WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of Holy Scripture so that the Bible is without error in the original manuscripts. We receive the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments as our final, absolute authority; and it is therefore our infallible rule in all matters.
The Word of God, the Bible, is the form of God's Word that is available for study, for public inspection, for repeated examination, and as a basis for mutual discussion. It tells us about and points us to the Word of God as a person, namely Jesus Christ, whom we do not now have present in bodily form on earth. Thus, we are no longer able to observe and imitate his life and teachings firsthand.
We did not hear God's words of decree directly and thus cannot study them directly but only through observation of their effects. It is most profitable for us to study God's words as written in the Bible. It is God's written Word that he commands us to study. "The man is blessed who meditates on God's Law Day and night." God's words to Joshua are also applicable to us: "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night that you may be careful to do all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success" (Josh 1:8). It is the Word of God in the form of written Scripture that is "God-breathed" and "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness" (2Tim 3:16 NIV).
We do not believe that God's Word is open to private interpretation, however we do believe there are different levels of revelation of the Word. We hold to the literalness of scripture. There was a garden there was an Adam and there was an Eve.
*Transliterations enhanced or paraphrased versions are used as study aids: Amplified Bible, The Message, or The Living Bible.