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Biblical Metanarrative Essay
Brooke Naef
School of Education, Liberty University
THEO104-D26: Introduction to Theology Survey
Professor Jack Davis
November 7, 2022
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Biblical Metanarrative Essay
Introduction
When we look at the Bible, we will notice that there at sixty-six books to the Bible. In
these chapters, the Bible will cover multiple topics and themes. These stories in the Bible will
span many genres and are written over many years (Thousands) by authors contributing to the
building of the Bible. “it tells us that we were created to know God, but we lost this knowledge when sin
came. In mercy, God then chose a people to walk with him and to experience him through the centuries until
God completely restored our lost knowledge of him in the coming of a Redeemer.” (The Biblical
Metanarrative, n.d.) All stories come together to form the best narrative of a lifetime, in my
opinion. To state that this is the best story of a lifetime is to state that God breathed his words
and all life into the four popular movements into life. The movements of God were creation, fall,
redemption, and the rebirth of his followers. These are the foundations of God’s story to his
people and us, and the followers of Christ.
Bible Metanarrative
An individual is asked to think about a metanarrative, they may think of a story, and this
is because a metanarrative is simplified down to a story. The biblical metanarrative has four
parts to the story that makes it unified. The four primary parts that connect the biblical
metanarrative are creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. Metanarrative for the Bible talks
about the original design God made through all the stories that will lead up to the new creation.
For example, Genesis 1:1 is written, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
(English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Genesis 1:1). Then, Revelations 22:5, “and they will
reign forever and ever.” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Revelations 22:5). By stating
these two verses, these two verses create an umbrella where the rest of the stories fit into the
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Bible that will lead others to follow God. God’s story is written to inform us how to live as
humans and to learn who God is. Some may think that the Bible is an instruction guide, but as
we apply the scriptures to our everyday lives, we can make all the scriptures valuable to us. The
in-between parts of the narrative are the fall and redemption. As you read the Bible, Adam and
Eve began the fall when they disobeyed God’s instructions. As a result, God’s perfect creation
was starting to crash. I believe Redemption occurs when God speaks to Abraham in Genesis
12:2, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and
you will be a blessing.” (What Does Genesis 12:2 Mean?, n.d.). From here, we are led into the
New Testament of Jesus’ arrival and how he moved all the people he encountered. Jesus was
God, but he was also our redeemer that would end up dying on the cross for all the world’s sins
until God came back to create the new creation, which is our ending for the story of God.
Gospel
“The word “gospel” is an Old English translation of the Greek noun euaggelion, which
means “good news,” and the Greek verb euangelizo, which means “to announce the good news.”
(Ruiter, 2022). We see this through the start of the Bible, Genesis, the gospel is shown through
God’s creation of all things. In Colossians 1:16, the gospel of God is written, “all things were
created through him and for him,” God tells us that there are two persons, these are God himself
and the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit). God slowly shows himself more from his creation in
Genesis 1:27, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them.” Soon after creation, when the fall of Eden happens, God takes all that
is perfect things away because it did not follow what he asked and asked not to happen. His
words were defiled, and there needed to be consequences. From this Genesis 3:15, God makes it
known that he will send one to restore and renew God’s design of perfect creation from this
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blasphemy. This brings us to redemption and how the gospel was used through Jesus Christ and
his words God placed in his mouth. 1 John 4:9 Christ tells us that “we might live through him.”
God’s gospel is shown through Christ. He shows how we will be renewed into God’s image.
(Romans 8:29). (The Doctrine of Creation: Theological Significance and Implications, Part 1 Â
EFCA Blog, n.d.). God’s gospel is shown through it all that he is our redeemer and loves his
children so much that we will one day be with him and his son. God created humankind in his
image. In the Old Testament is seen how he ruled over all of creation. Adam and Eve destroyed
the image of God when they disobeyed his rules for the utopia of Eden. In Genesis 1:26-27 God
says
Image of God
The image of God is read throughout the Bible. For the biblical metanarrative, we will see the
image of God at the start of the book when he created the heavens and Earth in his image. God
created humanity in his image. In the Old Testament is seen how he ruled over all of creation.
Adam and Eve destroyed the image of God when they disobeyed his rules for the perfection of
Eden. In Genesis 1:26-27 God says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that
they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild
animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 God created humankind in his
image, in the image of God he created male and female he created them”. When the fall
happened and sin came over the world, we read in our textbook that God is still seen as divine.
There is one God and one God only. In redemption, Jesus is born upon the earth, where he is the
Son of God. Jesus is the human form of God. The son of God teaches the world of God's
goodness and how not to show ugliness in God's image. When Jesus returns, all sins will be
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made right, and the image of God will be restored to the perfection that he intended for the world
for all of eternity.
Conclusion
God’s story is reached throughout the world and passed along from generation to generation.
This metanarrative shows the world that he is all-knowing and the character he wants us to be
when he speaks to others. It started in creation, followed through the fall and redemption, but
when we truly see God and all that he is will be at the end of his story, which will be the new
creation. We will meet God, and he will love us as he did the day he created this world. We will
live with him for eternity because he sent his son to earth to sacrifice our sins for his life, the
redemption of our story. Therefore, Christians will live with God forever and not be separated
from him for all eternity.
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References
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Etzel, G., & Small, R. N. (2016) Everyday Series: Theology. Chattanooga, TN: B&H Academic.
Ruiter, G. (2022, February 16). What Does the Bible Say about Sharing the Gospel?
Faithward.org. https://www.faithward.org/what-does-the-bible-say-about-sharing-the-
gospel/
Sherwood, J. (2019, October 24). Story of the Bible: Meta-Narrative [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5nTkpuGMVI&feature=youtu.be
The Doctrine of Creation: Theological Significance and Implications, Part 1 â€EFCA Blog. (n.d.).
Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://blogs.efca.org/strands-of-
thought/posts/the-doctrine-of-creation-theological-significance-and-implications-part-1
The Biblical Metanarrative. (n.d.). Postmodern Preaching. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://www.postmodernpreaching.net/the-biblical-metanarrative.html
The Doctrine of Creation: Theological Significance and Implications, Part 1 â€EFCA Blog.
(n.d.-b). Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://blogs.efca.org/strands-of-
thought/posts/the-doctrine-of-creation-theological-significance-and-implications-part-1
