Lenox Federated Church - Firm Foundations, Creation to Christ

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Firm Foundations

Creation to Christ

Lesson 1 - Introducing the Bible

Questions for the LFC Firm Foundations Coordinator may be emailed to firmfoundations@lenoxchurch.org

For this online lesson you may wish to open another window in your browser to view the Online Bible from the link above. A third window may be opened to view the Bible Dictionary as well. During your lesson you can toggle between the windows in your browser. Also, you can open a Word or WordPad/Notepad or other word processing program and use it to record answers to text questions or as a place to jot other questions that come into your mind during the study. Minimize your notes window while you are viewing pages in your browser and then maximize it to record more notes. You will see as you study that God has the marvelous ability to reveal His answers to us at just the right time and when He does, you may record this information into your notes.

The purpose of these lessons is to study the Bible. Many people have Bibles in their homes, but most people know very little of what is in the Bible.

- It IS a big book.

- Many people start to read it and get “bogged down.”

God will help you understand the Bible because it is God’s personal message to each one of us.

- A person can spend a lifetime enjoying the study of this book.

- But in this study you are going to examine some of the basic things the Bible teaches. Once you understand these basic truths, the rest of the Bible will begin to make more sense.

You are going to study who God is and what He does.

- God really wants us to get to know Him; that’s why He gave us the Bible.

- God is the central character of the Bible.

- As you study, you will learn what He is really like:

Who He is

What He does

What He is like—His personality.

God will be the main focus of our study because He is the main focus of the Bible.

The Bible is not just a book of doctrines, or teachings, about God; it is the story of history as seen from God’s perspective.

It is God’s recounting of history from its very beginning.

Therefore, in your study of the Bible you are going to walk through history, so to speak, seeing little by little what God reveals about His own character, about Satan, and about mankind.

You are going to study the Bible chronologically; that is, in the order in which events took place.

Studying this way is a little like stretching out a clothesline and then hanging clothes on it. This study will be stretch out the Biblical time line and place selected events on that line. You may already know about certain details of the Bible but not yet have a clear understanding of where they fit into the overall picture. But when the events you study are securely “hung in place,” the details you may have wondered about will begin to fit into their proper position among the things already on the line. The study will concentrate on “setting up the clothesline,” that is, establishing the basic time line of Bible history; and you will be placing some key events on that line. But you will not have time, so to speak, to put everything on the line.

Lesson Two is going to begin in Genesis, which is where God’s story of history begins. Genesis is the foundational book of the Bible.

- You might make a comparison to the way that a house is built Foundations are laid first. Then structures can be added on top of firm foundations, one piece at a time. If the foundations aren’t first built properly, the rest of the house is structurally weak. For this reason, it is very important that you study every lesson.

- Everything you study will be important and will become part of the “foundation” for your future studies.

- If you skip a lesson, you will find it more difficult to understand later lessons.

The Bible is rich and deep in content and themes. You are only going to skim the surface of the vast wealth contained in it.

Just like this visual shows, there are many layers and depths of details and content in the Bible. You are not going down deeply into these layers. Rather, you are going to skim the top of some of the main events.

As mentioned, you are going to be laying blocks for a firm foundation. You are going to study the basic things that will help you later to understand some of those depths and details of the Bible. If a building is to stand, it needs a firm foundation. That is the purpose of this study. You are going to concentrate on the foundation and will not work on the upper structure until the foundation is firmly built. So when a question comes to mind that goes down deeply into the details or pertains to the upper structure, it is best to place that question in a mental deep freeze. God may chose not to reveal answers to some questions while we live on this earth.

This study is intended to lay a solid foundation upon which you can later build more understanding. You should try to stay on target by following the lesson outline and not get sidetracked. You should be able to learn these foundational truths of the Bible and not be distracted.

The Bible is basically written in a chronological order, but you will reach certain events in the time line that are expanded upon in greater detail in later portions of the Bible.

As you study chronologically, you may draw certain details from these later portions to enhance your understanding.

- When you do this, you need to be very careful to stick to the original topic of our study. You need to understand that the Bible deals with many different issues, questions, and themes.

- Some of these themes and questions and answers begin in the earliest parts of the Bible and continue through to its closing pages.

- Often you will find two or more themes or questions being addressed in one portion.

- This could be confusing—indeed it has been to many people. One example of this confusion is that the Bible addresses three major issues about the topic of sin:

1. What God has done so people can be saved from the first great problem sin has caused.

2. What God has done to set people free from sin that is controlling their lives.

3. What God will do so people will be completely free from all the problems sin causes.

The mixing of these three issues has been one of the major contributing factors to the existence and increase of the many different cults, religions, and denominations. You, too, will get confused unless you tenaciously stick to the first issue: What God has done so people can be saved from the first great problem sin has caused.

