Is the whole Bible inspired by God?

I've always had a question:

The New Testament was formed 300 years after Jesus's Resurrection, and the scriptures mainly come from the apostles' epistles, which are the records from their memories about the events when they followed Jesus. Is it possible that the Bible has errors because of man's inaccurate memory? I noticed that some sayings of one event is different in different chapters. For example, Peter’s denying the Lord three times in the Gospels. In Matthew 26:75 it says, "… Before the cock crow, you shall deny me thrice. …", while in Mark 14:72 it says, "… Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. …" Same thing, but different sayings. So is the whole Bible inspired by God? If it is so, how could God make mistakes? Why are there different sayings about one matter?

I'm really puzzled. What about you guys’ opinions?
 
I've always had a question:

The New Testament was formed 300 years after Jesus's Resurrection, and the scriptures mainly come from the apostles' epistles, which are the records from their memories about the events when they followed Jesus. Is it possible that the Bible has errors because of man's inaccurate memory? I noticed that some sayings of one event is different in different chapters. For example, Peter’s denying the Lord three times in the Gospels. In Matthew 26:75 it says, "… Before the cock crow, you shall deny me thrice. …", while in Mark 14:72 it says, "… Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. …" Same thing, but different sayings. So is the whole Bible inspired by God? If it is so, how could God make mistakes? Why are there different sayings about one matter?

I'm really puzzled. What about you guys’ opinions?
There is a good explanation for this in the below link

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=759

Quite frankly, not every believer is going to be able to answer every kind of question people are going to come up against Bible.. The thing we should look at is, Bible has withstood these questions for almost 2000 years now. No one is going to come up with anything new.. People have been pointing out contradictions against Bible.. And Bible has stood the test.. If a persons ministry is really apologetics, then it is great.. To engage in such debates and study more on them.. But it is not needed for every believer..
 
Is it possible that the Bible has errors because of man's inaccurate memory? I noticed that some sayings of one event is different in different chapters.
1: the original manuscripts of which there are thousands of, are preserved by God for the purpose of maintaining the veracity of and access to his Word.

2: the original languages of these manuscripts is Hebrew and Greek of the times they were written. Translation into Latin, German and English by early scholars was done with the best of human efforts at fearfully and reverently handling the Word of God. Nevertheless some expressions of translation are affected by word choices and expressions available in the translators language. This does not invalidate the scholarship of the translation, but the reader understands that the Bible is brought to them through translation efforts.

3: the King Jame Version of 1611 is considered the most scholarly word for word translation that has stood the test of time - 400 years. But one should also have a copy of "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" either on computer or as a hard copy. This gives the reader access to every word in the original language and their original word usage. For example: Ye = you in the plural, and Thou is you singular. While in English we just use You mostly. Again Love is an interesting and very limited word in English. I love my pizza. I love my children. I love Jesus. One word many applications and meanings.
In the Scriptures the Hebrew and Greek express brotherly love and sacrificial love, or compassionate love. In John chapter 21, when Jesus asks Peter three times "Do you love me, Peter?" the English is one word but the Greek is of two different types of love.

John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
John 21:15 SoG3767 whenG3753 they had dined,G709 JesusG2424 saithG3004 to SimonG4613 Peter,G4074 Simon,G4613 son of Jonas,G2495 lovestG25 thou meG3165 moreG4119 than these? HeG5130 saithG3004 unto him,G846 Yea,G3483 Lord;G2962 thouG4771 knowestG1492 thatG3754 I loveG5368 thee.G4571 He saithG3004 unto him,G846 FeedG1006 myG3450 lambs.G721
G25 agapaō ag-ap-ah'-o
Perhaps from ἄγαν agan (much; or compare [H5689]); to love (in a social or moral sense): - (be-) love (-ed). Compare G5368.
G5368 phileō fil-eh'-o
From G5384; to be a friend to (fond of [an individual or an object]), that is, have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling; while G25 is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as G2309 and G1014, or as G2372 and G3563 respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head); specifically to kiss (as a mark of tenderness): - kiss, love.


