Understanding the Bible
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BIBLE OVERVIEWS

(Page 1)  

[this page prints onto 5 A4 pages]

After the Introduction the page continues with two Bible Overviews, based on (1) The Kingdom of God, and (2) The Covenants of God

INTRODUCTION   

The whole Bible is ONE spiritual story. It is important that we understand this story because it will enable us to fit together the teaching of the various parts of the Bible and it will help us to comprehend how and why Jesus Christ is the intended focus from beginning to end. 

We can arrive at one understanding of the whole Bible by studying its history (and its geography), but this does not reveal the true spiritual story: there is much more to it than that.  In particular, many modern Christians do not know how to handle the Old Testament (OT). They do not understand what it is really about and how it relates to the New Testament (NT). They may even reject the OT or at least give it scant attention. But the two testaments are intimately related. The OT is fulfilled and completed by the New: the NT is illuminated and interpreted by the Old.  The OT is redemptive history and the key issue is not the part Israel played, but the part God played.

If we want to know what the Bible is about, we should first ask Jesus Christ....for example, what did Jesus think the Old Testament was about? 

When we turn to Luke 24:25-27 and 44,45 we discover that Jesus believed that the OT is primarily and essentially about Him and His ministry. If we think that might be going too far, then we only have to turn to John 5:39,40 for confirmation. This is not confined to prophesies about, for example, where the Messiah was to be born, but extends to the character, purpose and interpretation of the future ministry of Jesus Christ. It is woven into the OT ceremonial law, the moral law and the way God relates to His chosen people*. 

* On Matthew 5:17 Bishop J.C. Ryle said "Jesus came to fulfil the ceremonial law by becoming the great sacrifice for sin to which all the Mosaic offerings were pointed. 

Jesus came to fulfil the moral law by yielding to it a perfect obedience we could never have yielded, and by paying the penalty for our breach of it with His precious blood which we could never have paid.... the OT is the gospel in bud, the NT is the gospel in bloom ..... Jesus exalted the law of God and made its importance more evident than before [Is.42:21]". 

(Helpful books for understanding the relationship between the Old and New Testaments include: 'The Old Testament in the New - an Introduction' by Steve Moyise, Continuum, London 2001; 'Two Testaments, One Bible' by David L.Baker, Apollos, Leicester,1991; and 'How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth' by Fee and Stuart, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1982)

There are two main ways to understand the spiritual story of the Bible: 

1. The Kingdom of God  (follows immediately) 

2. The Covenants of the Bible (click to go straight to the article on a separate page)

A Puzzling Announcement:  

In  Chapter 1 vs. 14,15 Mark reports .. 'After John was put into prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come " he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news." ' 

Now why did Jesus say that? In view of what happened three years later - and Jesus knew it would - why didn’t He announce "The time has come, I am going to die for your sins, so repent and believe in me"?

ANSWER: because the over-arching subject of the whole Bible is the establishment of the Kingdom of God - Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the Cross was the vital means to that end. (Note that while the phrase 'The Kingdom of God' is solely a NT expression, the concept is certainly woven into the text of the OT)

"Jesus went throughout Galilee ...preaching the good news of the kingdom..." Matt.4:23 (- the word 'kingdom' appears 54 times in Matthew!)                 

To have a (good) kingdom there must be a good king, a people who are ruled, a place where this rule is recognised, with benefits and blessings to be enjoyed.      

In other words the Kingdom of God consists of God as King, a people under His rule, in the place of His choosing, enjoying His blessings.

The pattern may be summarised as God's People, under God's rule, in God's Place, with God's Blessings.   Now let's examine this pattern throughout Scripture: work through the following table identifying the stages as described. Identify the pattern as it emerges. It might be good idea to print off the table for easy and further reference.

Please work through this table looking up the Scriptures and getting to grips with the over all scheme of things that it reveals. Do you now see the common thread running throughout Scripture? 

With acknowledgements to "Gospel and Kingdom" and "According to Plan" by Graeme Goldsworthy (both published by Lancer Books NSW, Australia [ISBN 0-85892-338-6] and Paternoster Press, Exeter, UK [ISBN 0-85364-218-4])

For further help on this subject 'The Good Book Co.' (020 8942 0880) (www.thegoodbook.co.uk)  markets first class material for a Bible Overview course as a three session programme or 15 short sessions. It includes a leader's manual, 45 visual display cards and a participants book.

A very useful paperback book is 'Understanding the Bible' by John Stott, pub by Scripture Union, 192 pp, ISBN 1 85999 225 0. This includes chapters on the purpose, story(2), message, authority, interpretation of, and use of the Bible.