Built on the Bible

Two weeks ago, we looked at some of the authors and their genres. Today, we will continue that study of who the biblical authors are and what their styles are like.

Wisdom Writings

Wisdom writings are an interesting portion of the Bible. I think it goes without saying that the wisdom writings were written by wise guys. But who exactly were these wise guys? Well, it really depends on how you classify the wisdom writings. If you organize them like I do, then Solomon was the primary writer of the wisdom writings, since he is the primary author of all the wisdom writings, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.

Solomon was one of the most complex men in the history of the Bible. He was the son of David, who along with Solomon made up the greatest kings in Israel’s history. Solomon asked God for wisdom (2 Chronicles 1), and God gave it to him in abundance, making him one of the wisest men in the history of the world! Solomon also built a glorious temple for God. So far, Solomon seems like probably the greatest man who ever lived.

Unfortunately, Solomon also had his fair share of folly. Solomon is infamous for having an astronomical amount of wives, 700 to be exact, as well as 300 concubines. So wouldn’t this invalidate his wisdom writings? No, and actually it makes his wisdom writings even more valuable.

Solomon knew exactly how to live in godliness and exactly how not to live in godliness. Because of his, we can learn much from the wisdom writings. Solomon shows us how to walk in wisdom, and he shows us the folly of walking in sin. In Ecclesiastes, he shows us the fleeting nature of this world, and how only hope in God can last. In Song of Songs, we see how sex is not a sinful thing to be avoided, rather a treasure to be pursued biblically, and in marriage, not outside of God’s commands. That leads us to the great book of Proverbs.

Proverbs is one of the most well-known wisdom writings. It shows, going back to Song of Songs, why sex outside of marriage is a horrible thing, and that fornication leads us down the road of death, not life or joy (see Proverbs 7). Proverbs is one of the most practical books of the Bible. One of the best ways to read Proverbs is to read one chapter of Proverbs each day, in correlation with the day’s date (for example, on January 28, read Proverbs 28).

The Prophets

The prophets are probably the scariest of all the sections of Scripture to read, but they are some of the most fascinating and nourishing portions of Scripture. From the major prophets to the minor prophets, we see how God looks to redeem His people from their sin and how He uses painful discipline to break Israel from its sinful habits.

As we read through the prophets, we need to remember the covenant between God and His people. God promises to be faithful to His people if they were faithful to Him. If they kept the sabbaths in spirit and in truth, then God would bless them and protect them. If they didn’t God would let them know through painful discipline.

One of the grandest prophetic writings, and frankly one of the greatest books in the history of the world, is Isaiah. Isaiah is a book that we will be studying soon on ABP, and it contains some of the most beautiful poetry that this world has ever seen. As we study through the prophets, we see God’s faithfulness to His people and we get a sneak peek into His grand plan of redemption.

The Gospels and Acts

The gospels are some of the most read books in the Bible, and for good reason. These five books show us the works of Jesus in the flesh and through His church. We’ll first look at the gospels, then take a look at Acts.

The four gospels each have their own points of focus on Jesus’ life, which show why each is necessary to be in the canon of Scripture. Matthew and Luke give much more in-depth focuses on Jesus’ life, and they were written for Jewish and Greek audiences, respectively. Mark is a much shorter book, simply giving a condensed biography of Jesus.

John is different from the other three gospels (often called synoptic gospels). John’s focus is on the divinity of Jesus Christ. John begins with one of the most important passages for Christology, John 1:1-18. John also gives the High Priestly Prayer, John 17, which shows Jesus’ relationship with God in 4K resolution. The gospel of John is one of the first books that a new believer should read. It is also a book that should be often studied by seasoned believers.

Finally, Acts is a sort of epilogue to the gospels. If. the Old Testament shows God the Father’s interaction with His people, and the gospels show God the Son’s interaction with His people, then Acts shows the Holy Spirit’s interaction with His people. Beginning with Jesus’ ascension, Acts shows how God works through the apostles to kickstart the spread of the gospel. We also get some background for the writers of the epistles, which is handy for understanding the context the epistles were written in.

The Apostles and Epistles

Finally, we look at the apostles and their epistles. God gave the ability to write inspired Scripture to the apostles, and to select other men. The epistles (I’ve included Revelation in the epistles for brevity) are generally the easiest to read. This fact is because they are the most practical! The epistles are, in essence, God’s instruction manual to the church. God shows us how to live in books like James and the latter half of Romans.

Another big aspect of the epistles is the theology that they show us. While some might want to avoid these aspects of the epistles, we must never forget that God put theology first, then practical writings. He did this because we can’t obey rightly if we don’t know the God we serve. That being said, we must also realize that theology without love and obedience is dead. Romans is a great example of a balanced Christian life. Chapters 1-11 more or less are dedicated to theology, and chapters 12-16 are given to practical living. We learn why and who we obey, then we learn how we obey.

Finally, we have apocalyptical writing in the epistles. Often, Revelation is treated separately from the epistles, but I do appreciate keeping together. Revelation gives us a glimpse into God’s plan for the future. In Revelation and in other portions of the epistles, we see most importantly that God will win in the end. We also see that in eternity, we will reign with our Savior Jesus Christ in glory.

Now that we’ve met the biblical authors and taken a look at their styles, let’s dive into passages that teach us about God’s Holy Word! Tune in in two weeks for our continued series.