This is the last study in our Doctrine of Scripture series. We started our series with a speaking God, and we went through some of the attributes of Scripture — sufficient, clear, authoritative and necessary. Then we studied about the Canon of the Bible, how we have the set of books in our bibles today. Last week, we spoke about how Scripture cannot be broken. And we come to this week, where we want to trace the storyline of the Bible, because we know that what God says will come to pass!
(A) ONE AUTHOR AND ONE SUBJECT (2 TIM 3:16, LUKE 24:44)
Many non-Christians and even Christians may think of the Bible as a collection of teachings, with good things to follow and also contained instructions about how to become a better person or Christian. Anyone who has tried reading the Bible from cover to cover might find that between the Old (OT) and New Testaments (NT), there are some things are more applicable than others. When it comes to passages in the OT, some were outdated or superseded in the NT.
But approaching Bible reading with an eye for morals misses the point of the Bible. There is a larger storyline and purpose to the Bible beyond just our self-improvement. 2 Tim 3:16 tell us that there is one author of the Bible and one subject, God himself! All Scripture is written by God and given by God to us. In this study, we want to see that there is a large story line of the Bible, and all Scripture is about Christ, and how God saves the world through him. That is what Jesus said in Luke 24:44 when he says that all the Law, Prophets and Psalms were written about Him.
The rest of this study will unpack this big storyline. Be prepared for a long read but it’ll be worth it! We’ve also included links to previous Fellowship studies where appropriate. We won’t be able to cover everything, and if you’re interested, you can also check out our Bible overview series here.
(B) THE BIBLE’S BIG STORYLINE
Creation (Genesis)
Introductions are important to a book and to any story as it indicates the focus and also sets the tone for the rest of the passage. We see something similar in the first verse of the Bible in Gen 1:1. God is the first one to be mentioned in the Bible, telling us how the world as we know it all began. This God existed in the beginning, before creation, before time and space. Before He created, our physical reality did not exist at all! God is unlike any other and there is none like him. He alone is God and creator in the beginning. Everything else is a derivative.
This gives us a clue as to what the entire Bible is about — not us human beings, but God first and foremost. If we approach the Bible thinking it’s about us and God’s plans for us or what He can do for us, we may be disappointed.
Gen 1 details how God created everything, and the refrain “and God saw that it was good” is repeated throughout the chapter. In Gen 1:27, we read of the creation of humans. The creation of humans is different from everything else God had created up to this point. Humans are the only creatures to be made in the image of God, after God’s likeness. This means that every human being is God’s image bearer. God blesses them and gives them dominion over all his creation. He provides food for them and for all creation.
God saw all that he had made, and it was “very good”. Creation is perfect when God created it, and it culminates in the creation of Man. Thus, the Bible seems to begin at a high point with the creation of this world. It was good.
Fall (Genesis)
Two chapters after creation in Gen 3, we read of how sin entered the world. When Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate (Gen 3:6-7), they were disobeying God. Sin is wanting to be God and the “de-godding of God” as Bible teacher D.A. Carson has described it. Sin is primarily and rejection and rebellion against the creator God. It is telling God: “you are not God, I am”.
This rejection of God had consequences. From then on, man’s relationship with God was broken and marked by hiding from His presence (Gen 3:8). The relationship between Adam and Eve was also broken, as they felt ashamed and sewed leaves to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:7). A previously intimate and close relationship would now be marked by tension in relations. Creation would also be cursed and broken (Gen 3:17).
God also puts enmity between the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman (Gen 3:15). God promises that the offspring of the woman will bruise the head of the offspring of the serpent, while suffering a bruise to his heel from the serpent’s offspring. This is the first sign of the reversal of the curse of sin in the Bible. From here on, we should be asking ourselves: just how this offspring of the woman is?
Adam and Eve no longer live in a perfect world with perfect relationships. They are exiled from the Garden of Eden, but not before God clothes them (Gen 3:23-24).
