The Story of the Bible in Review

This is the final installment of what has become a much longer series than I originally envisioned. I make no guarantee that the story of the Bible, as I have told it, is perfect. In fact, I doubt that it is. It is a story that I am still learning and may never fully understand in this life. But this has been a fun project for me, trying to put into intelligible words the ideas that have been floating around in my head, sometimes for years.

God Has a Plan

In the very first post in this series, I claimed that God has a master plan for his creation that he is working out (Eph. 1:11). And that nothing that has occurred in the history of creation has ever caused God to have to modify his plan or revert to a backup plan (Eph. 3:11).

There are some serious implications in that claim. It means that human rebellion and a likely heavenly rebellion were not regrettable events that had to be dealt with, but were a part of God’s plan.

And that raises the issue of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. There is a real tension between the two. The Scripture affirms that God is sovereign over all things—he is in control. Yet, it also affirms that humans are responsible for our actions. And that implies we freely choose to act as we do; God is not mandating our actions.

The intersection between God’s sovereignty and human free will is a challenge. I do accept both of them and believe that both are taken into account in God’s plan for his creation.

The Story of the Bible in Review

So, what story does the Bible tell? There are two different perspectives you might take on this question.

A Story of Redemption

The first perspective is the more common one. God created a perfect world and put Adam and Eve in charge. They disobeyed and fell from their high place, taking all of humanity with them.

With Abraham, God began to work to redeem humanity. This work continued with his descendants, the nation of Israel. However, they were not faithful to their covenant with God and suffered the consequences of their rebellion.

But God continued his work of redemption by sending his Son as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. And everyone who believes in him, whether Jew or Gentile, is born again of the Spirit.

And someday in the future, Jesus will return for those who are his. Then, we will all live happily ever after in a restored Edenic paradise.

A Story of Ongoing Creation

While the previous story is pictured very clearly in the Bible, there is one problem with it. It pictures God working to fix the mess we have made of his creation. And that would seem contrary to God having a plan that he is working out. A plan that we are not able to mess up.

An alternative to the Bible being the story of redemption is one that tells of an ongoing creation. Rather than the first two chapters of Genesis reflecting a finished product that we messed up, they are presenting a creation that was good enough for the ongoing work God would be doing. Something like a second week of creation.

While the first week focused on shaping the creation, this second week is focused on molding and shaping us into the humanity God envisioned when he began his work. The promise to Abraham, bondage in Egypt, the Sinai covenant, the broken covenant and exile, the work of Jesus, and the growth of the church were all steps in this second week. At the end of the first week, creation was ready, and God rested. At the end of the second week, creation is perfected, and we enter into God’s rest.

I freely admit that this second story is not as explicit as the first. Yet, to me, it fits with God working everything according to his eternal purpose.

God’s Timeline

But, you might ask, why did it take so long? You might ask this question regardless of what story of the Bible you believe to be true. It has taken thousands, if not millions or billions, of years to reach this point. And the story is not yet finished.

The Bible does not give us a definitive answer to that. But it does give us some clues. In response to some who will scoff at Jesus’ delay in returning, Peter says that with the Lord, “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). God does not operate on our timetable.

When Jesus’ disciples asked about the kingdom’s establishment, Jesus told them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). God has a timetable for what he is doing. But it is not one that he has chosen to share with us.

And, in Galatians 4:4, Paul referred to this timeline when he said, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.” In the fulness of time, or when the time was right. Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection occurred according to God’s timetable. He works all things out at the appropriate time. A time that is known only to him.

So, while it seems to be taking an inordinate amount of time to bring the story of the Bible to its end, we can trust that God has it all in hand. Doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done in order to accomplish his whole plan for this creation.

Conclusion

This has been a long series that has hopefully given you something to think about. I know that writing it has sharpened my focus, causing me to think more deeply about things that I had wondered about but never invested any time with.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the story of the Bible that I have developed over the past fourteen posts.

The post The Story of the Bible in Review appeared first on A Clay Jar.