Lesson 2: THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD
Lesson 2
THE BIBLE AS
THE WORD OF GOD
Creed/ Aral: Believes that God reveals Himself in the Holy Scriptures
Code/ Asal: Reads and lives the message of God revealed in the Holy Bible
Cult/ Dasal: Thank God for revealing Himself in the Holy Bible.
We begin our discovery of our Christian roots by getting acquainted with a
major source of our Christian Faith—the Bible. The Bible is the God—inspired basis for all that has been said
and will ever be said by Christians about God because the Bible itself is the Living the Word of God.
I. GOD’S MESSAGE
“
Both what is still hidden and what has already concern us and our descendants forever, that we may
carry out all the words of this law.” – Deuteronomy 29:28
II. EXPOSITION
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), No. 11
1. Inspiration and Truth in the Bible
God is the author of the Sacred Scriptures. The divined revealed realities, which are
contained and presented in the text of the Sacred Scriptures/Bible have been written down
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
God inspired the HUMAN AUTHORS of the sacred books.
2. They are God’s intelligent
1. They are many. and free instruments.
3. They are some Human Authors 4. They were writers, poets, prophets,
“special people”. of the Bible compilers, redactors, and editor.
5. They were given by God the ability 6. They were inspired by God to interpret events, and
to “see” the meaning of events and to to share their insights with other people through their
“know the mind of God”. preaching and writing.
Lesson 2: THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD
Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical (1893) explained the nature of the written inspiration of the Bible.
“He (God) so moved and impelled them (human authors) to write – He so assisted them
when writing – that the things which He ordered, and they first understood, then wiled
faithfully to write down, and finally expressed in apt words and with infallible truth.
(Providentissimus Deus)
The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired they are truly
the Word of God (DV 24). God is the author of the Sacred Scripture because He inspired its
human authors; He acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their
writings teach His saving truth without error (DV 11).
2. The Canon of the Bible
from the Hebrew word “kaneh” The Greek word for it is “kanon”
meaning “reed”; can be used as a ruler. which means a measuring rod.
a norm or standard to determine, It refers to a norm of
rule or measure other things. CANON
revealed truth, a rule of faith.
refers to the list of books recognized by
Aside from “rule” it also came to mean a “list”.
the Church as divinely inspired
Canonicity – refers to the list of books accepted by the Church to be inspired and to contain
a rule of faith and morals. Any book in this list is a canonical book.
It was because of the apostolic tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be
included in the list of the sacred books. This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It
includes 46 books for the OT and 27 for the NT.
Old Testament Canon
[Link] Pentateuch (5) [Link] Books (16) [Link] Wisdom Books [Link] Prophetic Books
Genesis Joshua (7) (18):
Exodus Judges Job Isaiah; Jeremiah;
Leviticus Ruth Psalms Lamentations;
Numbers 1 &2 Samuel Proverbs Baruch*; Ezekiel;
Deuteronomy 1 & 2 Kings Ecclesiastes Daniel+; Hosea;
1 & 2 Chronicles Song of Songs* Joel; Amos;
Ezra Wisdom* Obadiah; Jonah;
Nehemiah Sirach* Micah; Nahum;
Tobit * Habakkuk;
Judith* Zephaniah;
Esther+ Haggai;
1 & 2 Macabees* Zechariah;
Malachi.
Lesson 2: THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD
New Testament Canon
[Link] Gospels (4) [Link] Letters/Epistles of St. [Link]/Universal
The Gospel according to Matthew Paul (14) Letters (7)
The Gospel according to Mark 1 & 2 Corinthians James
The Gospel according to Luke Galatians 1, 2, 3 John
The Gospel according to John Ephesians 1, 2 Peter
Philippians Jude
[Link] Acts of the Apostles Colossians
1&2Thessalonians 5. The Book of
1 & 2 Timothy Revelation/Apocalypse
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
Inerrant Saving Truth
The Catechism for Filipino Catholics is very emphatic in saying that the Bible contains no error
since it teaches that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, which to see confided to
the Sacred Scriptures (89). When the Bible is used properly, it imparts saving truth that can
be relied upon to bring us into deeper communion with God.
The Church forcefully and specifically exhorts all Christian faithful…to learn ‘the surpassing
knowledge of Christ’, by frequently reading the divine Scriptures. St. Jerome once said that
‘ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’.
The Relationship between Tradition and Sacred Scripture
“Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are bound closely together, and communicate one
with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, came
together to form one thing, and move towards the same goal.”
“Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the
Holy Spirit.”
Holy Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the
apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It is transmitted to the successors of the
apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and
spread it abroad by their preaching.
III. POINTS FOR REFLECTION
1. What is your favorite Bible story? What do you like about it?
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2. Are those events truly the word of God? Explain.
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Lesson 2: THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD
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IV. INTEGRATION
Learner’s Activity
Creed/Aral
1. God must have some reasons why He inspired the human authors to write the Bible.
Can you name some?
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2. In five sentences, write your own understanding of the Bible as the Word of God.
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Code/Asal: BIBLE INTERVIEW
Interview two adult Christians. Ask them what they think about the Bible. Write a brief report on
each interview.
1. Name of first interviewee:
Occupation:
This person thinks the Bible is …
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2. Name of second interviewee:
Occupation:
This person thinks the Bible is …
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3. Based on the interview you have gathered, would you agree that the Bible is truly
the word of God?
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Cult/Dasal
Write your prayer of commitment to read the Bible for at least 15 minutes daily.
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Lesson 2: THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD
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Reference:
Salibay, E., Ines, J., Sepeda, B., Valera, F. (2007). People's Journey With God (Salvation History). 856 Nicanor
Reyes, Sr. St.: Rex Book Store, Inc.
