apostle to churches and individuals.

The General Epistles are letters written by James, Peter, John, Jude, and the anonymous writer of Hebrews.

The Prophetic book of Revelation contains a series of prophetic visions.

The writing of the New Testament has brought the Bible to its completion.  There are no future books to be added.  This is because the church’s foundation is the apostles and prophets of the New Testament, with Jesus Himself as the cornerstone:

“20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:20, NRSV)

The teachings of Jesus, the apostles and the prophets are preserved for us in the pages of the New Testament.  Their teachings, preserved for us in Scripture, constitute the faith that has been delivered to the church once and for all.  As such, Christian doctrine is to be based solely on what the Bible says, and not on new revelations that anyone claims to have received:

“3 Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Jude 3, NRSV)


The Bible is God-breathed

Christians believe that the books included in the Bible are inspired by God:
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“20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20–21, NRSV)

“16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16, NRSV)

The phrase “inspired by God” is translated as “God-breathed” in the NIV.  In both of the above verses, the word “Scripture” refers to the Old Testament, which was the Bible the earliest Christians had.  However, Christians consider the books of the New Testament to be equally inspired by God and therefore part of Scripture.  For example, the following verse indicates that Paul was aware that he was writing God’s commandments:

“37 Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 14:37, NRSV)

Because the books of the Bible are inspired by God, they constitute God’s message to us.  In other words, the Bible is the “word of God”.  It is God’s voice speaking to us. Notice that in the following verse, to obey God’s commandments is to obey God’s “voice”:

“18 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God by keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 13:18, NRSV)

The Bible is vital for our spiritual life:

“4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”” (Matthew 4:4, NRSV)

The Bible gives us direction and wisdom:

“105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, NRSV)

“98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.” (Psalm 119:98, NRSV)

The Bible also encourages us:

“4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4, NRSV)

The Bible shows us the way to salvation:

“15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15, NRSV)

“21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.” (James 1:21, NRSV)

The Bible enables us to live holy lives:

“9 How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9, NRSV)

“11 I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11, NRSV)

The Bible is to be the source of Christian teaching. It also corrects us, instructs in matters of righteousness, and equips us to serve God:

“16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, NRSV)

As the Bible is to be the source of Christian teaching, it is the Bible that must determine what we believe.  As the Bible is God’s word, it is the final authority for all matters of faith and conduct.


[1] Protestant churches are the Western churches that separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation, or any church descended from them. Roman Catholic Bibles, and Eastern Orthodox Bibles contain additional books that Protestants do not believe to be inspired by God.