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Introduction
Many people today struggle to get involved in daily Bible reading. In a report from Christianity
Today, Adam Macinnis stated that 26 million Americans had stopped reading the Bible daily
during covid-19.1 He also stated that in a report that only 10 percent of Americans read their
Bible daily. This is a huge problem because there are so many Bible passages that tell Christians
to read the Bible. One, for example, is Colossians 3:16 which says to “Let the Word of Christ
dwell in you richly,.” Christians should be reading the Bible because that is the way that God
intended for them to have communion with Him. To have a relationship with someone means
you talk with each other, God talks to Christians through His Word. The fact that 90 percent of
people don’t read the Bible is not a good thing. With that being said, the reason that people aren’t
reading the Bible needs to be discussed. One answer that comes with that question is that the
Bible is too confusing. To help with that, the Bible can be simple to understand when it is read as
a metanarrative. The metanarrative of the Bible shows God’s story and His relationship with
humans. Anybody can understand that the Bible is written as a metanarrative so that people can
see God’s redemption of humanity throughout history which can be seen in both the Old and
New Testament which are tied together by Jesus. To understand the narrative, one must first
understand what narrative is. James Hamilton says; “What’s a narrative made of? Narratives
have a setting, characterization, and plot. Plots are built out of episodes and conflict, and if
successful they communicate themes.”2 This paper aims to bring that story to light.
Old Testament Metanarrative
1 Macinnis, Adam. Report: 26 Million Americans Stopped Reading the Bible Regularly during COVID-19.
Christianitytoday.com, CT
2 James M. Hamilton Jr., What Is Biblical Theology? A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns
(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 27.
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Myer Pearlman says “But as we read the Bible repeatedly and study it carefully, and as
we penetrate below the surface and observe the unifying forces there, we discover that through
the many stories and variegated subject matter of the Scriptures there runs one outstanding story
and one predominant theme— The Redemption of Mankind Through a Divinely Appointed
Savior; and that all the human authors were under the direction of one Author— the Holy Spirit.3
The story of the Bible has a theme, the theme is that humans are going to have redemption
through Jesus. Why would humans need redemption? The answer comes at the beginning of the
Bible’s metanarrative. The Old Testament points to God’s Holiness and humanity’s fall.
The reason that humanity needed a Savior is because God is Holy, and humanity is not.
Humanity not being holy will be discussed in a moment, first, God’s holiness. God’s holiness is
shown through His attributes and His law. In Exodus 34, God reveals Himself to Moses. He then
says “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in
love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and
sin.” These attributes that God lists, point to His Holiness. To be Holy means to be set apart,
which means perfection. Part of this perfection is seen through the law which God gives to
humans. However, humans break that law. God created humanity for His glory. Adam and Eve
were the first two created, but they broke God’s Holy law. This meant that they were not holy,
and since they were not, they could not be in the presence of God.
Something that preachers ask themselves today is, “how the specific event or teaching
relates to the ultimate revelation of Jesus Christ, his saving work, and his promised kingdom.”4
With that thought in mind, how does God’s holiness work into the story of the Bible? The answer
is because God is Holy, humanity needed a way to be with God because they are not Holy. The
3 Pearlman, Myer. Seeing the Story of the Bible, Gospel Publishing House, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central,
4 Michael Lawrence, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry, 9Marks (Wheaton, IL:
Crossway, 2010), 181.
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metanarrative of the Bible is the Story of the Bible and that story can be seen throughout the
entire Bible. “Biblical theology enables us to map out the unity of the Bible by looking at its
message as a whole.”5
One way that the Old Testament continues to show the Story of the Bible is through
prophecy. Since humanity needed a Savior, God would provide that Savior and He said it
numerous times throughout the Old Testament. One passage that shows this is Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9
is a passage that is often talked about at Christmas. This passage points to the coming of a King.
If someone were to read this passage without knowing what comes, they would not understand
that it is about Jesus. Graeme Goldsworthy says, “The prophetic view of the final saving work of
God makes no specific reference to Jesus Christ.”6 However, when the prophecies are read
understanding what comes in the New Testament, then the reader can know that the prophecy
was about Jesus and that it has come to pass. Tremper Longman7 states that the baby that is
referred to in this section of Isaiah is Jesus Christ.
All of these ideas stated above point to the reality that the Bible is God’s story. It is a
redemptive plan to reconcile His creation to Himself. These are all examples from the Old
Testament. The Old Testament points to the coming of the New Testament and Jesus Christ.
New Testament Metanarrative
To sum up the New Testament in true narrative fashion, in the New Testament, Jesus
comes as a man to seek and to save the lost, the story does not end there. As soon as the New
Testament starts, there is talks of Jesus. Matthew 1 speaks of the Geneology of Jesus. Jesus is the
5 Goldsworthy, Graeme. According to Plan : The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible, InterVarsity Press,
2002.