- Therefore, as you study chronologically, there will be times when you may ask questions or you may look at verses which include other issues or themes that are not part of this foundation.

- When this happens, write your question in the margin of this lesson. This will release your mind from the question and allow your mind to refocus on the topic expressed in bold type above.

- You, too, will become confused unless you build your understanding one step at a time.

Indeed, the other themes in the Bible cannot be clearly understood unless we first understand the foundational themes.

- Therefore this study will be limited to the foundations; that is what this study is all about!

- So you might say, in light of these illustrations, that you will be building a firm foundation, skimming the peaks of the details, and stretching a line upon which the events of time will be placed.

Now open your Bible.

Let’s take a look at the many things the Book contains:

- Table of Contents

- Old Testament

- New Testament

- Chapters, verse numbers

- Footnotes, various helps.

The Bible is God’s Word.

When talking about the Bible being God’s Word, the reference is to the text of the Bible, not the various notes that men have added.

The Bible means a lot to me.

"The Bible is my favorite book. I know that when I read God’s Word, I’ll find the help I need for every day. The Bible tells me what God is like. He’s wonderful! The more I read, the more I want to read and to know Him better”.

Read: II Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

God spoke to men called “prophets” the exact messages He wanted written down.

- Sometimes He spoke audibly.

- Sometimes He spoke to them in visions.

- Sometimes He just put the message directly into their minds.

- God caused the prophets to write exactly what He spoke to them.

The Bible is not men’s ideas, but God’s own Word.

This picture portrays a prophet writing down on a scroll the message given him by God.

The Bible is the only book in the world authored by God. God wrote the Bible over the course of 1,600 years, using over 40 men.

But the Bible has absolute unity, from beginning to end, because God is its one Author.

If several people standing together witnessed the same incident, they would have different stories about what actually happened. But the Bible, written in vastly different cultures and different times by different men is one unit.

The only answer for the unity of the Bible is one author—God!

All but one of the men whom God used to write His Word were Jewish. (Luke was apparently a Gentile—a Gentile is anyone who is not Jewish.)

In Isaiah 43:10, God says of Israel (that is, the Jewish people), “You are My witnesses.” says the LORD.

God used one group of people through whom He expressed His message to and for the whole world.

In Isaiah 45:22 God says, “Look to Me, … all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

You might say that Israel was like God’s megaphone, broadcasting God’s message to the whole world.

Originally, God’s prophets wrote down God’s message. As the original documents wore out from use and age, new copies had to be made.

Copying was done with extreme care.

- In the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, we read the following statement regarding the men who made handwritten copies of the Bible:

“They used every imaginable safeguard, no matter how cumbersome or laborious, to ensure the accurate transmission of the text. The number of letters in a book was counted and its middle letter was given. Similarly with the words, and again the middle word of the book was noted....”

- Though every word was hand copied, there are more ancient manuscripts of the Bible than of any other ancient document. All of the ancient manuscripts that have been found are extremely close in content, differing only in minute details that do not affect the meaning.

In 1947, about 15 miles from Jerusalem, a shepherd boy threw a rock into a cave, hoping to scare out one of his animals that had strayed into the cave. He heard the sound of pottery breaking and went inside the cave to investigate. To his amazement, he beheld pottery urns holding ancient scrolls. He reported his find, and when scholars investigated, they found hundreds of scrolls. These “Dead Sea Scrolls” had been hidden in area caves by a religious sect sometime during the first century before Christ.

At the time of this discovery, translators were using manuscripts which had been copied in about 900 A.D. When scholars compared the Dead Sea Scrolls with the manuscripts which they had been using, there were no significant differences in text! Though separated by 1,000 years, these ancient manuscripts said the same thing. God preserves His Word.

The Illustrated Bible Dictionary gives us more insight regarding the Old Testament texts:

“...it is important to recall the attitude of the Jews toward their Scriptures. It can best be summed up in the statement by Josephus [a Jewish writer of the 1st century A.D.]. ‘We have given practical proof of our reverence for our own Scriptures. For, although such long ages have now passed, no one has ventured either to add, or to remove, or to alter a syllable; and it is an instinct with every Jew...to regard them as the decrees of God....’ ” How did we get the Bible in our language?

- For many centuries, only a few people were able to have copies of the Bible. In the time of Christ, the scribes kept the scrolls (rolls of parchment or leather on which text was written in ink) in the temple. Many of the New Testament books were originally written as letters which were circulated from one church to another.

- The original texts of the Bible were written in one of three languages:

Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. Down through the ages, God enabled men to translate the Bible into different languages. Many copies of the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts are still in existence. Translators have been able to study these as they translate the Bible.

Today, we have a variety of printed Bibles readily available in our language.

- The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book.

Archeological discoveries in recent years have revealed many pieces of ancient information that agree in minute detail with the Bible.

