The Story of the Bible

We said that we need to read the bible as a Story. Not meaning that it is Fictional or Informational.

Meaning that it has

1. A PLOT: Creation à The Fall à The Wanderings à Redemption à Eternity.

2. CHARACTERS: God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God’s People, The World

3. MANY AUTHORS

Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Paul, Peter, James, Jude…

· That all Wrote a WIKI story of the Bible.

The Unity of the Bible is this Story.

• It is the Story that Puts the Bible Together.
• BUT what is the STORY?

So let us begin in the Beginning.

Gen. 1:1-5 ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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.

^{GE 1:3} And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.’

We read this and we Usually Focus on Creation.

• Instead of, Why did it Happen?

The early church Fathers explained the relationship between God, Jesus & the H.S. as Perichoresis

Perichoresis refers to the endless dance of the trinity in

• Love, Community, Joy, Ecstasy, Intimacy & Mutuality.

So God said, let us make this elsewhere.

• Let there be other beings that can experience what we experience.

Gen. 1:26-27 ‘Then God said, "Let us make man in our image,(in our Icon/ greek for tsalem) in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

²⁷ So God created man in his own image (or Icon), in the image (or Icon) of God he created him; male and female he created them.’

So God created man in his image so that Man could live in perfect unity with God, self & Eden.

• But in a sense Man stood alone.
• He looked through all the animals and there was no one like him.

So God split Man into Ish and Ishah. Man & Woman.

• So the he could experience the glories of love and mutuality.

God wanted the relationship between Adam and Eve to be like

• The Relation of the Father, Son & Spirit.
• He wanted them to experience Pericherosis.

Therefore he said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.’ Gen. 2:24

The word ‘one’ when he talks about ‘one flesh’

• Is the same word used in the Shema

Deut. 6:4 ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’

So as the Father, Son and the H.S. are one.

• So Adam and Eve are made to be one.

So Genesis 1 & 2 is not as much about creation/ as it is all about the loving oneness of God

• Finding its earthly expression in Adam & Eve.

And when those who are Created in His Image. (Icon)

• Are at one with God, self, Others and the World.

• The glory of the God illuminates all of life.
• And we are able to delight in that Glory.
• THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CREATORS INTENT.

And what a great story it would have been if it all ended here.

· But unfortunately it didn’t.

· Because Oneness is about to take a HIT!

Gen. 3:1-19

• Through disobedience the Icon that God created (the man in his Image) is Cracked.
• Jeopardizing Pericherosis.
• Jeopardizing the Oneness for which God has created us.

Their SIN led to four things.

1. THE DISTORTION OF SELF

Gen. 2:25 said, ‘The man and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame.’

Gen. 3:7 says that they were ashamed because of their nakedness.

2. The Distortion of their relationship with God.

• They hide from God.

3. We see the impact of sin in their relationship with one another.

• The woman made me do it.

4. And eventually we see the impact in their relationship with the world (Eden) being kicked out of the garden.

The fourfold relationship previously enjoyed is now completely cracked.

• They are at odds with God, with Self, with One another and the World.
• ONENESS NOW BECOMES OTHERNESS

Instead of Experiencing one another in Oneness.

• They now begin to experience one another as others.

Instead of living in Perichoresis

· In absolute Love, Community, Joy, Ecstasy, Intimacy and Mutuality .

They now desire to Climb over One Another and on Top of One Another.

• To control and dominate what they want.
• Which Inevitably leads to Death.

The rest of the bible story Points to Jesus who would turn these Icons bent on Otherness

• Into Icons basking in Oneness with God, Self, Others & the World.

This ‘Otherness’ problem is what the Gospel fixes.

• And the Story of the Bible is the story of God’s people struggling with Otherness and searching for Oneness.

Here many Bible Readers lose their way and Jump ahead from Genesis to the Gospels

• Because they have limited the Otherness Problem to God & self.
• And not God, Self, Others and the World.
• Because we tend to read the plot of the bible as…
• Creation à Fall à Redemption.

There is something missing when we do this.

• Because there is a Huge Gap between the Fall And Redemption.
• And that is about 1000 pages.

And in that 1000 pages that God shows how he Chooses to Redeem man.

• And that is the context of his Covenant Community.

And what you will notice in the O.T

• Is that it is not only the Otherness between God and ourselves that God is concerned about

• He is also concerned about our Otherness with Others.

Our problem is that

• We are so Focused on becoming One with God.
• That we Actually forget about our Oneness with Others.
• We forget the rest of the Story.

