If we look at the Biblical Metanarrative of the Bible, we see it is really one big grand story of redemption where God is the central character throughout. The Bible is a story that traces four major events beginning from Genesis and ending in Revelation, where God first said ” In the Beginning , God created and goes on to explain what He did. A central act of creation was that He made ” man in His image”. While the grand story continues all the way to Revelation, we see that there is a great tragedy that occurs where man chose to disobey God and sin resulting in the fall from the ” Glory of God” ( Romans 3:23). The story continues in which it builds up to the greatest apex in history, the cross where God provided a way to ultimately bring back his creation through the redemptive work of His son Jesus. The final leg of the Biblical Metanarrative is where God ultimately restores His creation back into the perfect image he first intended where we will truly experience what the Glory of God is like in its fullest.

The Biblical Metanarrative is the storyline of the entire Bible. It begins in the book of Genesis and ends in Revelation. While the story begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation, it is important to note that God has always existed and while his act of creation had a beginning, God did not. The Metanarrative of The Bible beings when God created the Heavens and the Earth. A central act of His creation was that man was made in the Image of God which we look in more detail later. Following the creation and man made in His image, a major event occurred that would change everything. Man was made perfectly in His image, but in The Garden we see Adam and Eve make a decision that would curse all of mankind from that point on. They decided to disobey God by eating from the tree of knowledge. This decision resulted in the fall of creation where man fell from the Glory of God. The Glory of God is His absolute majesty and power that he exhibits. Before the fall, man had the privilege of experiencing what it was like to be in the presence of unbroken fellowship with that Glory. While we can still experience the Glory of God all around us, because of sin it is greatly veiled.

The Biblical Metanarrative from the fall in which the rest of The Bible up until the restoration of man and the new creation in Revelation is about redemption. One of the greatest resources for understanding this is seen in Buck Hatches series Progress of Redemption. It traces the Biblical Metanarrative in three scenes and three acts, where Jesus is the central character in which He is the exact Image of the invisible God and the Exact Radiance of His Glory. God provides a redemptive way to bring back His creation of man in His image into a perfect relationship in the new creation. The Glory of God is seen all throughout the Metanarrative through the working of His chosen people, his invisible attributes and a new heaven seen in Revelation.

Describing the Glory of God is more difficult than one would think. God is unfathomable and as finite beings it is a great task, but The Bible doesn’t leave us in the dark. All throughout scripture we see the Attributes of God discussed which help us understand His Glory. God is majestic and powerful. “ The heavens are telling the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” ( Psalm 19:1) Everyday Theology describes some of His Glory as Love, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Immuable, and Omnipotent. A theological term for understanding His Glory is soli Deo Gloria, which is one of five solas ( Grace, Faith, Jesus Christ, Scripture and Glory of God). In his book God’s Glory Alone, David Vandruden explains the Glory of God as holding everything together. He traces His Glory from Genesis to Revelation, beginning with the triune God’s inherent glory, “ culminating in God’s glorification of the entire universe crowned by a multitude of his glorified human images- and at the center of it all, “ him who for a little while was made lower than angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death ( Heb. 2:9) .

Man was made in the image of God, but what does this exactly mean in the context of The Biblical Metanarrative. In the book of Genesis, God created all the creatures of the Earth, including man, but He did not create animals for example in His image. While animals are living and breathing, and even higher functioning ones have emotion, they are not in His likeness. ( tselem) It is important to point out that while God does commune some of His attributes to us such as love, we don’t possess such things as being infinite, omniscience or even immutable. When it comes to being made in His image we have the abilities of being creative, which means we can design things and increase in our abilities to advance knowledge. While a spider can create a web, it doesn’t change its creativity overtime. Second, man is spiritual in that from the beginning of time we have had an interest in God and something greater than ourselves. Third we possess intellect and can think and even be aware of our self-existence, which is huge. Fourth, we are relational beings in that we desire to be in fellowship and enjoy others’ presence. God did not make man to be alone, but in fellowship, much the same way that the father, son and holy spirit have always been in fellowship with one another. Finally, we were made to rule over the Earth. In an article by John Piper at Desiringgod.org, we see a statement that Helmut Thielicke captures the essence of the image. “ The divine likeness is thus a relational entity because it is manifested in man’s ruling position vis-a-vis the rest of creation, or better, because it consists in the manifestation, in this exercise of dominion and lordship”.

In concluding the Biblical Matannative, it is most important to end talking about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the central character of the entire Bible, and if we truly want to understand what the image of God looks like and what the Glory of God is that we need to go no further than Jesus. In Hebrews we see that Jesus is the “ radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. ( Heb 1:3). Colossians declare that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. ( Col 1:15). While we were made in the image of God, sin has greatly hindered that image. “ in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they Vandruen( 2015). “ Simply put, the fact that salvation is by faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone, without any meritorious contribution on our part, ensures that all glory is God’s and not our own. Likewise, the fact that Scripture alone is our final authority … protects the glory of God against every human conceit. ( p 192). May “ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. ( Rev 22:21).

In concluding the Biblical Matannative, it is most important to end talking about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the central character of the entire Bible, and if we truly want to understand what the image of God looks like and what the Glory of God is that we need to go no further than Jesus. In Hebrews we see that Jesus is the “ radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. ( Heb 1:3). Colossians declare that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. ( Col 1:15). While we were made in the image of God, sin has greatly hindered that image. “ in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they Vandruen( 2015). “ Simply put, the fact that salvation is by faith alone, grace alone, and Christ alone, without any meritorious contribution on our part, ensures that all glory is God’s and not our own. Likewise, the fact that Scripture alone is our final authority … protects the glory of God against every human conceit. ( p 192). May “ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. ( Rev 22:21).