THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
Lesson 3
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Kevin Pendergrass.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Welcome to the Gospel of Christ. This is the third lesson in our series of an introduction to the Bible. In this lesson we will be examining how we got the New Testament. In our last lesson, we examined how we got the Old Testament. We looked at three points. We will be using those same three points in this lesson, but will be looking at different principles and different Bible verses to prove those points.
The first point is the source of inspiration. What is the source of the New Testament? The answer is God. As we saw from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, God is the source of the whole Bible, which would include the New Testament. God inspired men to speak, and to write and record, what we have in the New Testament. Jesus talked about how this would be done. I want us to read from John 16 to show us that Jesus taught about how and when the New Testament would be written and completed. In verses 5-7 Jesus said,
“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
Jesus mentioned that He would be sending someone to help His apostles and/or disciples. Who was that “someone”? As we will learn, it was the Holy Spirit. In verses 8-13 Jesus said,
“When He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: f sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
Jesus did not say that the Spirit would guide the writers of the New Testament into “some” truth or “most” truth, but into all truth. Jesus told those men what would happen. Jesus said that He had spoken what He was supposed to speak, but that when He ascended into Heaven, then the Holy Spirit would come to lead the men into “all truth” so that they could complete the Bible and we could have the New Testament. This is exactly what happened. In Ephesians 3 Paul talked about the Word of God, and how each of the inspired men was writing it and how it was being put together piece by piece.
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” [vss. 1-4].
In verse 4 Paul not only explained that the things he wrote were from God because he was inspired, but he also explained that when people read what he wrote, they would be able to understand them. Some people say that there is no way for us to really understand the New Testament because it is too complicated or too difficult, and we therefore need someone to interpret it for us and tell us what it means. But that is not what Ephesians 3 says. Paul said that when we read the things he had written, we would be able to understand them. We can know the New Law. Verse 5 says, “which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets,” which goes back to John 16—referring to the fact that the writers of the New Testament would be led by the Spirit into “all truth.” Paul confirmed that here. God inspired men to write the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 14:37 Paul also wrote, “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.” Did Paul say that the things he wrote were his opinion? No. I heard a person say one time, “The things that Paul said were not as important as the things that Jesus said, which are written in red.” Well, really the whole Bible could be written in red because all of it is from God. Paul confirmed that in 1 Corinthians 14:37 when he said, “The things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.” In 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 Paul wrote,
“We speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery [which goes back to Ephesians 3, which states that what the men wrote was the Word of God], the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Verses 10-12 then state,
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
Paul’s point was that the men who wrote the New Testament did not write on their own behalf, but instead were presenting the Word of God, which was, in fact, being received as the Word of God. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 we see that the Christians in Thessalonica understood that what these men said or wrote was from God. Paul wrote, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” Paul noted that the Christians in Thessalonica received what he wrote as the Word of God. It was not like someone saying, “This is what I think” or “This is what I feel.”
At times people try to use these passages to prove that the Spirit speaks directly to them. That is not how the Spirit speaks to us today. The Spirit speaks to us through the Word of God. In John 6:63 Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” The words that inspired men wrote were from the Spirit. If someone says today that the Spirit speaks to use through the Word of God, that is correct. But that is the only way that the Spirit speaks to us today. When we read passages like Revelation 2 and 3, we see that after each of the letters written to the seven churches of Christ in Asia Minor, we read, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.” How were those people to listen to what the Spirit was saying? Was it some sort of feeling? No, they were to listen to what the Spirit said by reading God’s words. In the same way, we today go to the Word of God (the Bible), which is how the Spirit speaks to us. In 1 Timothy 4:1 we read, “The Spirit expressly says….” How was the Spirit speaking? In that instance He was saying things through the apostle Paul. So, the first point regarding the source of inspiration is that God inspired men to correctly write down His Word.
The second point in this lesson has to do with the recognition of inspiration. How did others know if someone was actually speaking on God’s behalf? People recognized true inspiration because those who spoke via the inspiration of God were able to confirm with miracles the things they said. Jesus said that He would give His inspired servants the power to perform such miracles as they went around preaching the Gospel. This would allow people to know that the things the men said were coming from a Higher Authority (God). In Mark 16:19-20 (which is right after Jesus gave the Great Commission) we read, “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” When inspired men spoke, they confirmed what they said through miracles so that people knew they were speaking on God’s behalf. In 2 Corinthians 12:12 Paul wrote, “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” Another passage that teaches how people knew that what they were hearing was true is found in Hebrews 2:1-4.