Adam and Eve have 2 sons, but the first murder took place when their son Cain killed his brother Abel (Gen 4). Sin has definitely wrecked all relationships. Gen 4:25-26 tell us about Seth, another son that Adam and Eve had after the death of Abel. From here, with each generation, the people (and the reader) is to look out for the Gen 3:15 serpent. Yet, with the genealogies, we see how each generation confronts death and mortality. In the genealogy in Gen 5, the refrain “and he died” is repeated and we see how death is very much a part of life.
However, with each generation, the problem seems to deepen and become graver. It doesn’t get any better. The wickedness of man was great, and the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually (Gen 6:5-6). The low point seems to be, ironically, at the high point in civilisation, when the people decide to build the Tower of Babel in order to make a name for themselves (Gen 11).
God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis)
The Tower of Babel might seem like such a stark picture of man’s rebellion, but God’s plan to redeem and rescue His people is still in place. In the next chapter, in Gen 12, God calls a man, Abram, and makes a promise to him. God promises Abram that he will be a great nation, and will be a blessing (Gen 12:1-4). God will make his name great and in him, all nations will be blessed. He will also have a land to possess (Gen 15:7-8), numerous offspring (Gen 15:5), kings will come from him (Gen 17:6) and he will have Canaan for an everlasting possession (Gen 17:8). God also promises that He will be the God of his offspring (Gen 17:8).
Is he the promised offspring in Gen 3:15? Not quite. But Abraham has a son, Isaac and this shows the beginning of the fulfilment of the covenant made to him (Gen 21). The offspring and each successive generation is important also because of the Gen 3:15 promise. From Issac come Jacob and Esau (Gen 25:19-28), and Jacob was also renamed Israel and becomes the father of the nation (Gen 35:10).
Israel in slavery (Exodus)
From Jacob’s 12 sons come the 12 tribes of Israel, and this family, now a small tribe, find themselves in Egypt and under a new king who did not know Joseph, one of Jacob’s son (Exo 1:8,11). Israel finds themselves in slavery and cries out to God for help (Exo 2:23-25). God hears their groaning and remembers his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God calls Moses to lead his people out of Egypt (Exo 3:10-12), and God saves his people out of Egypt and slavery by sending the 10 plagues and defeating Pharoah (Exo 7-12).
A holy God and a sinful people (Exodus-Deuteronomy)
Israel leaves Egypt and arrive at Mount Sinai to worship God, but a problem arises: sinful people cannot come close to a Holy God (Exo 19:12,16). Limits had to be set to prevent them from coming near to God. It was a dangerous thing for sinners to approach this holy God, and the people were also afraid to approach God! Their biggest problem isn’t just being enslaved in Egypt, but sin has separated them from God.
Thus, at this point, God gives the 10 Commandments and the Law at Mount Sinai. It was to show them how God’s people had to live in obedience to a holy God (Exo 20-23). The people agree to the covenant, to obey God (Exo 24). God also makes a way to dwell with a sinful people: The Tabernacle (Exo 25:8-9). God will reveal the plans for the Tabernacle to Moses.
But God’s people build a golden calf, committing idolatry against God (Exo 32). Moses intercedes on their behalf and God reveals his glory and character to Moses (Exo 34). This is who God is to Israel. When the Israelites had to refer to God, they go back to his character here as revealed in Ex 34. God’s people can know God because He revealed it so clearly to them!
At the end of Exodus, the tabernacle has been built, and God is present with his people. We seem to be one step closer to restoring the relational intimacy of Gen 1.
Leviticus continues to explain how a holy God can have a relationship with a sinful people. There are ceremonial laws for being before a Holy God and these laws governed how a sinful people worship a holy God at the tabernacle (c.f. Lev 17:11).
The book of Numbers goes on to detail God’s people journey from Mount Sinai to the border of the Promised Land. God’s people set off from Mt Sinai in Num 10:11-12 and in the next chapter, they complain about Manna, and yearn for Egypt’s meat (Num 11:4-6). This is not the first time they have complained about leaving Egypt. They forgot and even wanted to go back to slavery. We would think it absurd, but it really just shows their heart.
