It is essential to understand the four major plot movements in order to analyze the teachings and trends of the scriptures. The movements include the creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. By reading the entire Bible, it is evident that all the scriptures have a common inspiration, which is the Holy Spirit. The four movements, help in better conception of the unity of the Bible, which is demonstrated by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the human authors of the scripture.
Biblical Metanarrative
One of the major movements is creation. From the books of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, the earth was full of God’s shalom, where everything was cared for according to the intention of Good. According to the scriptures, God made human beings to be flourishing and wanted him to help in living in joy and peace. He also aimed that man would worship him, through loving him and allowing him to love each other.
The second movement entails the fall of man which came after Adam and Eve fell into sin and rejected God’s rule over them. They are referred to as rebellious choices because, from the period they represented humanity, their actions tend to affect people who came after. Through their actions, humans have declared themselves God’s enemies, a factor that results in both physical and spiritual death.
Redemption is the third movement, in which God is keen on turning the suffering and the evil of his people into good, a factor that will be his ultimate glory. Through his major plan, he sent his only begotten son, where the narrative of the scripture is climaxed with the death and the resurrection of Jesus. In this movement, God had mercy on his people, hence, sacrificed his son, who would redeem everyone from the sins of Adam and Evil.
Restoration is the fourth movement, where God promises to renew the whole world. The Bible gives a glimpse view of the future and shows it to be magnificent. Christ will return to judge the evil and sin, where he will usher in peace and righteousness and he will then purge the world of evil.
Topic Examples
God is Omnipresent
An example of the Biblical context is the fact that God is omnipresent. From the scripture, God has been in existence from the beginning. From the book of John 1:1, since the beginning, there was the word, the word was with God, and the Word was God. The book of Genesis 1: 1 states that; “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This reveals that God created time, space, and mater on the first day of the creation week (Barlev, Mermelstein, & German, 2018). He has been present for the mercy he had upon humans. After the fall, he sent his only son and he promises restoration and he will renew the entire world (Barlev, Mermelstein, & German, 2018). In the entire Biblical teachings of God’s omnipresence, it is also apparent that he has his transcendence, since the creation, where he created man in His own likeliness.
God’s mercy
God’s mercy has also been portrayed in the scriptures where, through the four movements, his mercy has been portrayed to human beings. He created people in his image. This was different from other living beings. Despite their corrupt human nature, God responded to their disobedience with a promise of mercy, despite their fall, according to Genesis 3:15. He has proven his mercy throughout the Bible. For instance, after Cain kills Abel, he still puts a mark of protection on him and declares vengeance on anyone who kills him (Gen. 4:15). His divine mercy is portrayed in redemption, where he sends his only son to save the man from sins (Allison, 2018). He promises to come back again in the restoration, to judge the veil and the sin because of his mercy on earth. According to Allison (2018), mercy is the quality of showing compassion. God has been compassionating towards all sinners, where he temporarily withheld his punishment to them during the restoration.
Conclusion
The scriptures have a divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit and has demonstrated the unity of the Holy Bible. From the scriptures, it is apparent that there are four movements which include the creation, fall, redemption and the new creation, which are all reflected in the Holy scriptures. From the Bible, God is omnipresent and merciful to all his creation and this has been constantly demonstrated. From the beginning to the restoration, the Bible states that God has been there. Through the Holy Spirit, he has inspired the authors of the books. According to Genesis, this can be seen in God creations and components of the world, and on the last day when God created man is his own likeness. He has also proven to be merciful from the beginning, where after men sinned, he brought them a Savior who would redeem them from their sins. He also promises to come back in Glory, where he will spare the righteous from the sinners.
