There are several places in scripture, when the Bible refers to itself as a weapon, specifically, as a sword. One reference is from Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Another reference is Ephesians 6:17, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”. This is why I can say the Bible is a dangerous book! I believe scripture is powerful and can be a source of much harm if ignored or used unfaithfully. But I also believe it’s a source of harm to the enemy when we, as believers, know how to use this spiritual weapon well!
However, the validity of scripture is under intense scrutiny, causing many believers to not be sure if certain things from scripture really matter. Is it really important to change a lifestyle or base my decisions if this book is not 100% legitimate? What a challenge to our faith! I want to encourage anyone who has been listening to the criticism and has found themselves pausing and questioning whether the Bible can be trusted. YES! We can trust that the Word of God is trustworthy and divinely written and preserved for us to have today. It’s a miracle 1000 times over based on how God gave us the text and has kept it for us for generations.
1. Divine Origin of scripture is supported by prophecy. The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years. In that time, there were thousands of prophecies about future events. Many of these prophecies have come true while others are still yet to come to pass. There are 322 specific prophecies in the old testament about Jesus Christ. The chances of even just 8 of those prophecies coming to pass is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000! So far, hundreds of prophecies have already been fulfilled. What a miracle – God’s word being given to the authors of the text!
2. Divine Origin of scripture is supported by science and history. There are hundreds of cities and leaders mentioned in scripture. There’s literally an entire section on the histories of God’s people in antiquity. Many of these cities no longer exist. As archeologists continue to discover old cities and artifacts, they are simply confirming the details and descriptions given by scripture. Nelson Glueck, a Jewish archeologist, is quoted, confirming, “It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.” This is amazing! Scientifically, the miracles in the Bible are always going to be a challenge (because miracles are things that are supernatural…which is against nature)! However, the Bible, while written way before certain scientific discoveries, also gives clues as to the divine inspiration of God. He allowed clues about the planet that were not known until recent centuries. Such as the story about Matthew Maury, an oceanographer from the 1800s. While bedridden from an illness, he listening to his son read the Bible during his downtime. While he listened to Psalms 8:8, Maury noticed the expression “paths of the seas”. Once he recovered, Maury went looking for these paths and, as a result, discovered the continental currents.
3. Divine origin is supported by the consistency of the text. We currently have a large amount of evidence to suggest that what we are reading in scripture is very close to the original manuscripts. The New Testament manuscripts that we have are only around 50 years older than the originally written documents and we have more than 5,000 copies to verify content. This is incredible considering other historical documents such as Plato’s work, Teralogies, is more than 1200 years removed from the originals and we only have 7 copies. Yet we use this in textbooks as primary sources.
4. Divine origin is supported by authorship. The Bible is comprised of 66 books, written by 40 different authors in 3 different languages. The coordination required for this to happen over a span of 1500 years at a time when documentation was difficult to produce and distribute is another miracle! All of these different authors sharing a story of God’s love, personality, and plan for His creation. The fact that they actually make sense when used together is a spectacular example of God’s inspiration.
I pray that this short list refreshes your faith today. We may be believers because so much of what we trust is unseen. But we are not believers without evidence. The word of God is alive and active and able to be followed! I pray you spend a few moments studying the nature and voice of God in scripture today.
Candace Cortez is Executive Pastor at Koinonia Church in Hanford, CA. She can be reached at candace@kchanford.com or 559-582-1528.