Biblical Metanarrative Essay Assignment
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Dec 6, 2023
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Biblical Metanarrative Essay Assignment
When examining a biblical worldview, one may put much focus onto their beliefs or
morals that stem from the foundation of their faith. But what if the foundation of your faith is a
“blind faith” because this is what you were told to believe growing up so that’s what you
believed.
You may know stories of the Bible, but don’t truly understand the metanarrative of the
Bible or even know what that entails. The Bible and how it was written for our understanding
can foster a major role in our worldview when it is fully understood. This doesn’t mean that you
must know everything in the Bible like the back of your hand. But understanding the four major
metanarratives, the time period they occurred in, and the result within each one aids in a strong
biblical worldview.
Creation is the first major movement of the biblical metanarrative. Creation is when God
himself formed the earth, separated light from darkness, separated the waters and created dry
land, created vegetation, placed every planet and star in the sky, created birds of the sky and fish
of the sea, and created man in His own image. At the end of each day of creation, the Bible tells
us that God saw that it was good. Adam and Eve were created by God individually and uniquely
yet still created in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 NLT tells us “So God created mankind in his
image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. They were
unique in that Adam came from the dust of the earth and breathed his very breath into Adams
nostrils. God formed Eve from the rib of Adam. Our Everyday Theology textbook describes “the
Bible’s account of the creation teaches us that the word of God—his voice—is powerful enough
to create everything that you can see, hear, and touch” (Gabriel Ezel, pg. 58).
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The fall of man is the second major movement of the biblical metanarrative. The bible
tells us in Genesis 2:15-17 NLT “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend
and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, you may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the
garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die”.
This simple commandment from God was violated. The serpent convinced Eve that she would be
as wise as God, knowing both good and evil if she ate from the tree. Eve succumbs to this
deception and shares the fruit with Adam. This was the first act of the fall of humanity.
Redemption is the third major movement of the biblical metanarrative. God in his infinite
love for humanity, provided a way to reunite us with himself despite our sinful nature. He used
the virgin Mary to bring about the birth of Jesus, his only son, who was without sin. Through the
life and ministry of Jesus on earth, we are shown how to love. Specifically, in Matthew 22:37-39
NLT we are commanded by Jesus “You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all
your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally
important: love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus portrayed the perfect example of this type of
love. At the end of his earthly ministry, God planned for Jesus’ sinless blood to be sacrificed for
the forgiveness of our sins thereby providing a “bridge” back to him. As a result, Paul tells us in
Romans 8:38-39 NLT “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from Gods love.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today, nor our worries
about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the
sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us
from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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The New Creation is the fourth and final major movement of the biblical metanarrative.
As a part of new creation, we must consider the act of freedom (free will) and responsibility.
Freedom / free will allows us the ability to make decisions using our judgement and discernment
while understanding that the result of these decisions come with either a consequence or a
reward. We read in our Everyday Theology textbook “All of Scripture records God’s interaction
with humanity in what we often consider positive and negative ways. In the Old Testament, as
the nation of Israel obeyed God they were blessed (often materially), but as they disobeyed God
they were taken captive and experienced famine” (Gabriel Etzel, pg. 67). After Jesus ascended
into Heaven, the Holy Spirit was given to comfort and guide us as believers in Christ. 2
Corinthians 5:17 NLT says “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new
person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
The above biblical metanarrative could help someone understand where they came from
by understanding creation and how man was formed by God.
We are all created in the image of
God. The word Adam translates to the word human. God placed man in the garden to tend it and
watch over it and allowed man to name the birds of the sky and all animals. In the New
Testament, Jesus teaches that we are here to love God with everything in us and to love thy
neighbor as ourselves. Preach the gospel daily and when necessary, use words, is an old adage
that I strive to live by. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus demonstrated right from wrong, righteous
from unrighteous, and how to conduct our behavior as followers of Him. Jesus tells us in John
14:2 NLT “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I
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have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you?” This verse is great daily reminder that
there is eternal life after death in heaven with God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As we take the time to examine and understand the creation, fall, redemption, and new
creation (which carries to today), we can establish a clear biblical worldview in which we can
translate to our everyday life.
We may live out our biblical worldview by the choices we make,
the way we treat those around us even in the face of conflict, and the way we carry ourselves to
radiate the love of God.
Bibliography
Gabriel Etzel and R. N. Small,
Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith
, ed. Ben
Gutierrez and Gabriel Etzel (B&H Academic, 2016), 58.
Gabriel Etzel and R. N. Small,
Everyday Theology: Exploring the Christian Faith
, ed. Ben
Gutierrez and Gabriel Etzel (B&H Academic, 2016), 67.