Question:
As you guys know, I've been having trouble posting on this forum. I thought I'd get a new psyedoym and try it again while Monty, hopefully, fixes the problem. Go, Monty, GO!!
I had a chance this week to call CP Bob. WOW, what a great conversasion we had! It left me feeling very refreshed, focused and with a to do list about a half a mile long. Talk about direction!
Our chat also left me with million other questions, so here they go:
1: If a person is newly saved and doesn't know very much about the Bible and God's teachings how can s/he find and join a truly bible centered church? Churches can say that they are bible centered and not be. I even heard one televangelist say that he thought that some of Billy Graham's teachings weren't biblically sound-Go figure? Are there characteristics we should look for-things that we should avoid?
2. I bought myself a NIV (New Improved Version) study bible at Wal-mart the other day. I bought it because I read that a team of international scholars had researched the orginal Hebrew language and it was supposed to be more accurate than the King James Verson. What do you think about that?
3. I'm trying to read a chapter of the bible a night. Last night was Genesis 1. (Gotta start somewhere!) I have two questions about the Seventh day: A-If my (perhaps naive) perception of God as a creator that just sweeps his hand and "poof" the heaven and the earth and other things appear is correct...then why did God have to rest? Was creating all of this work for him? Gives new meaning to the term work, doesn't it? Why did he emphasis rest?
B-Is there any indications anywhere in the Bible whether or not the seventh day was on Saturday or Sunday?
And lastly, This passage comes from the first Chapter of Genesis, verses 26 and 27 using the NIV translation. Words in [ ] are my own for clarification.
26: Then God said, "Let us [PLURAL] make make man in our [PLURAL] image, in our [PLURAL] likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all of the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27: So God created man in his [SINGULAR] own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Here's my questions: Who is God talking to in verse 26? Why did He use plural pronouns?
Until next time,
Nightingale

Answer:

Uh, oh Bob, she's still on the FIRST book!
This is going to be "Bible Study, 101".
Thanks for posting Nightingale..... I'm only teasing you.
And I sure hope Bob is better at answering these questions that I would be, that's the reason we pay him the big bucks!
Monty

Answer:

