Functions of the Bible - Part 1

Alkitab. The Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Great Indonesian Dictionary) defines Alkitab as “the holy book of the Christian religion, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament.” Etymologically, the term Alkitab comes from the Arabic language and consists of two words. “Al-kitab” means the scripture of all scriptures, or the book of all books. In English, the Alkitab is called the Bible or Holy Bible, which means Holy Scripture, which comes from the Greek word “biblos”—Book.

Nevertheless, the Bible is not a history book or a record of stories to make an evil person good or someone who does not understand history understand history. There are several functions of the Bible that are revealed directly by the Bible itself. In this way, we can know the Bible more accurately, and use it more on target.

Just as a person can explain himself, the Bible can also explain itself. Below are some functions of the Bible gathered by Yasperin, taken from books published by Yasperin.

Functions of the Bible

1. “Gives testimony concerning Me (the Lord Jesus)” (John 5:39; see John 5:46; Luke 24:27, 44, 46)

(John 5:39) You search the Holy Scriptures, because you suppose that by them you have eternal life, but although those Holy Scriptures give testimony concerning Me,

(Luke 23:27) A great multitude of people followed Him; among them were many women who wept and lamented over Him. (Luke 24:44) He said to them: “These are My words, which I spoke to you while I was still with you, namely that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the books of the prophets and the book of Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:46) He said to them: “It is written thus: the Messiah must suffer and rise from among the dead on the third day,

The first function of the Bible is to testify for the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the title and content of the Bible. The Bible is the explanation and declaration of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the living word of God, and the Bible is the written word. If the Lord Jesus (the living word) were not the reality, the Bible would be only an empty doctrine, empty letters. Conversely, the Lord Jesus, the living word, if there were no Bible (the written word as a declaration), would surely be too abstract, hard to know or to touch. But now that there is the Bible, which is a clear and firm explanation, a revelation that can be understood, the Lord Jesus can be known concretely and understood firmly. Not only does the entire New Testament reveal the Lord Jesus, but even the entire Old Testament, whether (1) the Law of Moses, (2) the books of the Prophets or (3) the Psalms (the Old Testament consists of these three main parts), all of it testifies for the Lord Jesus and speaks of the Lord Jesus. If we want to know the Lord Jesus, we cannot but read the Bible, and we cannot but understand the Bible.

2. “Gives you wisdom and leads you to salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15)

(2 Tim. 3:15) Remember also that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you wisdom and lead you to salvation by faith in Christ Jesus.

The function of the Bible, besides being for the Lord Jesus, is also for us; besides testifying for the Lord Jesus, it also brings blessing and building up for us. In the aspect of being for us, the first function of the Bible is to give us saving wisdom, revealing to us God’s salvation in Christ, and the way man obtains salvation by faith, so that we know the way to obtain grace and understand the way of salvation.

3. “Born again” (1 Pet. 1:23; James 1:18)

The first practical function of the Bible toward us is to cause us to be born again. The Bible is the living word of God, and in it is contained the life of the living God. When we receive the word of the Bible into us by faith, the word of the Bible will be like a seed of life falling into us, planting the life of God into us, so that we have the life of God, and are born again.

To be continued…

Closing

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