Where did the Bible come from?

The Bible was written by people specially chosen for that task by God. They were guided supernaturally so that they wrote exactly what God wanted them to write. This means that everything in the Bible is true. There can be no mistakes in the Bible because it’s God’s word. The 66 Books of the Bible are often called “the Scriptures” which means “the Writings”.

The Old Testament was written and completed long before the time of Jesus. The New Testament was written just after the time when Jesus was crucified.

In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 the Apostle Paul explained the origin and purpose of the Bible.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God made sure that the ancient copies of the original Bible books were carefully preserved so that God’s word can be studied today. We can compare the thousands of copies of each book so that we can be sure what the original ones said.

The Bibles we use are translated into our own language to help us understand what God said in those ancient times. What he tells us there is important. It tells us what God wants us to know. We should read and carefully study God’s word every day.

Lesson 2: What is true about God?
Index of our lessons on Bible Basics
(Bible verses are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible)