Lesson Notes

The Bible Can Be Hard to Understand!

• 66 Books divided into 2 Testaments
• Originally written in 3 languages over 1,500 years
• Full of funny names and long lists
• So many kings and kingdoms!
• Books aren’t in chronological order
• Some books retell the content of others
• A challenging mix of letters, gospels, covenants, apocalypses, historical narratives, suzerainty treaties, prophecies, poems, songs, proverbs, etc.
• There are some really horrible stories!
• Can’t we just skip to the Jesus part?!?
• Paul is kind of hard to understand!

Understanding & Applying the Bible

• Understanding the Bible means getting a correct mental grasp of the author’s inspired meaning, i.e. what the Holy Spirit intended to communicate through words and symbols
• Applying the Bible is the process of discerning the timeless principles and truths of Scripture and putting them into practice in your modern life
• To do these well and correctly, we must understand how the Bible fits together and how what we read fits into the big story of the Bible

Key to Understanding #1

Understand the Bible’s Big Story

• We generally read or study the Bible in short chunks – a few verses or a chapter at a time
• Each passage is important, but if we don’t understand the big picture it’s like studying a single puzzle piece
• We can say a great deal about that piece…
• But we can’t fully understand it until we turn it the right way and place it into the larger picture

What If We Don’t Understand the Bible’s Big Story

• We easily make errors of understanding
  • We miss the many Old Testament references, patterns, allusions and symbols as we study the New Testament
  • We fail to understand how the New Testament fulfills prophecies and promises as we study the Old Testament
  • We miss key implications and principles
  • Examples: Jesus’ extensive Old Testament references, the New Covenant in Christ, Paul’s references to our inheritance
• We easily make errors of application
  • We misapply Scripture because we don’t understand how a passage fits in redemptive-history
  • Examples: Old Testament food laws, Levitical sacrifices
• We also miss much of the marvelous beauty, elegance, and enjoyment of God’s Word as it reveals God’s authorship!

The Bible Is One BIG Story

• There’s one author – God’s Spirit inspired human authors
  • “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good word.” – 2 Timothy 3: 16-17
  • “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” – 2 Peter 1: 19-21
• It all matters – even the long lists – because it all weaves together to tell one BIG story
• When we don’t understand the BIG story, we don’t fully understand or appreciate every part of the story
• It’s ALL the Jesus part
  • “And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.'” – Luke 24: 25-27
  • “Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.'” – Luke 24: 44-47
• The Bible’s BIG story answers life’s BIG questions

The BIG Questions of Life

• WHERE Did We Come From?
• WHY is the World So Messed Up?
• HOW Do We Fix It?
• WHERE Are We Going and HOW Will it End?

The BIG Story of the Bible

• WHERE Did We Come From?
  • CREATION (Genesis 1-2)
• WHY is the World So Messed Up?
  • FALL into sin (Genesis 3)
• HOW Do We Fix It?
  • REDEMPTION is needed (Genesis 3 – Malachi) and come through a Redeemer, we must proclaim (Matthew – Jude)
• WHERE Are We Going and HOW WIll It End?
  • RESTORATION of God’s Creation through the Consummation of His Kingdom (Revelation)

Part I – CREATION

• Described in: Genesis 1-2
• The eternal triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is the focus of the Bible
• God created a place to display His glory, where He could be present, known, served, and worshiped – a cosmic temple
  • It was “very good” – a good universe, a good world, and a delightful place – Eden
  • God gifted mankind with marriage, and gave them responsibility and authority to manage His temple on His behalf
• God was in relationship with mankind and there was peace between people and order within creation

Part II – FALL

• Described in: Genesis 3
• Mankind rebelled against God
  • Tempted by Satan, man broke the only rule in creation, tryint o make himself like God
  • This rebellion defiled the cosmic temple of creation
• As punishment, all of creation was twisted and distorted
  • The relationship between God and man became conflicted
  • Work became difficult; life became limited; disease entered the world; death and decay became normal; violence erupted; the heart and mind became distorted and wicked
• God promised REDEMPTION to restore creation through a single descendent of Eve – Jesus Christ (Genesis 3: 15)

Anticipating REDEMPTION

• Described in: Genesis 4 – Malachi 6
• The Old Testament continuously…
  • Points to the need for a Redeemer (i.e. the holiness of God and the depravity of man)
  • Explains how God prepared the way for the Redeemer
  • Highlights the essential qualities of the Redeemer, often through the strengths and weakness of Old Testament figures
  • Foretells the coming Redeemer and His word of redemption
• Every passage points to the Redeemer, Jesus Christ!
  • To understand the Old Testament well, we must understand what a particular passage means, but also determine how it points to Jesus Christ

Part III – REDEMPTION

• Described in: Matthew – John
• Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Redeemer took on a human nature, stepping into the world at Christmas
• Jesus perfectly fulfills the Old Testament prophecies
• Jesus lived a perfect life
• Jesus inaugurated God’s Kingdom on Earth
• Jesus died as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins
• Jesus rose from the dead, the first-fruit of the grave, proving that God accepted His sacrifice for our sin and that others will follow into everlasting life

 

Living in REDEMPTION

• Described in: Acts – Jude
• Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe in Him
• Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Him
• Jesus commissioned the church to make disciples of all nations
• We’re in the Age of Redemption, the Bible guides us
• We’re to share the Good News with everyone
• We’re charged with building God’s Kingdom on Earth 
• All God’s promises are “Yes” in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1: 20)
• We anticipate Restoration

Part IV – RESTORATION

• Described in: Revelation
• Anticipated in Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, the Gospels, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and many more passages
• Christ will return in victory to perfect His Kingdom
• Jesus the bridegroom will accept His bride (the church)
• Jesus will conquer Satan and death forever
• God will establish a new heaven and a new earth, restoring creation to what it was made to become, had it not been for the Fall into sin
• Mankind will live in God’s presence as intended