“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”
Now let’s look at some of the miracles that were performed in the first century so we can realize that these were true, bona fide miracles. In Acts 2 the Jews were together for the Day of Pentecost. They were still living under and following the Law of Moses. In Acts 2 Peter presented a great Gospel sermon. And at the end of that sermon the Jews asked, “What must we do to be saved?” Around 3,000 people that day were saved (Acts 2:40-47). What caused those Jews to listen to what Peter had to say, and then to be converted? Why did they listen to what Peter had to say? After all, they had just crucified Jesus, Who had been teaching the same types of things His entire earthly ministry. So why all of a sudden were these Jews willing to listen to what Peter had to say? In Acts 2:1ff. we see that a miracle occurred to prove that what Peter said came from God. That really got the attention of the Jews, which caused them to listen to what Peter had to say. Do you think they would have listened without such a miracle? Of course not! But the miracle got their attention, and caused them to listen to what Peter had to say.
We see another miracle in Acts 3:1ff., where we see a lame man being healed.
“Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.”
Had this man been lame only for a week or for a few months? No, he had been lame from his mother’s womb. In other words, he was born lame. The text continues
“And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, ‘Look at us.’ So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.”
Here we see a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb, and whom everyone knew. Peter and John did not bring along with them an individual whom no one knew so they could “put on a show to fake out everyone.” Everyone knew the man, whom the text says was immediately healed—to the point where he could actually stand up, walk, and leap. This was a genuine miracle, which got everyone’s attention (as verse 10 makes clear). People did not say, “This is trickery or fake sorcery.” They recognized the bona fide miracle that had been performed.
Another example of a bona fide miracle can be found in Acts 19:11ff., where we find that God was working “unusual miracles” by the hands of Paul. We see such a miracle in verse 12, which involves handkerchiefs and aprons were taken from Paul’s body to those who were sick, and “the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” Then the text notes that some of the Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” But in verse 15 we read that “the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’” Even the demons knew Jesus and His inspired men. But those same spirits also recognized those who were using fraudulent miracles, and that those miracles did not come from God. Verse 16 says, “Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Verses 17-19 then speak about how many people were converted because of this. Those people saw the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet. Over the next few minutes, I want us to really emphasize the point that these miracles of such a nature that not even the enemies of Jesus and Christianity could deny them. They could chose not to follow Jesus, but they could not deny what they had seen. In Acts 3 we saw the lame man healed. We saw that the people were astonished at what they saw. But what did Christ’s enemies have to say about that event? If Christ’s enemies though that what had happened was trickery or fake, then they would have said, “This isn’t real’ it’s fake. Don’t listen to what these men have to say.” But is that what happened? Absolutely not! Acts 4:16 shows you the reaction of Christ’s enemies: “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.” Christ’s enemies were opposed to the apostles. They did not like them. But they could deny what they had seen the apostles do. This was the same response that Jesus received in the Gospel accounts. When He performed miracles, people could not deny what they were seeing. They might say that they did not want to follow Jesus. Or they might try to credit the miracle to a different source. In Mark 3:20-27 we read about just such an event. People tried to credit the miracles that Jesus was performing to Satan. Jesus had been doing great miracles to prove that He was from God.
“But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, ‘He is out of His mind. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebub,’ and, ‘By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.’”
Were Christ’s enemies denying the fact that He was able to cast out demons? No. Instead they said that He performed such feats by the power of Satan. Jesus then asked, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” Jesus thus showed them how ridiculous their argument was. But the point I want to make here is that Jesus’ enemies could not deny His miracles. This is why people accepted the New Testament as being true.
In John 9:20-23 we read about a man who was healed who had been born blind. His parents admitted that their son had been healed, but they were too afraid to say that it was Jesus Who had done it—because they did not want to be expelled from the synagogue. In John 12:42 the Bible says, “Even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”
Before we move on to our next point, I want us to look at one more example. It is very powerful and very strong, and is a good one to show people that there was a difference between a false prophet who claimed to use sorcery, and a genuine prophet who could work genuine miracles. In Acts 8 we find the story of Simon the sorcerer. Simon deceived a lot of people by using what we today probably would call “magic tricks.” People thought, no doubt, that what he was doing was legitimate. But Simon recognized that when the apostles did miracles, it was completely different than what he was doing. In Acts 8:9ff. we read,
“There was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.”
If anyone could have spotted fake miracles, certainly it would have been Simon the sorcerer. Yet he knew that the apostles’ miracles were real. So, the second point has to do with the recognition of inspiration. People recognized that what inspired men said was true because the things they spoke were accompanied by genuine miracles. However, God’s revelation is not still continuing today. Jude 3 says that “the faith” has been “once for all delivered.” John 16:13 says that the inspired writers would be guided into “all truth.” And that is exactly what happened. “The faith” has been recorded in the New Testament. We can be complete via the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17). In 1 Corinthians 13:9-10 we are taught that the purpose of miracles was to confirm the Word. Once the Word was completely written down, then there would be no more need for miracles. The Bible teaches us that we now have the completed Word of God. We are not to add to or take away from it.
