The Nature of the Inspiration of the Bible (1 of 2). Feb 25, 2012. Dr. Norman L. Geisler (Deceased). Check “About Sources” page for the credentials of Dr. Norman L. Geisler.
Everyone reads articles and books that have been written by someone else. It is important, therefore, for us to be cautious of the authors, of whose works that we choose to read. All of us have a bias, and probably many biases. The important thing to consider is whether such biases are healthy or unhealthy. I have been very careful in choosing authors, theologians, pastors, lecturers, and others, for the works that I may use for reference purposes. A great majority of my references can be seen in one of my blog pages (About My References), to include names, credentials and published works. Just as other writers make reference to the published works of “other writers,” I do too. However, whenever I find the need to use the works of other writers, I provide such detail in my articles. My sources of information are well educated in their areas of Biblical expertise, and are highly respected by their peers. Not all experts of the Bible have the same understanding in all areas of the Bible. But, I have found my sources to be closely in sync with their peers in matters of Biblical truth.
Things are discussed in this website that relate to God’s creation, from “eternity to eternity,” and all that is addressed within those parameters. Consider Isaiah 43:13, “Even from eternity I am He, And there is no one who can rescue from My hand; I act, and who can reverse it?” The Moody Study Bible adds a comment: “God is the ruler of all, and there is nothing that can stand against Him. His will is irresistible. The Bible Knowledge Commentary adds this thought: “No one can reverse what God puts into action or thwart His plans.”
The subjects of life, death and the after-life are common discussion items in our world today, among us and our friends, and often within our own minds. There accounts of people dying, seeing bright lights, and returning to their former life. In this site, I will address those issues, and hopefully will give many people encouragement as to their own mortality, physical and spiritual.
In the year 33 A.D., Christ spoke the words that should be of comfort to anyone, of whom may have read His words, or may be reading them now for the first time. Those words of Christ can be understood as a textbook definition of attaining eternal life:
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
That which Christ said is very simple to understand, and “to the point.” Christ said, that eternal life is due to an intimate relationship with God the Father, through God the Son, being empowered by God the Holy Spirit. To “know God” is to have an intimate relationship with God. The Thayer’s Greek Lexicon meaning of “know” is: 1097 /ginṓskō = sexual intimacy. A parallel scripture to John 17:3 is Genesis 4:1:
“Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain…”
Through an intimate, knowing, relationship with Adam, Eve conceived and gave birth to a child. The Greek Lexicon describes “had relations” as “3045: to know.” Brown-Driver-Briggs states: to know a person carnally, of sexual intercourse, followed by accusative: man subject Genesis 4:1. A parallel scripture to John 17:3 and Genesis 4:1 is Matthew 1:24-25:
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
The example of Joseph and Mary, “he kept her a virgin.” is described by Englishman’s Concordance, 3756: ou, ouk, ouch:
Matthew 1:25: GRK: καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν; NAS: but kept her a virgin until; KJV: her not till; INT: and not knew her.
As I discuss eternal life in my articles, much of my material will relate to Israel and the blessings that Gentiles will receive from the relationship that God has with Jews.
The source of information that I will use in my articles will be from the Scriptures of God’s Holy Word, the Holy Bible. The following verse of scripture explains the value of Holy Scripture:
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Note. MacArthur Study Bible. “given by inspiration of God.” Lit. “breathed out by God,” or “God-breathed.”
This website is not a religious site (Scroll down to read my thoughts about “religion.”); neither is it a traditional site of conversation. Additionally, this site is not a political site. This site is a platform for distributing information, where comments may be made by followers that relate to the articles that are published on this website.
Various sources of information are used in the preparation of articles that may be found in this website. The “About Sources” page of this site will identify individuals, along with credentials, of whose information and ideas have been been considered for articles and pages that may be found in this site. Among those sources are theologians, authors, pastors, teachers, broadcasters, and other individuals whom are very knowledgeable of Holy Scripture, and are highly regarded by their peers, as to their expertise in making God’s Word understandable to the masses.
This website site is not a religious site. The term, “religion,” has been shown to relate to groups of people whom are attempting to gain favor with their gods. They attempt to attain grace with their particular god, so that they might spend their after-life in a state of which they have no knowledge, but which they believe to be an eternity of paradise. These groups of people do not have an assurance of that which is required of them to find their eternity in such a place of bliss. To the contrary, Christians and Jews view their eternal state to be with God, based on a relationship with God. It is impossible to discuss matters that relate to Jews or Christians, without making reference to the documents that relate to their understanding of God. Because there are so many significant current day world events that relate to Jews and Christians, articles will be written that relate to those groups of people.
A discussion on religion, and religions, is provided by the following link.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditions
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, beliefs and world views that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. While religion is hard to define, one standard model of religion, used in religious studies courses, was proposed by Clifford Geertz, who simply called it a “cultural system.”
Relationships are based on intimacy. When a child is born, there is a relationship that automatically exists between the child, and the mother and father of the child. Nothing can ever undo such a relationship that comes from a human birth. There is a similar relationship that exists between Christians and God, and Jews and God, that is necessary for eternal life, and which can never be undone. The spiritual “new birth” creates a perfect spirit in such a Christian or Jew, that is described as being “from above.” “From above” means that the particular new birth was caused by God’s Holy Spirit. The need for the new birth is stated in the Old and New Testaments, as stated in my opening paragraphs.
Prior to the new birth, everyone is spiritually flawed, and can not spend eternity in the Presence of God. After a person has experienced the new birth, their spirit becomes as pure as the Spirit of God, and allows the intimacy of relationship that is necessary for an eternal life with God. Whereas physical birth creates a relationship where the child lives outside of the mother, the spiritual new birth creates a relationship where a human spirit is placed eternally within the Spirit of God.
John 14:20 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Prior to the new birth, a person’s relationship to God is one of darkness. After the new birth, the relationship between the person and God becomes one of light, which makes an eternal existence with God possible.
1 John 1:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
God Is Light
5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
It is important to state that neither Judaism, nor Christianity, are cultural systems, as is stated above. Judaism and Christianity are not religions.
The following link shows a list of the largest religions in the world. Unfortunately, Christianity is shown as being a religion, which is false. Fortunately, Judaism is not shown in the list, which of course is due to the fact that there are fewer numbers of Jews in our world than are found in most religions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_religious_groups
Largest religions – Worldwide percentage of Adherents by Religion, 2010[28]
Christianity (31.5%); Islam (23.2%); Irreligion (16.3%); Hinduism (15.0%); Buddhism (7.1%)
To say that someone is a “religious person,” means that such a person does certain things, in certain ways, at certain places and times, to attain acceptance in the eyes of “their god.” However, Jews and Christians do not view such ritualism as being paths to God.
The people of Israel, whether national Jews or those who are located around the world, are properly identified in Holy Scripture in Deuteronomy 14:2., “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” In spite of God’s clear word about His relationship with Israel, as being “God’s chosen people,” there is too much animosity and hatred toward Israel, by much of the world. In this blog, there will be a series of articles that will show God’s Word to Israel though His prophets, about God’s plan for Israel, in relation to the end times of the tribulation, kingdom, and the eternal state which will follow. Concerning the articles that I write, please check out my references. My references have been found to be highly educated in the areas in which they are ordained to serve and, are well respected by their peers. Furthermore, I do not draw conclusions of which I have not seen drawn by someone is who is one of my references.
The Nature of the Inspiration of the Bible (2 of 2). Feb 25, 2012. DrNormanLGeisler (Deceased).
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