At the end of the book, Joshua is poised to take over Moses (Num 27:16-20). There is also a lost generation of Israel who will not enter the Promised Land because of their disobedience (Num 32:11-13). Moses himself doesn’t enter the promised land (Num 20). The book ends with an account of Israel’s journey from Egypt to this point (Num 33).
Deuteronomy, therefore, is Moses’ final sermons to Israel before they enter the Promised Land. Moses’ calls for the nation’s obedience (Deut 4:1-2, 6:4-5) and recounts the law. He also informs them of the blessings for obedience as well as the curses for disobedience (Deut 28:1-2, 15). Moses calls Israel to choose life by obeying God and holding fast to Him (Deut 30:15-20). Moses also predicts Israel’s disobedience because he knows their stubborn hearts (Deut 31:29).
Israel’s History (Joshua to Nehemiah)
The book of Joshua details Israel’s entry into the Promised Land. Israel conquers the Promised Land from their enemies, and the land is allocated to the tribes (Josh 21:43-45). But not long after, in the book of Judges, we see cycles of idolatry. After Joshua dies, God gave leaders to Israel called “judges”. A similar pattern is observed in each cycle: the nation disobeys God by turning to idols, they are defeated by enemies as part of God’s judgment, they cry out to God and God raises a judge to deliver them and they turn away from their sins (Judges 2:11-19). But the common refrain in Judges is a sobering one: “everyone did what was right in his own eyes”, and the book ends with this indictment (Judges 21:25).
1 Samuel marks a new milestone in Israel’s history. Israel demands a king and reject God as king (1 Sam 8:4-9). They want to be like the other nations. The problem with that is that Israel was meant to be a holy nation, set apart for God, and yet they desired to be just like the other nations. God chose Saul to be king over His people (1 Sam 9:1-2). However, God rejects Saul as he disobeys God’s commands in 1 Sam 15:10-11. Instead, God appoints David to be king (1 Sam 16:1, 12b-13).
With David as king, Israel has a king after God’s heart, unlike Saul who disobeyed God. But is David really the king after God’s heart (1 Sam 13:14, 2 Sam 5:1-5)?
King David also expresses his desire to build a temple for God (2 Sam 7:1-6). God instead promises to:
Make David a great name
Appoint a place for Israel, where they will not be disturbed
Make David a house, a dynasty
Establish his offspring’s kingdom, whose kingdom is eternal
Will be to his offspring a father, and call him son
Never take away his steadfast love from him
In 2 Sam 7, God makes a covenant with David, and does it not sound vaguely familiar to what we had read earlier when God made a covenant with Abraham? God is achieving His earlier promises! God promises an eternal kingdom and a king who will come from David’s line, and God will make sure of this. David’s offspring is the promised king, the Messiah, or the “Anointed One” whom you read about in Psalm 132:11, and 2. That is why Israel waits for God’s promised king, because God has promised! Some parts of this covenant is fulfilled when Solomon builds God a temple, but it isn’t fully fulfilled till later on. The covenant is fulfilled at different points, what we term as “multiple horizons of fulfilment”.
1 and 2 Kings are books that tell us about the different reigns of different kings, some good and some bad. Solomon succeeds David as king (1 Ki 1:28-30). By the time we reach 1 Kings 8, we seem to arrive at the high point of Israel’s history. They have a king, the temple, and also in God’s land (1 Ki 8:56-58)! Israel seems to have everything — land, king, nation, but in a few chapters, we also read of Solomon’s fall. Solomon married 700 wives and had 300 concubines who ended up turning his heart away from God (1 Ki 11:1-4). Many of these women were also not Israelites. This was not xenophobia, but the principle is that God sets his people apart from the nations that worshipped gods. They were to worship God.
After Solomon, Israel splits into 2 — the northern kingdom, Israel, with 10 tribes, and the southern kingdom, Judah with the remaining 2 tribes (1 Ki 12). Israel, the northern kingdom, is taken into Exile by Assyria in 722 BC (2 Ki 17:6-8). Judah, the southern kingdom is in turn taken into Exile by Babylon in 597-586BC (2 Ki 24-10-14). God’s people under kings that did not always follow God, now seemed to lost the land and their identity as a nation was under threat. What about the Gen 3:15 promise, and the covenants?
