KNOWING THE BIBLE
Read and pray: “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: ‘Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them; they will be His people, and He, God-with-them, will be their God.’” (Rev 21:3)
If we want to know a book, whatever it may be, we must grasp its theme and its central thought. Furthermore, we need an adequate analysis of its structure and a clear understanding of its subdivisions. The Bible has its specific theme, its central line of thought, and its subdivisions.
Although it is composed of sixty-six books, the Bible has its theme and central line of thought; it also has various subdivisions in its structure. If we want to know the Bible, we must clearly understand these three things.
THEME
The theme of the Bible can be summarized in just four sentences:
In this theme there are four persons: God, Satan, man, and Christ. The entire Bible speaks almost exclusively of these four persons. For each one of them, we have two verbs. God planned and created. He planned in eternity past and created in time. Satan rebelled and damaged. God had His plan and created according to that plan, but Satan rebelled against God and damaged God’s creation. All that Satan did was rebel and damage.
These two verbs can summarize all of Satan’s work in the universe. Man fell and was lost. Man fell and, as a result, was lost from God’s hand, ceasing to be used by God. Man’s history throughout the Bible can be summarized by these two verbs: fall and be lost. Christ redeemed and built.
In the past, when Christians spoke of Christ, they spoke only of redemption; the matter of building was always neglected or omitted. But we must not forget that our Lord not only said that the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost, but also said that Peter was a stone, and that He would build His church upon this rock.
On the one hand, the Gospel of John says that Christ “came that they may have life.” On the other hand, it also says that even if man “destroys this temple,” Christ will “rebuild it” in three days.
Whether it is the accomplishment of redemption by the Lord or the coming of the Lord as life to man, the result of both is for the building of the church. For this reason, we must not see only redemption; we must also see building.
At the beginning of the Bible, we see gold, bdellium, and precious stones, which are materials for building (Gen 2:10-12). At the end of the Bible, we see a complete building, built with gold, pearl, and precious stones (Rev 21). This shows that God, in the end, will have a building, which is built as the result of the redemption accomplished by His Son, as the Lamb.
Therefore, when we speak of Christ, we must see Him not only as the Redeemer, but also as the Builder. He came to redeem and also to build. The reason God created all things, including man, is to have a building in the universe.
We must well remember these four persons, along with the two verbs related to each one. If we do, we will understand the theme of the Bible.
God created all things, including man, according to His plan. Satan was proud and rebelled against God; he maliciously damaged God’s creation and caused man to fall and be lost. Christ came to redeem man and build him as His glorious church and His mystical Body, so that God may obtain a corporate vessel for His expression.
This is the theme of the entire Bible. Let us now see separately the themes of the Old and the New Testament.
THE THEME OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
The theme of the Old Testament is that God created, Satan damaged, man fell, and God promised the coming of Christ for redemption.
Although there are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament, it mainly shows us that God created the universe, Satan came to damage God’s creation, man fell, and God promised the coming of Christ for the accomplishment of redemption.
Therefore, Christ in the Old Testament was only a hope for man, because He had only been promised by God, as Redeemer, for fallen man.
THE THEME OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The central theme of the New Testament is Christ coming to redeem sinners and build the church, according to God’s plan. In the Old Testament, we see how God created, Satan damaged, man fell, and God promised the coming of Christ to redeem man according to His plan and promise.
In the New Testament, we see how Christ redeemed the lost sinners, according to God’s plan and promise, and how He builds His glorious church as His mystical Body so that God may have a corporate vessel to express Him. When we put together the themes of the Old and the New Testament, we have the theme of the whole Bible, as presented previously.
“The New Heart and the New Spirit”
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