Now we come to the third and last point in this lesson—the preservation of the New Testament. On the screen you are seeing a chart which shows secular writings. You see the author of the writings, the dates they were written, the earliest copy we have, and the number of copies we have. I am presenting this information so that you can compare the New Testament with these other ancient writings. When you do, you will notice a great difference between them. For example, consider Pliny. No one denies that he existed. They do not deny his writings. He was around from A.D. 61 to 113. But the earliest copy of his writings are from A.D. 850—a span of almost 700 years. Plus, we have only seven copies of his writings. Consider also Plato, who was around from 427 to 347 B.C. The earliest copies we have of his material are from A.D. 900, and we have only seven copies of his writings. Consider Caesar, who was around from 100 to 44 B.C. Yet the earliest copies we have of his information are from A.D. 900—almost a thousand years later. And we have only ten copies of his information. Consider Tacitus, who was around at approximately A.D. 100. Yet the earliest copies of his writings are from A.D. 1100—roughly a thousand years later. And we have only twenty copies. Consider Aristotle, who was around from 384 to 322 B.C. The earliest copies we possess of his writings are from A.D. 1100. And we have only forty-nine copies of his writings. Consider Homer’s Iliad. Homer wrote around 900 B.C., yet the earliest copy we have is from 400 B.C.—500 years later. We have 643 copies of the Iliad.
Then we come to the New Testament, which was written from roughly A.D. 48 to 100. The earliest copy we have of some the New Testament books is from A.D. 130—which is only thirty years after the New Testament was completed. When it comes to secular writings, the earliest copies are sometimes a thousand years removed from their original authors. The number of copies of the New Testament (in whole or in part) is 5,600. We can rest assured that the New Testament has been preserved for us. There would have to be some good reason(s) to suggest that it has not been preserved, especially when we compare the New Testament to secular writings. It is an amazing thing to look at this information, and to realize just how much God has provided for us so that can know that the New Testament is from Him, and how it came to be.
So what does all of this mean for us today? We are going to be judged by the New Testament (Jn. 12:48). We therefore need to be sure that we are living our lives in accordance with God’s will. We live today under the New Testament. Hebrews 7-10 goes into great detail about that. Galatians 6:1-2 tells us that we are under the Law of Christ. James 1:25 speaks about the “perfect law of liberty.” The New Testament is our standard of living. Romans 10:17 says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We must go God’s law to see what we have to do to be saved. We must believe that Jesus is Who He said He was. Jesus said in John 8:24, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” We must repent of our past sins (Acts 3:19). We must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Rom. 10:10). And we must be baptized in water for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38). If you have yet to obey the truth, we pray today that you will obey the Gospel of Christ.
Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, who or what is the source of the material that we have in the Bible?
2. According to John 16:8-13, whom did Jesus promise to send to the apostles to guide them into “all truth”?
3. According to what Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:1-4, who or what was the source of the information that he taught (and that he included in the books he penned in the New Testament)?
4. According to Ephesians 3:4, can we today understand God’s Word?
5. According to 1 Corinthians 14:37, who or what was the source of the information that he taught (and that he included in the books he penned in the New Testament)?
6. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10, who or what was the source of the information that he taught (and that he included in the books he penned in the New Testament)?
7. According to 1 Corinthians 2:13, who or what was not the source of the information that he taught (and that he included in the books he penned in the New Testament)?
9. According to Hebrews 2:1-4, what was one way that the apostles or disciples confirmed to those who heard them speak that they the things they said were “of God”?
10. In Acts 3:1ff. Peter and John performed a miracle to confirm that what they said and did were from God. What was that miracle?
11. What unusual thing happened in Acts 19:13, proving that “not just anyone” had the power to perform genuine miracles?
13. In Acts 4:16 we see the reaction of some of Christianity’s enemies to the genuine miracles that they had witnessed being performed around them. What was their reaction?
14. In Mark 3:20-27, to whom did Christ’s enemies try to attribute the miracles that He had performed in their midst?
15. How did Christ response to the charges made by His enemies (in Mark 3:20-27), suggesting that His miracles were from some other source other than Heaven?
16. According to 1 Corinthians 13:9-10, what was the purpose of miracles that Jesus and certain of His followers were able to perform?
17. Hebrews 7-10 explains in great detail that we today live under the New Testament. According to John 12:48, what, then, will one day be our judge?
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