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Bible Engagement Blog


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Bible Engagement is Trinity Engagement

Bible engagement is Trinity engagement, nothing more and nothing less. All Bible engagement is connecting with the triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So Bible engagement is Father engagement, Jesus engagement, and Holy Spirit engagement, because all three are one and one is all three. That’s not to say that the Father is the Son or the Holy Spirit, or the Son is the Father or the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Spirit is the Son or the Father because they are three coexistent, co-eternal persons who are God.triquetra-with-shadow-512px

The individual members of the Trinity have different roles in Bible engagement. The Father initiates all things and is the ultimate source of the Word (John 1:1, Revelation 1:1). The Son is the agent through whom the Father reveals the Word (Matthew 11:27, Luke 24:45, John 1:3, 14). And the Holy Spirit is the agent through whom the Father teaches the Word (John 14:26, John 16:13-15, Ephesians 3:5, 2 Peter 1:21).

So when we engage with the Bible we are connecting with a loving heavenly Father, through the Son who reveals Him, by the Spirit who guides and teaches us about Him.

Knowing that Bible engagement is Trinity engagement is immensely practical. When we engage with the Bible we are not alone. The Father is watching over us, the Son is opening the Word to us, and the Spirit is helping us know and grow in the Word. With this in mind we can confidently, imaginatively and personally meet with God in and through His Word.

Bible engagement is never a solo affair. It’s highly relational and dynamic. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit work together to help us enter into the Word as parts of the big Story and then help us enact out the Word in our own lives. Simply stated, we are not alone when we engage with the Bible. The triune God is with us, opening our eyes to see and our ears to hear in ways in which we can grow in understanding, insight and faithful action.

© Scripture Union Canada 2018

2 Corinthians 4:5


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One Big Story

The Bible is one big Story of redemption, restoration and renewal through Christ Jesus. Yet regrettably, the Bible isn’t always read, heard, shared, taught or engaged as one big Story. Many people limit the Bible to being lessons in good behaviour, an arrangement of doctrines, a source book for wisdom, words or succour, interesting literature, something to be studied, or a guide for decision making.

The one big Story is full of stories. Seventy-five percent of the Bible is narrative and the remaining twenty-five percent is composed of poetic or didactic material. The narrative composition of the Bible should direct our engagement. Rather than majoring on the directives of the Bible, as many do, we should engage with the Bible in ways that ignite our hearts and minds to the one big Story. That is, we should chiefly interact with the Bible as the Story of God’s love for us; how Christ Jesus came to rescue us from sin and give us fullness of life.

Engaging with the Bible as one big Story about Christ Jesus and His love for us shouldn’t be one approach among many. It should be the only approach. Why? Because from the beginning to the end of the Bible, according to the Bible, Christ Jesus is the focus of the Story (cf. Luke 24:27). That’s not to say that He’s mentioned directly in every sub-story. He’s not. In many instances He’s “hidden.” But it is to say that all the stories, taken together, are one big Story about Christ Jesus and how He wants us to enter into and become a part of His Story.Gods-Story4-copy

So what is the storyline of the big Story that Christ Jesus wants us to enter into and become a part of? The Story begins with our creation and shortly thereafter our separation from God because of sin. What follows concerns God’s grace as He seeks to restore humanity to Himself. It’s the Story of brokenness and how we can be whole through faith in Christ Jesus.

At the heart of the Story is the incarnation and life of Christ Jesus. The Story reaches its climax when a great reversal occurs. Amazingly, humanity is given the opportunity to be reconciled to God through the sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection of Christ Jesus.

The Story is good news second to none! It’s about the greatest rescue plan in history – about God in the person of Christ Jesus who enters our world to save – about the Redeemer who ultimately makes everything right. And more. What makes it good news is that it’s a living Story concerning you and me. In Christ, all things are made new (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17). The Story reveals how, through confession, repentance and belief in Christ Jesus, we can know salvation from the penalty of sin, fullness of life now, and the hope of eternal life to come.

The grand ending of the one big Story depicts creation renewed. The ending is really a fresh beginning; a magnificent turn-around. Everything will be new – a new heaven and a new earth in which there is no more pain, sorrow or death. And Christ Jesus will live with His people forever.

While the one big Story has a beginning and an end, it’s also a never ending Story. The paradox of the Story is that as we enter into it we discover that we’re living in the tension between the already and the not yet. That’s why we pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10 (NIV). And as we pray this prayer we’re reminded that we owe allegiance, not to ourselves, but to the King. The purpose of our lives is to do what the King wants us to do: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8 (NIV). This is our kingdom work until the new heaven and the new earth are realized.

Unlike the story of those in the world without Christ Jesus, the one big Story transforms us so that we can do kingdom work, not in our own strength, but with the strength that comes from Christ Jesus. When we enter into the Story we are in fact committing ourselves, at His invitation and direction, to share and live-out the Story through the course of our lives.

So engage with the Bible as one big Story of redemption, restoration and renewal through Christ Jesus. And in so doing aim for your story to become His Story. For as Glenn Paauw from the Institute for Bible Reading says, “the Bible wants us to see our own lives as little parts of its own bigger, grander story.”

© Scripture Union Canada 2018

2 Corinthians 4:5

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