4: Ivan Panin - professor in Harvard University Mathematics, and Languages from late 19th century to 1920s? - discovered Bible Numerics -
whereby Panin published works on the amazing numerical values of the original Hebrew and Greek words being sealed by God to validate the inspired Word and to protect the original Canon from false interpolations and from Apocryphal writings.
Panin could show through mathematical patterns in the wording that not only indicated every single word as true and correct, but also the tense and the grammar. The arithmetic numbers we use today - 1, 2, 3, etc... - came to us from India through Arabia via the Crusaders.
Prior to that, letters of the alphabet were ascribed to indicate numerical values, in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. We are more familiar with the Latin values on traditional clock faces: But I am old enough to have been taught Roman Numerals in school I = 1; V = 5; IX = 9; X = 10; L = 50; C = 100
You can look up Bible Numerics and many of his works are still published by Berean Publishers of Canada.

5: Your original example of the cock crowing is really only a superficial discretion. Before the cock crow, you shall deny me thrice...
Does not mean the cock crowed once only, and not twice as stated in Mark. I live in a large block adjacent to a neighbour who has free range roosters and hens. Believe me when I state that a rooster never crows just once. Before the cock crow would be a reference more on the fact that it would be early morning (dawn) and immediately prior to the expected cock crowing of the morning. It does not say that the cock crowed once, but rather when the cock will crow...

6: The four Gospels are deliberately written to reflect the four attributes of Jesus. hence variations to what is covered and how it is expressed.
Matthew is Jesus as the promised King; Mark is Jesus as the Servant; Luke is Jesus' humanity in real history; John is Jesus as God the Son.

7:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2Timothy 3:16-17

8: The Word of God must be true as it is what all of humanity from the first to the last will be judged against. It defines sin and righteousness. It defines the correct way of a true relationship with our Lord Jesus as Saviour, and how we are reconciled to our Father in heaven. The Word of God cannot contain falsehoods otherswise Judgment by God would not be righteous and true.
 
I've always had a question:

The New Testament was formed 300 years after Jesus's Resurrection, and the scriptures mainly come from the apostles' epistles, which are the records from their memories about the events when they followed Jesus. Is it possible that the Bible has errors because of man's inaccurate memory? I noticed that some sayings of one event is different in different chapters. For example, Peter’s denying the Lord three times in the Gospels. In Matthew 26:75 it says, "… Before the cock crow, you shall deny me thrice. …", while in Mark 14:72 it says, "… Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. …" Same thing, but different sayings. So is the whole Bible inspired by God? If it is so, how could God make mistakes? Why are there different sayings about one matter?

I'm really puzzled. What about you guys’ opinions?

God don't make mistakes.
 
Just one little point to make here: cock crow is a time of day---dawn---and the mark of the end of the nightwatch, and is not a literal crowing of a rooster.
 
Just one little point to make here: cock crow is a time of day---dawn---and the mark of the end of the nightwatch, and is not a literal crowing of a rooster.

Good point, and might as well say this though it won't help someone who starts out thinking God just messes up and can't keep track of what He said.

The Holy Spirit Gave the Word. He is a person, He gave the account. He told them what happened and what to write exactly as a Person would give what happened.

If it was the same event that happened, the Holy Spirit is going to give different sides of it so that we can compare and see clearly everything. It's not about the event, but what can be taught through the event.

Some places in scripture the Holy Spirit just gives accurate Historical facts.

IN the gospel case, everything was hand picked by the Holy Spirit of all Jesus did, because that is what we needed to know. It is written that if everything was recorded it will fill the World with books. We only got hand picked events by the Holy Spirit.

So we are not just dealing with a copy of what happened, we are being Told by the teacher, the Holy Spirit.
 
There is no discrepancy in the record. "Cock crow" is a time of day, and I believe that there was most likely a traditional signal of some sort that blasts twice to signal the end of the night watch.
 
