Blog #3 - THE BIG PICTURE: From Eden to Eternity
The Bible is unparalleled in its richness and depth and is unlike any other book.
It is made up of sixty-six individual books, written by different authors across many centuries. It contains history and law, poetry and wisdom literature, prophecy and letters. Each was written within a particular time and place and to a particular audience, and each has its own context and purpose.
Much can be gleaned from studying the context and content of each part of Scripture, and we should study them carefully. But if we study them only as individual parts, we can lose sight of the larger story they are telling together.
Think of Scripture as a stained-glass window. The many different stories and texts of the Bible are like individual pieces of colored glass. Every event, every book, every character, every prophecy, every promise and command, and every poem and letter has its own place and purpose. But just as the pieces of glass come together to form a larger, coherent picture, the individual parts of Scripture come together as one overarching narrative. As we step back far enough to see the whole window, we begin to see something much greater: the unfolding of God’s plan and purposes throughout history.
And at the center of it all is God.
The God at the center of Scripture is not merely a character within the story. He is its ultimate Author (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20–21), making Himself and His glory known throughout its pages. We come to know Him through what He says and what He does, through His interactions with people, and through His presence, provision, judgment, mercy, promises, and faithfulness.
This is His story. And through it, He invites us to know Him.
We begin our journey by widening our view. Imagine looking down from 30,000 feet. From that height, individual details recede, and the larger landscape comes into focus. For now, we'll step back far enough to see the whole landscape before we begin our descent for a closer look.
The View From 30,000 Feet
From 30,000 feet, we can begin to see what God has been doing throughout time. Across thousands of years, through countless people, places, and events, we see God at work carrying out His plan, established before creation even began. We see His mighty work in creation and redemption coming together in Christ and ultimately moving toward the day when God will dwell with His people forever. And through it all, we see His glory displayed.
From this broad view, the Big Picture unfolds in four major parts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation (Restoration or Consummation).
Creation
The biblical account begins with God’s creative act. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). He fills the heavens, the earth, and the seas with life, and in its original state, the created order was good. He creates humanity in His own image, blesses them, and gives them a unique place and purpose within the world He has made (Gen. 1:26–28). When God looks upon all that He has made, He declares it “very good” (Gen. 1:31).
The New Testament takes us even further, revealing that all things were created through Christ and for Christ and that “in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16–17; cf. John 1:1–3). This is God’s good creation, a world made by Him, sustained by Him, and ultimately existing for Him.
But Creation reveals more than simply where everything came from. It gives us our first glimpse of God's intention for the world He has made. He gives humanity meaningful work within His creation and provides everything they need for life. He places them in a garden where the tree of life grows and where they live in fellowship with their Creator (Gen. 2:8–9, 15; 3:8).
This is a world marked by life rather than death, blessing rather than curse, and fellowship with God rather than separation from Him. God is not distant from the people He has made. They live and flourish in His presence within the world He has provided.
This is the picture God gives us before sin enters the world. Remember it. The details will matter.
The Fall
Yet humanity’s rebellion against God, the Fall, brought sin, death, and brokenness into God’s good creation. When Adam and Eve rejected God’s word and rebelled against His rule, the consequences extended far beyond Eden. Sin entered the world, death came through sin, and death spread to all humanity (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12). What God had declared “very good” was now marred by sin, and humanity was alienated from the God who had created them.
The picture has changed. Where there had once been life, death has now entered. Where there had been blessing, there is now curse. Where humanity had once enjoyed fellowship with God, sin has now brought separation. The ground itself is affected, and the work God had given humanity becomes marked by toil and struggle. Adam and Eve are driven from the garden, and access to the tree of life is lost (Gen. 3:16–24).
And the consequences do not remain in Eden. Sin spreads. Death spreads. The effects of humanity’s rebellion reach far beyond the garden, touching human life and the created world itself (Rom. 5:12; 8:20–22). What began in the garden has affected everything that follows.
But the Fall did not bring God’s work to an end.
Redemption
God does not abandon humanity to this condition. Even in Eden, amid the judgment that follows humanity’s rebellion, God gives the first glimpse that sin and the serpent will not have the final word (Gen. 3:15). The picture has changed, but God has not. The God who created humanity and desired fellowship with them begins to reveal how He will deal with the sin that now separates them from Him.
God's redemptive purpose unfolds throughout the pages of Scripture. Across the centuries, God continues His work. He makes promises and establishes covenants. He calls Abraham and forms a nation through whom He will bring blessing. He provides sacrifice for sin, establishes kingship, and speaks through the prophets. Each becomes part of something much larger, gradually revealing more of what God is doing and building expectation for the One who is to come.
We will return to each of these threads later and trace them more carefully through Scripture. For now, from our 30,000-foot view, we are simply watching them converge on Jesus Christ.
The One who was “foreknown before the foundation of the world” enters history when “the fullness of time had come” (1 Pet. 1:20; Gal. 4:4). In Jesus, God acts decisively to address what went wrong in Eden. Through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, sin is dealt with, death is defeated, and reconciliation with God is provided (Rom. 5:8–11; 1 Cor. 15:3–4, 20–22). What had been anticipated through promise, covenant, sacrifice, kingship, and prophecy finds its fulfillment in Him.
