Ours was a world without form and void. This world was barren and unpopulated until God spoke. His words brought forth life, and subsequently brought forth the pinnacle of His created order—mankind. And the very Word of God—the Bible—teaches to mankind their significance and cause for indescribable joy. A joy manifested in a Savior whose life was lived and completed in perfect obedience to and fulfillment of God’s mission.
A world made. A world lost. A world redeemed. A world whereby man has God’s Word revealed—the Bible.
SO, what is the message of the Bible?
The Bible is a grand narrative of God’s redemption of a rebellious humanity. The story of the Bible begins with fellowship in a Garden and ends with fellowship in the New Jerusalem. Throughout the entire narrative God’s benevolence, love, and grace on our display. Despite man—in his broken condition because of sin—God still works through Him to bring out man’s redemption. As such, mankind was made for relationships, and was placed in an environment to flourish within such vertical (God-to-man) and horizontal (man-to-man) relationships. It was here where man—serving as God’s vice-regent—was to rule over creation, and in so doing to display God’s image by his rule through obedience to God. Man was not to decide between right and wrong, but was rather to be a conduit of God’s rule. As man walked according to God’s plan there would be blessing, fruitfulness, and he would subsequently multiply throughout the earth. God made man in His image, male and female He created them. Theirs was to be a life of exhibition, displaying their Creator. As such, the biblical story begins with much promise for God’s creation, but swiftly descends into chaos the moment the first created humans, Adam and Eve, sinned by disobeying God’s ordinances. A serpent (who remains the source of evil) deceived Eve as Adam failed to lead according to God’s standards. From that moment on, mankind’s heart and nature were evil and rebellious. However, God’s plan for redeeming humanity back to His fellowship was immediate with a promise granted from God that the Seed of Woman would one day crush the serpent’s head. God promised that He would deal with evil and sin by dealing with the source of sin—Satan. The ultimate demonstration that sin still exists is the presence of physical death. Mankind was not intended to die physically, but the moment they sinned they experienced an instantaneous spiritual death followed by physical death—good nature became bad nature—and humanity’s heart was corrupt. Thus, mankind’s heart would need to be transformed in order for man to truly listen and love God. But, since man’s heart was still corrupt, his path was toward sin—spiraling out of control. The spread of sin was initially stayed by a universal flood that killed all of humanity except for Noah and his 7 family members, followed by a scattering of humanity through the confusion of their common language. God’s plan for redeeming was then vividly seen by a promise He made to a man named Abraham. The promise to Abraham was that he would have land, seed, and be a blessing to the nations. This promise continued through his progeny, and ultimately his great grandson, Judah, was promised that in accordance with God’s plan to restore humanity to His original blessing and fellowship, a King would come through his tribe. However, man’s evil heart continued to rebel, and because of transgressions, God put forward laws through the prophet, Moses, (Mosaic Covenant) to govern Abraham’s family in order for them to have a tutor, copy, and shadow until the Seed of Woman would arrive. In the meantime, a shepherd-king arose in the line of Abraham’s family, David, who was a type of king came from the tripe of Judah that represented characteristics of the ultimate King. Subsequently, David received a promise from God that from his house would come the Messiah—the One who would finally deal with the thing that separates man from God and is ultimately man’s greatest need—sin. Additionally, the law taught Abraham’s family to Listen and to Love God as a kingdom of priests to the nations, as well as to be a conduit of God’s character in order for all humanity to be reconciled to God as they anticipated the coming of the Seed: Messiah/King. The spread of God’s love and mercy was to come through Abraham’s family by their walking in fear and in accordance to the law, and would be a blessing to all nations. However, they continued to rebel, and so God sent prophets to guide His people, Israel, to be faithful to the Law. Abraham’s family was not faithful to God or His Word, and as a result they were ultimately exiled from their land given and promised to them, they were dispersed among the Nations, and finally subjugated to serving the Nations (who are being ruled by the serpent). It was into this world—in the fullness of time—that the Seed (Jesus Christ) finally arrived. He was born of a woman and born under the law so that He would redeem those who were under the law. He proclaimed the good news gospel—calling all men to repent—and performed many signs and wonders so that all would believe in Him for the forgiveness of their sins in order that, as one body—the Church—their hearts could be circumcised (transformed) in order that all may listen and love God while they endure suffering inflicted by the serpent’s system. Additionally, humanity all awaits the restoration of ultimate fellowship and rule of God in the New Jerusalem that will come about when the King returns to His created world and rules. All of the Bible points to the promise of God’s redemption through Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ. As such the goal of this paper is to document the unfolding of God’s promises and how His Kingdom will be present on earth as it is in heaven.
— December 16, 2016