Bible Essay Final

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Apr 3, 2024

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Gilreath 1 Skyler Gilreath Professor Gaston THEO201-B02 25 September 2023 Biblical Metanarrative Essay The metanarrative of the Bible is distinctly focused on the arrival, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the main character of the Bible. Throughout the Bible there is a reoccurring mentioning of a savior coming. Since Genesis, and specifically creation and the fall, Jesus is foreshadowed. This is continued throughout the Old Testament in prophesies and the New Testament begins with the genealogy and birth of Jesus. The New Testament follows Jesus’ life and ministry. While He lives a perfect life, He is ultimately “punished” for it. Jesus is crucified and then is resurrected three days later. Finally, Jesus delivers the great commission which sparks the creation of the Church. The commission is for the disciples to evangelize and make more followers of Christ. A theological topic that ties together the narrative would be the existence of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible follows many characters, but the common theme, and character is Jesus and his plan to redeem and save the world. The Bible starts with the first major plot movement in the Genesis account of creation. The world was made perfect, and Man was made in the image of God. There was no sin, and no death. God concluded creation by saying, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day,” (Genesis 1:31 NIV). Many people believe that God said this because Man was the finishing touch to His creation (GotQuestions.org). But this perfect creation was corrupted in an event known as the fall.

Gilreath 2 The next major plot movement in the metanarrative of the Bible is the fall. Man decided to disobey God’s commands. Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent who was “more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1 NIV) and ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They were judged by God and sent out of the garden. After the fall the world is full of sin and death. It not only included a physical death, but a spiritual one as well. We no longer walked with God like in the garden. But God is a gracious and loving God, and He promised a plan for redemption. This redemption, the third major plot movement, would come from Jesus who will be the savior of the world. God first revealed His plan for salvation in Genesis 3:15 saying, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” The people of Israel have been longing and searching for this promised redeemer. Jesus comes while Israel is under the rule and dictatorship of the Roman empire. He is persecuted and crucified for the sins of all people. He dies on the cross and is buried in a tomb sealed by a stone and guarded by soldiers. But death is conquered by Jesus, and he rises three days later. Jesus saves the people not just of Israel, but also the people of the world. This is the redemption of man by God. We can now be forgiven for our sins through Christ and live eternally in the New Creation. The final plot movement is the new creation. If we believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He gave his life for the redemption of our sins, we are a “new creation” and are blessed with the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”. This new creation is expressed also in the end times, which is the restoration of the followers of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says, “Then we who are alive, who are left will be called with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”.

Gilreath 3 We are then restored through Christ and in eternity physical death is conquered, and spiritual death is also conquered as we reunite with God in Heaven. The trinity is about the triune nature of God. God is still one, yet He exists in three different persons, made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The trinity has always been present throughout scripture, just as God has always been. This is expressed explicitly in Genesis 1:26 when God says, “Let us make man…”. “Us” is in reference to the trinity. This isn’t the first hint at God’s triune nature. It is also in Genesis 1:2, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters”. This is the first mention of the nature of God in scripture. The Father is the creator and who most people think of when they think “God”. The Father is present all through the Old Testament speaking to Abraham and performing miracles for the Israelites and sending judges to save them from neighboring peoples. The Son, Jesus, is the intercessor between God and man. He is fully God and fully man, born of a virgin. Jesus came to Earth, lived as a man, and faced all the temptations while staying true to God and died for the sins of all of us so that we could be reunited with God. The Holy Spirit lives within every believer, making them temples of God and protecting their salvation. This was demonstrated in Acts when the Holy Spirit allowed the disciples to speak in tongues at Pentecost. The triune nature of God is unique to Him and separates the God of the Bible from all other gods. Through God’s nature we are new and are redeemed. “The followers of Christ will be made whole, and we will no longer suffer the burdens of sin and death” (Baugher). The Biblical metanarrative is the story of God’s love for man and His perfect gift of Jesus. It is a story of rebuilding what was lost to sin by love and conquering death and sin. Man made mistakes time and time again and chose sin over God, and yet God showed mercy and

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Gilreath 4 grace. He loves us and wants nothing more than to be with us, so He sent judges and prophets, and finally he sent His one and only son. The Bible is the story of Jesus sacrificing himself to save man from sin, and how He was always the perfect sacrifice from the beginning as witnessed in the Trinity.

Gilreath 5 Works Cited “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages. , www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023. Baugher, Cory. “The Metanarratives of the Bible.” Knowing the Bible , www.knowingthebible.net/topical-studies/the-metanarratives-of-the-bible. GotQuestions.org. “What Does It Mean That God Saw That It Was Good (Genesis 1:18)?” GotQuestions.org , 22 Feb. 2021, www.gotquestions.org/God-saw-that-it-was-good.html.

Bible Essay Final

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