Yeah, Monty, I believe that last time I checked with you about the check, you said it was in the mail - Sure!
Nightingale,
It was a pleasure to speak with you by phone and I am pleased that you seemed to have gotten some direction from our converstion.
Concerning your questions:
1: If a person is newly saved and doesn't know very much about the Bible and God's
teachings how can s/he find and join a truly bible centered church?
Answer:
The first indication that a church is Bible centered is if the Bible is used. Does, for example, the pastor open the Bible and read from it during his message? Does he reference it during the message? And when you attend Sunday School classes is the Bible placed on the table by the teacher as the authority for the lesson? You can usually judge a church also by the number of people who bring their Bibles to church with them - who use them during Bible study in Sunday School and you hear the flutter of the pages when the pastor begins to preach. Many like to refer to the sound at the flutter of angels wings.
Now to be sure we are talking about a Bible centered church - make sure that the reading and the study of the Bible is not symbolic. For example, some churches will read from the Bible and approach it as being a nice book but then use another book for the message. During Sunday School it is permissable to have a book for study in conjunction with the Bible, however, it needs to reference the Bible as the authority.
I went to a church in Montana where the pastor gave us a 30 minute lecture on a book that she had just read that week. Little if anything was said about what God said in His Word and emphasis was placed on the inner strength we generate ourselves. I even made my friend nervous that I wanted to carry my Bible inside the church. This is the extreme and very noticeable. Most will not be this obvious. Just listen for the pastor to tell you who his boss is as he speaks. If he refers everything to God and His Word it probably is Bible centered.
Lastly, get to know your pastor. Ask him what his beliefs are. All pastors will tell you where they get their bread (Bread of Life - the Word).
Question:
2. I bought myself a NIV (New Improved Version) study bible. What do you think about that?
Answer:
First, a minor correction. It is the New International Version. Sounds like the answer of a Wal-Mart associate that wears the jumper that says - I got answers.
Seriously, I use the NIV myself. All the time I was in seminary and for a number of years after in the ministry, I used the RSV or Revised Standard Version. Wal-Mart would probably say it is the 'reviled standard version'. When I left my RSV on the top of my car as I got in, it soon went the way of the highway and I never found it again. In replacing it, I decided that I would go for the newer version - the NIV.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1948 and provides information that was not available when the first King James Version of the Bible was printed. Not that this creates any confusion for the KJV as such, but that it further enhances the newer versions for credibility.
Just so that you know - there are two types of writings that are referred to in Bibles. One is 'transliteration' and the other is 'translation'. To 'translate' a new version of the Bible means that one goes back to the best manuscripts available for the Word that is brought forward. Thus, since the men on the committee for the NIV went back to the best available manuscripts including the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is felt by some scholars that perhaps the NIV might be the best version today.
'Transliteration' means to bring forward without interpretation. A good example of a transliteration is the Living Bible. The man who comprised the Living Bible merely transliterated the KJV to modern day language without going back to the best manuscripts available.
Even in the very Scriptures themselves, some of the authors have used the technique of transliteration. For example, the Greek word for immersion is 'baptizo'. In the KJV, the writers did not want to disturb present practices and merely transliterated the word 'baptizo' to baptize. Leaving for ages the understanding by local churches to choose how to baptize their members. Some chose to sprinkle, others to completely immerse, etc.
Probably more than you were looking for in an answer, but I threw in a lot of that for free.
Question:
3. I'm trying to read a chapter of the bible a night. Last night was Genesis 1. I have two questions about the Seventh day: A-If my (perhaps naive) perception of God as a creator that just sweeps his hand and "poof" the heaven and the earth and other things appear is correct...then why did God have to rest? Was creating all of this work for him? Gives new meaning to the term work, doesn't it? Why did he emphasis rest?
Answer:
There is a big old long word that I learned in seminary that if I were to spell it for you, you might be impressed with me but that is as far as it would go. The meaning of the word is that man can not fully comprehend what God does, therefore, words that we are familiar with become the order of the day. All of us know that 'to be tired is not in God's vocabulary', however, to emphasize the importance of the day and how it would be used in the days to come, He laid out the principal of our resting one day a week from our labors and to spend it in worship with Him. How better to do that than to set the example Himself by resting on the seventh day.
Side note: Can you imagine the voluptious rupture of nature itself as it moved under His command to be created? Yet in the movement there was not one iota of confusion in the creation. He spoke ... and it happened. You indicated that you are a new convert. Did you know that He called your name and spoke to you just like He did to nature in creation? Remember the complete upheaveal within your body as the old nature gave way for the new nature at His command. How can you describe that? It is impossible and surely He got tired from all that creating and chose to rest. At least we would understand it that way and He set the example for us in doing so.
Question:
B-Is there any indications anywhere in the Bible whether or not the seventh day was
on Saturday or Sunday?
Answer:
Scholars are pretty consistent on this question. The seventh day is Saturday. Sunday is the first day of the week and so on until Saturday becomes the last or seventh day of the week. We are told to keep the Sabbath or in this case the last day of the week holy. During the Old Testament days which is the part of the Bible you have started with (Genesis to Malachi) the Jewish customs of worship were on the Sabbath or Saturday.
In the New Testament (Matthew to Revelation) after the death of Jesus on the cross, it is stated that they met on the first day of the week ... they were to bring their tithes and offerings on the first day of the week - thus the conversion from the last day to the first day for worship for the new Christians.
There was a lot of conflict over this new teachings after the decades of having performed the rituals on the last day of the week. Even today - there is still some conflict about these days. New Testament protestants have chosen the first day of the week.
There are some, however, who are choosing to give a day regardless of the which day. Their thought is that we are to keep all days holy and that they will choose to worship on the day that is convenient for their schedules. Meaning not that we change God, but our society running 24-7 has created a whole new type of people who have to choose times when they can worship during the week - not just necessarily on Sunday or Saturday.
I personally, feel that it is important to choose a day for rest and worship and praise to our Father regardless of the day and that all days are kept holy. Our bodies need physical rest and our souls need spiritual refreshing.
Question:
And lastly, This passage comes from the first Chapter of Genesis, verses 26 and 27 using the NIV translation. Words in [ ] are my own for clarification.
26: Then God said, "Let us [PLURAL] make make man in our [PLURAL] image, in our [PLURAL] likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all of the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27: So God created man in his [SINGULAR] own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Here's my questions: Who is God talking to in verse 26? Why did He use plural pronouns?
Answer:
Again that long word again that means that God is penning through the hands of the writer words that we would understand. I will from time to time refer to my ministry as 'we this' or 'we that'. I really am refering to the minstry in a plural sense as it is a plural ministry. It is not mine alone, but with God. The plural words that are used here reflect on the nature of God Himself. First you have the Trinity which is God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Second is the very nature of God. He is the Comforter, the Provider, the Protector, etc and it is common for Him to refer to Himself in this manner. There is a specific name for God that reflects His different characteristics.
As to whom is He speaking. My oldest son when he was about 7 ask me, "If God made everything, then what is God made of?" I thought, wow! what am I going to tell him. Without hesitation, I stated that God is made up of Himself and Robby said "Oh...", and he was satisfied with the answer at the age of 7. Who was God speaking to - He was speaking to all of Himself but catch this - not as separate entities but as the Holy God encompassed in Himself. Understand? If you do then you have a better handle on my answer than I do. There are some things that we accept by faith until God chooses to reveal the truth about them to us or choose not to reveal at all.
Summation:
Now to your Bible study, let me suggest that you start in the Book of John in the New Testament. It is written by the beloved disciple and it relates tremendously to the love that Jesus has for us in giving His life that we might have everlasting life. It moves through the entire phases of Jesus' life to His death on the cross and His resurrection and our eventual going to be with Him in His second coming.
Don't look for all the answers as you start. Let God reveal Himself to you as He determines you are ready for it. I have probably given you more than the average Christain will ever get just from my answers, but then God wanted me to go and sit at the feet of some of the greatest Biblical scholars on the earth today. If He leads you that way then go, however, just let it happen naturally as His Spirit leads you and as He interprets His Word to you through His Spirit.
God bless you in your study ...
B
CP