Biblical Metanarrative Essay
Wu Sihan Annetta
THEO104: Introduction to Theology Survey (D32)
July 6, 2025
The Bible is a compilation of sixty-six books with more than forty authors, presenting
an incredible tapestry of diversity, spanning separate times, cultures, as well as literary
forms. Ranging from Psalms, with David pouring out his heart to God in the form of poetry
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and worship. To Proverbs, King Solomon’s use of his gift of wisdom from God, short sayings
and teachings that gives practical advice to live a wise and moral life. And Songs of song,
from David’s experience with many women, he expresses love and desire for her beauty and
nature in the form of love literature. Although there are an undeniable number of
differences, the Bible can be seen as a unified whole, through the metanarrative— an
illustration of the Bible in four major scenes: the Creation, Fall, Redemption, and the New
Creation.
First comes the Creation. At first, God created the heavens and earth. There
was no light until God commanded, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1: 3 NIV), separating the light
from the darkness. This is day one. Within the next six days, God spoke everything into
existence and gave each its function and purpose. God brought matter into existence by
forming the sky, evening and morning, land, seas, vegetation, stars, creatures of the sea,
birds of the sky, wild animals, livestocks, humankind, order, and food (Gen. 1). On the sixth
day, He created humans in His image, giving them authority to rule over other creatures and
calling them to multiply. Adam and Eve were the first two human beings created by God, Eve
was formed from the rib of Adam. They lived in the Garden of Eden, where God provided
them food on trees. “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2: 9). He warned them to not eat from the tree, “for
when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Gen. 2: 17). After everything is done, God
blessed the seventh day as holy.
The narrative took a dark turn before the Fall. As the serpent was on the tree of good
and evil to tempt Eve to sin against God before they disobeyed Him by choice. The good
world He created, and the creatures he endowed with moral quality, intelligence and
creativity has turned against Him, His will, and His way. There was already rebellion in the
spiritual world, and this introduced chaos into the order He set up. Eve was tempted by the
snake and ate the forbidden fruit. She then gave Adam the fruit, which he ate (Gen. 3: 6).
This is an act of rejection of God’s authority. Immediately, they were aware of their
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nakedness and shame overtook their hearts, “so they sewed fig leaves together and made
covering for themselves” (Gen. 3: 7). When God called them, they hid from Him, their
relationship with God was broken by sin. God confronted them. Eve will bear the
consequences of having a painful childbirth, desire will be for her husband and Adam to rule
over her (Gen. 3: 16). Adam will toil for food and face death (Gen. 3: 17-19). They were
expelled from the Garden of Eden, separated from God, and lost their innocence.
The Redemption begins with God’s promise to Abraham, promising him descendants
the number of stars (Gen. 16: 5). Paul notes in Galatians that the inheritance God promised
Abraham was given to him by grace not by law (Gal. 3: 18). Another covenant includes the
promise God made to Israel through Moses. Guiding them to live according to His ways and
teachings (Exo. 19-24). He promised David that His descendant will sit in the throne forever
and rule (Psalm 89: 4). The promise God made in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 37, to pour out
His spirit on his people, and give them new hearts. This promise was fulfilled by Jesus at the
Pentecost when he ascended into heaven (Acts 2). By sending His son, Jesus Christ, “God
Himself entered into the world to offer His own life as a payment for the sin caused by
mankind’s choice to disobey God at the beginning of creation,”1 Jesus was crucified and rose
from death three days after, so we can be cleansed from our sins. His resurrection proves
that God has the power to forgive us and wash away our sins, so we can be close with Him
again. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2: 8-9). As
believers, we will “continue to trust in Jesus through faith,”2 after receiving the salvation.
This leads to the New Creation. The redemptive story connects the Old Testament to
the New Testament. This frames the way we understand Jesus, His death, and resurrection.
Jesus not only brought redemption as well as new life to humanity, in the New Testament, it
is mentioned that all creation should be renewed through the work of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:
1 Ben Gutierrez, Theology Applied: A Living Faith (Virginia, B&H Academic, 2012), 11.
2 Gabriel Etzel, Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith (Nashville, Tennessee, B&H
Academic, 2016), 193.
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17). In Romans 8, Paul notes that the future glory to be revealed to believers far outweighs
the present sufferings they face. Another mention Paul made includes that the whole
creation is groaning to be restored. “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning
in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, as the fruits
of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption for our
bodies” (Rom. 8: 22-23 ESV). This shows how all of creation eagerly and desperately awaits
Jesus to set them free from decay and futility. The culmination of this story is in Revelation.
Where Jesus stands victorious after the last battle of Armageddon takes place. “They will
wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because He is the Lord of
lords and King of kings” (Rev. 17: 14 NIV). Because He won at last, a new heaven and a new
earth emerged. So, all Gods’ people will dwell in their glorified resurrected bodies, with their
arisen glorified Lord for all eternity in this renewed creation.
“The Bible is a book of God’s interaction with His creation,”3 and the metanarrative is
an overarching narrative that helps us understand the Bible, specifically how our experiences
connect to the world, in a coherent context. A biblical worldview is believing that moral
absolutism exists, that it is build on the foundation of God's Word and permeates all aspects
of life. Having a biblical worldview allows the person to know the truth and purpose of their
existence, knowing our identity lies in God as we are His image bearers, created and loved by
Him. This gives us a sense of purpose and belonging, and the chance for the Holy Spirt to
bring about “an unconscious transformation at the moment of conversion.”4 The core of the
Christian worldview is believing that Jesus Christ had victory over death (1 Corinthians
15:55). That He washed away our sins (Hebrews 10:10), gifted us salvation, so we are born
again and have our minds renewed by the Holy Spirit. The uniqueness of the worldview is
that all Christians are called on to love one another (1 Corinthians 13), it is our duty to love
3 Ben Gutierrez, Theology Applied: A Living Faith (Virginia, B&H Academic, 2012), 31.
4 Gabriel Etzel, Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith (Nashville, Tennessee, B&H
Academic, 2016), 194.
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God and love people. As it is a command from God to remain in His Word and work out
one's salvation with fear and trembling for an eternal life with Him in Heaven (Philippians
2:12).
To conclude, the story of creation alongside the later fall highlights the profound
impact that human decisions have on Gods’ perfect plan and design. At first, there was
peace and harmony at the Garden of Eden, which was destroyed by Adam and Eve’s
disobedience, and introduced sin and chaos into the world. Their rejection of God’s
command broke their relationship with Him and also opened the doors for sin and
brokenness to thrive in humanity.
In addition to highlighting humanity's continuous battle with sin and yearning for
restoration, this crucial event emphasizes the importance of redemption. This story urges us
to act as we recognize our dependence on the hope that is found in the redemptive work of
Jesus Christ, the need for divine guidance and intervention. Because of His sacrificial love,
we have a way back to the relationship that God originally intended for us. Through His
saving grace, we are born again, invited to reclaim our identity as His image bearers and
apart of His ongoing plan for creation.
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Bibliography
Etzel, Gabriel. “Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith.” B&H Academic,
Nashville, Tennessee, 2016. Accessed July 5, 2025. ISBN: 978-1-4627-4075-8
Gutierrez, Ben. “Theology Applied: A Living Faith.” B&H Academic, Virginia, 2012.
Accessed July 4, 2025. Resource ID:
LLS:WS_15BF52D8087C41108E19553D93AFD6F9.
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