What is the Bible?

The Bible is the believer’s manual, described as the Word of God (Heb. 4:12), the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), and the voice of the Spirit (Heb. 3:7). It is the absolute, final, accurate, and authoritative Word of God, serving as the sole source of instruction, training, strategy, and tactics for the spiritual warfare of the life of faith.

All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16–17). Through inspiration, the Holy Spirit supervised and superintended the authors of Scripture, using their unique perspectives and vocabularies to ensure they recorded exactly what God had to say. This process ensured that the original manuscripts were absolutely noncontradictory and consistent in message across 66 books written by more than 40 authors over 1,500 years.

The Bible is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16–17). It provides the body of truth and doctrine upon which believers base their perspective and life decisions. Furthermore, the Bible is an account of God keeping the promise of the Messiah first revealed in Genesis 3:15, with everything in the Old Testament pointing toward the fulfillment of that promise.