If we want to know any book, we have to grasp its subject and central thought. In addition, we need a proper analysis of its structure and a clear understanding of its sections. The Bible has its own subject, its central thought, and its sections. Although there are sixty-six books in the Bible, it has its subject and central thought; there are also distinctive sections within its structure. If we want to know the Bible, we must clearly understand these three things.
The subject of the Bible is contained in only four sentences: God planned and created, Satan rebelled and damaged, man fell and was lost, and Christ redeemed and built. Within this subject, there are four persons: the first is God, the second is Satan, the third is man, and the fourth is Christ. The whole Bible speaks almost exclusively of these four persons. For each of these four persons, we have two verbs. God planned and created. He planned in eternity past and created in time. Satan rebelled and damaged. God had His plan and created according to His plan, but Satan rebelled against God and damaged God’s creation. All Satan did was to rebel and damage. These two verbs can include all of Satan’s work in the universe. Man fell and was lost. Man fell, and as a result, was lost from God’s hands and from being used by God. The story of man in the whole Bible can be summed up by these two verbs: man fell and was lost. Christ redeemed and built. In the past, when Christians spoke about Christ, they only spoke of redemption; the matter of building has always been overlooked or missed. But we must not forget that our Lord not only said that the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost, but He also said that Peter was a stone, and that He would build His church upon this rock. On the one hand, the Gospel of John says that Christ “came that they may have life.” On the other hand, it also says that though man may “destroy this temple,” Christ will “raise it up” in three days. Whether it be the Lord’s accomplishment of redemption, or the Lord Jesus’ coming to be life to man, the result is for the building up of the church. For this reason, we must not see redemption only; we must see the building also.
At the beginning of the Bible, we see gold, bdellium, and precious stones, which are materials for building. At the end of the Bible, we see a completed building, built with gold, pearl, and precious stones. This indicates that God will eventually have a building, which is built up as a result of the redemption accomplished by His Son as the Lamb. Hence, when we speak of Christ, we should not merely see Him as the redeeming One, but we must also see Him as the building One. He came to redeem and He came also to build. The reason God created everything including man is to have a building in the universe.
We should remember these four persons very well, together with the two verbs associated with each. If we do this, we will understand the subject of the Bible. God created everything including man according to His plan. Satan was proud and rebelled against God; he maliciously damaged God’s creation and caused man to fall and to be lost. Christ came to redeem man and to build him up as His glorious church and His mystical Body so that God can obtain a corporate vessel for His expression. This is the subject of the whole Bible. Now, let us see the subjects of the Old and New Testaments separately.
The subject of the Old Testament is that God created, Satan damaged, man fell, and God promised the coming of Christ for redemption. Although there are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament, it mainly shows us that God created the universe, Satan came in to damage God’s creation, man fell, and God promised the coming of Christ for the accomplishment of redemption. Hence, the Christ in the Old Testament was only a hope for man, because He was only promised by God to the fallen man as a Redeemer.
The subject of the New Testament is Christ coming to redeem sinners and to build up the church according to God’s plan. In the Old Testament, we see how God created, Satan damaged, man fell, and God promised the coming of Christ to redeem man according to God’s plan and promise. In the New Testament, we see how Christ redeemed the lost sinners according to God’s plan and promise and how He builds up His glorious church as His mystical Body for God to have a corporate vessel to express Himself. When we put the subjects of the Old and New Testaments together, we have the subject of the whole Bible as presented earlier.
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