REED 1 _OLD TESTAMENT
(Handout for your reference only)
TOPIC 1: REVELATION AND FAITH
Lesson 1: THE BIBLE: An Introduction
THE BIBLE
The word Bible comes from the Greek word “Biblia” which means, “the books”; hence, a collection of books or a library.
The Bible contains the greatest love story ever written. It is the story of God’s love towards His people as shown in---
- the gift of creation,
- the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ,
- the gift of freedom,
- the gift of forgiveness, and
- the gift of God’s continual presence.
It speaks of the tremendous love of God for mankind, telling us of a God who creates, calls, and invites us to a life of
friendship, intimacy and union with Him.
The Bible is a collection of ancient writings about God, God’s relationship with Man, our relationship as a people and
individuals with God, and how we should relate with others.
The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). The OT’s original text is in
Hebrew language while the NT’s version is in the Greek language. St. Jerome…….The Vulgate
The Bible is a Sacred Book
The Bible is a sacred book written under the divine inspiration and as establishing the norm of religious faith. Men are
instruments for its writing, most of them Hebrews, known and unknown. It was written at different times from about 900
B.C. to 100 A.D. at different places such as Babylon, Palestine, Rome, Egypt, etc.
The Bible was written to help us understand God and His works; to help us know how to live and act; and to share stories
of human experiences in many literary forms: songs, poetry, laws, history, prophecies, wise sayings, short stories, letters,
and gospels. It is the most famous book in history---the “Book of 30 Centuries”, an all-time BEST-SELLER!
Who can we interpret the Bible?
The Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Christ, has the task of
authentically interpreting the Word of God. This teaching office serves the Word of God, teaching only what has been
handed on by divine communion and with the help of the Holy Spirit. (DV, #10)
How do we use the Bible?
1. Praying. God speaks to us when we read the Scriptures. We open ourselves to Him with respect and are ready to obey
Him. These attitudes of openness, of listening and readiness we call prayer.
2. Studying. We need to understand what we believe in. The Bible is a good source of our belief. Therefore, we use it to
study and understand our faith.
3. Living. The Bible is written for us. (Rom. 4:23f) for our life and salvation. The Word of God is active and live (Heb
4:12) which has to be LIVED so that we may find LIFE.
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BIBLE READING PRAYER
O God, our loving Father, give us Your Holy Spirit. Make us read Your Word with faith; treasure it in our hearts with
hope; experience it in our lives with love; so that we may truly know, love and live your Divine Word that leads us to
salvation, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, in union with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS
Pentateuch: The Gospels:
1. Genesis 1. Matthew
2. Exodus 2. Mark
3. Leviticus 3. Luke
4. Numbers 4. John
5. Deuteronomy
Historical Books: 5. Acts of the Apostle
6. Joshua 13 Letters of Paul:
7. Judges
8. 1 Samuel 6. Romans
9. 2 Samuel 7. 1 Corinthians
10. 1 Kings 8. 2 Corinthians
11. 2Kings 9. Galatians
10. Ephesians
3 Major Prophets: 11. Philippians
12. Colossians
12. Isaiah 13. 1 Thessalonians
13. Jeremiah 14. 2 Thessalonians
14. Ezekiel 15. 1 Timothy
16. 2 Timothy
12 Minor Prophets: 17. Titus
18. Philemon
15. Hosea 21. Nahum
16. Joel 22. Habakkuk 8 Other Epistles:
17. Amos 23. Zephaniah
18. Obadiah 24. Haggai 19. Hebrews
19. Jonah 25. Zechariah 20. James
20. Micah 26. Malachi 21. 1 Peter
22. 2 Peter
The Writings: 23. 1 John
24. 2 John
27. Psalms 33. 1 Chronicles 25. 3 John
28. Proverbs 34. 2 Chronicles 26. Jude
29. Job 35. Song of Songs
30. Daniel 36. Ruth 27. Revelation
31. Ezra 37. Lamentations
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32. Nehemiah 38. Ecclesiastes
39. Esther
Deuterocanonicals: corrected them and forgives their sins.
40. Tobit (CFC,69)
3.Jesus Christ. He completed and perfected
41. Judith
God’s revelation by His words, works, signs and
42. Wisdom of Solomon miracles, and above all by His death and
43. Sirach glorious resurrection from the dead. (DV, 14).
44. Baruch Thus, Jesus is the unique, irrevocable and
45. 1 Maccabees definitive revelation of God. “For God so loved
46. 2 Maccabees the world that He sent His only Son to be our
Savior. (Jn 3: 16; Gal 4:4; Heb 4: 15)
4.Church. God continues to manifest Himself
Lesson 2: God Reveals Himself to Man and today through the Holy Spirit in the Church.
to His Creation After Jesus ascension unto heaven the
EXPOSITION: disciples whom Jesus had formed started to
In the context of knowing God, Revelation preach the Good News by the Holy Spirit sent
is the process by which God personally upon them on Pentecost. God continues to be
manifests and communicates to us His divine present in the world today through the Church.
