Jones 1
Daniel Jones
Dr. Gnanikan
THEO 201
16 October 2017
Worldview Essay
The Bible is the most profound and enlightening collection of stories, lessons, poetry,
and prayers. It the all-time number one bestselling book in the world because it has the power to
change lives and hearts toward the goodness of Christ and his love for his people. Simply put,
the Bible is God’s story about His plan to rescue, redeem, and restore what was lost in the fall of
humanity through the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ and it tells this
story through the sequence of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. The story “begins in the
garden of Eden and ends in the eternal city” (Hindson & Yates 3)
Creation is part one of the Bible’s overall metanarrative and is an incredibly detailed
story of how each of us, and the things surrounding us, came to be. The Bible tells us that God
created the world out of nothing (Genesis 1:1-2). Out of nothing God created everything we see,
including his most favored creation: human beings. He created them male and female in His
likeness and stated that they would have dominion of all of the Earth (Genesis 1:27-28). God
blessed Adam and Eve with a garden containing everything needed to sustain them and yet, as
we see later on, they seem to be ungrateful.
Adam and Eve were only given one rule and that was to not eat of the tree in the middle
of the garden and, of course, they end up breaking this rule and disobeying God. This
disobedience begins the fall of mankind, which is the second part of the Bible’s metanarrative.
Since Adam and Eve disobey God, sin enters the world along with pain and death. God’s
creation no longer had the inherent desire to follow His commands (Jeremiah 17:9) which leads
to a multitude of bad decisions that would create an unwanted separation between Man and
God’s
Jones 2
eternal favor (Genesis 3:22-24). The books that follow Genesis are the chronicles of sin and the
struggles that sin has brought into the world; however, those chronicles are still being written to
this day. The world around us is perhaps fuller of problems than it has ever been ranging from
socioeconomic squabbling to geopolitical issues all stemming from the fall of Man. The simple
fact is that sin has inhibited everyone’s relationship with God and has driven Man away from the
true and righteous path.
During the Old Testament, the Israelites were waiting adamantly for the prophesied
savior to come and save them from the sin that was consuming them. Thousands of years passed
between the first mention of a savior (Genesis 3:15) and the prophesy of John the Baptist and in
that time the Israelites had become more and more legalistic as they thought their human works
would help to save them from their sins. Finally, Christ does enter the world through a virgin
birth (Luke 1:27) with the intention of seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus’ mission
to save is redemption, the third part of the metanarrative. Jesus was fully man and fully God
(John 1:14) and therefore was very relational. Jesus is revered as “Israel’s greatest prophet”
because of the parables that He told; however, many were suspicious of Him when he stated that
he was indeed God (John 14:6) (Towns & Gutierrez 107). These suspicions ultimately led to
His crucifixion which provided a way for humanity to be saved from their sin and a way to have
eternal life for all who believe in Him. The Holy Spirit also entered the world to eliminate “the
limitations that result from human sinfulness” (Erickson & Hustad 71).
The fourth part of the metanarrative is God’s promise of restoration. The world is still
a broken place as a result of the fall, but the Bible says that a day will come where everyone
will acknowledge Jesus as Lord (Revelation 6:15-17). Judgment will come for those who did
not believe in Him, but life and wholeness will follow those who did. This metanarrative helps
us
Jones 3
understand the Bible and God’s overall plan for creation and seems to be easily sharable with
believers and nonbelievers alike.
As a 19-year-old man studying government with hopes of one day working at the in the
United States Congress, I am always in search of advice, encouragement, and hope because
sometimes I have none of those things. The Bible has the power to fulfill those needs in my life
because it has indeed been proven to advise (Psalm 119:105), encourage (Romans 15:13), and
provide hope (Romans 8:24-25). Understanding the Bible is also important as it quiets the sinful
tendencies that could give me trouble in both my life and my vocation. I have always had a
terrible habit of trying to take control of every situation and decision that I am given which leads
to high anxiety; however, the Bible says to not worry and to trust in God (Jeremiah 29:11). When
I do trust in God righteousness is given “to all who believe” (Gutierrez et al. Ch. 32)
Works Cited
Erickson, Millard J., and L. Arnold Hustad. Introducing Christian Doctrine. Baker Academic, 2015.
Jones 4
Gutierrez, Ben, et al. Everyday Bible Study. B&H Publishing Group, 2016.
Hindson, Edward E., and Gary E. Yates. The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey. B & H Aca-
demic, 2012.
Holy Bible: New International Version. Zondervan, 2017.
Towns, Elmer L., and Ben Gutierrez. The Essence of the New Testament: A Survey. B&H Academic,
2016.