So what Happens after the Fall.

• God lets his Cracked Icons Foolishly fiddle around for another couple of chapters.

• Till he Finally does a Do-over with Noah and the Flood.

After the Flood God forms a Covenant Community through Abraham.

• This would be a Community in which the people were to find Oneness with God, Self, Others and the World.
• And it is their search for oneness with God and others that shape the rest of the Bible.

The Old Testament is about Israel’s Striving to become this.

• But there is a Massive Problem.
• God’s people don’t get the Job done.
• There seems to be something Terribly wrong with them.

Woven through the Story is a Deep Thread of Failure that Creates again Otherness.

• And we Learn that Israel won’t get the Job done until the Job is done for them.
• The job won’t get done until Jesus, Israel’s Long awaited Messiah comes.
• He will Bring Oneness.

He will Restore the Relationship between

1. Us & God.
2. Us & Self.
3. Us & Others.
4. Us & The World.

And as we enter the Gospels we discover that

• Everything God designed for Icons is actually lived out by Jesus.

Everything Icon’s are to Do and Be

• Can only happen through being one in Christ.

So, how does this work?

• How do we become one in Christ
• So that oneness can be Restored.
• How can we get into the Perecherotic dance with
• God, Self, Others and the World.

Acts 2:36-47

‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?’

The Spirit of God brought everyone together.

• They are Broken about their Sin/ their Otherness.
• They want to know how they can become one with God, Self, Man and the World.
• Asks what shall we do?

‘Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.’

Peter says, what you have to do is Repent and be Baptized

• For the forgiveness of your sins.
• So that you can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• And form a part of God’s covenant community

In which there would be according to Paul in the book of Galatians

no more Jew or gentile, Male or Woman, Slave or Free.

• Because they would all be one in Christ

Acts 2:42-47 ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

Oneness with God

⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

Oneness with Others

They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’

What happened?

· They Repented, Got baptized and formed a part of God’s Covenant Community.

Later on in Acts 4:32 is says, They were ‘one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.’

They became that which God intended from the beginning of Creation.

• One with God, Self & Others.

And this is the Story the whole Bible was Designed to Tell.

• OTHERNESS OVERTURNED AND ONENESS BEING RESTORED.

God’s work was now almost Complete

• And for the 1^st time His Covenant Community was now able to live in Oneness with God, Self, Others.

As they could now experience the Pericherotic Dance through

• Love, Community, Joy, Ecstasy, Intimacy and Mutuality.

But the Story does not End there.

• From the very beginning God created through Abraham a Covenant Community who would be a Blessing to the World.

From the very beginning when God started a Covenant Community with Abraham he said, ‘I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.’ Gen. 12:2

I will make you great so that you can be a Blessing.

And the same is True for the Church.

• God wants to be a Blessing to the Entire World.
• And he wants to Express himself to the World through us.

Because Creation is not just about you and me.

• It is not just about me being in Pericherosis with God.
• But it is about me being in Pericherosis with
• God, Self, Other and the World.

As it says in 2 Cor. 5:18 ‘All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…’

The church is commissioned to bring God’s Plan of Pericherosis to Completion.

• By Pulling the World into it.

The church is what God is doing in this world.

• It is impossible to follow Jesus and not be a part of his Covenant Community
• A part of his Purpose of being a Blessing to the World.

The Gospel is designed to accomplish Unity.

• Unity with God, self, others and the world.
• And the church should be a Glimpse of his Kingdom glory.

Reaching out to a lost world is not just one of the Purposes of the Church.

• It is who the Church is.
• It is Who the church was Designed to be.

When the church ceases to be Missional is ceases to be the church.

• God’s whole plan for the church was to be redemptive
• To be a blessing.
• To Restore Oneness with God, Self, Others and the World.

This is the story of the Bible

· And each author of the Bible

· Simply has his view or take on it.

What does this mean for you and me?

• It means that we need to read it correctly.
• Read each book and passage against the back-drop of this story.
• And Know what the End-goal is.

But not only should we read the story.

• We should become a Part of the story
• Become a Part of God’s Covenant Community.
• And Pull others into this New Community.

So that they too can Enjoy the Perecherotic Dance of

• Love, Community, Joy, Ecstasy, Intimacy & Mutuality

So that the creators intent can be brought to completion through us.

** Most of the content of this message come from the research of Scot McKnight (Professor in Religious studies at North Park University, Chicago, Illinois.