THE CHARACTER OF SCRIPTURE

. . . From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures

2 Timothy 3:15

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus

HOLINESS (Heb. qodesh; Gk. hagiosune; in both cases "separation," or "setting apart. Holiness is a general term used to indicate sanctity or separation from all that is sinful, impure, or morally imperfect; i.e., it is moral wholeness. The term is used with reference to persons, places, and things. (From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

1. THE CHARACTER OF THE SCRIPTURES IS HOLINESS. They are separate and set apart from any thing sinful, impure or morally imperfect. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God”

St. John 1:1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

God and His Word are one. Therefore, the Word of God can be nothing short of holy.

2. THE BIBLE IS A REVELATION OF GOD AND MAN. It reveals the righteousness of God. It also reveals that the standard of holiness set for man is the same as that which is God. The method by which this righteousness is to be obtained is through His Son. The Word of God is holy and in its purity, when received, it will produce that which is holy and acceptable to God.

3. ALL TEACHING OF THE SCRIPTURES MUST BE FROM THE POSITION OF THE SPIRIT. The Holy Ghost is the teacher of the Word of God. He is the only true revelator.

1 Corinthians 2:9-14

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

If we are going to produce the righteousness of God in the people of God then we must stand in the Holy of Holies to receive and dispense the Word.

4. ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED BY GOD. INSPIRATION MEANS GOD GIVEN; BREATHED IN KNOWLEDGE. The Word that we receive and minister must be God inspired. Revelation is truth given by God. It is an unveiling of the scriptures and a speaking to the heart of things pertaining to God and godliness.

5. STANDING IN THE SPIRIT ALLOWS YOU TO SEE THE INTENT OF ALL SCRIPTURE. The central purpose is the bringing of man into an awareness of the nature and character of God and those who will spend eternity with Him.

St.John 5:39

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

The scriptures in the Old and New Testaments light the path to eternal life. Their central character is Jesus Christ. Yes, He is the star of the old and the new. In the old, He was simply cloaked in rituals and sacrifices, ordinances and divers washings. All scriptures point to Christ. He is the only one who could reveal God and He is certainly the only one who could reveal the true and accepted Son of God.

THE CENTRAL THEME OF ALL SCRIPTURE IS CHRIST

Earlier in this book we learned that all scriptures point to Christ. Let us take an outline of the Old Testament books to see how the central theme of all scripture is Christ.

Galatians 3:24

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

I. THE PENTATEUCH The first five books of the bible were written by Moses. God inspired Moses to write the Pentateuch since He was not born until 2500 years after these events took place.

1. Genesis This book gives us an account of the beginning of the human race and the introduction of the first family and their generations. This race was a natural one, born of the earth and dependant on the earth to survive. We also see an introduction of sin into mankind and everyone born after Adam became sinful. We can see the promise of Christ in that He would be the “Seed of a Woman”

Genesis 3:15

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

All bore the image of the first, until the promise of the eternal savior, Jesus Christ. Born out of this lineage would come the entrance of another race which would demonstrate the nature of the second Adam.

1 Corinthians 15:45-49

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

2. Exodus The bondage and deliverance of God’s chosen people from Pharaoh and the promise of a land of milk and honey. Moses is often referred to as the deliverer. He is a type of Christ and the nation of Israel, a type of the church being freed from sin and becoming a part of the family of God with the inheritance of eternal life.

Acts 3:20-24

20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. 24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

3. Leviticus This is a book of laws that set boundaries for the nation of Israel and established morals for them to live by. God also set aside a Levitical priesthood to offer up sacrifices for the sins of the people. But this priesthood was a type of the coming of Jesus Christ, the high priest who would go in one time and offer up the final sacrifice. Now we have been set aside to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin on behalf of those who are out of fellowship with God.

Hebrews 9:6-7

6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

Hebrews 9:11-14

11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

4. Numbers This is the account of the forty years of the nation of Israel wandering in the wilderness. It is a type of the church after being offered the freedom that comes inside of walking in the Spirit, choosing rather to stay in the darkness of sin, dying apart from our inheritance. Jesus is also prophesied as the Promised Seed of Jacob.

