a. How many books are in the Bible? 66

i. OT – 39, NT – 27

ii. Chapters 1189, Verses 33,173

iii. How many words are in the Bible – 773,692 in the KJV

b. How many authors? Over 40 different authors over a period of 1500

years

c. Languages of the Bible – OT - Hebrew, some Aramaic, NT - Greek

d. Longest chapter of the Bible – Psalm 119 (176 verses)

e. Chapters were added in the 13th century – 1227 A.D. Stephen Langton was a professor at the University of Paris and later he became the Archbishop of Canterbury.

f. Verses were added in the 16th century - 1551 A.D. by Robert Stephanus (Stephens) – He was a French printer who added verses for his Greek New Testament.

a. The Bible is inspired by God

i. Inspired or God breathed - “To blow into”

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV – 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness

2 Peter 1:21 NIV – 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

b. Councils recognized what had Divine authority in the Canon

i. The process of recognizing the “inspired” books:

Does it speak with God’s authority?

Is it written by a man of God speaking to us as a prophet of God?

Does it have the authentic stamp of God?

Does it impact us with the power of God?

Was it accepted by the people of God?

c. The Preservation and Accuracy of Transmission

i. The Bible has maintained its accuracy throughout the ages

Old Testament was written approximately 1500-400BC, while the New Testament was written approximately AD 45-100

The earliest manuscripts of the Bible are dated from the 3rd century BC

The Dead Sea scrolls are manuscripts that were found near the Dead Sea in 1947 – the entire Hebrew Bible with the exception of Esther was found authenticating the words of scripture in our translations today.

There are over 5600 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and 19,000 copies in other languages

The second best preserved literary work of antiquity, is Homer’s Iliad – 643 preserved manuscripts and believed to have been written in the 8th Century BC.

d. Translations Today

i. King James Version 1611 – Word for Word translation

ii. New International Version 1978, 1984, 2011 – Balance between Word for

Word and Thought for Thought

iii. New Living Translation 1996, 2004 – Thought for Thought translation

iv. The Message 2002 – Paraphrase – uses modern vocabulary

a. What does the passage say?

i. Who is involved? Who are the characters? What is happening?

b. What does it mean?

i. What type of genre of Scripture am I reading? Historical, Wisdom, Poetry etc.

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV – 6Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Galatians 3:28 NLT – 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

c. How do I apply it to my life?

i. What is the principle that God is showing me through His Spirit today?

a. Study

i. 2 Timothy 2:15 NLT – 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

b. Meditate

i. Psalm 1:2 NLT – 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

c. Memorize

i. Psalm 119:11 NLT – 11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

a. David said this…

i. Psalm 119:103 NLT – 103 How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.

- Memorize: Psalm 119:11

- Evaluate: Does God’s Word have the right value in my life?

- Action: Invest in your relationship with God daily by spending time in His Word.