Lord Savior
promise of blessing is dependent on grace and mercy given to the sinner. Grace means that sin is not held against the sinner. Such forgiveness is dependent on a payment of sin's penalty to satisfy holy justice. That requires a substitute—one to die in the sinner's place. God's chosen substitute—the only one who qualified —was Jesus. Salvation is always by the same gracious means, whether during OT or NT times. When any sinner comes to God, repentant and convinced he has no power to save himself from the deserved judgment of divine wrath, and pleads for mercy, God's promise of forgiveness is granted. God then declares him righteous because the sacrifice and obedience of Christ is put to his account. In the OT, God justified sinners that same way, in anticipation of Christ's atoning work. There is, therefore, a continuity of grace and salvation through all of redemptive history. Various covenants, promises, and epochs do not alter that fundamental continuity, nor does the discontinuity between the OT witness nation, Israel, and the NT witness people, the church. A fundamental continuity is centered in the cross, which was no interruption in the plan of God, but is the very thing to which all else points.
Throughout the OT, the Savior and sacrifice are promised. In Genesis, he is the seed of the woman who will destroy Satan. In Zechariah, he is the pierced one to whom Israel turns and by whom God opens the fountain of forgiveness to all who mourn over their sin. He is the very One symbolized in the sacrificial system of the Mosaic law. He is the suffering substitute spoken of by the prophets. Throughout the OT, he is the Messiah who would die for the transgressions of his people; from beginning to end in the OT, the theme of the Lord Savior as a sacrifice for sin is presented. It is solely because of his perfect sacrifice for sin that God graciously forgives repentant believers.
In the NT, the Lord Savior came and actually provided the promised sacrifice for sin on the cross. Having fulfilled all righteousness by his perfect life, he fulfilled justice by his death. Thus God himself atoned for sin, at a cost too great for the human mind to fathom. Now he graciously supplies on their behalf all the merit necessary for his people to be the objects of his favor. That is what Scripture means when it speaks of salvation by grace.
5. The Revelation of the Kingdom and Glory of the Lord Savior
This crucial component of Scripture brings the whole story to its God-ordained
consummation. Redemptive history is controlled by God, so as to culminate in his eternal glory. Redemptive history will end with the same precision and exactness with which it began. The truths of eschatology are neither vague nor unclear—nor are they unimportant. As in any book, how the story ends is the most crucial and compelling part—so with the Bible. Scripture notes several very specific features of the end planned by God.
In the OT, there is repeated mention of an earthly kingdom ruled by the Messiah, Lord Savior, who will come to reign. Associated with that kingdom will be the salvation of Israel, the salvation of Gentiles, the renewal of the earth from the effects of the curse, and the bodily resurrection of God's people who have died. Finally, the OT predicts that there will be the "uncreation" or dissolution of the universe, and the creation of a new heaven and new earth—which will be the eternal state of the godly—and a final hell for the ungodly.
In the NT, these features are clarified and expanded. The King was rejected and executed, but he promised to come back in glory, bringing judgment, resurrection, and his kingdom for all who believe. Innumerable Gentiles from every nation will be included among the redeemed. Israel will be saved and grafted back into the root of blessing from which she has been temporarily excised.
Israel's promised kingdom will be enjoyed, with the Lord Savior reigning on the throne, in the renewed earth, exercising power over the whole world, having taken back his rightful authority, and receiving due honor and worship. Following that kingdom will come the dissolution of the renewed, but still sinstained creation, and the subsequent creation of a new heaven and new earth— which will be the eternal state, separate forever from the ungodly in hell.
Those are the five topics that fill up the Bible. To understand them at the start is to know the answer to the question that continually arises—Why does the Bible tell us this? Everything fits into this glorious pattern. As you read, hang the truth on these five hooks and the Bible will unfold, not as 66 separate documents, or even two separate testaments—but one book, by one divine Author, who wrote it all with one overarching theme.
My prayer is that the magnificent and overwhelming theme of the redemption of sinners for the glory of God will carry every reader with captivating interest from beginning to end of the story. Christian—this is your story. It is from God
for you—about you. It tells what he planned for you, why he made you, what you were, what you have become in Christ, and what he has prepared for you in eternal glory.
