The above scripture of Luke 1:37 has become sort of a favorite scripture or one that is quoted multiple times during a textual or verbal conversation by many believers and followers of Yeshua.
Some even, without quoting or connecting to any scripture, make a general statement such as: "With ADONAI nothing is impossible....."
Making such a GENERALIZED statement, would create an ABSOLUTE situation or statement meaning that absolutely nothing is impossible with Elohim/Adonai.
BUT GENUINELY AND SINCERELY THERE ARE FEW THINGS WHICH ARE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ELOHIM (GOD) TO DO. AND THESE IMPOSSIBILITIES ARE MENTIONED BY ELOHIM (GOD) IN HIS OWN WORD IN THE BIBLE:
1. It is IMPOSSIBLE for the El Shaddai (Almighty), Adonai (LORD), Elohim (God) Yahweh to LIE.
Hebrews 6:17 & 18
"Wherein Elohim, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:"
"That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for Elohim to lie we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us".
Numbers 23:19
"El is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"
Restoration Study Bible (04th Edition)
Titus 1:1-2
Paul, a servant of Yahweh, and an apostle of Yahshua Messiah, according to the faith of Yahweh's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after holiness;
In hope of eternal life, which Elohim, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
RSB Bible (04th Edition)
There are couple of things, that are impossible for Elohim (God) to do. One of them is that our Elohim / Adonai CANNOT LIE. The Bible shows us that the very nature of our Elohim Yahweh is such that he being always good, hence he cannot ever lie.
1 Timothy 6:16
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen". Restoration Study Bible (04th Edition)
1 Timothy 6:16
"He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen". New Living Translation
- Almighty El Shaddai can never change.
- Also it is impossible for Elohim Yahweh to allow or permit Sinners to enter Heaven.
- It is impossible for Elohim Yahweh to forgive Satan.
So why does it appear as a Contradiction when one Quotes Luke 1:37, one Single Scripture in its Singularity?
The answer is to be found within the above Question itself.
Modern verse division for the New Testament was the work of Robert Stephanus (Stephens), a French printer. He divided the Greek text into verses for his Greek New Testament published in 1551.
The first entire Bible, in which these chapter and verse divisions were used, was Stephen’s edition of the Latin Vulgate (1555).
The first English Bible to have both chapter and verse divisions was the Geneva Bible (1560).
So before 1550, it was IMPOSSIBLE AND IMPRACTICAL for any individual human to quote a Single Scripture, out of its Chapter or Context to support any Idea, Thought or Teaching. This modern day and now somewhat common concept of quoting verses without giving any serious thought or implication of it, is only a few centuries old custom.
Elohim Yahweh, never ever intended, or instructed or commanded or inspired his sacred word to be divided into Chapters and Verses for everyone to use as they please too.
The Verse Divisions Can Also Cause Problems
Dividing the Bible into verses can also give the impression that the Scripture consists of a number of maxims or wise sayings. For example, Paul wrote to the Colossians:
Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch! (Colossians 2:21 NLT)
This verse, by itself, gives the impression that Scripture encourages some type of physical self-denial. Yet just the opposite is true. In context, Paul is actually teaching against this type of behavior. His argument is as follows:
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch! (Colossians 2:20-21 NLT)
The next verse emphasizes that such restrictions are human commandments—not commandments from God:
Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. (Colossians 2:22 NLT)
When we read the verse in context, it says the following:
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch.” Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires. (Colossians 2:20-23 NLT)
Therefore, this one verse, when read on its own, gives the wrong impression of the biblical teaching. This is one of the problems with the Bible divided into verses—people will isolate the verses from the rest of the context.
Luke 1:34 New International Version
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
Having provided the above explanation, nothing is impossible with Elohim Yahweh was in specific connection that it is possible for Elohim Yahweh to impregnate the Virgin Maiden Mary and make her pregnant without having sexual relations with any man.
