“The Bible: God Breathed” Genesis 1:2 & Acts 2:1-4 A Sermon Preached on Pentecost and Celebration of Holy Communion

This is the first in a series of six sermons on “How to Read the Bible.” It is not my intention to insult you, suggesting that you do not know how to read, nor is it my intention to suggest that you have not read the Bible or studied it. I know many of you have.

However, it is my intention to call you to a clearer scholarship of biblical understanding, to drive you to critical understanding of the construction and message of the Bible and to enable you to discover, or perhaps rediscover, the authentic Word of God contained in Holy Scripture.

It may be that I will offend some, I may trouble others, and I may even disturb a few, If I do so, it is not out of malice, but out of a desire to call you to a deeper experience of the authentic Word of God as contained in the Bible. To begin, let’s explore what the Bible is not:

1. The Bible is not a book that contains words of God that are dictated to particular humans who wrote them down. The books of the Bible, while inspired by God, developed through many people, groups and periods of history. (It could be pointed out that this is a major distinction between Islam and the Jewish/Christian tradition. Islam believes the Koran was literally dictated to Mohmand who wrote it down.) While the following statement many be troublesome, it will become clearer as the series of sermons unfolds: “The Bible is not the Word of God, but contains the Word of God.”

Page 1 of 5 2. The Bible was not written in English. The original languages that were used to write down the messages of God were Hebrew and Greek. However, the Books of Daniel and Ezra were written in a dialect of Hebrew which would also have been the common language of . English was not the second translation either. Saint Jerome’s version, the , was completed about 405 AD and the first English translation was competed by John Wycliffe in the late 14th century. It I critically important to understand the difficulty and complexity of translating from one language to another. Because it is a contextual language, meaning one needs to know something of the idea, it is especially challenging to translate from Hebrew to another language. To get a sense of the complexity of translation, note this passage from Holy Scripture where there are no punctuations or spaces.

sogodcreatedhumankindinhisimageintheimageofgodhecreated themmaleandfemalehecreatedthemgodblessedthemandgodsaidto thembefruitfulandmultiplyandfilltheearthandsubdueitandhave dominionoverthefishoftheseaandoverthebirdsoftheairandoverevery livingthingthatmovesupontheearth

3. The Bible was not written from the perspective of 21st century American, European, African or, Hispanic context. I was written in the cultural context of the near Eastern world. Today, that would include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Greece and Rome.

Page 2 of 5 4. The Bible was not written at one time. While there is much debate over actual dates, the best scholarship suggests the , or Hebrew Bible, was written from 1200 BC to 165 BC while the was written between 50 and 96 AD.

5. The Bible was not written just for Christians, but also for and non-believers.

6. The Bible is not a recipe book on doing what is right and what is wrong, but is a book of revelation that reveals the unfolding message of God’s love and grace.

7. The Bible is not only about Jesus—but is much broader. The biblical message is about the fullness of God revealed in creation, in the establishment of the nation of Israel, of a message of righteousness and justice for all people, of the birth, ministry, message, death and , of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the development and growth of the early Church, and prophetic vision of John in Revelation. The Bible is about the unfolding message of God as revealed in the Creator, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

8. The Bible is not a book of instruction on going to heaven (or hell) but a book a book of instruction on how to fully embrace the love and grace of God.

Having looked at what the Bible is not, let’s examine what the Bible is, how it is to be understood, and how it can lead us into a loving and sustaining love with God. There are three grand themes covered in the biblical story: One , God created everything that we know, can know or

Page 3 of 5 ever experience; and more importantly, God created everything in love, goodness and for pleasure. God has always intended that we know we are loved, and that all that is created is for an expression of love and grace. Two, God is intimately present in everything created. Notice an emphasis on the word intimate. Our is not a god who created and then step aside, but one who created for companionship, love, fellowship and sharing. The biblical story is a story of God’s intimate relationship with everything created. In the Creation Story of Genesis, God continue to look at creation and say that it was “very” good. Genesis 1:31a notes: “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” If that were not enough, God always pursues creation, in spite of rebellion, betrayal, and even wickedness. There is not a moment of history where God has not gone the extra mile, the extra ten miles, and even the next 1000 miles to convince all creation of his intimate love, grace and care. Ours is a God of intimate loving relationship. Three , and most timely on this Pentecost Sunday, God breathed his Spirit into all creation. We discover this in the very first verses of the Creation Story of Genesis: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” God’s Spirit was introduced at the moment of creation. Throughout the biblical story, God’s Spirit enters into the people of God. Moses speaks of God’s spirit in the receiving of the law. The prophets speak of the infusion of God’s Spirit. Mary receives the Sprit at the . Jesus receives the Spirit at his baptism. And the early Church received the Spirit gathered in an upper room after the resurrection of Jesus. Again, and again, the biblical story points out how God’s Spirit is infused in all creation, in all people and even in all situations. Today, we celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion where the Spirit of God is Page 4 of 5 uniquely present. We pray for the Spirit to be present in the bread and the Cup. We pray that the Spirit will be present with each who eat and drink. We pray that the Spirit will be present with us as the Church.

The Spirit of God is present around us, in us and through us in everything we do. Therefore, every time we approach the Bible, let us be aware that God is breathing on us.

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