As I leaned over the side of the Pedro’s Plaza Building in downtown Agana, I realized that the only thing holding me up from a seven-story plummet to the concrete sidewalk beneath was the rope around my waist. Being a reporter with the Pacific Daily News, I loved getting directly involved with a story. The Guam Police Department allowed me to join their S.W.A.T. team for a practice exercise down the side of the building.
Before repelling off the edge of the roof, we had to get our bodies completely parallel to the ground below. That meant that I was hanging at a 90-degree angle with only the support of a rope locked with my right hand behind my back.
I jumped and began to bounce down past windows and eventually made it safely to the bottom. I had entrusted my physical life to the integrity of a rope maker and the instruction I had received from police officers.
The Solid Foundation
For the past forty years, I have entrusted my life to the integrity of something more solid than a factory-guaranteed rope—God and His Word. The Creator of the heavens and the earth spoke the world and everything in it into existence with His powerful Word. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of our heavenly Father’s promise and plan for mankind—for in Jesus Christ “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14).
God describes Himself as the Rock of all ages (Isaiah 26:4). Throughout the Bible, He is a Rock, a firm foundation on which to stand (Deuteronomy 32:4,15,18; I Samuel 2:2; 2 Samuel 22:3,32,47; 23:3; Psalms 18:2,31,46; 42:9; 62:7; 78:35; 89:26; 94:22; Isaiah 17:10).
God’s Word speaks of Jesus Christ as the “stone which the builders rejected” which “is become the head of the corner” (Psalms 118:22; Ezekiel 10:1; Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; I Peter 2:7). Jesus is the rock on which he built his church (Matthew 16:18). Jesus Christ is the only foundation that can be laid for spiritual life (Isaiah 28:16; I Corinthians 3:10,11).
I remember learning years ago what God says about His Word. The Bible speaks more authoritatively on its own behalf than anyone can speak for it. Here are a few truths to help you see that God’s Word is trustworthy. That it can be relied upon. For the scriptures show the Father’s heart toward us. Each of His many promises is backed up with all that He is. We can always trust God and His Word.
How God Gave Us His Word
II 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, throughly furnished unto all good works.
All scripture, what we call the Bible today, was “given by inspiration of God.” The original languages of the New Testament add some valuable color and perspective to this phrase. The Greek reads that all scripture is “God-breathed, breathed out by God.” The Aramaic speaks of every writing “which was written by the spirit.”
How did God “breathe” the scripture and how was God’s Word written by the spirit? Jesus Christ knew his heavenly Father better than anyone who ever lived. He made known God’s nature and how the Father is to be worshipped.
John 4:24:
God is…Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
God is the Holy Spirit. He gives His gift of holy spirit to those who believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. Throughout the Bible, men and women had God’s spirit in them so that God could communicate with them. This is beautifully stated by Peter.
II Peter 1:20,21:
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Prophecy is that which is spoken by a prophet. God specifically names prophets and prophetesses in the Bible who spoke for Him. They include:
Abraham (Genesis 20:7)
Aaron (Exodus 7:1)
Miriam (Exodus 15:20)
Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18,20; 34:10; Acts 3:22; 7:37)
Deborah (Judges 4:4)
Samuel (I Samuel 3:20; II Chronicles 35:18; Acts 3:24; 13:20)
Saul (I Samuel 10:11,12; 19:24)
Gad (I Samuel 22:5; II Samuel 24:11)
Nathan (II Samuel 7:2,12:25; I Kings 1:8-45; I Chronicles 17:1; 29:29; II Chronicles 9:29; 29:25; Psalms 51:1)
Ahijah (I Kings 11:29; 14:2,18)
Jehu (I Kings 16:7,12)
Elijah (I Kings 18:22,36; II Chronicles 21:12; Malachi 4:5)
Elisha (I Kings 19:16; II Kings 3:11; 6:12; 9:1; Luke 4:27)
Isaiah (II Kings 19:2; 20:1,11,14; II Chronicles 26:22; 32:20,32; Isaiah 37:2; 38:1; 39:3; Matthew 3:3; 4:14; 8:17; Luke 3:4; 4:17; John 1:23; 12:38; Acts 8:28,30; 28:25)
Huldah (II Kings 22:14; II Chronicles 34:22)
Shemaiah (II Chronicles 12:5)
Iddo (II Chronicles 13:22)
Oded (II Chronicles 15:8; 28:9)
Jeremiah (II Chronicles 36:12; Jeremiah 20:2; 25:2; 28:5,6,10,12; 29:29; 32:2; 34:6; 36:8,26; 37:2,3,6,13; 38:9,10,14; 42:2,4; 43:6; 45:1; 46:1,13; 47:1; 49:34; 50:1; 51:59; Daniel 9:2; Matthew 2:17; 27:9)
Haggai (Ezra 5:1; 6:14)
Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:1,5,10,12,17)
Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:1; 3:1)
Haggai (Haggai 1:3,12; 2:1,10)
Zechariah (Ezra 5:1; Zechariah 1:1,7)
Jonah (Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Luke 11:29)
Anna (Luke 2:36)
Jesus (Matthew 21:11; Luke 24:19; John 9:17)
John the Baptist (Matthew 21:26; Mark 11:32; Luke 7:28; 20:6)
Daniel (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14)
Joel (Acts 2:16)
David (Acts 2:29,30)
Agabus (Acts 21:10; in Acts 11:28, he “signified by the Spirit”)
Judas and Silas (Acts 15:32)
Notice that God’s Word spoken by these prophets “came not in old time by the will of man.” They did not decide what should be written. Rather, they “spake as they were moved by [carried under] the Holy Ghost [the holy spirit].” They submitted themselves under God, and He gave them what needed to be spoken and written. He “carried” them by providing the spiritual information that they were to make known.
