The Metanarrative of the Bible

There are five major themes and three metanarratives that run throughout the Bible. A theme is an idea that shows up in each story throughout the Bible and contributes to the meaning and depth of the story. Each theme can be independent of each other and help develop different aspects of the biblical stories while connecting with each other. A metanarrative is an overarching storyline. It binds all the themes into one story that each of the books of the Bible helps to develop. Whereas a theme shows up in each story, all the stories act to develop the metanarrative. All these themes and metanarratives can be summed up in the three-part story of creation-fall-redemption.

Major Themes

• Sovereignty and Supremacy of Yahweh—Genesis begins by stating that Yahweh has always existed and is Creator of all things. Because He is Creator of all things, that makes Him sovereign over all things. Thus it is established that Yahweh has the right to determine what is right and wrong and so discipline His creation according to this standard. He also proves Himself again and again as supreme over all things that might threaten His dominion and people. Ultimately, He exercises His full supremacy and sovereignty on the Day of Yahweh, when He judges, punishes, and removes all evil and wickedness in His creation.
• Humanity Created in the Image of Yahweh—Yahweh chooses to create humanity with a uniqueness that no other thing in creation has: to be made in His image, to reflect the qualities of His nature and character, and to execute His will on earth. When humanity loses this uniqueness in the fall, Yahweh will begin to restore it back to them through the successive covenants that He makes with His chosen line. When Christ comes, He becomes not only the ultimate image of Yahweh that we are to conform to and reflect but the one who enables us to become Christ-like as well. Ultimately, it is in Christ’s second coming in the new earth that we will be completely restored back to the full image of Yahweh/Christ.
• Fall and Sin of Humanity—Humanity ruins their relationship with God and the image of God that they bear by disobeying Him in the garden and continuously from that point on. They continue to demonstrate their sin nature and choices through the flood, the tower of Babel, and all the way to the crucifixion of Christ and the one-world government in Revelation.
• Love and Grace of Yahweh—Yahweh as sovereign Creator has every right to do with His creation as He pleases in dealing with their sin and rebellion. Yet He constantly and consistently demonstrates His love through His patience, forgiveness, and mercy. This love is most fully demonstrated in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for all of humanity’s sin and, ultimately, when He restores the kingdom of Yahweh on earth and brings us back into His full presence—even though we do not deserve it.
• The Chosen Seed/Plan—Yahweh chooses one family line, which He narrows further and further throughout the Bible, to reveal and work out His plan of salvation for all humanity. He starts with Seth, the son of Adam, and then continues through Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and, ultimately, Jesus Christ. Thus, when Jesus Christ comes and indwells those who place their faith in Him, we become part of the chosen seed through our adoption into His line.

Metanarratives

• The Redemption of Humanity and Creation—The sin of Adam and Eve not only affected all humanity but also all of creation, which was under their rule. All of creation is thus in need of being reconciled to Yahweh into a right relationship without sin and barriers. This is the whole point of the Bible as it tells the story of Yahweh’s plan to redeem creation. As Yahweh reveals Himself to the people of the Bible throughout history, He continues to reveal another aspect of His plan of redemption. Slowly it builds and builds until it finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The conclusion of humanity’s redemption is prophesied in the book of Revelation, where those who have received the Holy Spirit are completely restored back to Him for all eternity.
• The Kingdoms of Yahweh vs. Satan—At the creation of the world Yahweh established His kingdom on earth as it was in heaven. He then established Adam and Eve as rulers over His earthly kingdom. In the midst of this, Satan sought to destroy this kingdom and succeeded in bringing its fall by manipulating Adam and Eve into grasping for deity. From this point on, the earth has been under the rule of Satan. As Yahweh enters into creation to unfold His plan of redemption, Satan is constantly seeking to corrupt, pervert, and ruin whatever Yahweh is accomplishing. Satan is finally dealt a devastating blow at the cross when Jesus’ death and resurrection break the power of sin, death, and Satan’s hold over humanity. Ultimately, Satan will find his demise in the lake of fire when Christ returns to re-establish for all eternity His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
• Foreshadowing and Arrival of Jesus Christ—The redemption of humanity and the restoration of the kingdom of Yahweh are all found in the person of Jesus Christ. And since the Bible’s focus is on the development of these two ideas, everything in the Bible foreshadows the coming of Christ and His work on the cross: starting with the blood atonement after the fall, continuing through the building of the tabernacle and institution of the sacrificial system, building in the prophecies of the prophets, and concluding with the incarnation of Christ Himself (Lk. 24:27; 1 Pet. 1:10-11).