Many brothers and sisters believed that the Bible is given by inspiration of God, without any mixture of human thoughts, and is all God's word. Then how should we understand and know it accurately? 1.Speaking of "inspiration," we will remember that at that time Jehovah God directly inspired his words to those who had received the spirit of prophecy and let them convey his will to the multitudes of Israel. Most of the words Jehovah inspired to the prophets were prophecies. Through the prophecies, God let people know that he still had work to do in the future, so that when the facts were accomplished, people would have a confirmation of what God did and see from it God's great power and his wonderful deeds. In most of the prophetic books in the Old Testament, there is the word "inspiration" and the suggestive words similar to "inspiration" in meaning. For example:
"The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem…." (Isaiah 1:1) "The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel." (Hosea 1:1) "The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake." (Amos 1:1) It can be seen that the prophecies in the prophetic books in the Old Testament were written by the prophets after they saw the visions or heard Jehovah's words. Nevertheless, the prophets didn't understand what they themselves had written. For example, "And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go your way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." (Daniel 12:8-9) "And the vision of all is become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray you: and he said, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray you: and he said, I am not learned." (Isaiah 29:11-12) From these, we can see that those words were not processed by people's mind, nor were they people's knowledge or seeing after their experiencing God's work, but the prophets' faithful records of the words and visions Jehovah inspired to them. They were without any mixture of human thoughts and came directly from God. Therefore, the prophecies in the prophetic books in the Old Testament were given by inspiration of God, without the mixtures of human thoughts. Of course, the book of Revelation in the New Testament was also John's record of the great vision Jesus Christ directly revealed to him, which was without the mixtures of human thoughts either.
2.Judging from its contents, the whole Bible, apart from the books of the prophets and the book of Revelation, includes another three categories of books: the books of history, the books of poetry and wisdom, and the Epistles written by the apostles. Then, which of these books are mixed with human thoughts and which are not?
1) Let's first look at the books of history. The books of history include the Pentateuch and the books from Joshua to Esther in the Old Testament, and the four Gospels and the book of Acts in the New Testament. The books of history in the Old Testament record God's work of creating the world and the work of the Age of the Law. From them we can see how God created the heavens and the earth and all things, and see the history of the Israelites as well as the work of the Age of the Law that Jehovah did among the Israelites. All these books of history, except for Genesis, were written by men from memory or hearsay. And what they record are events that had happened, not the inspirations of God. The same is true with the four Gospels in the New Testament. They are the records of Jesus' work by his disciples. As Luke said, "For as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them to us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus, That you might know the certainty of those things, wherein you have been instructed." (Luke 1:1-4) This shows that the four Gospels were written by Luke and others according to what they had heard and seen, and they were not given to them directly by inspiration of God. The book of Acts is the account of Jesus' disciples spreading the Lord's way, and is not the apostles' record of the words given by inspiration of God. That is to say, the four Gospels and the book of Acts are all books in which men recorded the events that had happened, not the records of God's inspirations and the visions they received. Since the books of history were written by men from memory and hearsay, it goes without saying that they contain errors and the mixtures of human thoughts. For example, 2 Chronicles 36:9 in the Old Testament records that Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem; while 2 Kings 24:8 records that Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. Brothers and sisters, these two verses both record the matter that Jehoiachin reigned, and it was the same person and the same matter. 2 Chronicles records that "he began to reign at 8," while 2 Kings records that "he began to reign at 18"; one says that "he reigned three months and ten days," and the other says that "he reigned three months." Isn't this a very great difference? Let's consider this: If these books of history were without the mixtures of human thoughts and were all "given by inspiration of God," why could there be two different versions of the same event? Could God have spoken amiss? From the difference in the records in the books of history, we can conclude that the books of history are not directly inspired by God and there are surely the mixtures of human thoughts in them. Of course, Jehovah's words and the Lord Jesus' words recorded in the books of history are all spoken by God personally, without the mixtures of human thoughts.
