THE PLAN OF THE SCRIPTURE

2 Tim 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If the Bible were only a miscellaneous collection of writings, indiscriminately accumulated over the years, one would not expect to see any overall design. When there is such a design, it indicates the stamp of a single mind behind the whole Bible.

[Note; the Bible never makes any argument asserting the existence of God or the authenticity of the scripture. It is its own proof.]

I. The Bible follows a divine pattern.
A. Three laws governing a complete living organism.
1. Each part is essential to the whole.
2 Pet 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
Jer 36:23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. [cutting out one part of the Word will always necessitate leaving out another!]
2. Each part is related to or corresponds to every other part.
3. Each part of an organism must be pervaded with life.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The bible is a living organism
[No part of the scripture can be dispensed with, and there is neither need, nor room for any additional part.]
B. The Pattern of the Bible as a whole.
1. Begins with God. Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Ends with man and his need for God. Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Everything in between pertains to making the connection.
2. The division of the Bible into verses is man’s work, but the middle verse of the Bible, interestingly, contains the essence of all Bible teaching. Psa 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
3. Man’s first recorded words to God, shows Man hiding from God. Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
His last words look forward to being united with God. Rev 22:20 Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Everything in between has the purpose of bringing the two together.
4. The theme of the Trinity is evident in all the Bible.
a. Man, himself is a trinity. 1 Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
b. He is pulled away from God from three sources. Around him is the world, within him is the flesh and beneath him is the devil.
c. The fleshly or carnal nature of man constitutes another trinity. 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The first Adam brought about the fall of man by yielding to this trinity, while the second Adam [Christ] brought redemption by overcoming it. In the first case, the Word of God was questioned, while in the second, it was used and brought victory. Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Mat 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
d. Three times, in the early Scripture, the term 'us' is used by God in reference to himself.
1. Creation of man. Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
2. At the fall of man. Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
3. concerning the judgment of man. Gen 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

II. Comparing the Old and the New Testaments: See why we have a 'better covenant.' Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
A. Old begins with God in the Spirit: New begins with God Incarnate.
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Mat 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
B. Old ends with a curse, New ends with a blessing.
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

C. First miracle of Moses - turning water into blood.
First miracle of Jesus - Turning water into wine.
D. First two brothers in the Old Testament Cain and Abel. One killed the other
First two brothers in the New Testament, one led the other to Christ. John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
E. In the Old Testament God calls to man - Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
In the New Testament man calls- Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
F. The burden of the old Testament -Deu. 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
The burden of the New - John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

III. The plan set forth in a few of the Bible’s books.
A. Genesis- begins with God breathing life into man and ends with the results of man’s fall- death. Gen 50:26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
B. Exodus begins with a people far from God and in slavery. It ends with a people freed from slavery and the glorious presence of God in their midst.
C. The Book of Psalms stands at about the center of the Bible. It begins with God blessing man; Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. It ends with man praising God; Psa 150:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
Psa 150:2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
Psa 150:3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Psa 150:4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Psa 150:5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Psa 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
The Themes of the first five Books of the Bible;
Genesis - in sin
Exodus - out of sin
Leviticus - worship
Numbers - walk
Deuteronomy- work
FIVE is the Bible number depicting Grace and this is the Grace of God extended to man


Question; Since most of the population of those days were illiterate, I have a hard time understanding how common fig gatherers and fishermen could have put it to paper. Is there any scripture that addresses this?

My Answer: A simplistic answer would be, that an all powerful God who could cause a donkey to speak in a human voice and an entire church full of people to speak in other languages could easily inspire illiterate men to pen down His Words. However, I DO NOT offer this as the answer to the question. In both scripture and in archaeology, there are indications that illiteracy was not as widespread as is sometimes thought. The remains of huge libraries have been unearthed in most major ancient civilizations. Recent advances in the study of ancient languages have come from the clay shards upon which the common people; (ie merchants, etc.) have written bills, receipts and personal messages.
In almost every civilization, education has been promoted first by the religious community. In our own nation, the first schools were run by churches for the purpose of teaching the Bible to the children, and the institutions of higher learning were, many of them, begun as church sponsored institutions for the training of the clergy. Such has also been the case among the Jews. The more religiously inclined a person was, the more apt he was to be educated. The writers of the Bible all came from those who were serious about their service to God.
There are scriptural references that indicate that it was quite common for the average man of Israel to be able to read and to write. Deu 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. These words were instructions for every householder in Israel.
Deu 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

Next; A few of the difficulties of the Bible