These last 5 lessons were not originally meant to be a regular series, but I put them together as I found them. This last one is one that I wished he were here to clarify some of his thoughts, but I am putting them out as he had them. Perhaps you will be able to follow them better than I could.








THE PLAN OF THE SCRIPTURE




Text: 2 Tim 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.







Intro: God has a definite plan in His word and the stamp of the perfect, Holy God is upon and throughout the entire Bible.




I. The Bible follows a Divine pattern.
A. Three laws governing a complete organism.
II Pet 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.




B. Each part is related to, or corresponds to every other part.




C. That each part of the organism must be pervaded with the Spirit of life.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.




Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
No part of the Scripture can be dispensed with, and there is neither need nor room for an additional part!




D. The pattern of the Bible as a whole.
1. BEGINS with god
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
ENDS with man
Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
The last and crowning creation and the ONLY recipient of His amazing GRACE!




2. Middle verse of the Bible contains the essence of all Bible teaching.
Psa 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.




3. Man’s first recorded words to God;
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Man's last recorded words
Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.




4. The Bible teaching of Trinity
a. Man is a trinity; body, soul, spirit
I Thess 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.




b. Around him is the world; within him is the FLESH; beneath him is the DEVIL.




c. FLESH constitutes another trinity
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
This trinity brought the fall and also the redemption of man!
In the first case, God’s word was doubted;


Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?


Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:





Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.


Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:


Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.





Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.



In the second, it was used and relied upon.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:


Rom 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.





Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.


Rom 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.





Rom 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.


Rom 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)





Rom 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.


Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.





Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:


Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.



5. Three times in early scripture the term ’us’ is used designating God.
a. At the creation of man
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.




b. At the Fall of man
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:




c. At the Judgment of man
Gen 11:7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.




II Comparing the Old and New Testaments.
A. OLD begins with GOD;
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.



NEW begins with CHRIST.
Mat 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.



B. OLD ends with the threat of a curse;
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.



NEW with a blessing
Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.




C. First miracle of Moses. Turning water into BLOOD
Exo 7:19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.




First miracle of Christ, turning water into WINE
John 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
John 2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.



John 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
John 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.



John 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
John 2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.



John 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
John 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.



John 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,





John 2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
John 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.



D. First two brothers in OLD Testament; one murdered the other
Gen 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Gen 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.



Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:



Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?



Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Gen 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.



First 2 brothers in NEW Testament; one led the other to Christ
John 1:40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.



John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
John 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.




E. In the OLD Testament, God calls to man, ”Where art thou?”
Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
In the NEW, Man calls, “Where is He?”
Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.




F. The burden of the OLD Testament; “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God”
Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.




Burden of the NEW: The Lord thy God loveth thee!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.




III His plan in the Books of the Bible
A. Genesis - Begins with God giving life; Sin enters; ends with a dead man
Gen 50:26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.




B. Exodus - Begins with a people far from God; ends with the glorious presence of God in their midst. Brought out of Egypt, a type of sin, under the Passover blood.




C. Leviticus - A book of Laws or how to worship




D. Numbers - A book of commandments and judgments - How to walk (live) for the Lord.
Num 36:13 These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.




E. Deuteronomy - A second giving of the Law - Working for The Lord.
These first five books (the Penteteuch) form a perfect pattern for preaching and living;
First, a sinner; then a redeemed sinner; becomes a worshipful child of God; and a new creation, an upright and moral child of God; and an obedient child in service to his God.




F. Psalms - consists of five divisions corresponding to the first five books of the Bible. Each ends with “AMEN” except the last which ends with “hallelujah”
1) Psalms 1 - 41 (There are no chapters in the book of Psalms (songs), but are numbered as in a hymn book.) The book of creation
Psa 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;




2. Psalms 42 - 72 Book of redemption and Passover

*Psa 51* (*too long to include. Edie)




3. Psalms 73 - 89 - Book of sanctuary and atonement
Psa 84:1 To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
Psa 84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.



Psa 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
Psa 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.



4. Psalms 90 - 106 - Book of the wilderness Sojourn. *Psa 91.




5. Psalms 107 - 150 Book of the Word and obedience. *Psa 119.


The book of Psalms stands in the center of our Bible and begins with God blessing man and ends with man blessing God! It is principly man’s voice crying out to God while the books on either side are the voice of God speaking to man. Every possible degree of man’s emotions are voiced here and therefore are ageless in their appeal and usefulness to man.




Take a Psalm!
Psa 81:1 To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
Psa 81:2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.