John MacArthur
Personal Notes
Why write a study Bible? The answer to that question comes in a conversation between Philip and an Ethiopian recorded in Acts 8:30–31:
So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked,
"Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said,
"How can I, unless someone guides me?"
And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
As Philip did with the eunuch, I want to sit with you and explain the Scriptures. This Study Bible allows me that intimate opportunity.
Although I personally bear full responsibility for all the notes in The MacArthur Study Bible because they all have come from me and through me, a work of this magnitude with the responsibility to be accurate could only have been done with a team of supportive co-workers who committed themselves to assist me by arduous labor with loving devotion and commitment to excellence. Many friends have participated in the team—all of whom deserve to be commended and thanked.
My highest gratitude belongs to my friend and ministry partner, Dr. Richard Mayhue, Senior Vice President and Dean of The Master's Seminary. He has worked next to me through the whole project, laboring beyond anyone while serving as project manager, OT and NT researcher, editor, and counselor. His exceptional gift for management, along with his vast knowledge of Scripture and doctrine, coupled with our one-mindedness theologically, plus his writing skill, have made for a more effective partnership.
Gratitude in abundance must be given to the faculty of The Master's Seminary for their assistance in original research and carefully prepared first draft material for the study notes on the Old Testament. Using the foundation of that original research and material, I worked and re-worked the study notes into their final form.
Never have I been so challenged and blessed at the same time as during the two intense years of finalizing this work. Studying alone in my private place, perusing every word of Scripture, plus being challenged to understand each phrase and verse has yielded richness to my life and ministry like nothing I have undertaken before.
I have always been committed to the Scriptures as inspired, inerrant, infallible, sufficient and eternal. I have always preached the Bible expositionally, verse by verse, book by book. After this enterprise, I feel even more strongly about the necessity of preaching every pure word of Scripture (Ps. 12:6). I have been profoundly enriched in my own life, as never before, because of the sheer force of so much divine truth pouring through me daily. For many months I spent eight or more hours every day working in the word, not so much because I had to, but because I could not leave the text—its riches held me captive.
My thanks to you, the reader, for loving Scripture enough to be a serious student. This work is an additional way of fulfilling my calling as a pastor-teacher mandated "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12).
A special word of thanks is certainly in order for my beloved wife, Patricia, who supported me with her prayers and encouragement, and endured my times of isolation with understanding.
With gratitude most of all to our glorious God who gave us his precious word, do I pray that he will be honored by this effort to explain what his word means by what it says.
John MacArthur
How We Got the Bible
Ever since Eve encountered Satan's barrage of doubt and denial (Gen. 3:1–7), mankind has continued to question God's word. Unfortunately, Eve had little or no help in sorting through her intellectual obstacles to full faith in God's selfdisclosure (Gen. 2:16–17).
Now the scripture certainly has more than enough content to be interrogated, considering that it's comprised of 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,173 verses, and 757,444 words. When you open your english translation to read or study, you might have asked in the past or are currently asking, "how can I be sure this is the pure and true word of God?"
A question of this kind is not altogether bad, especially when one seeks to learn with a teachable mind (Acts 17:11). The scripture invites the kinds of queries that a sincere student asks. A whole host of questions can flood the mind, such as:
Where did the Bible come from? Whose thinking does it reflect? Did any books of the Bible get lost in time past? What does the Scripture claim for itself? Does it live up to its claims? Who wrote the Bible—God or man? Has Scripture been protected from human tampering over the centuries? How close to the original manuscripts are today's translations? How did the Bible get to our time and in our language? Is there more Scripture to come, beyond the current 66 books? Who determined, and on what basis, that the Bible would be composed of the traditional list of 66 books? If the Scriptures were written over a period of 1,500 years (c. 1405 B.C. to
A.D. 95), passed down since then for almost 2,000 years, and translated into several thousand languages, what prevented the Bible from being changed by the carelessness or ill motives of men? Does today's Bible really deserve the title "The Word of God"?
Undoubtedly, these questions have bombarded the minds of many. A study of the scriptures alone settles all questions to the extent that there is no need to be bothered by them again. Scripture gives this assurance.
Scripture's Self-Claims
Take the Bible and let it speak for itself. Does it claim to be God's word? Yes! Over 2,000 times in the Old Testament alone, the Bible asserts that God spoke what is written within its pages. From the beginning (Gen. 1:3) to the end (Mal. 4:3) and continually throughout, this is what Scripture claims.