A phrase Christians use often is, "I was led by the Holy Spirit to ....(whatever the action was)". These men were led as well, but they all saw some of the same events, or were told by Jesus, but they saw or heard from their own perspective. We all have seen the "DRESS" and how the lighting of the photo make some see white and gold, some see the actual color black and blue, and yet others shades of something else. My wife saw gray and light blue. BTW I saw white and tan. Different perspectives, but all true.
They were not there to see baby Jesus being born, yet they would have been told directly by Mary and with direction from the HS. One decided it was important to tell of the three wise men, and others didn't.
What would be not believable is if all the accounts were identical. Then scoffers would say that that would not be possible and someone falsified the writings.
Best thing to do is to accept the Bible as 100% true, get into reading it and learning all you can, and, as I can testify, your understanding starts to put the truths together and you find out how perfect the Word is.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

--Here God is not telling them a lie, He is taking the deception of those who do not love the truth, (of the Word of God), and would not believe the truth, and uses that to cause them to experience a delusion in their own minds, reaffirming their self-consuming beliefs (the lie).

This shows why there is so much animosity towards Christians, making accusations that we want to force our beliefs down their throat, or control their behavior, or whatever the "phrase of the day" is for criticizing Christians and our belief in the one true God.
 
I've always had a question:

The New Testament was formed 300 years after Jesus's Resurrection, and the scriptures mainly come from the apostles' epistles, which are the records from their memories about the events when they followed Jesus. Is it possible that the Bible has errors because of man's inaccurate memory? I noticed that some sayings of one event is different in different chapters. For example, Peter’s denying the Lord three times in the Gospels. In Matthew 26:75 it says, "… Before the cock crow, you shall deny me thrice. …", while in Mark 14:72 it says, "… Before the cock crow twice, you shall deny me thrice. …" Same thing, but different sayings. So is the whole Bible inspired by God? If it is so, how could God make mistakes? Why are there different sayings about one matter?

I'm really puzzled. What about you guys’ opinions?


A couple of things to remember....
John, Mark, Matthew and Luke are four different people. Each person saw things and retained this information. This way we have four different views. Each author speaks of where they saw the importance.

Now then another thing to remember.........Jesus gave revelation of Himself unto John. You could be 30 years old or 3,000 years old and it will still be the same for it is the same Spirit Speaking.

Another Example........Acts was written by Luke but it was written as a documentary. Luke explains this when he explains how he interviewed all these different people gaining this information. This was just lukes style. Remember he was a doctor and educated. This is why when Luke says the man had leprosy He say great leprosy or full of leprosy.

All these men had different back grounds just like people today. Some words do get confusing these days for the meaning has changed or our way of using them. However when you study the written word of God within the spirit you can gain spiritual insight and God works it all out with in each of us.
Hope this helps
Jim
 
There is a good explanation for this in the below link

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=759

Quite frankly, not every believer is going to be able to answer every kind of question people are going to come up against Bible.. The thing we should look at is, Bible has withstood these questions for almost 2000 years now. No one is going to come up with anything new.. People have been pointing out contradictions against Bible.. And Bible has stood the test.. If a persons ministry is really apologetics, then it is great.. To engage in such debates and study more on them.. But it is not needed for every believer..

Thanks Ravindran. I agree with you. It's not necessary for the common believers to know every detailed background of the Bible. Though, these questions keeping coming to my mind. I started to think which scriptures are the real words inspired by God. Because I feel it's important to distinguish God's words from man's words. The saints in the past are the ones we should respect and imitate, but God is the only one whom we need to worship. The attitudes should be different. Especially after I heard a message, this thought became clearer. I'm gonna to share it with you: "Paul’s epistles in the New Testament were the letters he wrote to those churches, and they were not revelations from the Holy Spirit or words directly from the Holy Spirit, but were only Paul’s exhortations, consolations, and encouragements to the churches during the time he worked and were also a record of the many works he did at that time. They were written to all the brothers and sisters in the Lord and were simply to have the brothers and sisters in all the churches at that time listen to his exhortations and walk in all the ways of the Lord Jesus. He did not say that the churches at that time and in the future must eat and drink what was from him or that his words were completely from God. He only fellowshipped with the brothers and sisters according to the conditions of the churches at that time, exhorting them and stirring up their faith. He only gave preachings or gave admonishments and exhortations; he spoke according to his burden, and by these words he sustained those people. As he worked as an apostle to all the churches at that time and was a worker used by the Lord Jesus, he had to be responsible for the churches and had to take charge of the work of the churches and know the states of the brothers and sisters. So, he wrote letters to all the brothers and sisters in the Lord. All his words that edified others and were positive were right, but his words could not represent the words of the Holy Spirit and could not represent God. If people consider the records of man’s experiences and man’s epistles as the words the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches, it is a greatly wrong view, and it is a great blasphemy!"
 