- Places

- Cultural details

- Names

- Dates

Writings contemporary with the Bible agree in historical detail, cultural information, writing style, etc. Over the years, thousands upon thousands of archeological and historical evidences relating to the Bible have been uncovered, and ALL of these support the accuracy of the Bible.

In Archeology and Bible History, Joseph Free wrote that “...numerous passages of the Bible which long puzzled the commentators have readily yielded up their meaning when new light from archeological discoveries has been focused on them....archeology has confirmed countless passages....”

As we study future lessons, we will discuss some of these archeological and historical discoveries. Many of the cultures, places, and names mentioned in the Bible are visible today, having remained almost unchanged over the centuries. The Bible has withstood the test of time.

- New discoveries only serve to echo and reinforce the absolute accuracy, authority, and authenticity of every word God has given us in His Book. - By contrast, books written by men, such as school textbooks, reference books, and scientific texts, all must be drastically changed every few years as more is learned and old theories are replaced.

The Bible has not and will not change because God is its author.

The Bible is not just another “religious” book.

- Many men have written books, trying to tell men about God.

- God is the author of the Bible, and in it He reveals Himself to us.

In the Bible God tells us who He is: what He wants us to know about Him—what He is like. In the Bible, God tells us about ourselves: our relationship to Him, to the world around us, to one another, for now and for all eternity.

Only the Bible addresses these issues with absolute authority.

The Bible is God’s voice speaking to us. Through His Word He shows us what we really are inside.

Why is it so important for you and all others to study the Bible?

Why should you and all others take the time to study the Bible?

- A lot of other things call for our attention:

Our work

Our home

Recreation

Studies.

- Lots of other material is available:

Books and magazines

Television, movies, and videos.

The Bible is unique.

- The Bible alone has God’s message for our lives today.

- The Bible alone tells us what God thinks of us and what He sees as our greatest need.

The Bible is important because it is God’s personal message to each one of us!

- Young, old, man, woman, or child—God wrote the Bible to each one of us personally.

- God wants you and He wants all others to know what is in this Book; that’s why He wrote it.

It will take time to go through these lessons, but you will find it to be one of the most worthwhile investments you will ever make.

- You will be learning about God.

- And you will be learning what He has written for you in His Book, the Bible.

In the book, From God to Us, How We Got Our Bible, the authors open by saying that the Bible is “the most quoted, the most published, the most translated, and the most influential book in the history of mankind.”

The Bible is also God’s personal message to us. He wrote it to communicate with people—with you and with all others. If someone writes us a letter, we want to read it. This Bible is God’s letter to us. Let’s study God’s Word and find out what it says!

QUESTIONS:

1. When God wanted His words written down, did He get just anyone to do it?

2. What are these men called?

3. Did these men all live during the same time in history?

4. How many men were there?

5. What nationality were they?

6. Did they write God’s words in English?

7. Who is the author of the Bible.

8. Why should a person study the Bible?

Additional notes to the Reader:

This curriculum is intended to be a self study. It is wise to examine for yourself the nature and character of God as He reveals Himself to you. God reveals Himself to you using His Word, the Holy Bible. It is not wise to shift the responsibility of finding out about God to any other person or institution.

Many folks throughout history have been profoundly influenced by the God of the Holy Bible. They incorporated this admiration for God into the calendar, the six day work week, the holidays of Christmas and Easter and even into the very fabric of the constitutional documents that are used to govern their nation. These folks believed so strongly that the Holy Bible truthfully revealed God’s nature to man that they made education universally available.

A person who could read could learn directly from God. He would not have to get his knowledge of God from another person or institution.

God has chosen to reveal Himself by words.

To personally understand His revelation, each person must be able to read. Do you dare rule out something so important to millions upon millions of people throughout history on the casual say-so of someone who has never seriously examined the revelation from God found written in the Holy Bible?

Or do you dare place your assurance of God’s acceptance of you on judgment day just on the say-so of another? The wise thing to do is to personally check out the God of the Holy Bible.

God has revealed to us that He is a Spirit and as a Spirit He is invisible to us who live in a body.

Can something invisible show us that it is real? Certainly, take the example of air. Air is an invisible gas. We can feel air moving against our bodies; and we can see the effects of moving air on waving flags and bending tree limbs.

Airplanes and birds use the invisible air molecules to keep them aloft. Air is very much real. God reveals Himself to us just as air reveals itself to us. God has revealed Himself too many men throughout the centuries and these men have recorded those revelations in the Holy Bible.

God controls human events. A study of history shows that God can make good come out of the evil actions of men and nations. God has given us a conscience and this conscience follows the Moral Law that governs all societies.

For a few years God also came to earth and lived with man, as a man. Man was able to rub shoulders with the Creator of the Universe. God’s actions and man’s reaction to God while on earth have been recorded for us in the Holy Bible.

