What Is the Bible?

The question of what the Bible is can be answered in more than one useful way. Here are three.

1- The Bible Is a Book of Books

The English word “bible” comes from Latin and Greek words meaning “book” or “books.” Both singular and plural apply because the Bible is a single large book…which is itself a collection of 66 smaller books.

The Bible is also a collection of collections. To start with, the Bible is the combination of two collections: the Old Testament consisting of 39 books and the New Testament consisting of 27 books. Beyond that, the order of the books in each “Testament” implies yet more sub-collections – such as Law and Prophets in the Old Testament, Gospels and Epistles in the New Testament. Indeed, the New Testament circulated as sub-collections before it was published as a single collection combined with the Old Testament.

Adjustments to the above:

• Jewish Bibles have the Old Testament only; they also combine some books so that the number of Old Testament books is less than 39, but the content remains the same.
• Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Bibles all contain exactly the same New Testament. As for the Old Testament, though they name some books differently, the contents are the same – except that Catholic and Orthodox Bibles add some books (which are called the Apocrypha or Deutero-canonical books). Totals:
  • Protestant Old Testament: 39 books
  • Catholic Old Testament: 46 books
  • Orthodox Old Testament: 49-54 books

It should be obvious that, other than the inclusion or exclusion of the New Testament, there is no material difference in these four Bibles. That said, I follow the Protestant Bible, but not because it’s Protestant; rather, I follow it because it most closely conforms to what Jesus considers the Bible to be. More on that below.

2 – The Bible Is the Work of Prophets and Apostles

Ancient Israel produced the Old Testament from the writings of its prophets. If a prophet who was recognized as true by ancient Jews wrote something, it was included. It’s not as though anyone passed judgment on, for example, Jeremiah’s writings, including some of them and excluding others. Everything Jeremiah wrote was included. And it was the same with all the other prophets. Not all prophets wrote, but if a prophet did write something, it was included. A prophet was someone called and appointed by God; a prophet was not appointed by people, nor could he appoint himself. People were expected to discern between true prophets and false ones.

For the New Testament, the standard for inclusion is similar. Apostles were analogous to prophets. That is, Jesus appointed apostles – no one else could do that. There were true apostles and false ones; as with prophets, people were expected to figure out the difference. An apostle was someone called by Jesus; an apostle was not appointed by people, nor could he appoint himself.

Thus the Old Testament prophets were earthly spokesmen appointed by the Lord from heaven; the New Testament apostles were earthly spokesmen appointed by the Lord from earth (that is, Jesus – more on this below). The Old Testament is the totality of genuine prophetic literature. If a prophet wrote something, it’s in there; if a prophet didn’t write something, it’s not in there. Likewise, the New Testament is the totality of genuine apostolic literature. If an apostle wrote something, it’s in there; if an apostle didn’t write something, it’s not in there.

Jesus and His apostles would often refer to the Old Testament as “the Prophets.” Likewise, we may refer to the New Testament as “the Apostles.” Thus we could rightly refer to the Bible as “The Prophets and the Apostles.”

3 – The Bible Is the Word of God

The Bible is the word of God, but it is also the word of men because it is the word of God through men. Nothing in the Bible wrote itself. There were no magic pens. Flesh and blood individuals like you and me wrote down the words. Therefore, the Bible – all its 66 individual texts – are the word of men. Yet because these men – prophets in the Old Testament and apostles in the New Testament – were inspired by the Spirit of God, the Bible is also the word of God (2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Because the Bible is the word of God, it does not mean that the Bible is all God has ever said or ever will say. God has not gone mute just because the Bible exists. What the existence of the Bible means is that we have 1) a lot of God’s thoughts toward us, and 2) a written and therefore unchanging standard by which we may judge any other words of God we think we are hearing, whether from within ourselves or from someone else.

The Role Of Jesus in Forming the Bible

The authority of Jesus as Lord is the glue that holds the Bible together. The single most important thing that the Bible says – which is to say, the single most important thing that God has said – is this: Jesus is Lord (Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:8-11). If Jesus is Lord, then – obviously – whatever he says goes.

We know that the Bible is the word of God because Jesus regarded it to be so – even though the Bible consisted of only the Old Testament when He was on earth. Jesus and the Jewish religious authorities disagreed about many things, but never about what was and wasn’t Scripture. Jesus accepted the Jewish Scriptures as handed down to his generation. Thus did Jesus grant ancient Israel the right to determine the contents of the Old Testament (John 4:22). As for the New Testament, which would not be written until after Jesus had ascended into heaven, He designated that His apostles would be speaking in His name (Matthew 10:40). Just as the Old Testament prophets spoke in the name of God, the New Testament apostles spoke in the name of the Lord. It is the Protestant Bible that most closely conforms to these two standards, and this is why I choose it over the others.

The Bible is what Jesus says it is. As Moses handed down the Ten Commandments on two tablets so Jesus hands down His word in two testaments. The Bible is the word of the Lord.