SELF and the design of His divine will for our
salvation (DV,6). Purpose of Revelation:
1. To liberate the people from everything that
4 Ways by which God reveals Himself: oppress them (NCDP, 137)
2. To give us new dignity- the dignity of being
1. Creation. The Psalmist says: “The children of God (NCDP, 138)
heavens declare the glory of God, and the 3. To unify all these scattered children of God
firmament reveals His handiwork…” (Psalm (NCDP, 139)
19:1) We see a tiny glimpse of God’s glory
in the splendor of the sky, in the roaring of Sources of Revelation
the waves and in the majesty of the morning 1. Sacred Scripture and Tradition
sun. God shows Himself in the natural 2. Church Teaching
signs of the beauty and abundance of our 3.Common Papal Encyclicals and other
natural resources. In creation man holds a Documents
special place (Gen 1: 26) and gave man a
share in His own creativity. (Gen 1:28) INTEGRATION:
(CFC,65) God makes Himself known to us for the
reason that He loves us and we are His people.
2. Scriptures through Salvation History. Because He revels Himself to us, we have to
God revealed Himself in a second, more strive to become loving persons to others for
intimate way, by entering into the history of the persons are God’s reflection of His revelation,
human race He had created. (CFC, 67) the fact that we were all created by Him. This
The Bible records the words and deeds of implies that we have to be thankful to Him for
God when He entered into a covenant revealing Himself to us in many ways for us to
relationship with His chosen People. (Ex 29: 45) know and love Him all the rest of our life.
(Please see attached copy about the Bible.)
God revealed Himself in stages. He made
covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses.
He performed great works for His chosen
People. He proclaimed salvation and truths
through the judges, kings, prophets, priests and
wise men. He liberated them from slavery. He
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Lesson 3: Faith: Man’s Response to God’s Revelation
CONTEXT: Read the story entitled, “Father and Son”. (separate sheet)
Questions: 1. What is your perception of faith in this scenario?
2. What expressions of faith does the son show?
3. In your own experience, how do you express your faith?
EXPOSITION:
FAITH is our loving response to God’s revelation. It is a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Characteristics of Christian Faith
1. Total and Absolute. Faith in God calls for total and absolute adherence to God. (CFC, 123)
2. Trinitarian. Our Faith consist in our personal conviction and belief in God, our Father, revealed by
Jesus Christ, and their presence to us through the Holy Spirit in the Church. (PCP II, 64)
3. Loving, Maturing, Missionary. Our Christian Faith is truly life giving. It matures only through love,
hence our faith makes us loving and mature Christians. This love is inseparable love of God and love of
neighbors. (CFC, 125)
4. Informed and Communitarian. We come to know the inner life of God in faith by meditating on and
living out the truths Christ has exemplified and taught. Our faith is communitarian since it is the Church that
transmit to us Christ’s revelation through the Sacred Scriptures and its Tradition. (CFC, 126)
5. Inculturated. The Gospel is capable of permeating the culture of the people, thus
building the kingdom in this culture. Our Faith is lived out in our Filipino milieu- in our family life,
friendships and daily routine in the light of our faith.(CFC, 127)
Faith is a personal decision and as such it involves the whole person, encompassing the
three main dimensions: head, hands and feet, and heart. So, our Catholic Faith is
three- dimensional: Doctrine, Morals and Worship.
The Three Essential Dimensions of Catholic Faith
1. Faith as believing: Doctrine. Christian Faith is personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as “my Lord and
my God.” (Jn 20:28). It is knowledge on doctrinal truths expressed in declarative statements that are
found in the Creeds. Head is the human faculty involved.
2. Faith as doing: Morals. Christian faith is commitment to follow God’s will for us.”My brothers, what
good it is to profess faith without practicing it? (James 2:14) “Morals” or the “doing” dimension of
our faith refers to the ethical imperatives and values found in the Laws, the Beatitudes and
Commandments, and the values these are fostering. It is exemplified in our witnessing and loving
service to our neighbor. The human faculties involved are the hands and feet.
3. Faith as entrusting/worshipping: Worship. The refinement of our understanding of our faith
produces the third dimension of prayer-worship, as referring especially to the Church
public worship, the Liturgy. Christian faith is from the heart--- loving, entrusting and hoping
in the Lord. This dimension lives and grows through prayer and the Sacraments. The
liturgy is the summit and inspirational source of our own personal prayer. For “everything
is possible to a man who trusts.” (Mk.9:24) The heart is the human faculty involved.
INTEGRATION: Faith, then, involves our belief, our loving service to our neighbors and our trust in
God. Without one of the three, faith is never authentic. You cannot say you believe in God if you do not love and
serve others and if you do not entrust yourself completely to God through prayer.
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