The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles seem to be very similar to 1 and 2 Kings, but the Chronicles are looking back to Israel’s history after their return from exile. Thus, it recalls the reign of David and the history of Judah falling into sin and exile. 1 Chronicles starts with genealogies, and the intention is to look back at Israel’s history and also to trace the promised offspring in Gen 3:15 and the promised king in 2 Sam 7. At the end of the Chronicles, the Babylonian empire is overtaken by the Persian empire, and at some point, King Cyrus of Persia allows the exiles to return (2 Chron 36:22-23). The next few books are thus situated in this post-exilic period of Israel’s history.
Ezra marks the first wave of the return of the exiles in 538-535 BC (Ezra 1:1-4). Ezra records for us the reconstruction of the temple but the older ones in Israel wept because they knew the former temple and this new one is not the same (Ezra 3:11-13, 6:15). There seemed to be some restoration, but Israel was far from their golden age. There was a second wave that returned in 458 BC (Ezra 7:6-10). But though they returned, and reconstructed the temple, the people were still sinning and continued to marry foreign women (Ezra 10:9-17).
BY the time we reach the book of Nehemiah, we read of the third wave returning from exile in around 445BC. In this book, the focus was on the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh 6:15). But once again, we see how the people persisted in sin by the end of the book (Neh 13). Even after God gave them over to exile in judgement for their sins (as in the Garden of Eden), God’s people still disobeyed this God. Who can save them and change their hearts?
God’s prophets (Isaiah to Malachi)
The major and minor prophets can seem confusing, but the key is to first identify if the prophets are speaking to Judah (northern kingdom) or Israel (southern kingdom). The next point to figure out is whether it was it was written before, during or after the exile.
The books also speak of judgment and hope. Judgement is meted out against sin (e.g. idolatry and breaking of the law) in both the nations and Judah and/or Israel (Jer 25).
But judgment is not all there is. There is also hope. God will put his law within the hearts of his people, and make a new covenant (Jer 31:31-33). God promises that a remnant of Israel will return to Himself (Isa 10:20-21) and He will bring his people out of exile (Jer 16:14-15). He will send His promised servant who will suffer for the sins of many (Isa 52:13-53:12). God reveals to Daniel a vision of one like a son of man to whom was given dominion, and glory and a kingdom that all nations should serve him (Dan 7:13-14 ). His kingdom is an eternal one. The question is who is this son of man? God’s promised servant will be as a light for the nations, that God’s salvation may reach to the end of the earth (Isa 49:6, c.f. Gen 12). God promises a Davidic King whose kingdom is forever (Isa 9:6-7). Who is this king? This is the question the OT ends with.
For His people, God promises a new heart of flesh, and his Spirit in his people’s hearts (Ezk 36:26-27, Joel 2:28-32). Ultimately, God promises to create new heavens and a new earth. He promises a new creation (Isa 65:17-19).
The Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ (Matthew to John)
The NT in Matt 1:1 starts with a genealogy of Christ, calling him the son of David, the son of Abraham. Why is this important? Because of what we have just read, Matthew is trying to tell us this is the promised offspring in Gen 3, the Christ, the Messiah (Anointed one), the one through whom all nations will be blessed. He is the promised king and offspring from 2 Sam 7.
Jesus had a specific message and mission. He came proclaiming the good news (gospel) of God, and calls people to repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:14-15). In his ministry, He appointed 12 Apostles (“Sent Ones”) to whom he reveals the secret of the kingdom of God (Mark 3:13-19, 4:11). Jesus heals, casts out demons, but above all preaches the good news (e.g. Mark 1:38). He came to fulfil the Law and Prophets (OT) (Matt 5:17, Luke 24:44).
The people didn’t always recognise that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Matthew records for us Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah or Anointed One, but his impression of what the promised king would do is quite different from what Jesus set out to do (Matt 16:16). Jesus confesses to be the Christ, and claims to be the Son of Man, the one mentioned in Dan 7. The people read Dan 7 and assumed that He will come with power and might but Jesus reveals that the Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
The gospel writers also record for us Jesus’ death (e.g. Luke 23:44-46), resurrection and appearances (e.g. John 20:6-10, c.f. Luke 24:5-6).
