It was God's purpose, from the time of Moses,
onward, to have His Holy Will recorded in written form for the
guidance of man. Beginning with the ten commandments, written
on stone, continuing through the writing of Malachi, and, then,
throughout the books of the New Testament, God has commanded that
His Word be written. See Exodus 34:27; Deuteronomy 17:18; 27:3;
31:9, 24-26; Jeremiah 30:2; John 20:31; Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians
10:11; Jude 3; Revelation 1:11; 21:5.
The Bible is complete. Paul declared, in 2 Timothy
3:16, 17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Also, Peter wrote,
in 2 Peter 1:3, that God has given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath
called us to glory and virtue.
There are two reasons why we can have the greatest
confidence in the accuracy and the completeness of the Old and
New Testament books. First, the books of our Old Testament are
the same books that composed the Holy Scriptures when Jesus was
upon earth. Jesus was the incarnate Word. John 1:1-14. If the
scriptures of His day had been deficient in any way, He, surely,
would have corrected and rectified them. He did not. Secondly,
Jesus promised His apostles that He would send the Holy Ghost
the Spirit of truth upon them and that He (the Spirit) would teach
them all things and bring all things to their remembrance whatsoever
He (Christ) had said unto them. The Spirit would guide them unto
all truth and show them things to come. John 14:17; 16:13.
This promise was kept, beginning on the day of
Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2. The apostles spoke as the Spirit
gave them utterance. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
Matthew, John, Paul, and Peter wrote their books of the New Testament.
Also, the apostles were given the power to lay their hands upon
certain ones, and certain gifts of the Spirit were imparted severally
(individually), as He willed. Acts 8:18; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.
By this means, men such as Mark, Luke, and James and Jude (the
Lord's brothers) were guided into writing the books of the New
Testament that bear their names.
Furthermore, God promised that His Word would
be preserved. Jesus said, in reference to the Law of Moses, "For
verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or
one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Matthew 5:18. If God would preserve every jot and tittle of the
Law, He certainly is going to preserve the gospel! We are assured
that the word of the gospel will live and abide forever. 1 Peter
1:22-25. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but
my words shall not pass away." 24:35. He further said, in
John 12:48, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words,
hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same
shall judge him in the last day." In the final judgment,
the books will be opened, and the dead will be judged out of those
things which are written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:12. With these great truths in mind, we are comforted
in knowing that the power of God has preserved His Holy Word through
His marvelous providence.
In the passing of time it became necessary to
translate the Bible into the many languages of the earth. We are
truly thankful to have the Bible in our English language. The
King James Version of the Bible has blessed generations
of English-speaking peoples since its completion in A.D. 1611.
The translators of this version were scholars, but they were not
inspired men. They made choices in word selections: some were
good, and some were not as good. Concerning their translation
work, they wrote, "Lastly, wee haue on the one side auoided
the scrupulositie of the Puritanes, who leaue the olde Ecclesiasticall
words, and betake them to other, as when they put washing
for Baptisme, and Congregation in stead of Church:"
(Copied from a reprint of the original edition of 1611, "The
Translators To The Reader.") Regarding "Baptisme"
(baptism), I believe they might have better translated it "immersion."
See The Living Oracles and McCord's New Testament Translation
of the Everlasting Gospel translations. Concerning "church,"
so much confusion and misunderstanding would have been avoided
if ekklesia had been translated "congregation"
or "assembly."
As time passes, all living languages change. Therefore,
it becomes necessary to revise translations and to make new ones.
The American Standard Version is another great English
translation. Recently, the New King James Version has been
completed and is a great translation for modern readers. I recommend
these to our readers to be used as primary study Bibles. I use
many different translations of the Bible in comparative readings
and studies. Editor.