2) Next, let's look at the Epistles written by the apostles. As we know, man has thinking and has his own opinions and knowledge about many things. Some of his knowledge is relatively in accordance with God's will, but some is far away from God's will. So, man's works are unavoidably mixed with his subjective views. Thus, what man expresses in his works cannot be said to completely represent God's will. The Epistles were written by the apostles according to the need of the churches of that time. In them, there were their own experiences, their comfort, exhortation, and encouragement to the churches, and also some rebukes to the churches. Some of the words in the Epistles were from the Holy Spirit's inspiration and enlightenment, some represented their own seeing and knowledge of the Lord's way, and some were completely from their own thoughts. For example, Paul said, "That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting." (2 Corinthians 11:17) "Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that has obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful." (1 Corinthians 7:25) Here we can clearly see that these words of Paul represented his own experiences, seeing, and knowledge, and were not directly inspired to him by God. They were different from the inspirations that the prophets received. If what he said had been absolutely God's words that came to him, would he have dared to say such words as "it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting" and "I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment"? Again, sometimes the apostles had different opinions on the same matter. For example, the Bible records that Peter once ate with some Gentiles. Later when he saw some Jews arrive, he separated himself from those Gentiles. Peter considered himself right in doing so, but Paul held a negative attitude toward Peter's behavior and criticized him to his face. (cf. Galatians 2:11-12) They were both men used by God; if their works were without the mixtures of human thoughts, how could they have different opinions on the same matter? This shows that their works were inevitably mixed with their own views and knowledge. Even though in the Epistles there are some words of inspiration and enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, these words were not directly given to them by inspiration of God. Therefore, the Epistles of the apostles are not words directly given by "inspiration" of God, but the apostles' seeing and knowledge in experiencing the Lord's work, which are inevitably mixed with human thoughts.
3) Now let's look at the books of poetry and wisdom. These books include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. They are full of thanks and praises people gave to God after they saw Jehovah's deeds, tasted God's almightiness, wisdom, and love, or underwent God's trials, and they also contain people's knowledge about God and the philosophic sayings they summarized. For example, Solomon wrote, "For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God…." (Ecclesiastes 9:1) "…he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs." (Ecclesiastes 12:9) These show that the knowledge Solomon had written was obtained in his searching, reflecting, and pondering, but not directly given to him by inspiration of Jehovah. Also, the Psalms were hymns written by the writers themselves and were not given to them by inspiration of Jehovah. Most of the hymns were praising God's deeds, extolling God's wonderfulness and unfathomableness, and giving thanks to God's keeping and love. For example, a psalm of David goes, "My voice shall you hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer to you, and will look up. For you are not a God that has pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with you. The foolish shall not stand in your sight: you hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy: and in your fear will I worship toward your holy temple." (Psalms 5:3-7) There are also some psalms in which the writers expressed their feelings because of certain people, matters, and things, such as the lament David wrote when he learned about Jonathan's death. (cf. 2 Samuel 1:17) It was written by David as he mourned for Saul and Jonathan and was not given to him by inspiration of Jehovah. Hence, we can see that the Psalms were not written by Jehovah and then given to people for them to sing, but were songs written by people to express their own feelings. They are not the inspirations people received from God.
From the above analysis, we should acknowledge that the Bible is not all given by inspiration of God. Only the prophecies the prophets received are given by inspiration of God and are without the mixtures of human thoughts. Besides, Jehovah's words and Jesus' words recorded in the Bible, as they are God's words, are certainly without the mixtures of human thoughts. But the other parts of the Bible are inevitably with the mixtures of human thoughts. This is the fact.