Hebrews 4:10-12

10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

5. Deuteronomy This is a recount of the laws given shortly before Israel entered the promise land. This book re-emphasizes the importance of obeying God. Without obedience and agreement, we die! These people never entered in because of unbelief and we, the church, will not enter in if we stop believing on Christ the way the scripture has said. We also see the prophecy of Jesus coming as a prophet.

Deuteronomy 18:15

The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Hebrew 3:14-19

14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Hebrews 4:1-2

1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

II. HISTORICAL BOOKS

1. Joshua This is the successes in battle under the leadership of Joshua, a mighty warrior and a type of Christ. We can find many other types in this book. One such is Canaan – a type of freedom from the captivity of the flesh and the promise of the Spirit.

Romans 7:23-25

23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

2. Judges This was the introduction of Judges appointed by God to govern the nation of Israel. They stood as deliverers for Israel and mediators when they repented for their sins and cried out to God for forgiveness. This is seen as a type of mankind being in sin and crying out to God for forgiveness through the blood of Christ. Just as the Judges invoked the power of God to free Israel, the work of Jesus Christ has provoked God to forgive us of our sins.

St. Luke 4:18

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

It was God’s desire that Israel be governed by Judges; this was His choice of leadership at that time. Here we study some of the most heroic leaders in the Old Testament, Gideon, Sampson and one of the only female leaders in the Old Covenant, Deborah. Deborah was a type of the gifts of Holy Spirit being poured out on women, as well as men.

3. Ruth This is another example of God using a woman in scripture but this time a Gentile woman. This is a type of the engrafting of a Gentile race through the work of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:26-28

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Samuel This is the introduction of Kings to rule over the nation of Israel. In fact Samuel was the last Judge and then the people desired a king. We see the reign of King Saul, his rejection and the appointment of David.

2 Samuel This book lays out the reign of King David, his successes, his failures and his heart of humility toward God and his people. God stated that David was a man after His own heart, because of his character of humility. This was a type of the sons of God loving God with all their heart, mind and soul. David’s love for God is what touched God. Even in David’s sin, God was merciful.

6. 1 Kings This is the reign of David’s son Solomon and the reign of the kings of Israel and Judah. It is also the introduction of the mouthpiece of God in the ministry of the Prophets Elijah and Elisha. After the death of Solomon, one of the wisest men who lived, God raised up the prophet Elijah to be the voice in Israel, in the midst of wicked Kings. Now in the new covenant, God has raised up the 5-fold Government to raise and perfect the people of God.

7. 2 Kings Here we see the great exploits of the prophets, Elijah and Elisha and this was a type of the coming of a generation of New Testament prophets who were not unlike the great prophet and Apostle Jesus Christ. It was also the turning of the nation of Israel into sin that ultimately ended in their captivity.

8-9. 1 Chronicles & 2 Chronicles These books are very similar to the other previous books; however they focus mostly on the history of the nation of Judah. They talk about the reign of David, Solomon and the other kings that followed. These books are also spiritual types of what was to come, of divine leadership as well as leaders that are driven by the purpose of Satan that drives a people into the bondage of sin.

10. Ezra This book shows the return of the nation of Israel out of bondage in Babylon and the rebuilding of the temple. This shows the power of returning to the ways of God. The nation of Israel returned and began to follow the laws and ordinances of God.

11. Nehemiah This is a historical book that mainly talks about the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. It is similar to Ezra in that it again is establishing the return of the nation from sin. It is a type of the return of the church from flirting with the world and coming back into a relationship with the Father.

12. Esther This book again highlights the role of a woman as the deliverer for the nation of Israel. It shows her bravery and the favor that God showed her with the King. Esther is a type of how God will use his handmaidens in the New Covenant.

III. POETICAL BOOKS There are five poetical books in the Old Testament.

1. Job The book of Job shows a type of the affliction of the saints and Satan’s ploy to deceive. The patience of Job is an example of how the Body of Christ must endure afflictions without murmuring or complaining and certainly without denying Christ. It also shows us how man’s philosophy is in direct contrast to the commandments of God for the Church. It points us to the deliverance of those who suffer with Christ, trusting His wisdom in their lives.

2. Psalms The book of Psalms consists of a combination of one hundred fifty chapters of songs, prayers and poems. This book contains a great deal of references to Christ: (1) as King, (2) His suffering (3) His resurrection and (4) His Ascension.

