BIBLE COURSE WGB101

GRACESTAND LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

{GSGC BIBLE SCHOOL}

                                      

LEVEL ONE: CERTIFICATE

COURSE TITLE: THE WORD OF GOD

COURSE CODE: WGB 101

GRACESTAND GOSPEL CHURCH UKRAINE

Clemzyclementministry.blogspot.com

gracestandleadershipacademy@gmail.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPICS                                                                            PAGES

Course objectives                                                                                           2  

Introduction                                                                                          3

Functions of Biblical Revelation                                                          3-5

Need for Revelation                                                                            5-6

The Condition of Sin                                                                             6   

Description of Revelation                                                                   6-7

Means of Revelation                                                                           7-8

Limitations of General Revelation                                                       8

Special Revelation                                                                              8-9

The Message of the Bible                                                                   9-10

Course Objective

At the end of this course student should:

1.   Define the Word of God

2.   Know the Origin of the Word of God

3.   Know the purpose of the Word of God

4.   Appreciate the ability of the Word of God

5.   Interpret the Word of God to some extent

6.   Understand the relationship that exist between the Word and the Spirit of God

7.   Understand the relationship that exists between the Word and faith

THE WORD OF GOD

INTRODUCTION

What is this reaching out to God? Does everyone have a desire to fellowship and communicate with something higher and greater than he? Within the heart of a man there is an awareness of a power in the universe that is greater than human power. We call this power of God. Those of us who have experienced His power in our lives know Him as a personal supernatural being. We have a strong desire within us to know more about Him.

Some try through their own efforts to understand God better, but sin has made all of us incapable of understanding spiritual matters without His help. God, in His love, has provided a revelation of His salvation for us.

This is a fuller revelation of God than we can find in the material universe. He has revealed to us what He has done in the past, what He is doing now, and what He will do in the future.  This revelation is given to us through His written word, the Bible and through His living Word, Jesus Christ. Why and how God reveals Himself to us are explained in this lesson.

FUNCTIONS OF BIBLICAL REVELATION

God has set down principles and patterns for revealing Himself. Biblical revelation is purposeful. It reveals God to man, it uncovers truth and it provides fellowship.

REVEALS GOD

The first function of biblical revelation into reveals God to human being. God takes the first step by revealing Himself so that people can find and know Him.

What then is revelation: it is “that which is revealed or made known, that which has been hidden or not known before.”

Throughout the ages, people have tried to know and understand God through their consciences and reasoning ability, but history records their failure to find God by their own wisdom. Even the greatest and wisest of men have failed in their search for God. If we want to know  God, we must have help from Him. He must make Himself known to us so that we can find.

He has manifested Himself to us by sending His son into the world. Jesus then declared, John 14:9; 15:16; John 1:18. 1 John 4:19

UNCOVERS TRUTH

The second function of biblical revelation is to bring to men and women truth that they did not know before.

Through the ages people have search for God through traditions. They think they can find God by observing these traditions over and over again. They do not realize that God is not found in the tradition of men.

When God reveals Himself, people then realize that they have a knowledge of God which they did not have before. We may know something about God from His creation or through our reason, but only through biblical revelation can we know God Himself.

The knowledge which enables us to know God as a person, as well as a power, does not come from this world – this knowledge is divine and supernatural and comes to us only by Biblical revelation. I Cor. 2:14. So not only do we need a revelation from God, we also need the help of the Holy Spirit to understand that revelation.

PROVIDES FELLOWSHIP

The third function of biblical revelation is that it makes a way for people to have fellowship with God by knowing Him.

God has revealed Himself to us so that we might know Him personally and have fellowship with Him. Biblical revelation not only reveals who God is but also that God wants fellowship with people.

By revealing Himself to us, God provides a life of fellowship with Him. He wants to bring us into a family relationship in which we can call Him “Heavenly Father.”

NEED FOR REVELATION

The search of God

We have already talked about the awareness or feeling within our hearts that there is a supernatural being. This feeling cannot be denied. It causes people to search for this being, whom we call God. Some men try to find God by following their conscience. Others try to find Him through their intellect or reasoning power.

THROUGH CONSCIENCE

Conscience has being defined as the “small voice inside us that tells us what is right or wrong.” I believe our conscience is a reflection of God’s existence and His nature within us. God has placed our conscience within us. It warns us that we are responsible human beings. It does not always tell us what to do in a given situation but it judges our actions.

Besides, our conscience is not the source of revelation and it can only tell us what it has been taught.

THROUGH REASONING POWER

Some people believe that man can know by his intellect or reasoning power everything that is “knowable”. They believe that people intellect are so great that through this power to reason they can find answer to all human problems, including their questions about God. God Himself has given us the power to think and to know, but we must realize that this is a limited power.

Not all problems and questions of mankind can be solved by reason, however. Those who try to know God by reason alone are led into rationalism. Since there are many things about God which are beyond our understanding, this kind of thinking often results in one or two conclusions: either they say there is no God (atheism), or they say that God and nature are identical (pantheism).

THE CONDITION OF SIN

We have just seen that people need God’s revelation because they cannot find God through conscience or reasoning power. Why is this so? The Bible teaches that man is in a sinful condition. Rom. 3:23. It is sin that has separated man from God. Sin affects every aspect of a person, including his conscience and reason. It is because of sin that man cannot find God through his conscience or intellect.

