A Six Part Play

Recently, I finished reading through the Gospel of Luke in my quiet time and I was struck by Jesus's words in Luke 24:27, "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." The entire Bible points to Jesus Christ. As I meditated on this truth I began to sketch out the various parts of the Bible and I began to see the Bible as one complex story or a play which takes place in six parts.

Act 1: God Creates Everything Good (Genesis 1-2):
God created everything good, and Adam and Eve enjoyed a perfect relationship with each other and with God. Their worship and service to God were perfect and completely satisfying.

Act 2: Adam and Eve Sin and All of Creation Falls (Genesis 3):
Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God by disobeying him. At that very instant, Adam and Eve fell, and they took creation down with them. Their perfect relationship with God was broken, as was their relationship with each other. Nothing in creation was as it should have been any longer. Worship and service to God became difficult and people began to try to search for fulfillment in ways other than God.

Act 3: Mankind Tries to Make Things Right and Fails (Genesis 4-Malachi 4):
The rest of the Old Testament records mankind's struggle with sin. At times we see people rebelling against God even more, and at other times we see people trying to make things right with God by trusting in religion, whom their ancestors were, or their higher level of obedience to God than others around them. Of course none of these ways work. But as sad as this part of the story is, it is saturated with hope. God gradually revealed more and more of his plan to provide the one way people could be saved: through Jesus.

Act 4: Jesus Comes to Provide Salvation (Matthew 1-John 21):
Jesus is born, lives a sinless perfectly righteous life, performs miracles to prove he is the Son of God, and teaches about God's kingdom. Jesus is rejected by his own people, arrested and crucified, and then he dies, is buried and rises again. When we trust in Jesus, he takes our sin and pays its penalty and give us his righteousness in its place.

Act 5: The Church Begins the Mission of Sharing the Gospel (Acts 1-Revelation 20)
Jesus returns to his place of glory with the Father, but just before he does, he gives his followers the task to carry on the mission of sharing the gospel. He also promises to send the Holy Spirit, and when he arrives, he empowers the church to boldly proclaim Jesus. The church grows and continues through today.

Acts 6: Jesus Returns and Makes Everything Good Again (Revelation 21-22)
One day, Jesus will return, and when he does, he will make everything right again. Sin and death will finally be done away with and all who have trusted in him will receive new, glorified bodies and live with God forever in the perfect new creation.

That is the story the Bible tells. That is his story.