Holy Men of God, Moved by the Spirit: Moses and Joshua
God gave Moses the revelation that He wanted spoken and written (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; as well as the Book of Job, according to some Biblical scholars). Moses faithfully spoke and wrote it down. He was a prophet who finished the job that God gave him to do.
Deuteronomy 31:24:
And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished.
Moses finished writing the first five books of the Bible. What about the next book? Did Joshua have the same spiritual connection as his mentor and teacher?
Deuteronomy 34:9:
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.
Joshua 24:26:
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.
Joshua “was full of the spirit of wisdom” and could receive revelation from God, just as Moses had. Later, Joshua wrote “words in the book of the law of God.” Like Moses, he was a holy man of God who spoke (and wrote) as he was moved by the holy spirit that he had received.
Holy Men of God, Moved by the Spirit: Samuel and Other Prophets
The other books in the Bible were also written in this way. Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are all scripture and “given by inspiration of God.” What we have in our Bible as the Book of Samuel is called “the book of Samuel the seer” (I Chronicles 29:29).
The same is true for the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles. The scriptures speak of “the book of the kings of Israel and Judah” (I Chronicles 9:1; II Chronicles 27:7; 35:27; 36:8) and “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah” (I Kings 14:29; 15:7,23; 22:45; II Kings 8:23; 12:19; 14:18; 15:6,36; 16:19; 20:20; 21:17,25; 23:28; 24:50).
Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles record how God worked with His people from the times of Joshua until they were carried away into Babylon. Like all scripture, they also show God working to prepare for His coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Genesis showed Jesus Christ coming through the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These books (Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles) show that the Messiah would come through the line of Jacob’s son Judah and his descendants, Jesse and David.
Ezra and Nehemiah wrote God’s Word when His people returned to Jerusalem from captivity (Ezra 7:6,10; Nehemiah 1:1,2). The Book of Esther also records events after that time (Esther 1:1).
Holy Men of God, Moved by the Spirit: David and Solomon
David wrote many of the psalms. He himself believed that he was a holy man of God who spoke as he was moved by the holy spirit. Look how David described receiving revelation from God on what he should write.
II Samuel 23:1,2:
Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in [upon] my tongue.
The spirit of the Lord spoke by David. So many of the great truths found in the Book of Psalms bear this out. David spoke for God as he was moved by the holy spirit that he had received when he was anointed by Samuel (I Samuel 16:13). Psalm 110 is a great example of God working in David to prophesy of his coming “son” (descendant), Jesus Christ.
Psalms 110:1:
A Psalm of David. The Lord [Hebrew, Jehovah, referring to God] said unto my Lord [Hebrew, adon, referring to Jesus Christ], Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
This prophecy in Psalms 110:1 is one of the great truths in the Bible about the coming Messiah. It shows the authority and position of power that Jesus Christ now has being seated at the right hand of God. It also indicates some of what Jesus Christ will still do in the future.
Philippians 2:9,10:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.
I Corinthians 15:27,28:
For he [God] hath put all things under his [Christ’s] feet. But when he [God] saith all things are put under him [Christ], it is manifest that he [God] is excepted, which did put all things under him [Christ].
And when all things shall be subdued unto him [Christ], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [God] that put all things under him [Christ], that God may be all in all.
Jesus Christ believed that David was a holy man of God who spoke as he was moved by the holy spirit. Jesus trusted God’s Word spoken by David. Look at how he quoted Psalms 110:1 when he boldly claimed who he was as God’s Son!
Matthew 22:43-45:
He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
Mark 12:36:
For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Luke 20:42,43:
And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Jesus Christ said that David spoke this prophecy “in spirit” and “by the Holy Ghost” as found “in the book of Psalms.” Jesus believed that all scripture was given by inspiration of God. He believed that the Book of Psalms was God’s Word in written form.
The believers in the early Church also believed that David was a holy man of God who spoke as he was moved by the holy spirit. They quoted Psalm 2 when speaking of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.
Psalms 2:1,2:
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying.
Acts 4:24-26:
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Who [Greek texts add: “by the holy spirit”] by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
They believed that the Lord God spoke by the mouth of His servant David, and that David spoke “by the holy spirit.” God told David what to speak, and David faithfully spoke God’s Word using his vocabulary to express God’s will that was given to him.
David’s son, Solomon, also received revelation on what God wanted him to write.
I Kings 4:30,32:
And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
Solomon spoke thousands of proverbs and songs. Some are recorded in the Biblical books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon.
Proverbs 1:1;25:1:
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.
These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
Ecclesiastes 12:9:
And moreover, because the preacher [Solomon] was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
Song of Solomon 1:1:
The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
We Can Trust God’s Word
Each day we trust the sun to come up, our bodies to function, and even our minds to think. God designed things so that they work. We may even trust our very lives with the “safety” of a climbing rope or an automobile. God’s Word can be trusted more than anything in the world around us. He magnified His Word above all of His creation. His Word can light our paths each day.
Psalms 138:2:
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Psalms 119:105:
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
We have seen some of the prophets who spoke for God and gave the great revelation recorded for us in the Bible. In Part 2, we will see more of how we got this wonderful Word of God as holy men of God spoke, moved by the holy spirit.
