The Bible is the recorded word and will of YHWH, God, who is our creator and our ruler. These scriptures were given by God and Messiah, through His prophets and His apostles, and preserved for our instruction. Through the Bible we understand our origin, our creator, and how we relate to Him. We are taught how to distinguish good from evil, right from wrong, and wisdom from foolishness. The Bible tells us where we are going, what is coming on the horizon, and how to prepare ourselves for the future. Wisdom, morality, and right relationship with God are preserved for our knowledge within the pages of His word.
We must also understand what the Bible is not. The Bible was not given as a repository of all existing knowledge. The purpose of the Bible is not to answer all conceivable questions we might have. There is knowledge God kept to Himself, and there are specific areas of study the Bible doesn’t address. It’s important to understand these facts, because there is often confusion of what the Bible is and what it contains. We cannot criticize, or invalidate, the Bible if we find it doesn’t contain a specific piece of information we want, because that is not the purpose of the Bible. The Bible instructs us on who God is, what God is, how we relate to Him, and how best to live our lives. We study the scriptures to gain these insights and instructions.
The Bible can be classified into several categories:
Torah — Torah is the teachings, instructions, and commandments of God. Torah identifies God’s will for us, God’s rules for us, how to conduct ourselves in His kingdom, and how best to live our lives. Torah is the standard of judgment in all things, and it is the foundation of the faith. All of the Bible rests on the Torah.
Prophets — Prophets are messengers or spokespeople of God. Prophets receive information directly from God, then they give that information to the people. The books of the prophets generally call people back to right relationship with God when they have strayed from Him and His Torah. Prophetic books can also foretell future events, giving the people opportunity to make corrections or preparations for what’s coming.
Other Writings — Some books of the Bible do not fall into the other categories; they are not God’s instructions or prophetic messages. Other writings of the Bible contain information such as historical narratives or genealogical records. These books are valuable for understanding the full message of the Bible, and there are many lessons to learn in them.
Gospels — The four gospel books are records of the Messiah’s time in the physical world. The gospel books tell us what Messiah did, what he taught, how he made salvation possible, and how we obtain his salvation.
Epistles — The epistles are letters written by early church leaders to the early church people. The Epistles expound on Torah and Gospel, address issues in the church, urge believers to mature in faith, call believers to serve God, and instruct us to prepare for Messiah’s return.
Although we can classify the Bible into different portions, based on their message and purpose, we must understand the Bible is one complete book. If we want to fully know God and develop our relationship with Him, we must study the Bible in its entirety. When we favor one portion of scripture, we devalue another. When we devote ourselves to one portion of scripture, we neglect another. If we love Torah but neglect Gospel, we understand our relationship with God but not the means to restore it. If we love Gospel but neglect Torah, we understand the basics of salvation but not how to live in full obedience to God. We need the full context of scripture; we must understand both Torah and Gospel then expound on them with the Prophets, Epistles, and other writings of scripture.
Following is an expository study of the Bible. Each book of the Bible will be studied chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in its entire context. We hope this study will be of value to you, and we encourage you to read and study the full word of God from beginning to end.