The book of Genesis shows that man fell and was corrupted when he lost his connection with God. Man became empty and corrupt when he lost God. After man fell, God came to look for man and to communicate with man (3:9). Even though man rejected God, God came to search for man. Even though man did not want God or have God, God still wanted to be with man. It is God who desired to recover a relationship.
After the fall God could not contact man based on His status as the God who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). God is great and holy, and man is small and sinful; no man can stand before God. Some people foolishly say, “Please show me God, and I will believe.” They do not have the realization that if God really manifested Himself as God, they would not be able to stand. He is too great and too holy, and we are too small and too defiled. If we have no way to approach Him, how can we see Him? Because God cannot manifest what He is in Himself to man, He has to find another way to contact man.
God can contact man in one of two ways: He can contact man indirectly through an intermediary, or He could come in a way that allowed direct contact. The former way involves speaking to man through various channels, such as the prophets, but the latter way points to His coming as a man to be among men. It is possible for us to contact one another by telephone or telegraph, but the best way to contact one another is face to face. If God desired to contact man, surely He must have spoken to man. Consequently, there would be a record of His speaking to man among all the books in human history. There are over six thousand years of human history, and during these years there must have been some record of His speaking, His word. If God desired to contact and communicate with man, He would not have remained silent for six thousand years.
Consequently, we should investigate the books that have been written throughout the six thousand years of human history to see which book contains the speaking of God. However, we need to consider several criteria in order to have a standard for assessment. First, the book should clearly state that it is the speaking of God. This may be compared to a person signing his name at the end of a letter. If a book contains God’s speaking, it should clearly state that it is God’s speaking. Second, if a book contains the speaking of God, it should clearly speak of the origin of the universe, the progression of mankind, and the final destiny of heaven and earth. Third, it should contain prophecies concerning matters in the future, and every prophecy must be shown to have come to pass. Fourth, this book should contain a standard of morality that is quite high. Fifth, this book should be especially powerful. Sixth, the speaking of God in this book, while mysterious, should be very easy to comprehend.
Based on these six criteria, it is easy to see that only the sacred writings of various religions need be considered. Of these writings, the sacred writings of Buddhism cannot be considered as God’s word because they do not speak of God. Since there are numerous religious systems that do not revere God, their writings cannot be considered as being the word of God. The only religions that truly revere God are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism is based on the Old Testament, and Christianity is based on the Old and the New Testaments. Much of the content of the Koran is drawn from the Bible. Therefore, the only book that uniquely states that it is God’s speaking is the Holy Bible.
In the Old Testament the phrase thus says the Lord Jehovah is included over a thousand times. This is enough to prove that God has declared that this book is His word. In the New Testament the apostle Paul says, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, according to the first criterion, the Bible has a proper claim to be God’s word.
Second, there is no book in the world that speaks of the origin of the universe, the progression of humanity, and the final destiny of heaven and earth in such a clear and complete way as the Bible.