Biblical Metanarrative Essay
Jennifer Murray (L30041462)
John W Rawlings School of Divinity, Liberty University
Theology 104: Introduction to Theology Survey
Dr. Richard McGee
January 26, 2021
Introduction
Whenever I think of the word “Metanarrative” I pull out the root word narrative which
just means to tell a story. Every good story has a narrator. I always loved getting the narrator part
whenever my class would put on the little Shakespeare plays in class like Julius Caesar or
whatnot and I’d get to read the stage direction. Funny little fact, I went on to write and direct my
own play as a part of my senior project in high school. Anyways, when we are talking about the
Biblical Metanarrative, we are saying that it is a way to describe what happens in the bible in sort
of a storytelling kind of way. It’s a way to narrate or to explain what happens throughout the
bible in four easy steps; Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation. In the book of Ephesians
Paul writes, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his
neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25, ESV). Which I think fits here in
my introduction explaining the metanarrative because we all fit into the metanarrative because
we all fit in with God because He loves us all the same.
Biblical Metanarrative
The way that I understand the Biblical Metanarrative is that creation happened when God
created the Earth in Genesis 1:1. Everything was going well for everyone until the fall of
creation and Adam and Eve ate the apple and God threw them out of the Garden of Eden and
they became aware of themselves. Then Jesus was our redemption and forgave us of all of our
sins and then Revelation is the prophecy of the New Creation.
I don’t exactly agree that this structure should be described as a metanarrative as sorts or
even a narrative at all. It does not flow as major plot points for what happened to humanity or
even our “over-arching story” if that is the goal of the metanarrative. The first plot hole, as such,
as Jesus being our redemption implies that Jesus was not in the first two stages of the narrative,
creation and fall, which then defaults that the teachings of the trinity that the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit are heresy. So one of the two has to give. Also if God is all knowing the way that we
say He is, He knew that the fall was going to happen ahead of time and He allowed it to happen
which means he knew that Jesus had to die as part of the grand scheme of things which also does
not support the redemption or fall idea. The other thing that strikes me as just not right about this
is the new creation piece because it also discounts what Jesus did for us. Why do we need a new
creation if Jesus already died for our sins and brought us redemption? Was that not enough? 2
Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed
away; behold, the new has come” and Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It
is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (English Standard Version). I
just feel skeptical about the metanarrative as a theology doctrine in general and these are a few of
my reasons.
Love
One thing that rings true about the four major plot movements of the metanarrative is that
all of them are done out of love. Let us start with the first movement. Genesis 1:1, God created
the heavens and the earth, stop. Why? Why would God decide to do that? What other reason
would He have to create the heavens and the earth if it wouldn’t be other than out of pure love?
He wanted to paint a canvas of beauty and wonder for him to gaze at. So that’s what He did.
Let us fast forward a bit. Genesis 3:1, the serpent (Satan, we presume) goes to Eve and
tells her that God doesn’t want her to eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden
because then her eyes would be open and he tempts her with the fruit and she eats it and she also
shares with her beau Adam and they realize that they are naked and they make themselves some
clothes out of fig leaves. God realizes what has happened and throws them out of the Garden of
Eden. Quite possibly the two most blessed people in the history of time and God has the chance
to start over the entire history because there are only two of them, no harm no foul right? And he
doesn’t. Why? Love. He loved Adam and Eve. He wanted humanity to learn from their mistakes.
Now between the fall and the redemption, there is quite a bit of history and parable that
happens. Let’s start the redemption with Mary. Sweet and beautiful Mary, one of my favorite
stories in the bible. She is just a girl who put her trust in her God. She was being courted by a
man named Joseph when an Angel came to her and told her that she was with child who would
be the Messiah and that she was to call him Jesus. She accepted this and asked to spend time
with her relative, Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Joseph, who was courting
her and who had every right to have her stoned at the time, decided to divorce her quietly which
was very noble of him, until an Angel came to him in a dream and told him what Mary was
doing. Matthew’s retelling mentions that they did not consummate their marriage until after Jesus
was born (Matthew 1:25, NIV). Jesus was born without any sin and lived his life without any sin.
He lived his life rubbing his pure love on any person that he could give it to. He died to show
every single person how much he loved us. Some accepted it and some did not but he did not do
it so that we would accept it, he did it so that we knew that he loved us.
The way that the new creation works is that Jesus is going to come back and bring us
back to heaven. Whether or not the prophecy is apocalyptic in nature or just a prophecy to be
fulfilled in one time in the near or distant future, it is something that was written out of love. God
wants us to be in heaven so that we can be with Him. God is a jealous God and He wants us all to
himself and I’m not sure about you but I want to be with Him as much as He wants me to be with
Him.
Temptation
Temptation is a difficult topic to describe in all four plot movements in the metanarrative,
which is why I picked it but I will try my best to do it justice. To discuss creation, temptation
comes into play because God did not exactly have to create an entire universe and make earth
this tiny little speck floating in all of this huge space and time but he surely did because God
really likes beautiful things. We are incredibly small compared to the things that God has created
out there in the grand scheme of things so I suppose that temptation could come into play with
the different things that God continues to create in the universe. God is a creative genius of sorts.
Not that we mind however.
Temptation really comes into play in the fall. Adam and Eve fall victim to the first
temptation in history. In the bible, temptation comes up a lot and we are warned against it quite a
bit. Although, we are also conforted that God is also faithful and that we are not going to be
given more than we can handle in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is
not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but
with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it”
(ESV).
In redemption, temptation comes up again the night that Jesus is captured and jailed.
Jesus is feeling apprehensive and let us be a little honest, a little angry and scared. He is praying
and talking to God in the garden and he’s asked his disciples to keep watch for him while he does
so and when he goes out, he catches them asleep twice. Satan is there in the garden with Jesus
just like he was with Adam and Eve tempting him. The difference is that Jesus being tempted,
even with being a little apprehensive, looked much different than when it happened in the
Garden of Eden. Jesus was able to resist the temptation because he knew God was with him.
Temptation is relevant in the new creation because Revelation says that there will be
trials and tribulations and, in that means, that there will be temptations that we will have to face.
Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw
some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be
faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (ESV)
Conclusion
In conclusion, I do not buy into the entire metanarrative as I see that there are some plot
holes in the entire thing. That being said, I do think that it is a nice thought that the Bible can
have an over-arching story that can be explained with four plot points, even if there are holes in
those points. I think that if those holes can be fixed and explained more thoroughly and
confidently I might come aboard but as of right now, I am a little skeptical. I do appreciate the
opportunity to explain my side of my thoughts.
