Concerning the Bible, Part I

The Bible is different then any other book.  The Bible is the book of God; that is, He has given us His Word to teach us about Himself.  The Bible is about spiritual salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of His people, but we see Him rebuke two disciples on Easter Sunday.  The death of Jesus confused them and the emptiness of the tomb baffled them.  The prophets foretold of the Messiah but the disciples were slow of heart to believe.  Jesus had to suffer to enter into His glory, because He spoke of Moses, all the Prophets and all the Scriptures that spoke of Jesus.  Between the resurrection and ascension, Jesus continued on in His teaching.  In all the Old Testament He showed the Gospel promises fulfilled in Himself, and to proclaim His name to all nations.  The teaching of Jesus was the definite key to the Holy Scriptures.  Saint Peter and Paul preached about the sufferings and glory of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures; that is, they knew the Holy Spirit inspired these writings about Christ.  The writings of the Bible come from the living testimony of the Word of God; however, Jesus is co-equal with God the Father.  Jesus is the Lord, because like the Father He is divine; however, there is a co-relationship with the Father and the Son.  Saint Peter confessed the deity of Jesus Christ; that is, the Lord of worship is our God whom we adore.  Back in ancient Israel it pointed to Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy; however, Israel worshipped the golden calf in place of God.  God is not safe to be around, especially with sinners; however, we know that God is good.  God meet with Moses outside the camp, because it was dangerous for Him to be in the centrality of the camp.  He led them into Canaan but He couldn’t dwell in their midst.  Moses well knew that God should dwell with His people.  Moses wanted to see His glory and His grace.  Our God is a God of grace and truth, because there is no other God like Him.  God promised to receive the sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins.  The glory that Moses wanted to see is Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ dwells with us touching His divine nature, but touching His human nature He is apart from us; however, He dwelt among us or tabernacled among us touching His human nature in His glory though it was veiled through His humanity.   The tabernacle was filled with His glory to symbolize the dwelling of God among the people; that is, the Incarnation is personification of the tabernacle: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.