Dear brothers & sisters,
Several men and I are working through a course Tuesday nights on Bibliology (the study of the Bible). Part of the class was a walk through of the Bible, summarizing each book of the Bible in a short phrase or sentence.
The exercise reminded me of the importance of seeing the Big Picture.
Jesus once said,
[39] you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
John 5:39-40 ESV
In theological terms, the Scriptures are Christotelic, meaning they point to Christ. He is the goal, the one towards whom all the themes of Scripture point. We see Paul in Ephesians 1:3-14, for example, praising God for his eternal plan of redemption in Christ Jesus. I'd encourage you all to read that passage, but to summarize, we might put it this way: God is glorifying Himself by saving a people for Himself and uniting all things to Himself in Jesus (who is God in the flesh) to the praise of His grace. That's another way of saying what Jesus said; that the Scriptures testify of him, in whom there is life everlasting for all who believe in Him. Even so, like the Jews who saw Jesus (their Lord and God) with their own eyes, there is a very real danger for us to miss Jesus.
Do you miss Jesus as you read the Bible?
Is it Him you long to know and love as you study His word?
Several years ago for a talk with the youth, I summarized what the various books of the Bible teach us about God as follows:
Genesis - God the Creator
Exodus - God as Rescuer
Leviticus - The God who is Holy
Numbers - God in the wilderness
Deuteronomy - The law-making righteous God
Joshua - God the Savior
Judges - God the Judge
Ruth - God our Redeemer
Samuel, Kings, Chronicles - God our coming King
Ezra/Nehemiah - God the Restorer
Esther - God over Empires
Job - God in the midst of suffering
Psalms - God is worthy of praise
Proverbs - The God of wisdom
Ecclesiastes - The God of meaning and purpose
Song of Songs - The God of Passion
Isaiah - God the Warrior King and Suffering Servant
Jeremiah - The God of Justice
Lamentations - The God who weeps
Ezekiel - The God of a New Covenant
Daniel - The God over History
Minor prophets - The God of love and justice
Gospels - God with us
Acts - God the redeemer of all nations, the God of power and glory
Roman's - The God who justifies
Corinthians - The God of Unity
Galatians - The God of ONE gospel
Ephesians - The God of the Church
Philippians - The God of joy & humility
Colossians - The God over all things
Thessalonians - God is returning, keep serving Him
Timothy - The God who equips
Titus - The God of mercy and holiness
Philimon - The God who restores relationships and changes lives
Hebrews - God's plan fulfilled in Jesus
James - The God of the humble
Peter - God in the suffering
John - God of Love and Truth
Jude - The God who keeps us
Revelation - God will return to Judge and Restore.
My attempt was far from perfect, but I trust that it helps illustrate that all Scripture is a revelation of God to us, displayed most completely in the person and work of Jesus who is God with us.
How would you summarize the books of the Bible? In what way, do Scriptures like Leviticus and Joshua and 1 Chronicles and Ezekiel point us to Jesus?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Grace & Peace,
Matt
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