Because a person’s conscience and reason have been affected by sin, he is corrupt or evil. So if he tries to find God through his corrupted conscience or reasoning power, he will arrive at some very strange and wrong ideas about God. Rom. 1:21-23

DESCRIPTION OF REVELATION

There are two kinds of revelation – namely, (a) General revelation and (b) specific revelation

1.   General Revelation: This is the knowledge of God that has been revealed to man through man’s own intellect. This is knowledge that man receives through his sense perceptions. God has  given general revelation for two reasons:

a.   God revealed Himself to us in a general way so that we would desire to search for a fuller knowledge of Him and His plan of salvation. It is one of God’s way of calling people to turn to Him. Acts 17:27, 30

b.   God gave general revelation to establish a basis upon which He would judge people. Every man will appear before Him and no one will have the excuse of not knowing Him and therefore not worshipping Him as God. Rom. 1:8, 21.

Through general revelation God has given each man some knowledge about Himself.

MEANS OF REVELATION

There are two very important ways in which God has revealed Himself to people. He has revealed Himself through nature and through history.

1.  Through Nature

As we see the beauty of nature, and its perfect order, we realize that its existence is not an accident. Someone has created it. From nature we receive knowledge of God as creator. We see in nature a reflection of God’s power, glory, wisdom and goodness. Rom. 1:19-20; Psa. 19:1-2.

2.  Through History

Through history God reveals Himself to people. The rise and fall of nations and kingdom is a reflection of God’s power and wisdom in accomplishing His plan. Much of what we know about ancient history has been learned from accounts in the Bible. However, it is thrilling to know that historians and archaeologists are continually finding ancient manuscripts, artifacts, and other buried articles which confirm the biblical record.

LIMITATIONS OF GENERAL REVELATION

It requires that man interpret the revelations he receives from nature and history. These revelations give him only veiled or partial picture of God. This is because man’s nature is sinful. His spiritual understanding is corrupted, and often he refuses to accept the right conclusions about God.

SPECIAL REVELATION

God wants to be glorified by His creation. He wants to fellowship with man, but man cannot find God without His help. People need a special revelation of God’s way of salvation. Special revelation is redemptive revelation – a revelation of the saving acts and words of God in history.

This revelation includes the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:14). God spoke to chosen men and moved them to record this revelation. This is how His written word, the Bible, has come to us. In His special revelation God has given us a written revelation.

The word Bible comes from the Greek word “biblos” (Matt. 1:1) which means “book”, By the second century AD. Greek Christians called their sacred writings ta biblia, “the books” (see Mk. 12:26; Luke. 3:4; 20:42; Acts 1:20; 7;42.)

The unseen God has planted His word in the human situation so that man might be brought to Him. His nature, His will and His plan for mankind are all clearly expressed in the Bible. God reveals in the Bible that He has created the universe and all human beings. He also discloses the fact that man has fallen into sin and that He, in His love, has provided the way of salvation for all people. It is the Bible that we learn export this salvation. God wants to restore fallen man to position of His children.

God asked chosen men to write the revelation because He wanted to pressure or keep what He had revealed (Deut. 31:24-26; Rev. 1:11). The Bible, which reveals God’s purpose and will for man, is a gift from God. It establishes clear guidelines for man’s spiritual life, growth, development, and service. Not only has the Bible been supernaturally given but is also has been supernaturally preserved. It has survived systematic attempts to destroy it and miraculously, the purity of the original text has been preserved in transmission to a remarkable degree. Thus, it continues to reveal God’s purpose to man – even though at times he neglects or disregards its precepts.

THE MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE

The bible has been and is received by countless people as the word of God. It is regarded as divine book with a divine message. We may expect them, that the message of the bible is consistent with its claim as a divine book.

The message of the bible is communication from God to man who is created in His image. From Genesis through Revelation we see God communicating His plan for His people. It is a revelation of Himself: Throughout the bible we see the supernatural evidences of God – evidences that point specifically to a divine being.

Supernatural prophesies

The bible has innumerable prophesies that have been fulfilled with complete accuracy. Matt. 17:1-8 cf. 2 Pet. 1:18-21

·        The Prophesy Covering Israel Becoming a Nation.

 Gen. 12:1-3, Gen. 18:9-15, Rom. 4:18-21

·        Incarnate Birth of Jesus

Fact	Prophesy	Fulfillment
He was born of a woman	Gen. 3:15	Gal. 4:4
He was born of a virgin	Isa. 7:14	Matt. 1:25
He was born in Bethlehem	Mich. 5:2	Matt. 2:1
His miraculous birth identifies Him as the son of God	Psa. 2:7	Matt. 3:17

·        Jesus Crucifixion and Death

Happening	Prophesy	Fulfillment
Piercing of His hands and feet	Psa. 22:16	Lk. 23:33
Numbering of Him with transgressors	Isaiah 53:12	Matt. 27:38
His bones not broken	Psa. 34:20	John 19:32-33,36
Piercing of His side	Zech. 12:10	John 19:34,37
His burial in a rich man’s tomb	Isa. 53:9	Matt. 27:57-60

·        The Transformation of Believers – The Inward Change

Jer. 31:33-34; Eze. 11:19-20, 36:26-27 cf.

John 3:5-7; 2 Cor. 5:17