This week’s devotions are based on Week 2 of the Fresh Start Series: I Have a New Perspective (WATCH HERE)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A record-low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 24% the last time the question was asked in 2017, and half of what it was at its high points in 1980 and 1984. Meanwhile, a new high of 29% say the Bible is a collection of “fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” This marks the first time significantly more Americans have viewed the Bible as not divinely inspired than as the literal word of God. The largest percentage, 49%, choose the middle alternative [Inspired by God, but not to be taken literally], roughly in line with where it has been in previous years. (https://news.gallup.com/poll/394262/fewer-bible-literal-word-god.aspx)
This July 2022 report from Gallup perhaps isn’t all that surprising considering what is going on in our society today. Yet, only one in five are willing to believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. It would probably be worth a devotional series to answer some of the common objections to trusting the BIble is the word of God, but perhaps this one little statement from Philip and Nathanael will help to solidify or change our perspective to trust that the Bible is not the word of men, but the Word of God.
When Jesus called Philip to follow him, Philip was intent on going to find Nathanael. When he did, he said this:
John 1:44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
So how does this give credibility to the Bible?
Philip had the perspective that the Bible told the truth. By his statement to Nathanael it shows he was a student of the Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) as well as the many prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many others). The fact that Jesus matched the descriptions of the Messiah that were written many centuries earlier gives certainty that the Bible is not the work of man but the Word of God. Human authorship could never predict the coming of Jesus with such accuracy. Philip and Nathanael would never have been clear that Jesus was the Messiah without the accuracy of God inspiring Moses and the prophets to write of the Messiah, years apart, yet fulfilled with Jesus.
Nathanael’s reaction to Philip saying that Jesus was from Nazareth (Can anything good come from Nazareth?) is also an indication that Nathanael was a student of the Scripture. He knew that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, the city of David. However, Isaiah also prophesied the Messiah would minister in Galilee, the region in which Nazareth was.
Isaiah 9:1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—
The aspect of prophecy and fulfillment is a strong indicator of the divine origin of Scripture. While God used humans to pen the words, his Spirit guided every one of them to precisely be recorded. Why is this such a compelling reason for the Bible to be the word of God?
Professor Peter W. Stoner was Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College and Chairman of the science division at Westmont College. In his book, Science Speaks, Professor Stoner outlines the mathematical probability of one person in the first century fulfilling just eight of the most clear and straightforward Messianic prophecies.
Josh and Sean McDowell quote Stoner in their book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict:
We find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10^17 (1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000).
In case you’re wondering, the Mega Millions had a $1.6 billion jackpot in October 2018, and the odds of winning it were merely 1 in 302,575,350.
Stoner went on to calculate the probability of one person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 in 10^157. (https://nickcady.org/2020/02/18/the-statistical-probability-of-jesus-fulfilling-the-messianic-prophecies/)
Philip and Nathanael knew they were seeing the fulfillment to many prophesies. While humanly impossible, they knew that not only were they in the presence of the Son of God, they had spent their lives studying the very Word of God.
Apply: What gives you confidence the Bible is the Word of God? What leads you to question that truth?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving your word to Moses and the Prophets so that we, like Philip and Nathanael, know with certainty, that you are the Christ, the Son of God, our Savior. AMEN.