“Companion to the Bible” By E.P. Barrows – Modernized Edition
I discovered an incredible treasure: “Companion to the Bible” by E.P. Barrows, published in 1867. This book explains exactly what I’ve been writing about on this blog. It shows how the Old and New Testaments work together as one unified story of God’s heart for us.
Barrows shows us how every part of Scripture connects. He helps us understand that the Bible isn’t a collection of separate books. Instead, it is a beautiful revelation of God’s love. It shows His plan of redemption from beginning to end.
The problem? The 1867 language is incredibly hard to read. I kept thinking, “Everyone needs to read this! But nobody will get through it.”
So I’m modernizing it, chapter by chapter. I’m keeping every single point Barrows made, but translating his 19th-century English into clear, modern language that anyone can understand.
My prayer is that this resource helps you see the magnificent way God’s Word fits together. From Genesis to Revelation, it’s all about His faithful love. It also highlights His plan to bring us home to Him.
If you’d like to see the original 1867 version, you can find it here: Companion to the Bible on Project Gutenberg
I’ll be adding chapters as I complete them. Take your time, read at your own pace, and let the beauty of God’s unified story wash over you.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
1. Christianity Rests on Historical Facts
The Christian religion is not just a system of ideas, like the philosophy of Plato or Aristotle. It rests on a foundation of historical facts.
Jesus himself expressed the great central fact of the gospel this way: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The apostle Paul said it like this: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
When God’s Son appeared in human form, a series of mighty works happened. He gave divine teachings, appointed apostles, and established the visible Christian church. All of these are matters of historical record.
But there’s more. Christ and his apostles constantly taught that his coming was foretold in the Old Testament scriptures. Everything about him fulfilled what was written in those ancient writings. This includes the pictures painted through people, events, and symbols. It also includes the direct predictions spoken by the prophets.
Jesus himself said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17).
And after his resurrection he told his disciples: “All things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me” (Luke 24:44).
The facts of the New Testament connect directly with those of the Old Testament. Together, they form one complete, unified whole. The Bible, from beginning to end, records a supernatural revelation made by God to humanity. It contains both supernatural teachings and supernatural facts. The teachings rest on the facts in such a way that both must stand or fall together.
2. This Foundation Must Be Defended
This foundation of supernatural facts must be firmly established and defended against those who question or deny them. Their main goal is to destroy the historical foundation of the gospel. They target at least the parts that contain supernatural manifestations of God to humanity.
If they could accomplish this, they would rob the gospel of its divine authority. They would reduce it to merely a system of human teachings, like those of Socrates or Confucius. People could then accept or reject it as they think best.
If they succeeded in doing this, many would be quite willing to praise Jesus’ character. They would talk about how excellent his teachings are.
In fact, it’s fashionable among modern skeptics to do exactly this. They work hard to make the gospel look like made-up stories instead of divine truth. Then they praise the majesty and beauty of Jesus’ character. They talk about his excellent moral teachings and the good influence of his message.
But here’s the truth: The glory of Jesus’ character cannot be separated from who he claimed to be. He said he was the Son of God, coming from God to humanity with supreme authority. If that’s not true, then his character isn’t glorious at all.
All the power of the gospel lies in its being received as a message from God. To make the gospel merely human is to destroy it completely, along with the hope of the world.
3. Two Methods of Investigation
When we’re investigating a long series of events that are intimately connected and form one complete whole, we have two methods available to us:
We can look at the chain of events in time order, from beginning to end. Or we can select one great event of special importance as our central point of inquiry. From that position, we can then look both forward and backward.
This second method has some special advantages, and that’s what we’ll follow in this book.
We’ll begin with the great central fact of revelation already mentioned: “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14).
Once we show this fact rests on an unshakable foundation, the rest of the work becomes much easier. The supernatural appearance and works of the Son of God are recorded in the four gospels. Everything else follows naturally and even necessarily from this.
The supernatural empowerment and works of his apostles (recorded in the book of Acts) flow from Christ’s work. So do their authoritative teachings (contained in their letters).