The goal of recording all of these things? Writers like John state explicit that the things were recorded that we “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you many have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).
Early Church (Acts to Philemon)
The book of Acts detail the establishment and life of the early church. After Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples expect that it is now time to restore the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6-11, c.f. Matt 28:18-20). They envisioned a political or military deliverance from Roman rule similar to the kind of deliverance that God gave to his people, to drive out their enemies in the OT. However, Jesus responds by telling them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes and that they will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth, to make disciples of all nations. The blessing is not just for one nation, but for all the nations!
Jesus then ascends into heaven.
The Holy Spirit comes to fill the apostles on Pentecost (7th Sunday after Easter) as Jesus had promised (Acts 2:1-4). Jesus had spoken and taught on the Holy Spirit during his ministry (John 14:15-17, 16:12-15).
A large part of the NT consists of the Epistles (Romans to Philemon). These are letter from the apostles to the churches, and in these letters, they proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, unpack the gospel implications for all of life and explain the OT in light of Jesus Christ.
There are many important truths that the apostles teach on. For example, Paul explains how God saves us by grace through faith, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9). Those of the faith are the sons of Abraham, to whom blessing comes (Gal 3:7). God’s people have a new life in the Spirit, and they wage war against sin (Gal 5:16-25). Christians are a new creation in Christ, they are given new identities (2 Cor 5:17 ). We also read of how God’s church is built on the apostles (NT) and prophets (OT) with Christ as the cornerstone (Eph 2:20-21).
The apostle Paul often calls the age that we are currently living in the “last days” (2 Tim 3:1) and this description reminds us that in the period after Jesus’ resurrection, God’s people are still waiting. They are not home yet.
New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation)
In the book of Revelation (not Revelations), John is given a vision of what is to come. He sees how Jesus is the king of kings, the Lamb who is worthy of worship (Rev 17:14, c.f. Rev 5:6). Babylon is often the symbol for sin and evil (Rev 18:2), and the defeat of Babylon marks God’s judgment against sin (Rev 17-20).
We can look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, a new creation (Rev 21:1). The highlight is that God dwells with man perfectly, and he will be their God (Rev 21:3). No longer will He dwell in just a tabernacle or a tent or a temple! There will also be no more tears, nor death nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain. The former things have passed away (Rev 21:4). Everything broken as a result of Gen 3 has passed away!
In this new heaven and new earth, God’s people will be from a multitude from all nations (Rev 7:4-10). It’s not just about Israel, and we can see the fulfilment of the OT promises of the nations coming to God!
The book (and the whole Bible) ends with Jesus’ promise to come again soon. All the previous promises that have been fulfilled make us certain that He will fulfil this! We are in the last days, and we are awaiting the full fulfilment of all His promises! Suffering is so much a part of our world today but we can be fully assured and comforted that Jesus will come again!
(C) Concluding words
If you’re still reading, this is the one big story of the Bible. Now, why is this important for us? Knowing the larger story line of the Bible should help us to read our bibles better and understand it better. We understand how each book fits into the larger narrative, and we won’t get lost by reading a minor prophet, or Leviticus which we might find boring or outdated. This should lead us to worship our wonderful and saving God. How amazing is this story of salvation? Do you see how many times God’s people have sinned and rebelled him through history, and yet, he saves them completely in Jesus Christ.
If you have already heard and known this large Bible story line, how is it hearing it again? May we never lose the wonder of looking into the Bible, God’s very own words, and seeing His glory and beauty through Christ. He promised salvation all the way back in Gen 3, and Christ is coming again soon as he has said in Rev 22.
As we end this series on the doctrine of Scripture, we don’t just want to accumulate information or smart answers to difficult questions on Scripture, but really, the real joy comes in reading and having confidence in God’s word, leaning on every promise that God gives to his people. We can read it with confidence, and we can also take this and read it with someone else! We want to wait on Christ’s coming again, and say with John at the end of Revelation, “Come, Lord Jesus!”.