But Redemption does not simply take us back to where we were before the Fall. And it is not the end of the story. The God who created all things is moving His story toward the day when He will make all things new.
New Creation
The biblical story culminates in God’s final victory over sin, death, and evil and the renewal of His creation. What began in the opening chapters of Genesis reaches its fulfillment in the closing chapters of Revelation. The creation that has been subjected to corruption will be set free from its bondage to decay (Rom. 8:19–23), and God declares, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5).
Remember the picture we saw in Creation? The details mattered.
The tree of life, from which humanity was barred after the Fall, appears again (Gen. 3:22–24; Rev. 22:2). The curse is gone (Rev. 22:3). Death, mourning, crying, and pain are no more (Rev. 21:4). And most importantly, the separation brought by sin is gone. God is once again with His people: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man” (Rev. 21:3).
What was lost in the Fall has not been forgotten. God has not abandoned humanity or the world He created. His work of redemption reaches beyond rescuing humanity from sin. He will renew His creation, and His people will live forever in His presence.
The Bible begins with God creating the heavens and the earth. It ends with a new heaven and a new earth, with God dwelling forever with His people. Everything in between tells us how we get from one to the other.
What Makes This Story Worth Following
Seeing Scripture as a whole allows us to see more than a sequence of events. We begin to see the God who is at work throughout it all. The God who creates is the God who judges sin, keeps His promises, shows mercy, provides redemption, and will one day make all things new. From beginning to end, Scripture reveals His character and His purposes.
And at the center of it all stands Jesus Christ. Creation itself is through Him and for Him. The promises and expectations of the Old Testament point toward Him. Through His death and resurrection, God provides redemption, and through Him all things will ultimately be made new. In Christ, we see both the seriousness of sin and the depth of God's love and mercy.
And seeing the Big Picture should do more than increase our knowledge. Scripture's unfolding revelation of God's character and purposes calls us to worship, trust, and obey the God who stands at its center.
The Big Picture, then, is not ultimately about discovering how brilliantly the Bible fits together. It is about discovering the God who stands at the center of it all.
What Does This Reveal About God?
So what does this Big Picture reveal about the God who stands at its center?
God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. The story begins with Him. Everything that exists owes its existence to Him, was created through Him and for Him, and continues to depend upon Him (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16–17).
God is holy and just. The Fall reveals the seriousness of rebellion against God. He does not ignore sin or treat evil as insignificant. His judgment is real and righteous (Gen. 3:14–24; Rom. 3:23–26).
God is merciful and gracious. Judgment is not the end of the story. Even after humanity rebels against Him, God continues His work of redemption, ultimately giving His Son for our salvation (Gen. 3:15; John 3:16–17; Rom. 5:8).
God is faithful. Across generations and centuries, God keeps His promises and continues to accomplish what He has purposed. What He promises, He brings to fulfillment (Gen. 12:1–3; Gal. 4:4–5; Heb. 10:23).
God has revealed Himself most fully in Jesus Christ. The One through whom all things were created is also the One through whom redemption comes. In Christ, we see God’s character and redemptive purposes revealed most fully (John 1:1–3, 14, 18; Col. 1:15–20).
God will accomplish all that He promised. Sin, death, and evil will not have the final word. Christ will return, creation will be made new, and God will dwell with His people forever (Rev. 21:1–5; 22:1–5).
From Eden to eternity, the story is His. The God who created all things, who acts in judgment and mercy, who redeems through His Son, and who will one day make all things new is the same God we encounter throughout its pages.
And the more clearly we see the story, the more clearly we should see Him.
The Big Picture Is Just the Beginning
In the weeks ahead, we will begin moving closer. We’ll look more carefully at Creation and the Fall, asking what they reveal about God, humanity, sin, judgment, mercy, and where everything goes from there.
Then we’ll continue tracing the threads we have only glimpsed here: promise, covenant, redemption, God’s presence, kingdom, sacrifice, the promised Messiah, the Holy Spirit, and new creation. We’ll watch those threads develop across books written by different authors, in different places, across centuries, and begin to see how they connect.
There is much more to see.
For now, we have the map.
Next, we begin moving closer.
Study the Big Picture in Scripture This Week: A Deeper Look
We don't want to learn the Big Picture only by reading about the Bible. We want to see it in Scripture for ourselves. Each week, A Deeper Look will take us back into the biblical text to explore some of the passages and connections behind the blog.
This five-day study is designed to help you slow down, read the passages for yourself, and consider what they contribute to the larger story Scripture is telling. Most importantly, each day brings us back to the question at the heart of this series:
What does this reveal about God?
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Sources
Elwell, Walter A., ed. Evangelical Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989.
ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.
Goheen, Michael W., and Craig G. Bartholomew. The True Story of the Whole World: Finding Your Place in the Biblical Drama. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2020.
Grey, Jacqueline, and Paul W. Lewis. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation: Participating in God’s Story of Redemption. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2024.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, eds. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 2 vols. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983–1985.
Yarbrough, Robert W. “Biblical Theology.” In Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1996.
Yong, Philemon. “God’s Global Plan of Salvation.” In ESV Global Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012.
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