3. Proverbs The book of Proverbs gives instructions concerning walking in moral character and is based on the fear of the Lord. It points to wisdom as a principal characteristic. It also shows the detriment of not being an example of what you are. Solomon was wise but did not operate in wisdom and His son, Rehoboam walked in Solomon’s ways and not his counsel.

4. Ecclesiastes The book of Ecclesiastes is based on vanity of human life. This book teaches that happiness is not found in obtaining wisdom, worldly pleasures or great possessions. 5. Song of Solomon The book of Solomon portrays Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as His bride. It styles the Church as keeping herself unspotted in anticipation of her Bridegroom appearing and Christ’s love so great for His bride that He would lay down his life for her.

IV. PROPHETIC BOOKS There are seventeen Prophetical Books in the Old Testament, five Major Prophets and twelve Minor Prophets.

A. MAJOR PROPHETS

1. Isaiah Isaiah is considered the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. He mainly writes redemption and salvation. We see Jesus as Heir to the Throne of David. This book is full of Messianic prophecies concerning the promise of a Messiah, a righteous King and the pouring out of the Spirit in the last days.

St. Matthew 1:1

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2. Jeremiah The book of Jeremiah deals with the backsliding of the Jews and their restoration. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah also prophesied concerning the massacre of the children two years old and under.

Jeremiah 31:15

Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not

. 3. Lamentations The book of Lamentations is an account of the ruin of Jerusalem because of their sins. Israel’s sins and disobedience caused them to be destroyed. Likewise, we have Israel as an example.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

4. Ezekiel The book of Ezekiel also deals largely with visions and warnings of destruction of Jerusalem for the sins of the people. He also deals with God’s promise of restoration and the return of His Glory after repentance. We know Israel to be an example of the Church and we are admonished in scripture . . .

Romans 11:20-22

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

5. Daniel The book of Daniel deals a great deal in imagery and symbolism. He deals with prophecies of future events that have not taken place as of yet. He prophesize of the Kingdom of God triumphing of all Satan and all powers that be. He also prophesize of the time of the birth of Jesus.

Daniel 9:25

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

B. MINOR PROPHETS

1. Hosea The book of Hosea uses much figurative language to show Israel’s evil state of being. God is styled as the husband and Israel, which is a type of the Church, as the adulterous wife. God’s great love and mercy is shown for His Church. Jesus flight into Egypt is also prophesied here.

Hosea 11:1

1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

2. Joel The book of Joel deals with punishment for not repenting and is a type of the sinner’s rejection of Christ. Joel also prophesied concerning the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days.

3. Amos Amos is a type of Christ in that he pointed his nation to God. His life closely resembled that of the man Jesus. (1) He was a working man – he was a herdsman (2) He was very humble (3) He used many illustrations in his method of teaching (4) In his claims to divine inspiration – He often says, Thus says the Lord (5) He was charged with treason (6) Rebuked the selfishness of the rich

4. Obadiah This book centers on the feud between Edom and Israel. The Edomites are descendants of Esau and held a grudge because Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright

5. Jonah A type of Christ in that he preached repentance of sins. Jonah 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the whale has been typed as Jesus going into the grave for 3 days and 3 nights. Jesus used this as judgment for those who will no repent.

6. Micah Micah prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus’ Birthplace of Jesus and the establishment of a righteous kingdom.

Micah 5:2

2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

7. Nahum

8. Habakkuk

9. Zaphaniah The following three books are similar in that they prophesy God’s abhorrence to sin and its punishment; but also shows God’s mercy in giving space for repentance. These books point us to the character of God towards the Church today.

10. Haggi Haggi rebukes the Children of Israel for neglecting to rebuild the temple. He points out that they were more concerned about rebuilding their own places of dwelling then the Lord’s House. This is a type of working to secure our own lives and not gaining anything but death.

Haggi 1:5-6

5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

St. Matthew 16:24-25

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

11. Zechariah Along with Haggi, Zechariah also wrote about the rebuilding of the temple. He portrays Christ coming in lowliness and as a Shepherd forsaken by his sheep. He also speaks of Jesus’ death.

Zechariah 12:10

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

12. Malachi Malachi prophesied of John as the forerunner of Christ in the form of Elijah. He prophecies of the first and second coming of Jesus.