Whether you believe the Bible or not have you ever wondered how the Bible was written? As Christians we believe it is the Word of God – the record of God’s story in his interactions with mankind from the very beginning of the universe. But how credible is it for us to say that God is the “author” of the Bible? After all, it wasn’t deposited on the earth as a ready bound gift from heaven with the ink from God’s pen still wet on the pages. So how can we say that he is the “author”?
Consider for a moment who built St Paul’s Cathedral. Almost everybody knows that it was built by Sir Christopher Wren, don’t they. And yet he didn’t lay a single brick or carve a single stone. When we say he “built” it we are referring to his architectural designs – the plans which his 17th century construction workers followed. St Paul’s Cathedral first existed in his imagination and he then laid that out in what was called his “Great Model” design which enabled the great edifice that we know and love to rise from the ground on Ludgate Hill. The building bears all the hallmarks of a classic Wren design – and so we don’t hesitate to say that he built it, along with 51 other churches in the City of London following the Great Fire of 1666.
Likewise the Bible follows a great architect’s masterplan – the actual words, while written by numerous fallible humans over a period of around 1600 years, are inspired by God himself so that despite the great variety of genres – it includes law, history, poetry, prophecy, biography and correspondence – and perspectives – the scribes are a miscellany including shepherds, a tax collector, a doctor, a tent maker and kings – it all hangs together as a consistent whole, bringing together the account of God’s dealings with man from across the millennia, starting before we even existed. It’s a story that has many ups and downs – it doesn’t hide the bitter truth that we, as human beings, have made a right mess of things on many occasions. But ultimately it’s a love story, demonstrating the extent of God’s faithfulness to humanity, even in the face of rejection by those he loves, who cruelly mistreat his very own Son who he sends to rescue us from the consequences of all our bad choices.
I would encourage you to read the Bible regularly, if possible every day, to hear what God had to say and still has to say. To help you do that think about these two questions: ‘what?’ and ‘what now?’. ‘What’ did the passage mean in its original context, to those for whom it was first written? And what does it mean for me in my context here today? Context is really important here because if text is taken out of context then all we are left with is a ‘con’! One of the amazing things about God’s word is that it still has relevance for our lives today – so ask yourself, what are the consequences of that truth for me in the here and now? As you read the Bible allow the spirit of God, that same spirit that inspired its human writers, to breathe on you and reveal its transforming power.