Biblical Metanarrative Essay
School of Divinity, Liberty University
THEO 201: Theology Survey
Dr. Christopher Burroughs
February 22nd, 2021
Biblical Metanarrative Essay
When we look at the unity of the Bible we can see that it is demonstrated through the
Divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Over 40 authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write
the Bible. The study of theology uncovers and articulates the unity of all the biblical texts when
they are taken together. We will be looking at the unified nature of the Bible by tracing the
doctrine through the four major plot developments of Scripture. First, we will be looking at the
Biblical Narrative, next Creation, and finally the Gospel. When we do this we can see just how
much the Bible is all unified together.
When we are talking about the Biblical narrative story, we are referring to the whole story
of the Bible. The Bible is not just a bunch of different books all thrown in together with different
stories. The Bible is all connected and each story was written for a reason. The major movement
of the Bible starts with Creation. The Hebrew word shalom meaning peace sums up the picture
of Genesis. In the beginning, there was nothing, God spoke everything into existence. Peace
filled the whole earth and everything was working for God. God created humans to have a
relationship with him and everything was flourishing. The world was full of peace and joy
everything working together for one purpose to glorify God.
Unfortunately, nothing can stay perfect forever. The fall was a result brought about by
Adam and Eve’s rebellious choice. They decided to reject God’s rule over them and take matters
into their own hands. The consequence of their choice lead to the whole world being filled with
sin and every person is born into sin. As the result of sin, every person deserves to die. This leads
us to the importance of Redemption.
Sin had separated us from God. We could no longer have a relationship with God. God
had a plan to redeem the world and rescue sinners. God sent his son Jesus Christ down to earth to
live a perfect life and take the plenty for our sins and restore mankind. The climax of the
scripture narrative is shown with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The story does not end with redemption. God promised to renew the whole world, and the
Bible gives us a peek of what this will look like. God tells us he is going to show the restoration
in two ways. The first would be that Christ will return to judge sin and evil and usher in
righteousness and peace. The second would be when God will purge this world of evil once and
for all.
When we look at the topic of Creation we can see the perfect world that God created. We
can look at how creation unfolds through the four major plot movements. The first would be
creation, God created the whole world and loved all of it. After each day God days that and it
was good, meaning he was happy with what he had created. “The Bible teaches that God is so
personal and so invested within his creation that he actually came down to earth to live as a
human. John 1:14 says, "The Word became flesh and took up residence among us." Truly God is
involved with his creation.” (Etzel et al, 2020) God did not create the world and just left it to be.
God wanted to spend time with his creation, he loved it. When the fall of man happened, God
was separated from his creation and he could no longer walk and talk with Adam and Eve.
For thousands of years, God and the people could not communicate on a personal level.
Then God sent his son to die for the sins of the world and God was finally able to communicate
on a personal level with his creation. When restoration comes and God finally purges the world
of evil and sin. God will be in a complete relationship with his creation again.
Looking at the Gospel we can see how it unfolds through the four major plot movements.
During creation everything was perfect. There was no sin or evil in the world that God had
created. Adam and Eve’s sin brought on the fall and as the result of this, it is the cause of God’s
judgment. God would not have had to judge the world if there was no sin. The reason for the
gospel all started after sin entered the world. As the result of sin entering the world so did death
for everything living thing on the earth. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as sin came into the
world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all
sinned.” (English Standard Bible, 2001)
When sin entered the world God had a plan to save the whole world. He sent his son Jesus
to die on the cross for our sins. When Jesus died he paid the price for our sins but the story of the
Gospel was not complete yet. The Gospel is the story of Jesus and how he came to save us from
our sins, Jesus defeated death and created a way for us to communicate with God again. The
Bible tells us that the final piece of the puzzle is when restoration happens and death is destroyed
once and for all. “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after
destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15: 24-26
(English Standard Bible, 2001). The story of the Gospel is not fully complete until this happens.
In conclusion, when we look at the theological topics of Creation and the Gospel we can
see how they provide humanity’s relationship with God. God wants to spend time with us and
has a personal relationship. God knew the fall was going to happen, he planned for it. “God is
now at work carrying out his plan, which is from all eternity and includes everything that
occurs.” (Millard et al, 2018) All we have to do is trust God and he will take care of us.
References
English Standard Bible. (2001) Crossway Bibles
EtzelSmall (2020). (p. 62). Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith. Retrieved from
https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com
Millard J. Erickson, L. Arnold Hustad, ed. (2018). (p. 122). Introducing Christian Doctrine.
Baker Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com
