Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 1 Peter 1:23
One of the big news announcements one day was the digital reuniting of the pieces of one of the oldest Bibles in the world. The Codex Sinaiticus is a Greek Bible that was printed by four scribes on parchment pages some 1600 years ago. Portions of that Bible have resided in the British museum, as well as in museums in Russia, Germany, and in Egypt. Through the wonders of technology, the entire Codex is now available on line. When I went to check it out, I received a notification that the Web site was too busy. As amazing as a Bible written shortly after the year 300 AD, there is something about the Bible that is more amazing still. The Word of God is eternal. It had no beginning, and it will have no ending.
Someday, hopefully far into the future, the precious documents that make up the Codex Sinaiticus will crumble and be gone. But the words that are on those parchment sheets will never disappear. Even here on earth men cannot destroy or stifle the Bible. Consider the prophecy of a heretic such as Voltaire, who proclaimed that within a hundred years, the Bible would be abandoned and forgotten. Yet within a few years of Voltaire’s death, his house was turned into one of Europe’s busiest distribution points for the Word of God, printing and distributing many millions of copies of the very Bible that Voltaire thought would vanish.
Why is it so important for the Bible to be eternal? Because our text today tells us that our second birth is based on the truth contained within that Holy Book. The philosophies of this world are within a short time proven to be the ramblings of fools. But the Word of God is as vibrant today as it was when holy men of God were moved by the Holy Ghost to write it.
Everything that we have as Christians, our salvation and all the blessings of being God’s children, are based on that sacred Script. Having a 1600 year old Bible that we can look at reminds us that God’s Word is truly living and abiding, through time and to all eternity. -Jim MacIntosh