A couple of things to remember....
John, Mark, Matthew and Luke are four different people. Each person saw things and retained this information. This way we have four different views. Each author speaks of where they saw the importance.

Now then another thing to remember.........Jesus gave revelation of Himself unto John. You could be 30 years old or 3,000 years old and it will still be the same for it is the same Spirit Speaking.

Another Example........Acts was written by Luke but it was written as a documentary. Luke explains this when he explains how he interviewed all these different people gaining this information. This was just lukes style. Remember he was a doctor and educated. This is why when Luke says the man had leprosy He say great leprosy or full of leprosy.

All these men had different back grounds just like people today. Some words do get confusing these days for the meaning has changed or our way of using them. However when you study the written word of God within the spirit you can gain spiritual insight and God works it all out with in each of us.
Hope this helps
Jim

Hi Jim. Very good point. I always take that attitude when I see the contradictions in the Bible. And it helped me a lot to read the Bible without disturbance and understand God's wisdom in doing his work. But there's still one thing that I cannot figure out by any way. Here it is: "The Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament records the genealogy of Jesus. At its beginning, it says that Jesus was the son of Abraham, the son of David, and the son of Joseph. Following that, it says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. This means that Jesus was not the son of Joseph, the son of Abraham, or the son of David. But the record in the genealogy forcedly relates Jesus to Joseph. Following the genealogy, it begins to record the course of Jesus’ birth. And then it says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin and was not the son of Joseph. But the genealogy clearly says that Jesus was the son of Joseph. Because the genealogy was written for Jesus, it recorded the characters of forty-two generations. When the line reaches the generation of Joseph, it immediately says that Joseph was Mary’s husband. That word was to prove that Jesus was the son of Abraham. Doesn’t this contradict the foregoing record? The genealogy clearly records the characters of Joseph’s family and is clearly Joseph’s genealogy. But Matthew asserted that it was Jesus’ genealogy. Wasn’t this denying the fact that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit? So, wasn’t the genealogy written by Matthew something of human will? It is even more something ridiculous! So you can know that this book is not completely from the Holy Spirit at all." Small errors are understandable, but how about this one?
 
"Paul’s epistles in the New Testament were the letters he wrote to those churches, and they were not revelations from the Holy Spirit or words directly from the Holy Spirit, but were only Paul’s exhortations, consolations, and encouragements to the churches during the time he worked and were also a record of the many works he did at that time. They were written to all the brothers and sisters in the Lord and were simply to have the brothers and sisters in all the churches at that time listen to his exhortations and walk in all the ways of the Lord Jesus. He did not say that the churches at that time and in the future must eat and drink what was from him or that his words were completely from God. He only fellowshipped with the brothers and sisters according to the conditions of the churches at that time, exhorting them and stirring up their faith. He only gave preachings or gave admonishments and exhortations; he spoke according to his burden, and by these words he sustained those people. As he worked as an apostle to all the churches at that time and was a worker used by the Lord Jesus, he had to be responsible for the churches and had to take charge of the work of the churches and know the states of the brothers and sisters. So, he wrote letters to all the brothers and sisters in the Lord. All his words that edified others and were positive were right, but his words could not represent the words of the Holy Spirit and could not represent God. If people consider the records of man’s experiences and man’s epistles as the words the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches, it is a greatly wrong view, and it is a great blasphemy!"
Are you agreeing with this message or disagreeing? For one passage from Peter makes this message null and void.
2 Peter 3:
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

