FUNCTION OF THE BIBLE
The Bible is the inspired word of God.
How the Bible is used in different places and occasions
- The Bible is used when taking oaths in courts of law.
- It is used in schools and colleges for learning, during graduation ceremonies, prayers and research.
- It is used in statehouse or during state functions, during the swearing in ceremonies and prayers.
- It is used in churches and during crusades for preaching.
- It is used at home for personal use during prayer time and home study
- In hospitals when praying for the sick
- Some Christians use the Bible before travelling to pray for journey mercies
Importance of Bible
John 1:1-2, Proverbs 30:5-6
- It contains the word of God
- It gives hope to Christians
- It helps us to understand biblical truths
- The Bible helps a person to discover the will of God
- God speaks to people through the scriptures
- The Bible corrects people when they are wrong and teaches them to do right. Christians should used exemplary lives.
- God protects those whose seek his protection and rebukes liars
- The Bible is the word of God and it was written by people who inspired by the spirit of God.
- The Bible unites people of God, strengthens the faith of the belivers and outlines values for quality Christian living.
How the Bible is used to spread the word of God
The Bible is used in spreading the word of God in the following ways:
- Christians songs are composed using Bible messages
- The Bible is distributed to individuals to read the word of God
- It is used for instructing and teaching new converts of Christian doctrine
- It is used to take oaths therefore, increasing the faith of those who participate
- Christians translate the Bible to vernacular so that many people can read and understand.
The role of the Bible for holistic growth
Holistic growth involves physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual growth.
The Bible helps Christians to grow holistically
How the Bible promotes spiritual growth
Spiritual growth includes
- Increasing your knowledge and understanding of the word of God
- Increase in faith and trust in God
- Developing Christ-like qualities
Role of the Bible in promoting physical growth
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Role of the Bible in promoting moral growth
Moral growth is the process of developing proper attitudes and behaviuour towards other people based on cultural norms and love
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Role of the Bible in promoting social, emotional and intellectual growth
Social growth
The Bible tells us that everyone is created in God’s image. Therefore we should not discriminate against others.
We should help those in need, respect and love our neighbour as we love ourselves
Emotional growth
The Bible builds our emotions. When facing sad and difficult situations. It brings us close to God. God provides everything for our enjoyment and we should express our joy to him.
Intellectual growth
As we grow in strength, the Bible helps us to grow in wisdom. God gives us the ability to comprehend, think, reason and remember. The Bible helps us to make correct decisions for quality Christian living.
How God’s word inspires different services among Christians
Christian service is demonstration of who we are in Christ.
- The Bible teaches people to love God and humankind. Helping the needy in the society improves a person’s relationship with God
- Service offered to others is part of Christian living and makes the world a better place to live. Serving others makes one happy and enriches other people’s lives.
- The word of God has inspired different services among Christians. For example, Christians visit the orphans, give them food, clothes and even take them to school.
- Christians donate food, money and medicine to help people suffering when disasters like floods, accidents earthquakes, drought and famine occur
- Christians support refugees by counselling, educating and giving medical care. They also offer shelter, food and sometimes employment.
- For people who are unable to attend church service, the gospel is taken to them through crusades and public rallies.
Divisions of the Bible
The Bible has 2 divisions
- Old testaments - 39 books
- New testaments – 27 books
Why are there two divisions of the Bible
- The two divisions were written at different times in human history
- The two divisions were addressed to different people and individuals
- The messages contained in the two testaments address different issues that were of specific concern to the people addressed.
Importance of the two divisions of the Bible to Christians
- The old testaments talks about how the world was created, the Exodus of Israelites and Ten Commandments given to Moses by God.
The testaments also includes real life stories
The function of this testament is to teach Christians through the experiences of other people throughout history.
Several books also foretell the arrival of the Messiah and the end of the world. - The New Testament focuses more on the life and teachings of Jesus and the early church.
The stories are narrated through gospels and emphasise the importance of the sacrifices of Jesus.
The function of the New testaments is to lead people to follow the example of Jesus more closely. The other books, written by various authors also talk about the end of the world.
The books of the old testaments according to classification
OLD TESTAMENT
It was originally written in Hebrew.