3. At this point, some people may ask: Since there are the mixtures of human thoughts in the Bible, why does 2 Timothy 3:16 say that "all Scripture is inspired by God"? Does the "scripture" in this word "all scripture is given by inspiration of God" refer to the whole Bible or the Old Testament or the New Testament? To understand this question, we should first know when Paul wrote the book of 2 Timothy; then we will know that the scripture Paul spoke of refers to the Old Testament or the New Testament. All those who understand the historic background of the Bible know that the book of 2 Timothy was written by Paul to the church of Timothy in A.D. 60s. What people of that time read and spoke of was the Old Testament, not the whole Bible, the Old and New Testament, because at that time the New Testament had not yet been compiled. Then, when was the New Testament compiled? And when were the New Testament and the Old Testament complied together? Here we will say a few words about this question. The New Testament was formed in two steps: In A.D. 90s, John recorded the vision he saw on the island of Patmos, and thus today's Revelation came into being. In A.D. 300s, at a council in Nicaea, the religious leaders from various countries chose the four Gospels and from many epistles selected some written by Paul, Peter, John, and some others. They compiled the four Gospels, these Epistles, and the Revelation written by John; then, the New Testament came into being. Later, they put the Old Testament and the New Testament together, and thus the Bible, that is, the Old and New Testament, which we read today, was formed. Since the New Testament was compiled in A.D. 300s, yet Paul wrote the book of 2 Timothy in A.D. 60s, more than 200 years earlier than the compiling of the New Testament, we can conclude that the "Scripture" referred to the Old Testament, not the Old and New Testament, when Paul mentioned "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" in his epistles to Timothy. This is because at that time there was not the New Testament. Therefore, our view that the New and Old Testament is all given by inspiration of God is not correct. It can be seen that we should not understand Paul's words literally according to our own will and have the mistaken idea that the whole Bible is given by inspiration of God, but should view the Bible objectively and practically. In this way, we can understand the words in 2 Timothy 3:16 accurately and view the Bible correctly.
Today, by analyzing the Bible this way, we are not denying the Bible, nor denying the use value of the Bible, but to let brothers and sisters have a correct knowledge of the Bible, acknowledging that the Bible has a very high value but not blindly worshiping it. Finally, let's read what Almighty God says about the Bible. Almighty God tells us, "The prophecies of the prophets were revealed by God personally. For example, the prophecies spoken by Isaiah and by Daniel, Ezra, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel at that time were revealed directly by the Holy Spirit." "The words spoken by the prophets … prophesied other works on earth, the works Jehovah God himself would do, and they were completely from God and were the work of the Holy Spirit. Except for the books of the prophets, all the books are the records of people's experience of Jehovah's work at that time." "The Bible is not completely a record of God's personal utterance. It is only an account of the first two stages of God's work. Part of it is the record of the prophecies of the prophets, and part of it is the experiences and knowledge written by the men used by God throughout the past generations. It is unavoidable that man's experiences are mixed with human views and knowledge. … People of today always believe that the Bible is God and God is the Bible, and they believe that God spoke just so many words in the Bible and all the words in the Bible were spoken by God. Even all the believers in God believe this: Although the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments were written by men, they were God-breathed and are a record of the words of the Holy Spirit. This is man's erroneous understanding and is not completely factual." "So I am only asking you to know the substance and the inside truth of the Bible. I am not asking you to not read the Bible or to preach that the Bible is a worthless book. Rather, I am asking you to have a correct knowledge and view about the Bible. Don't be too one-sided! Although the Bible is a book of history written by man, it records many principles by which the ancient saints and prophets served God and many experiences of the recent apostles' serving God, which are men's true seeing and knowledge, and all these can be a reference for those who pursue the true way in the present age." (from The Word Appears in the Flesh)
What does statutes mean in te bible is it gods law
The Bible is the most printed and read book in the world.
The Bible is Gods love letter to his people. He used men to write these words down, but they are not mans words. They should not be mistaken for just written words from man.
the first 5 books of the bible
Because faith alone says this to be true. There is no scientific or logical proof that the God of the Bible is true above all other gods.
Assuming you mean God of the Bible then yes God is almighty. The Bible mentions spiritual beings / rulers but there are no 'other gods'. "Other gods" in the Bible refers to pagan idols, gods of wood or stone Exodus 23:13 "Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips. Deuteronomy 6:14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you-
The desire of God is that all people praise him, and his desire will surely come to pass, but you will find that in the Bible all of Gods people praise him at some time or another.
People who wrote the bible books were many prophets. And all prophets were called for gods work.
They believed in the bible in which their gods were formed.
I am not exactly sure, but I think the answer is no.
By completed if you mean the first Bible to have all that is in it now, by the numbers in the chapters, and verses, and all the content of the words, then the first Bible to have all of those things was the Geneva Bible. 1560
In the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible), one and only one: God In the Christian Bible, three: God Jesus The Holy Ghost