Peter clearly equates Paul's letters with the "rest of the Scriptures". Using "wisdom given to him"; whose wisdom? Even then, Peter saw how the "untaught and unstable" would "twist" the Truth in it.
One may say, "Why should be take the word of Peter?" If we don't, then, all we know of Jesus can be said to have the same lack of credibility. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were all just men, and who says they recorded what Jesus said properly. Luke wasn't even one of the twelve.
The real question to me is, could someone write what Paul wrote without the Holy Spirit authoring it? I think not.
In Revelation 2: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;

This is Jesus speaking to the church of Ephesus, a church that had accepted Paul as an apostle. This, and Paul's conversion with Jesus on the road to Damascus, shows that Jesus considers Paul an apostle, one who would carry His message.

Now there is one place in the Bible where you could say was not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 7:
12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

Still, Paul would be influenced by the Holy Spirit to write this, so it would be debatable.
 
Thanks Ravindran. I agree with you. It's not necessary for the common believers to know every detailed background of the Bible. Though, these questions keeping coming to my mind. I started to think which scriptures are the real words inspired by God. Because I feel it's important to distinguish God's words from man's words. The saints in the past are the ones we should respect and imitate, but God is the only one whom we need to worship. The attitudes should be different. Especially after I heard a message, this thought became clearer. I'm gonna to share it with you: "Paul’s epistles in the New Testament were the letters he wrote to those churches, and they were not revelations from the Holy Spirit or words directly from the Holy Spirit, but were only Paul’s exhortations, consolations, and encouragements to the churches during the time he worked and were also a record of the many works he did at that time. They were written to all the brothers and sisters in the Lord and were simply to have the brothers and sisters in all the churches at that time listen to his exhortations and walk in all the ways of the Lord Jesus. He did not say that the churches at that time and in the future must eat and drink what was from him or that his words were completely from God. He only fellowshipped with the brothers and sisters according to the conditions of the churches at that time, exhorting them and stirring up their faith. He only gave preachings or gave admonishments and exhortations; he spoke according to his burden, and by these words he sustained those people. As he worked as an apostle to all the churches at that time and was a worker used by the Lord Jesus, he had to be responsible for the churches and had to take charge of the work of the churches and know the states of the brothers and sisters. So, he wrote letters to all the brothers and sisters in the Lord. All his words that edified others and were positive were right, but his words could not represent the words of the Holy Spirit and could not represent God. If people consider the records of man’s experiences and man’s epistles as the words the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches, it is a greatly wrong view, and it is a great blasphemy!"
How would you identify Holy Spirit inspired text vs normal text? The same argument you have posed could be extended for any scripture for that matter.. Someone can claim 1 Kings and 2 Kings to be just a historical record of Kings of Israel..
 
Paul’s epistles in the New Testament were the letters he wrote to those churches, and they were not revelations from the Holy Spirit or words directly from the Holy Spirit,
See comment No 3 - my commentary totally blows this nonsense theology out of the water.
Remember the word "theology" is just an euphemism for 'unbelief.'
 
I'm really puzzled. What about you guys’ opinions?
I like to be guided by the following principles.

Deu 19:15. "A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

2Cor 13:1. This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
If these principles were laid down for us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then they are good to be applied to the books of the Bible. So if in a couple of places it is foretold that Peter would get cold feet, then believe it. But if the various accounts were word perfect, it would be a bit fishy, because no two people either see a thing exactly alike nor report it exactly the same, The Lord uses people but preserves their personality in inspiring them to write.
Especially after I heard a message, this thought became clearer. I'm gonna to share it with you: "Paul’s epistles in the New Testament were the letters he wrote to those churches, and they were not revelations from the Holy Spirit or words directly from the Holy Spirit, but were only Paul’s exhortations, consolations, and encouragements to the churches during the time he worked and were also a record of the many works he did at that time. They were written to all the brothers and sisters in the Lord and were simply to have the brothers and sisters in all the churches at that time listen to his exhortations and walk in all the ways of the Lord Jesus.
This seems to me to be a fine way of opting out of anything that is not wanted. It seems to me to be an argument for discrediting Paul....actually.
There are two instances that are indicative of Paul's apostolic integrity that come to mind just now;
1Cor 7:10. To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband
1Cor 7:12. To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
Ask why Paul would stress this at this point in his letter and not have it generally accepted that he is just self opinionated?
The Church at Corinth was a Church gripped by quarrels and strife. Most of Paul's other letters just assumed his apostolic authority, though sometimes he did stress that authority.
Hope this helps.
 