Luke 1:31
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name YAHSHUA.
Luke 1:32
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and Yahweh Elohim shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Luke 1:33
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luke 1:34
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Luke 1:35
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of Yahweh.
In this CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND, the Angel Gabriel was communicating in this SPECIAL & SPECIFIC SITUATION. That nothing was impossible with Elohim (God).
Mary naturally doubted, as to how can she become pregnant without touching a man intimately. Hence in this situation, Angel Gabriel says that NOTHING (meaning this scenario of Virgin pregnancy and birth) is Impossible with Elohim Yahweh.
When we thousands of years later, pick up a SINGLE SCRIPTURE IN ITS SINGULARITY and Quote it OUT OF THE CHAPTER AND OUT OF ITS ORIGINAL CONTEXT GENERALLY then that Scripture may appear to look like a Contradiction, which it surely is not.
SO THE SOLUTION IS.........
Chapters and Verses Are Not What the Original Bible Writers and Authors Intended
The original authors of Scripture did not intend that their writings be divided up into chapters or verses. They intended that the books be read straight through from the beginning. A number of the books of Scripture can be read through in one sitting. This is the best way to discover what the author is trying to say.
Dividing up the Scripture into chapters and verses encourages people to read only small parts at a time. This is not always helpful. This is why the Bible should be read the same way as the original authors intended it to be read.
PLEASE NOTE:
Elohim Yahweh, never ever intended, or instructed or commanded or inspired his sacred word to be divided into Chapters and Verses for everyone to use as they please too. The original Scriptures in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is to say the Torah, Tanakh and the Brit Hadashah never had divisions of Chapters and Verses, still the followers and disciples of Yeshua were called as Saints who kept the commandments of Yahweh and the faith of Yeshua, WITHOUT HAVING CHAPTERS & VERSES DIVISIONS. Revelation 14:12
WHY IS THE BIBLE DIVIDED INTO CHAPTERS AND VERSES?
Why the Bible Is So Special – Question 8
Today, when we want to find a passage of Scripture, we look it up under its chapter and verse. Where did these divisions come from? Are they found in the original writings? If not, who decided how the sacred writings should be divided? There are a number of important points that need to be made:
1. There Were No Chapter or Verse Divisions in the Original
When the books of the Bible were originally written, there were no such things as chapters or verses. Each book was written without any breaks from the beginning to the end. Consequently, there are a number of important observations that need to be made about the present chapter and verse divisions that we find in Scripture.
2. The Books Have Been Divided into Chapters and Verses for Convenience
The chapter and verse divisions were added to the Bible for the sake of convenience. There is no authoritative basis for the divisions we now find. For the greater part of human history, there have been no chapter or verse divisions in Scripture.
3. The Origin of Chapter Divisions
The divisions of individual books of Scripture into smaller sections began as early as the fourth century A.D. Codex Vaticanus, a fourth century Greek manuscript, used paragraph divisions. These were comparable to what we find in manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible.
In the fifth century, the biblical translator Jerome divided Scripture into short potions, or passages, called pericopes. The word is still used today to refer to a self-contained unit of Scripture. His work proceeded the dividing of Scripture into chapters.
The actual chapter division took place much later. A man named Stephen Langton divided the Bible into chapters in the year A.D. 1227. The Bible he used was the Latin Vulgate. Langton was a professor at the University of Paris at the time. Later, he became the Archbishop of Canterbury.
These chapter divisions were later transferred to the Hebrew text in the fourteenth century by a man named Salomon ben Ishmael. There seems to have been certain changes made by Salomon ben Ishmael because the chapter divisions in the Hebrew text do not line up exactly with the English Bible.
4. The Origin of Verse Divisions
The modern Old Testament division into verses was standardized by the Ben Asher family around A.D. 900. However, the practice of dividing the Old Testament books into verses goes back centuries earlier.
