THEO 201
Biblical Metanarrative Essay
Liberty University
THEO-201
THEO 201
The Biblical account is one of tremendous unity amongst vast diversity. Although the
Bible is composed of sixty-six books written by approximately forty authors (all with various
occupations), in three separate languages, over the span of thousands of years it still has one
overarching story. The overarching storyline of the Bible can be summed up into four parts and
this is considered the metanarrative. Within this essay, I am going to be using the metanarrative
to discuss how Christ and grace play a vital role throughout the Biblical story and demonstrate
the unified nature of the Bible by tracing these points throughout the major plot points of the
creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
The Bible is a collection of stories written by man through the inspiration of God, so if
the Bible is a compilation of stories who is the main character? We see that in the beginning, God
created the world ex nihilo, out of nothing, He spoke everything into existence. Among all of the
creation God created Adam and Eve that they may live with God in the Garden of Eden. There
were provisions for them in the garden that they need not want, but God created the tree of
knowledge of good and evil and told them that the day they eat of the tree they will surely die.
The tree was designed to give Adam and Eve free will, according to Rich Deem, “True love
always requires a choice. God wanted Adam and Eve to choose to love and trust Him.” All was
well until the serpent tempted the two and they fell into sin. From that moment forward man
would be cursed, and due to their sinful nature Adam and Eve, as well as all of their descendants
would be separated from God. So, is this it? Are we all doomed forever to die separated from our
Heavenly Father? No, because in later chapters of the Old Testament (after the fall of man) there
is a reference to the main character of the Bible and the redemption of salvation through Him.
Jesus Christ (the second part of the triune God) is the main character throughout the Biblical
story. In the New Testament we are able to examine the life and teachings of Jesus Christ but
THEO 201
even in the Old Testament, we are foretold of the coming of Christ (through messianic
prophecies) and the salvation He will bring through the Grace of God.
As previously mentioned Jesus Christ arguably plays the most vital role throughout the
entire narrative of the Bible. If we are to follow the metanarrative of the creation, fall,
redemption, and restoration. It is easy to see how Christ is visible through the four main plot
points of the Biblical story. So, How is Christ linked? If we take a look at creation there is no
mention of Jesus Christ but we believe in the Triune God, a God made up of 3 distinct parts of
equal importance: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “I and the Father
are one” (John 10:30), and “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9). [Millard J.
Erickson, L. Arnold Hustad, ed. (2018). (p. 111)]. So with this in mind, Jesus Christ has always
been a part of the trinity and played a role in creation. Christ plays a role in the fall of man as
well, although not mentioned by name we see in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt
bruise his heel." Many claiming this to be the protevangelium (the idea of the first gospel
proclamation). With this verse, we are given a glimpse into God’s redemptive plan to reconcile
the broken relationship between Creator and His creation. The redemption is where Christ truly
shines through, although there are messianic prophecies throughout the Old Testament it isn’t
until Christ is made flesh that we see the redemptive plan in action. Christ teaches the ways of
the Lord that we may follow suit and then He dies upon the cross, after living a sinless life that
all of our sins may be forgiven and raises up three days later so we can have new life through
Him. Due to this action, we have faith in the restoration of our broken relationship with God. 2
Corinthians 5:21 states, “God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us so that in him
we would become the righteousness of God”.
THEO 201
So, with Christ being at the forefront of the metanarrative, I would argue that the act of
God’s grace is found throughout the entirety of the Bible making it a close second. Grace is
mentioned within the Bible hundreds of times and we can see God’s grace in many stories but as
it relates to the metanarrative its presence is obvious. When looking at creation, with our finite
understanding of the world it is easy to think, “of course God made us, what else would He have
done?” God could have done anything with the world He created, he was not under any
obligation to create us but He did and He made us out of His own image that we could have a
relationship with Him. We didn’t earn a spot on this earth, but we were given one out of God’s
grace. When man sinned God could have wiped the slate clean and started over but He simply
punished them and allowed them to continue to live amongst His creation. Yes, they were
punished and there was a spiritual separation but God loved us so much that with the
protevangelium we see His grace and the beginning of His redemptive plan for humanity. Christ
and grace go hand in hand, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). This verse
dictates that it is through God’s grace that we are saved by faith – there was no way we could
have saved ourselves and if God had not sent His son to die on the cross we would be separated
from Him for all eternity. Due to the grace God gave us through Christ, we can be restored and
we can fix the broken relationship with our Father and live forever in Heaven.
To conclude, within the metanarrative of the Bible there are many topics that are seen
throughout the overarching storyline. To me, the two that are most observable are the idea of
Christ and grace. These two topics go hand in hand and provide the basis for our foundation as
believers. Jesus Christ is the foundation in which all born-again believers find truth. We know
that by the grace of God, Jesus was sent down to be the ultimate sacrifice that the redemptive
THEO 201
plan would be fulfilled and the broken relationship would be reconciled. Ultimately, “In whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace;” (Ephesians 1:7)
THEO 201
Works Cited:
Erickson, M. J., & Hustad, L. A. (2015). Introducing christian doctrine. Baker Publishing
Group.
Jackson, W. (2017). Crushing the Serpent's Head: The Meaning of Genesis 3:15. Christian
Courier. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1571-crushing-the-serpents-head-the-
meaning-of-genesis-3-15.
Kemeny, P. (2019, August 8). The Old Testament Is About Jesus. The Frederick News-Post.
https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/lifestyle/religion/the-old-testament-is-about-
jesus/article_e24e6b8c-62e5-50ff-95e3-8179de152129.html.
Pinedo, M. (2006). Why Did God Create the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil? ApologeticsPress.org. https://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?
category=114&article=1530.
Small, R., & Etzel, G. (2016). Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith. Wordsearch.
The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2021.
www.kingjamesbibleonline.org.