Now there is one place in the Bible where you could say was not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
What complete dribble. If you go down that path you end up with the Devil. And Rome (masters of denying the Word of God).
This is exactly why "christianity" is fractured into so many denominations and traditions. Because people challenge the authenticity
of the HOLY Scriptures and invent theology. This is the work of the Anti-Christ for these past 1,800 years; when the simplicity of the gospel
as one reads is exchanged for many satanically inspired lies and disobedience...
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:11-12

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils;
1Timothy 4:1

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:1
I see that in over 6,000 years nothing much has changed. Unbelief and disobedience still prevails...

Ivan Panin by utilising Bible Numerics was able to demonstrate and prove mathematically that Jesus had sealed
every single true word in the original Hebrew and Greek, including the grammar and the active/passive tense of each word and every verse.
Jesus is not a liar. He declared that the Word of God is truth. He declared that he is truth.
The whole purpose of the Holy Scriptures is to lead a person to salvation and then to help that person continue in their walk
(to remain saved). If some "scriptures" are untrue or of human thought then the Bible cannot be trusted, and I can pick and choose
what sections appeal to me, and what sections I don't like.
If you start the apostasy of some of the Bible is true and some of it is not...
you end up inventing your own religion which is pretty much the history of Christendom since Rome.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2Timothy 3:16-17
 
But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe...
Paul had pretty substantial credentials as an Apostle. He had incredible wisdom derived from the Holy Spirit dwelling within him.
Jesus worked very closely with Paul (read Acts) given Paul's great mission to take the gospel to the gentiles and to the Empire.
Paul would not write any material that was inconsistent to the gospel and what was preached to all the churches.
Jesus who is the Word made flesh would not tolerate inconsistencies of doctrine that could arouse suspicion of the authority of scriptures.
Bible Numerics proves and establishes that these verses are God given. Consistent with the verses preceding and following.
Paul is answering a specific question from the Corinthian Church on marriage where one spouse was an unbeliever. These verses
in chapter 7 are perfectly consistent on the Bible's teaching on marriage and divorce. And they are true.
Marriage is not only physical, but also a spiritual - therefore the believing spouse would provide some cover of blessing within the
household - but not necessarily to a final salvation. In the meantime though, Paul is correct in verse 16: For how do you know,
O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

In my Revival Assembly Ken lived with an unbelieving wife, Maxine, for 17 years before she finally accepted the gospel and became born again,
being baptized in water and the Holy Spirit (with the Bible evidence of praying in a new tongue by the Spirit).

This might give us all some appreciation of Paul's authority and credentials to preach and write scriptures -
2Corinthians 12:2-4
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;
such an one caught up to the third heaven. [like Isaiah and Ezekiel and John]
And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth)
How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

And even here Paul is full of modesty and does not boast of this awesome most privileged experience.
 