Modern verse division for the New Testament was the work of Robert Stephanus (Stephens), a French printer. He divided the Greek text into verses for his Greek New Testament published in 1551.
The first entire Bible, in which these chapter and verse divisions were used, was Stephen’s edition of the Latin Vulgate (1555).
The first English Bible to have both chapter and verse divisions was the Geneva Bible (1560).
5. Chapters and Verses Are Helpful for Reference and Quotation
The chapter and verse divisions are convenient for reference and quotation purposes. They make it easier to find certain statements and accounts in Scripture.
It must always be remembered that the divisions into chapters and verses are human-made. They are sometimes arbitrary, and they sometimes interfere with the sense of the passage. The first step in Bible interpretation is to ignore the modern chapter and verse divisions.
6. The Chapter Divisions Can Cause Problems
The divisions into chapters and verses can actually cause some problems. There are instances where chapters are wrongly divided. For example, the end of Matthew chapter 16 should actually be placed with the beginning of Matthew 17.
Matthew 16 ends with Jesus saying the following:
And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see me, the Son of Man, coming in my Kingdom. (Matthew 16:28 NLT)
The next verse reads:
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. (Matthew 17:1 NRSV)
This verse should have been in the same chapter as the previous verse since it is continuing the story.
The Verse Divisions Can Also Cause Problems
Dividing the Bible into verses can also give the impression that the Scripture consists of a number of maxims or wise sayings. For example, Paul wrote to the Colossians:
Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch! (Colossians 2:21 NLT)
This verse, by itself, gives the impression that Scripture encourages some type of physical self-denial. Yet just the opposite is true. In context, Paul is actually teaching against this type of behavior. His argument is as follows:
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch! (Colossians 2:20-21 NLT)
The next verse emphasizes that such restrictions are human commandments—not commandments from God:
Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. (Colossians 2:22 NLT)
When we read the verse in context, it says the following:
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the evil powers of this world. So why do you keep on following rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch.” Such rules are mere human teaching about things that are gone as soon as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires. (Colossians 2:20-23 NLT)
Therefore, this one verse, when read on its own, gives the wrong impression of the biblical teaching. This is one of the problems with the Bible divided into verses—people will isolate the verses from the rest of the context.
Many more examples could be listed. Indeed, one could argue that the Bible teaches atheism:
There is no God... (Psalm 14:1 NIV)
Of course, the complete verse reads as follows:
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (Psalm 14:1 NIV)
Others could contend that Jesus taught cannibalism! The Gospel of John records Jesus saying the following:
So Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves. Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day, because My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me, and I in him.” (John 6: 53-56 HCSB)
This is why it is important to read each particular verse in context. Otherwise, one can make the Bible say things that it does not want to say.
Chapters and Verses Are Not What the Authors Intended
The original authors of Scripture did not intend that their writings be divided up into chapters or verses. They intended that the books be read straight through from the beginning. A number of the books of Scripture can be read through in one sitting. This is the best way to discover what the author is trying to say.
Dividing up the Scripture into chapters and verses encourages people to read only small parts at a time. This is not always helpful. This is why the Bible should be read the same way as the original authors intended it to be read.
Summary – Question 8
Why Is the Bible Divided into Chapters and Verses?
In the original text of the various books of the Bible, there are no such things as chapter and verse divisions. They were added later for the sake of convenience. While they are helpful, they are not authoritative in any sense of the term. In fact, they can cause a number of problems.
Chapter and verse divisions give the impression that the Scripture should be read and studied in bits and pieces. This is not what the original authors intended. The entire context must always be considered. Consequently, the chapter and verse divisions should be ignored when one attempts to properly interpret the entire message of Scripture.
SOURCE OF ABOVE ARTICLE TITLED, "WHY IS THE BIBLE DIVIDED INTO CHAPTERS AND VERSES?" INFO CREDIT:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/bible-special/question8-why-is-the-bible-divided-into-chapters-and-verses.cfm