6 Ibid
7 III, Tremper Longman, David E Garland, and Zondervan. Proverbs - Isaiah /. Vol. 6. Grand Rapids, Michigan :
Zondervan, 2009.
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key to the story that the God has been writing in the Bible. Jesus is the one that will save
humanity, and give humans a way to be redeemed to God.
One might ponder the question, why is Jesus so important? Or, how does Jesus complete
God’s redemption plan in the Bible’s narrative. Jesus creates a new chapter in the story of the
Bible, he takes humans from law to freedom. Not only did Jesus die a death as the sacrificial
lamb for humanity, but He also taught about many things. After all, Jesus is God. “There is a
consensus across the theological spectrum that Jesus’ message centered on the kingdom of
God.”8 Jesus spoke of the coming kingdom of God which meant that the story of the bible was
not over. The narrative of the Bible would continue for more generations and is still continuing
today.
Susan Zeelander wrote on closure being a part of the mini narratives in the Bible. She
showed that closure is always part of a story. “The data suggest that it is likely that the basic
element of closure in a narrative, that is, the resolution of the defined instability into a new
equilibrium, is an instinctive quality in all storytelling.”9 If closure is in all forms of
metanarrative, then there must be an ending to the storyline of the Bible. However, the story line
of the Bible continues with each of us. God is not done writing His story.
Application
That was the a brief summary of metanarrative and the Bible. The only reason that
someone would look at the Bible through a narrative lens is so that that person could better
understand the Bible. Reading the Bible as a narrative helps readers to understand who God is
and why He does things the way He does. The Bible was meant to be applied to the lives of
8 Helyer, Larry R.. The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John : An Exploration in Biblical Theology, InterVarsity Press,
2008. ProQuest Ebook Central,
9 Zeelander, Susan. Closure in Biblical Narrative, BRILL, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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believers, Metanarrative helps the readers to do that. In a Bible study that was put together by
Brett Younger, he says “When learners visualize the story, it raises historical, literary, and
theological questions”10 This is exactly what happens when biblical theology and metanarrative
is worked into the study of the Bible. The learners and readers are able to figure out what is
going on. This happens through historical, literary, and theological questions.
One idea that metanarrative in God’s Word brings up is the idea of metanarratives today
using themes from the Bible to aid in the writing of today’s stories. Michael Jahosky saw this in
the Lord of the Rings. A story that summarizes biblical themes so well. He even goes as far as
saying that “The Lord of the Rings restored my ability to read Scripture properly and hear it for
what it is: good news. The Lord of the Rings re-mythologized and reenchanted the biblical
narrative for me when I needed it most.”11 Reading the Bible as a story has many positive
outcomes. One is that it fuels ideas to reach the lost people of today.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Bible is God’s story of how He relates to people, His creation. Biblical
theology shows that the story of the Bible is perfect. It shows God’s redemptive plan for
Humanity as well as showing why God needed to send Jesus to earth. The Bible was written as
God’s narrative.
Bibliography
10 Younger, Brett. “An Example of the Narrative Bible Study Model Based on Mark 2:1–12.” Review and expositor.
107, no. 2 (2010): 251–257.
11 Jahosky, Michael T.. The Good News of the Return of the King : The Gospel in Middle-earth, Wipf and Stock
Publishers, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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III, Tremper Longman, David E Garland, and Zondervan. Proverbs - Isaiah /. Vol. 6. Grand
Rapids, Michigan : Zondervan, 2009.
Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible (IVP,
1991), 52.
Helyer, Larry R.. The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John : An Exploration in Biblical Theology,
InterVarsity Press, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central,
Jahosky, Michael T. The Good News of the Return of the King : The Gospel in Middle-Earth.
Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2020.
James M. Hamilton Jr., What Is Biblical Theology? A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and
Patterns (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 27.
Michael Lawrence, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry, 9Marks
(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 53.
Macinnis, Adam. Report: 26 Million Americans Stopped Reading the Bible Regularly during
COVID-19. Christianitytoday.com, CT
Nelson, Tommy. The Big Picture : Understanding the Story of the Bible. Dallas, Tex: Hudson
Productions, 1999.
Pearlman, Myer. Seeing the Story of the Bible. Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House,
2015.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the
Scriptures. Wheaton, Ill: Victor Books, 1983.
Younger, Brett. “An Example of the Narrative Bible Study Model Based on Mark 2:1–
12.” Review and expositor. 107, no. 2 (2010): 251–257.
Zeelander, Susan. Closure in Biblical Narrative. Leiden ; Brill, 2012.
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