Hi Jim. Very good point. I always take that attitude when I see the contradictions in the Bible. And it helped me a lot to read the Bible without disturbance and understand God's wisdom in doing his work. But there's still one thing that I cannot figure out by any way. Here it is: "The Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament records the genealogy of Jesus. At its beginning, it says that Jesus was the son of Abraham, the son of David, and the son of Joseph. Following that, it says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. This means that Jesus was not the son of Joseph, the son of Abraham, or the son of David. But the record in the genealogy forcedly relates Jesus to Joseph. Following the genealogy, it begins to record the course of Jesus’ birth. And then it says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin and was not the son of Joseph. But the genealogy clearly says that Jesus was the son of Joseph. Because the genealogy was written for Jesus, it recorded the characters of forty-two generations. When the line reaches the generation of Joseph, it immediately says that Joseph was Mary’s husband. That word was to prove that Jesus was the son of Abraham. Doesn’t this contradict the foregoing record? The genealogy clearly records the characters of Joseph’s family and is clearly Joseph’s genealogy. But Matthew asserted that it was Jesus’ genealogy. Wasn’t this denying the fact that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit? So, wasn’t the genealogy written by Matthew something of human will? It is even more something ridiculous! So you can know that this book is not completely from the Holy Spirit at all." Small errors are understandable, but how about this one?

@Christina Zhao Hello,

I hope this does not go the wrong way here but I am going to answer you with a question in the same way it was done to me many years ago.
This is concerning the fathers of Jesus that you were taslking about.
We, that is you and I have and earthly father or dad.
We have a Heavenly Father in which we cry abba Father..
However if we walk in Faith.....then we are the children of Abraham or he is a father to us.
How can this be ? Think about it a little and see what you comeup with and let me know.

Have a wonderful Week Christina
Jim
 
But there's still one thing that I cannot figure out by any way. Here it is: "The Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament records the genealogy of Jesus. At its beginning, it says that Jesus was the son of Abraham, the son of David, and the son of Joseph. Following that, it says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin....
IVAN PANIN -the discoverer and author of Bible Numerics writing (1899) on Matthew 1: 1-17 the genealogy of Christ: [original Greek]
"The first 17 verses of the New Testament contain the genealogy of Christ. It consists of two main parts: verses 1-11 cover the period
from Abraham, the father of the chosen people, to the Captivity, when they ceased to be an independent people.
Verses 12-17 cover the period from the Captivity to the promised Deliverer the Christ.
Let us examine the first part of this genealogy.
Its vocabulary has 49 words, or 7 x 7. This number is itself seven (Feature 1) sevens (Feature 2),
and the sum of its factors is 2 sevens (Feature 3). [7 + 7 = 14]
Of these 49 words 28 (or 4 sevens) begin with a vowel; and 21 (or 3 sevens) begin with a consonant (Feature 4).
Again: these 49 words of the vocabulary have 266 letters, or 7 x 2 x 19; this number itself is 38 sevens (Feature 5),
and the sum of its factors is 28, [7 + 2 + 19 + 28] or 4 sevens (Feature 6), while the sum of its figures is 14, or 2 sevens (Feature 7),
moreover , 140 (or 20 sevens), are vowels, and 126 (or 18 sevens) are consonants (Feature 8)... ...
Again: of these 49 words, 35 (5 sevens) occur more than once in the passage; and 14 (2 sevens) occur but once (Feature 9);
seven occur in more than one form, and 42 (6 sevens) occur in only one form (Feature 10). And among the parts of speech the 49 words
are thus divided: 42 (or 6 sevens) are nouns, seven are not nouns (Feature 11).
Of the nouns, 35 (or 5 sevens) are proper names, seven are common nouns (Feature 12).
Of them proper names 28 (4 sevens) are male ancestors of the Christ, and seven (1 seven) are not (Feature 12)."

This is only the first several paragraphs of Ivan Panin's treatise on the first 17 verses of Matthew chapter one.
The numerics of the original Greek is mind boggling, and it is only by the analysis of Bible Numerics that we mere mortals can
begin to comprehend dimly the statement that ALL scripture is inspired by the Holy Ghost and men wrote down what they were instructed.

The Hebrews and the Greeks used letters of the alphabet for numeric values, just as the Romans did with their alphabet. Numbers as
we know them did not come to the West until the time of the Crusades via the Arabs.

"Now the vocabulary to the entire genealogy has 72 words. If we write its numeric value over each of these 72 words, and add them,
get their sum = 42,364 (or 6,052 sevens)... ... "
 
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