Word for Word 9/9/26 submitted by Pastor Abraham Faugstad

The Story of God’s Love

What is the purpose of the Bible? How is it all connected? The Old Testament was written before Christ, from about 1500–500 BC. It contains 39 books written in Hebrew. The New Testament was written after Christ, from about AD 50-90. It has 27 books written in Greek. The Bible was written by over 30 authors over a span of almost 1600 years. Despite there being 66 books with a variety of authors from different times, cultures, and using different languages, the Bible is remarkably uniform. How? Because it’s no ordinary book written by men. Peter explains, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (I Peter 1:20,21) and the Apostle Paul says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Timothy 3:16). The Bible, though written by men, was inspired by the Holy Spirit. This makes the Bible not man’s word, but God’s Word. We see evidence of the remarkable nature of Scripture through things like prophecy - Isaiah foretold Jesus would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and that he would suffer for our sins (Isaiah 53) 700 years before it happened. He foretold that Cyrus the Great (who wasn’t even born yet) would conquer the Babylonians and release the Jews so that they could rebuild the temple 150 years before it happened. That’s amazing! 

The Bible is remarkable, but what is its purpose? How is it connected? In Jesus’s response to the Jews who were criticizing him and seeking to kill him, he shows how the Scriptures are all connected, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). 

The Bible points us to Jesus. It tells us of him. The entire Bible is the story of God’s love for the world. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, bringing death and destruction, God promised a Savior. “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). God promised a Savior, born of a woman, who would crush Satan’s head. The bruising of the heel refers to Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, but he would come out of the battle victorious. On the third day, he would rise showing his victory over sin, death, and the devil. When Jesus came into this world, born of Mary, to suffer and die, it was the fulfillment of God’s promise. In fact, the entire Bible is a wonderful history showing how God kept his promise - from Adam to Abraham to Moses to David to Isaiah to Ruth to Mary. And now, by faith, you have become a part of that story because you are one of those to whom God has made his promise. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). 

The entire Bible points us to Jesus, whether that be through prophecies of the coming Messiah, the sacrifices in the Old Testament that pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus, or the kingdom Jesus would establish at the end of time for his people - the promised land of heaven. Studying the Scriptures is a tremendous comfort because it shows that God keeps his promises, which is why you can trust his promises to you. 

This year in our midweek Bible studies we will be doing an overview of the Old Testament, covering some of the most critical events, beginning with Genesis. If you would like to study the Old Testament, whether that be for the first time or for the hundredth time, please join us. Beginning on Wednesday, September 9th, we will have Bible study at the Arlin Falck Senior Living Center in Decorah at 1 p.m. and an evening Bible Study at 6:30 p.m. in Waukon at King of Grace Lutheran Church. Anyone is welcome to attend. For more details, check out our website at kingofgraceiowa.com. It will be a wonderful review for the young and the old, the novice or the expert. As we walk through the Scriptures, examining the clear passages and wrestling with difficult sections, we approach it as humble students, who seek to learn more about Jesus. Keeping in mind the wonderful reason Jesus has given this inspired book to us, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

Pastor Abraham Faugstad
King of Grace Lutheran Church ELS, Waukon and Trinity Lutheran Church