It was written before Jesus Christ came to exist physically.
It was later translated to Greek and other languages.
The following are groups of books in the Old Testament respective of their appearance.
- Torah/Pentateuch/law/mosaic.
- Historical books.
- Major Prophets Books.
- Minor prophet books.
Torah/Pentateuch/law/mosaic.
They were written by Moses.
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
Genesis means origin or beginning
Exodus means coming out or departure
Numbers means census
Leviticus explains rules and regulation of priests.
The Ten Commandments (Decalogue) are found in the book of exodus and Deuteronomy.
Historical books.
Contains the history of what happened to the Israelites and its neighbours.
| BOOK | WRITER |
| Joshua | Joshua |
| Judges | Samuel |
| Ruth | Samuel |
| 1 Samuel | Samuel, Gad, Nathan |
| 2 Samuel | Gad and Nathan |
| 1 Kings | Jeremiah |
| 2 Kings | Jeremiah |
| 1 Chronicles | Ezra |
| 2 Chronicles | Ezra |
| Ezra | Ezra |
| Nehemiah | Nehemiah |
| Esther | Mordecai |
Poetic/wisdom books
| BOOK | WRITER |
| Job | Moses |
| Psalms | David |
| Proverbs | Solomon |
| Ecclesiastes | Solomon |
| Song of Solomon | Solomon |
Major prophetic books
| BOOK | WRITER |
| Isaiah | Isaiah |
| Jeremiah | Jeremiah |
| Lamentation | Jeremiah |
| Ezekiel | Ezekiel |
| Daniel | Daniel |
Minor prophetic books
| BOOK | WRITER |
| Hosea | Hosea |
| Joel | Joel |
| Amos | Amos |
| Obadiah | Obadiah |
| Jonah | Jonah |
| Micah | Micah |
| Nahum | Nahum |
| Habakkuk | Habakkuk |
| Zechariah | Zechariah |
| Malachi | Malachi |
NB:
Genesis is the first book of the Bible and the Old Testament.
Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament.
The books of the New testaments according to classification
The New Testament is the period after Christ is born, it is the fulfilment of tthe old testament prophecies of Jesus.
NEW TESTAMENT
- It was originally written in Greek.
- Written after Christ.
- The groups of books found in the new testament are:
- Gospel books.
- Historical books.
- Pauline epistles.
- General epistles.
- Prophetic book
Gospel books
They explain the events in life of Jesus from birth to his ascension in Bethany.
| BOOK | WRITER |
| Matthew | Matthew |
| Mark | Mark |
| Luke | Luke |
| John | John |
Gospel books are divided into two groups:
- Synoptic books
- Non- synoptic book.
Synoptic Books
They explain full life history of Jesus
They are: Matthew, mark and Luke.
Non- Synoptic Book.
It does not explain full history of Jesus.
It is the book of John.
Historical book
- Acts of apostle
The writer of acts of apostle was Luke.
It explains the life of believers in the early church.
Pauline epistles
These are letters which were written by Paul while he was in prison.
They are
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
General epistles
Written by different writers who were inspired by God.
| BOOK | WRITER |
| Hebrews | Unknown |
| James | James the brother of Jesus |
| 1 Peter | Apostle Peter |
| 2 Peter | Apostle peter |
| 1 John | John |
| 2 John | John |
| 3 John | John |
| Jude | Jude the brother of Jesus |
Prophetic books
Revelation/apocalypse/disclosure
It was written by John after having a vision on Patmos Island.
Revelation contains the writings about the last days.
NB;
Matthew is the first book of the New Testament.
Revelation is the last book of the Bible and the New Testament.
Bible Translation
To translate means to express spoken or written words in a language that is different from one that was initially used.
How People Benefited From Different Translations Of The Bible
- Spread of the word of God and the general growth of the church.
- Higher demand for formal education in Africa so as to read the Bible.
- It increased the number of Africans in church leadership.
- Unity of mankind, especially through ecumenism.
- It made African Christians more active than passive.
- Africans leaned foreign languages e.g. English.
- Many missionaries were able to learn African languages.
- African languages developed from oral to written form.
- Introduction of new concepts and terms into local languages.
- Development of African theology.
