What is the nature of the whole Bible?

Everywhere and always Scripture is primarily concerned with us, me and mankind, as in the apple of God’s eye; and consequently, with God’s willingly lowering Himself to serve His purpose for and concerning man; thus, love and sacrifice are seen to be the highest principles.

How much does that describe the entire Bible? That’s quite a statement, as in the apple of His eye. (Zech. 2:8)  Is it with oxen that He is concerned? Does He not speak entirely for our sake? (1Cor 9:9-10)  God said, “I know the purposes that I am planning for you … to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11) – that is a lot of the subject in Scripture.  We are not only saved from sin, we are saved for a purpose, for a future.  Salvation is just a small part.

What is man, that You are mindful of him? (Heb. 2:6)  God cares for him, as is seen throughout the Bible.  From cover to cover, He willingly lowers Himself to serve His purpose for and concerning us, to the point where God the Father is talked of as a gardener, digging around the roots and watering His vine.  According to Jesus Himself in John 15:1, the Father is a gardener – “I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.”   He willingly lowers Himself to serve His purpose for and concerning man – not oxen.

How would you meaningfully describe the Bible in a few words so that somebody might know what to expect when reading it?  God is concerned with you.  He has plans for you, but your sin feels otherwise.  Your sin is against God’s plan, as in “I can do it my way. I don’t need God.”  Man himself has little or no interest, as is also seen throughout the Bible.  I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebellious people who walk in the way not good, after their own thoughts; (Isa.65:2) & (Rom. 10:21)  And they say to God, Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. (Job.21:14)  That is the situation.  It’s no different today.  We don’t want to hear it.

In Isaiah 53:5, He was wounded for our transgressions.  The Gospel is all about God taking it upon Himself for us to be saved.  Actually, the whole Bible is that, but the Gospel is the last and greatest, as seen in Hebrews – In many ways and in various ways of old, God spoke to the fathers in the prophets; in these last days He spoke to us in the Son… (Heb. 1:1-2)  A constant lowering Himself from cover to cover to fulfill His purpose for and concerning man, which is way beyond salvation.  Believing is the door, salvation is the middle, but the real thing is beyond that.  Salvation is just the middle, but it’s treated as everything – the final goal, which it is not.

The very fact that the Bible by rights ought to be concerned with how great God is, but instead is all about Him lowering Himself, this shows that the greatest principle is love and sacrifice.  What did Jesus do?  He sacrificed Himself.  But God justified Him by raising Him from the dead.  As the prophet Hosea prophesied:  … In the third day He will raise us up, us, and we shall live before Him. (Hos. 6:2)  And in Colossians – If then you have been raised with Christ … (Col.3:1)  He didn’t only raise Jesus, He raised us.  And that is all the way in back in Genesis 1, He raised man to be in His image.  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness …” Gen. 1:26  Otherwise man is just another animal.  If it wasn’t for the image of God, man is just another animal – beating each other instead of love one another.  God is spirit, those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth, for such God seeks to worship Him. (Jn. 4:24)  Is that you? Or are you just another animal?

What do you expect to find when you read the Bible?  What is the whole Bible?  What is it all about?  How can you describe it in a sentence, then study the Bible all your life and find out that is the way it is.  You study the Bible your whole life, and what will you find out in the end? 

Everywhere and always Scripture is primarily concerned with us, me and mankind, as in the apple of God’s eye; and consequently, with God’s willingly lowering Himself to serve His purpose for and concerning man; thus, love and sacrifice are seen to be the highest principles.

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