TYPES OF STATEMENTS IN THE BIBLE
PART I
I. STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL TRUTH WHICH TAKEN OUT OF THEIR CONTEXT MAY EXPRESS THEOLOGICAL LIES
(Gen 3:4 NIV) "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
(Mat 4:8 NIV) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
(Mat 4:9 NIV) "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
(John 8:44 NIV) You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
II. STATEMENTS OF MEN WHO FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PURPOSES HAVE SHUT THEMSELVES UP TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD WHICH CAN BE HAD FROM THE FIVE PHYSICAL SENSES
(Eccl 1:2 NIV) "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
(Eccl 1:9 NIV) What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
(Eccl 1:14 NIV) I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
(Eccl 1:15 NIV) What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
(Eccl 3:19 NIV) Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless.
Contrast with Ecclesiastes 3:19 the real world of faith as described in Hebrews 2:5-10.
(Heb 2:5 NIV) It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.
(Heb 2:6 NIV) But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
(Heb 2:7 NIV) You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor
(Heb 2:8 NIV) and put everything under his feet." In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
(Heb 2:9 NIV) But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
(Heb 2:10 NIV) In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
(Eccl 9:1 NIV) So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.
(Eccl 9:2 NIV) All share a common destiny??the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.
(Eccl 9:3 NIV) This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
(Eccl 9:4 NIV) Anyone who is among the living has hope ??even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
(Eccl 9:5 NIV) For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
(Eccl 9:6 NIV) Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
(Eccl 9:7 NIV) Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.
(Eccl 9:8 NIV) Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil.
(Eccl 9:9 NIV) Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun?? all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
(Eccl 9:10 NIV) Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
Even in his own book the preacher comes out of the world of sense and urges us to trust in the invisible God.
(Eccl 12:1 NIV) Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"??
(Eccl 12:13 NIV) Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
(Eccl 12:14 NIV) For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Shut yourselves up to the world of the five senses and think of the conclusions.
There is no God.
There is no life after death.
There is no heaven and no hell.
Jesus, the God-man, is gone forever.
Faith is meaningless, for faith is the substance of things oped for, the evidence of things no seen (Hebrews 11:1).
(Heb 11:1 NIV) Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
III. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS
A. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS which speak of God=s apparent changing of His mind.
(Gen 6:5 NIV) The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
(Gen 6:6 NIV) The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
(1 Sam 15:29 NIV) He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."
(Jer 18:1 NIV) This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
(Jer 18:2 NIV) "Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message."
(Jer 18:3 NIV) So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.
(Jer 18:4 NIV) But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
(Jer 18:5 NIV) Then the word of the LORD came to me:
(Jer 18:6 NIV) "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
(Jer 18:7 NIV) If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,
(Jer 18:8 NIV) and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
(Jer 18:9 NIV) And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted,
(Jer 18:10 NIV) and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
(Jer 18:11 NIV) "Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ’This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’
(Jer 18:12 NIV) But they will reply, ’It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.’"
(Jer 19:1 NIV) This is what the LORD says: "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests
(Jer 19:2 NIV) and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you,
(Jer 19:3 NIV) and say, ’Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.
(Jer 19:4 NIV) For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.
(Jer 19:5 NIV) They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal??something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.
(Jer 19:6 NIV) So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
(Jer 19:7 NIV) "’In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
(Jer 19:8 NIV) I will devastate this city and make it an object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.
(Jer 19:9 NIV) I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the stress of the siege imposed on them by the enemies who seek their lives.’
(Jer 19:10 NIV) "Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching,
(Jer 19:11 NIV) and say to them, ’This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.
(Jer 19:12 NIV) This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the LORD. I will make this city like Topheth.
(Jer 19:13 NIV) The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth??all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’"
(Jer 19:14 NIV) Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people,
(Jer 19:15 NIV) "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ’Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff?necked and would not listen to my words.’"
(Jer 26:8 NIV) But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You must die!
(Jer 26:9 NIV) Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?" And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
(Jer 26:10 NIV) When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the LORD and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.
(Jer 26:11 NIV) Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!"
(Jer 26:12 NIV) Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard.
(Jer 26:13 NIV) Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring the disaster he has pronounced against you.
(Jer 26:14 NIV) As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right.
(Jer 26:15 NIV) Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
B. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS which speak of God=s speaking
(Isa 1:20 NIV) but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
C. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS which speak of God=s omniscience
(Prov 15:3 NIV) The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
(Heb 4:13 NIV) Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
D. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS which speak of God=s creating all things and of His providence over all things
(Heb 1:10 NIV) He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
(Psa 95:4 NIV) In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
(Psa 95:5 NIV) The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
E. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS which speak of God=s omniscience and hence His care
(2 Chr 16:9 NIV) For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war."
(Psa 33:18 NIV) But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
(Psa 33:19 NIV) to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
(Psa 34:15 NIV) The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;
F. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS which speak of God=s creating all things and hence His care
(Psa 95:4 NIV) In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
(Psa 95:5 NIV) The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
(Psa 95:6 NIV) Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
(Psa 95:7 NIV) for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,
(1 Pet 3:12 NIV) For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
G. ANTHROPOMORPHISMS which speak of God=s Protecting, Rescuing, Saving and Delivering of His people
(Exo 3:20 NIV) So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
(Exo 13:3 NIV) Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.
(Exo 32:11 NIV) But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
(Deu 6:20 NIV) In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?"
(Deu 6:21 NIV) tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
(Deu 7:7 NIV) The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
(Deu 7:8 NIV) But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
(Psa 31:5 NIV) Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
(Psa 31:15 NIV) My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.
(Psa 33:18 NIV) But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
(Psa 33:19 NIV) to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
(Psa 34:15 NIV) The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;
(1 Pet 3:12 NIV) For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
(Psa 91:4 NIV) He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
(Psa 138:7 NIV) Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.
(Psa 144:7 NIV) Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners
(Psa 144:8 NIV) whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are deceitful.
(Isa 43:12 NIV) I have revealed and saved and proclaimed?? I, and not some
foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.
(Isa 43:13 NIV) Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of
my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"
(Luke 13:34 NIV) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as
a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
(Acts 11:21 NIV) The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people
believed and turned to the Lord.