God’s universal rule in all his works is growth in stages. As Jesus said, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:28).
God would naturally prepare the way. This was done before giving his full and complete revelation through his Son. And that’s exactly what we find recorded in the Old Testament.
Jesus of Nazareth appeared among the Jews—the very people who had the scriptures of the Old Testament. No other nation was prepared for his coming the way they were. He and his apostles constantly taught this. He came to carry out the plan of redemption. This plan had begun in the Old Testament.
Christ’s coming is the great central fact of redemption. From this position, we can look backward on the line of revelation. We can also look forward with great advantage.
4. The Importance of Viewing Revelation as a Whole
We cannot stress this enough to young seekers: It’s essential to look at revelation as a complete whole.
The evidence for the truth of the gospel stories is strong when they’re considered separately. But that evidence gains even more strength when we see:
- On one side, the mighty revelations that came before and prepared the way for the coming of the Son of God
- On the other side, the mighty events that followed his coming in the apostolic age—and have continued ever since in the history of the Christian church
The divine origin of the Mosaic institutions can be proven on solid grounds. These are the laws God gave through Moses. This proof holds even without the New Testament. The foundation becomes much broader and deeper when we realize these institutions were preparing for Jesus Christ’s coming!
Think of it this way. When you build a fire, each log burns hotter because of the other logs around it. The whole fire is stronger than any single piece would be alone.
In the same way, each revelation in God’s plan shines brighter because of what comes before and after it. When you see how they all connect, you understand each one better. The whole story of redemption is stronger than any single part would be on its own.
We must view the revelations of the Bible as progressing “from glory to glory.” Only then can we properly estimate the proofs of their divine origin.
Even if it were possible to trick people about one miraculous event (such as the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, or the events on the day of Pentecost). Think about what it would take to invent a whole series of such events. These events extend through many centuries, yet they’re connected together to form a harmonious and consistent whole. When you understand the scope of this, you realize it’s impossible for this to be made up.
There is only one explanation for the unity that runs through all the supernatural facts of revelation: their divine origin.
5. Avoid the Piecemeal Method
This complete way of viewing the facts of revelation as one grand whole contrasts sharply with the scattered method. The piecemeal approach is used by those who object to it.
The favorite approach of those who pick at the Bible is to focus on individual pieces. They raise a doubt about one verse. They criticize another passage. They point out a difficulty here, an objection there, a discrepancy somewhere else.
The ones who choose to treat the Bible in this narrow and unfair way will soon sink into the mud of unbelief.
Difficulties and objections should be honestly considered and given their proper weight. But we must not let them override clear proof. If we do, we’ll soon end up doubting everything. After all, we can raise difficult questions – some impossible to answer – about the world around us. How does gravity work? How does our brain create consciousness? These are mysteries in nature we can’t fully explain. We also have mysteries about what we can know about God just from observing creation. If we reject the Bible just because it has some mysteries, we’d have to reject everything else too.
To reject a series of events supported by overwhelming evidence just because of some unexplained difficulties doesn’t make sense. It’s like creating a hundred new problems just to avoid facing five.
If we’re willing to examine the claims of revelation as a complete whole, its divine origin will become evident to us. It will shine on us like the sun in the sky. We can then calmly set aside our difficulties for further investigation here, or for answers in the world to come.
6. The Order of Our Investigation
When we investigate the facts of revelation, the first question concerns the genuineness and accurate preservation of the books that record them. The next question concerns their authenticity and credibility. Then we can consider the question of their inspiration.
Following the plan outlined above (in section 3), we’ll consider the gospel narratives first. Then we’ll look at the remaining books of the New Testament.
After this, we’ll show the connection between the facts of revelation recorded in the Old Testament. We will then reveal the inseparable link with those in the New. Finally, we’ll examine the genuineness of the books that make up the canon of the Old Testament, along with their authenticity and inspiration.
We’ll conclude the entire work with a brief look at the internal evidences. We will also examine the experimental evidences that commend the Bible to human understanding. This approach reaches the conscience as the word of God.