Our Creator who lived among us for a while is referred to as the “Word” in the Holy Bible. His title, “Word”, equates Him with the written word of the Holy Bible.

The Holy Bible was written over a period of 1,600 years by about forty different authors. Yet there are no internal contradictions in its thesis. The Holy Bible is in many ways like a novel. It has a beginning and an end. It has a good character and it has an evil character. These characters are warring for supremacy of the universe.

Man was created good but got deceived by evil and fell into league with this evil. There was now a barrier between God the creator who is holy and His creation, man, who had become evil. Man who had now become unholy could never again live with a Holy God. God did not want to lose His fellowship with His creation, man. So He promised man that He would bring a deliverer into world. This deliverer would remove the barrier between Himself and man.

Not only did God graciously remove the fellowship barrier between Himself and man but He now dwells in man in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is greater than Satan and the Holy Spirit once again gives man the desire and power to accomplish good while he lives out his life on earth.

Man can be reinstated to the original position of fellowship with God. God does not force man to come back into personal fellowship with Himself. Rather God has chosen a strategy of wooing man back to Himself. God is longsuffering and loving towards man.

If you are reading this lesson, God is wooing you. It is not by chance that you are reading this lesson. God is directing you right now to consider His reconciliation.

Will you cooperate with God as He woos you?

Will you commit to reading a book (The Holy Bible) that is in most printing styles over one thousand pages in length?

Will you study fifty lessons which for most will take three hours per lesson to complete?

Fortunately for us our Holy God can put good constructive desires into our hearts and give us the power to complete those desires. But unfortunately for us, the evil deceiver can put destructive excuses into our minds.

Who will you listen to?

It is ok to be skeptical about God and His intentions. Skeptics should still read and seek out the truth. But it is not wise to ignore God when He begins to call you back to Himself. Those who ignore God never give themselves the opportunity to put God’s words into their mind.

God was not afraid to create man and give him the freedom to choose. God knew He was powerful enough to bring the vilest sinner back to Himself if that vile sinner makes a choice to accept God’s plan of reconciliation. God also knew that He was powerful enough to keep the world from spinning out of control while we as men came to realize that evil is nonsense.

If you begin this study as a skeptic, it is best to acknowledge the possibility of these two statements whether you believe them or not:

God does exist. God has revealed His complete nature and character to man in the Holy Bible. God has revealed the beginning, middle and future for man in the Holy Bible.

The Holy Bible is infallible and completely trustworthy. Scientific and archeological findings when completely and correctly understood, never contradict what is written in the Holy Bible.

Write a description of your skepticism in the margins of the lessons. For example, when you read verses from the Holy Bible that you believe could just not be true; make note of it in the margin. When you read comments by the author of these lessons that you don’t agree with; write these thoughts in the margin of the lessons. But don’t let these doubts keep you from moving forward in the lessons. Start at the first lesson, and without skipping any lesson, work your way to the last lesson.

Don’t skip ahead.

Look up all the Scripture references given in the lessons. As God reveals answers to your questions, return to where to wrote the question in the margin of the lesson and write God’s answer beside it. Then put the date beside the answer. Your confidence in God will begin to build as you see more and more of your questions being answered by God Himself.

Summarizing, keep your skepticism on ice as you move through the study. God knows how to bring you back to Himself. God knows how to answer your skepticism. He uses His Word, the Holy Bible, to accomplish His purposes for your life.

We will stand before God as individuals on judgment day. We will not be able to offer any excuse of ignorance of God’s will for our redemption. We will not be able to blame anyone else.

Some will tell you the Bible is not truthful. Others will tell you that the Bible is truthful. We are totally and personally responsible for our response to God’s calling us back to Himself.

However, as a parent, as a teacher or as a religious leader; we have the responsibility to recommend to those under our charge that they personally examine God’s plan for man as written in the Holy Bible. As leaders we will be held accountable on judgment day for what we recommend to those under our charge. If we remove some of God’s words or add something to God’s word; God will harshly judge us. (Refer to Revelations 22:18,19.)

It is our personal judgment that what is presented in these lessons is the truth. We will stand before God on judgment day confident that we have not deceived anyone by recommending this study, “Firm Foundations, Creation to Christ”.

May God truly bless you as you progress through this study.

Lenox Federated Church of Jefferson, Ohio

If you desire to read the parts of the Bible that are covered in this foundational course, a suggested reading schedule is included at the end of each lesson. It is estimated that it will take five 30 to 45 minute sessions to cover each lesson and the suggested Bible readings.

Suggested Daily Bible Readings:

Day 1: Genesis, Chapters 1 and 2

Day 2: Genesis, Chapters 3 and 4

Day 3: Genesis, Chapters 5 and 6

Day 4: Genesis, Chapters 7 and 8

Day 5: Genesis, Chapters 9 and 10