The phrase "the word of God" occurs over 40 times in the New Testament. It is equated with the Old Testament (Mark 7:13). It is what Jesus preached (Luke 5:1). It was the message the apostles taught (Acts 4:31; 6:2). It was the word the Samaritans received (Acts 8:14) as given by the apostles (Acts 8:25). It was the message the Gentiles received as preached by Peter (Acts 11:1). It was the word Paul preached on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:5, 7, 44, 48–49; 15:35– 36). It was the message preached on Paul's second missionary journey (Acts 16:32; 17:13; 18:11). It was the message Paul preached on his third missionary journey (Acts 19:10). It was the focus of Luke in the book of Acts in that it spread rapidly and widely (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20). Paul was careful to tell the Corinthians that he spoke the word as it was given from God, that it had not been adulterated, and that it was a manifestation of truth (2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2). Paul acknowledged that it was the source of his preaching (Col. 1:25; 1 Thess. 2:13).
Psalms 19 and 119, plus Prov. 30:5–6, make powerful statements about God's word which set it apart from any other religious instruction ever known in the history of mankind. These passages make the case for the Bible being called "sacred" (2 Tim. 3:15) and "holy" (Rom. 1:2).
The Bible claims ultimate spiritual authority in doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness because it represents the inspired word of Almighty God (2 Tim. 3:16–17). Scripture asserts its spiritual sufficiency, so much so that it claims exclusivity for its teaching (cf. Isa. 55:11; 2 Pet. 1:3–4).
God's word declares that it is inerrant (Ps. 12:6; 119:140; Prov. 30:5a; John 10:35) and infallible (2 Tim. 3:16–17). In other words, it is true and therefore trustworthy. All of these qualities are dependent on the fact that Scripture is God-given (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20–21), which guarantees its quality at the
Source and at its original writing.
In Scripture, the person of God and the word of God are everywhere interrelated, so much so that whatever is true about the character of God is true about the nature of God's word. God is true, impeccable, and reliable; therefore, so is his word. What a person thinks about God's word, in reality, reflects what a person thinks about God.
Thus, the Scripture can make these demands on its readers.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna,
which you did not know, nor did your fathers know,
that he might make you know that man
does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every
word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 8:3
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth
more than my portion of food.
Job 23:12
The Publishing Process
The Bible does not expect its reader to speculate on how these divine qualities were transferred from God to his word, but rather anticipates the questions with convincing answers. Every generation of skeptics has assailed the self-claims of the Bible, but its own explanations and answers have been more than equal to the challenge. The Bible has gone through God's publishing process in being given to and distributed among the human race. Its several features are discussed below.
Revelation
God took the initiative to disclose or reveal himself to mankind (Heb. 1:1). The vehicles varied; sometimes it was through the created order, at other times through visions/dreams or speaking prophets. However, the most complete and understandable self-disclosures were through the propositions of Scripture (1 Cor. 2:6–16). The revealed and written word of God is unique in that it is the only revelation of God that is complete and that so clearly declares man's sinfulness and God's provision of the Savior.
Inspiration
The revelation of God was captured in the writings of Scripture by means of "inspiration." This has more to do with the process by which God revealed himself than the fact of his self-revelation. "All Scripture is breathed out by God . . ." (2 Tim. 3:16) makes the claim. Peter explains the process, ". . . knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:20–21). By this means, the word of God was protected from human error in its original record by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (cf. Deut. 18:18; Matt. 1:22). A section of Zech. 7:12 describes it most clearly, ". . . the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets." This ministry of the Spirit extended to both the part (the words) and to the whole in the original writings.
Canonicity
We must understand that the Bible is actually one book with one Divine Author, though it was written over a period of 1,500 years through the pens of almost 40 human writers. The Bible began with the creation account of Gen. 1–2, written by Moses about 1405 B.C., and extends to the eternity future account of Rev. 21– 22, written by the apostle John about A.D. 95. During this time, God progressively revealed himself and his purposes in the inspired Scriptures. But this raises a significant question: "How do we know what supposed sacred writings were to be included in the canon of Scripture and which ones were to be excluded?"