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80.

authorship. It was written over a period of 1600 years by 40 different authors from different backgrounds, yet reads as if written by one.

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preservation. F. F. Bruce in <emphasis>Are New Testament Documents Reliable?</emphasis> compares New Testament manuscripts with other ancient texts:

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Ten copies of Caesar's <emphasis>Gallic War</emphasis> exist, the earliest of which was copied 900 years after Caesar wrote the original, etc. For the New Testament we have full manuscripts dating to 350 A. D., papyri containing most of the New Testament from the 200s, and a fragment of John's gospel from 130 A. D. How many manuscripts do we have to compare to each other? 5,000 in Greek and 10,000 in Latin!

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Textual critic F. J. A. Hort, "The New Testament in the Original Greek", vol. 1 p561, Macmillan Co., quoted in <emphasis>Questions of Life</emphasis>p. 25-26

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<emphasis>Heb.4:12</emphasis> "<emphasis>For the word of God is living and active...</emphasis>" Jesus said <emphasis>(Mt.4:4),</emphasis>" <emphasis>It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds [lit., is proceeding] from the mouth of God.</emphasis>" As we read the Bible, God's Spirit is there to speak it to our hearts in a continually-fresh way.

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2 Tim.3:16 declares, " <emphasis>All scripture is inspired by God [lit., God-breathed].</emphasis>" Do you believe this? Before you answer, consider Jesus' attitude toward the Scriptures.

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He referred to the human authors, but took it for granted that behind them all was a single divine Author. He could equally say 'Moses said' or 'God said' (Mk.7:10). He could quote a comment of the narrator in Genesis 2:24 as an utterance of the Creator Himself (Mt.19:4-5). Similarly He said, 'Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written', when what He went on to quote is the direct speech of the Lord God (Mk.7:6 &amp; Is.29:13). It is from Jesus Himself that the New Testament authors have gained their conviction of the dual authorship of Scripture. For them it was just as true to say that 'God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets' (Heb.1:1) as it was to say that 'men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God' (2 Pe.1:21). God did not speak in such a way as to obliterate the personality of the human authors, nor did men speak in such a way as to corrupt the Word of the divine Author. God spoke. Men spoke. Neither truth must be allowed to detract from the other. ...

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This, then, was Christ's view of the Scriptures. Their witness was God's witness. The testimony of the Bible is the testimony of God. And the chief reason why the Christian believes in the divine origin of the Bible is that Jesus Christ Himself taught it.

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2 Tim.3:16 goes on, " <emphasis>and profitable for teaching, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.</emphasis>" If we accept that the Bible really is God speaking to us, it follows that it will be our authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

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What will studying the Bible do for you? 1 Thess.2:13 says that the Bible " <emphasis>performs its work in you who believe.</emphasis>" Beside each scripture, write down the work the Word performs.