- Many employment opportunities. For instance, people are employed to work for the Bible Society of Kenya.
- Emergence of African indigenous churches.
- Africans rediscovered their culture and developed confidence in it.
- Fast growth of the printing industry.
- Establishment of Bible societies in Africa e.g. the Bible society of Kenya
Reasons that led to the translations of the Bible into local languages
- To enable the word of God to reach more people
- To train local people to take leadership skills
- To facilitate the expansion of the church
- To indigenise Christianity
- To establish local translation society for example Kenya’s Bible society
The Different Translations Of The Bible
- When missionaries began to evangilise in African there was a need to translate the Bible into local languages of the local people to have the scripture in a language they could understand
- Today the Bible has been translated into local languages
- In Kenya, the Bible society of Kenya is the main body mandated to translate the Bible
- Some of the translated Bibles include Kamba, Swahili, kikuyu, Kimiiru/kimeru, Somali, Samburu, Borana, Luhyia Bibles
The Different Versions Of The Bible
A version is the construction of the languages that a translator of the Bible uses in their work
- The Revised Standard Version;
- Good News;
- King James Bible;
- The Living Bible;
- The Jerusalem Bible;
- The New International Version;
- The Gideon International Bible;
- The Holy Bible;
- The New English Bible;
- The Jerome Bible;
- The African Bible;
- The Common Bible;
- The New Life Version;
- The Authorised Bible;
- The New King James Version
Social effects of the translation of the Holy Bible into local languages
- People can now read the Bible in their local languags and understand it better
- It has led to the development of African independent churches
- It has led to the development of local languages which have ben put down in written form
- Africans have become leaders in their established churches as catechists, priests , pastors and deacons
Economic effects of the translation of the holy Bible into local languages
- It has led to the establishment of BIBLE translations societies. The societies offer employment opportunities
- It has led to the development of the Christian printing press and bookshops.
Leadership in the Bible: Moses
Exodus 2:11-13, exodus 3:1-2, Exodus 6:12
During the call of Moses, god told Moses that he had heard the cry of his people (Israelites) God wanted to send Moses to the king of Egypt so that he could lead his people out of the country
Characteristics Of A Good Leader
- God fearing.
- Ready to serve
- Hardworking
- Good decision maker
- Gentle
- Have respect
- Honest
- Humble
- Loyal
- Loving
- Peaceful
- Be a role model
- Have integrity
How God prepared Moses for Leadership
Exodus 2:11-13, Exodus 3:1-2, Exodus 6:12
- In the society leaders are prepared to take up their position in different ways, for example through training
- Like today leaders, God prepared Moses for leadership in different ways
- Speaking from a miraculously burning bush, God says he will send Moses to lead His people from Egyptian slavery
- This mission was overwhelming to Moses. He responded to Gods call with doubt. He did not see himself as the best person to free the jews or an appropriate leader for the task. However God often calls the most unlikely people to accomplish his greatest tasks
- God prepare Moses for leadership by making him witness the suffering of the Hebrews under the Egyptians
- God prepare Moses to solve conflicts among his people and the Israelites
- Life in the desert made Moses bold and ready to face hardship
- As a shepherd, Moses learnt to be keen and responsible in leading Israelites
Roles performed by Moses during the Exodus
- Moses was the prophet who led Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and brought them to the edge of the promised land
- Moses played various roles during the exodus
- He asked Israelites to trust in god and not to be afraid
- He interceded on behalf of the Israelites
- He led the people of Israel away from the red sea. The seas waters separated when Moses lifted his rod and held it over the sea.
- Moses sought for providences for the people of Israel when they were in the wilderness. God responded to his prayer and made bitter water fit to drink.
- Moses received the laws God had given the people of Israel. the laws would help to safeguard their relationship with God and among themselves
- Moses also appointed judges to help him administering justice among israelites . he taught the Israelites the ten commandments and advertised them to obey
Qualities of Moses that Christians can emulate
- Responsibility
- Obedience
- Honesty
- Justice
Advantages of choosing good leaders in the society
- A good leader, among other qualities should be God fearing, trustworthy, a team player, obedient, responsible, and humble.
- Good leadership promotes peace, love, unity and development of many nation
- Leaders should follow the example of Moses.
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