The Entire Bible in 3 Chapters
Have you ever read the Bible from beginning to end? I recently finished a cover-to-cover study of Scripture, and I have never loved the Word of God more than I do today.
I have adored this Book since I was a little boy and spent over five decades studying and teaching it, so I didn’t think it was possible to love it any deeper. But in the last year, I have discovered, in a fresh and exciting way, that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Literally every word. Yes, even those Old Testament books like Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy that we often skip over or try to rush past!
What I came across during my Genesis-through-Revelation study of the Bible is that, in the first three chapters, God gives us everything we need up front for what the rest of the Bible contains.
Our Creator, who created us, knows us perfectly and knows exactly what we need. So he lovingly gives us those dominant themes from the start so we can make sense of our lives and interpret the rest of the Bible.
In Genesis 1–3, God immediately presents us with the wonderful and awful realties that we need to understand who we are and what life is about. These opening three chapters have three foundational themes:
- In the center of all that is, there is a God of incalculable glory.
The first four words of Genesis say it all: “In the beginning, God.” Here is the ultimate fact through which every other fact of life is properly understood: there is a God.
He is the Creator of everything that exists. He is glorious in power, authority, wisdom, sovereignty, and love. Since we are his creatures, knowing him, loving him, worshiping him, and obeying him will define our identity, meaning, and purpose as human beings.
- Sin is the ultimate human tragedy. Its legacy is destruction and death.
Genesis 3 is the most horrible, saddest chapter ever written. In an act of outrageous rebellion, Adam and Eve stepped over God’s wise and holy boundaries, ushering in a horrible plague of iniquity that would infect every human heart.
Because sin is a matter of the heart, we are confronted in this narrative with the fact that our greatest problem in life is us, and because it is, we have no power to escape it on our own.
- A Savior will come, crush the power of evil, and provide redemption for his people.
The first three chapters of the Bible end with glorious hope. We are encouraged to understand that sin is not ultimate—God is. And he had already set a plan in motion to do for us, through the Son to come, what we could not do for ourselves.
A second Adam would arrive, defeat temptation, crush the evil one, and restore us to God. As soon as sin rears its ugly face, redemption is promised. What grace! What hope! What victory!
These three themes, introduced in Genesis 1–3, course through God’s amazing word: cre¬ation, fall, and redemption. They form the lens through which we can look at everything in our lives, and they help us understand the rest of Scripture.
Would you like to study the Bible with me from cover to cover? If so, then pick up a copy of my new daily devotional, Everyday Gospel. In 365 entries, we’ll journey from Genesis through Revelation, following a Bible-in-a-year reading plan.
A Prayer for Today: God, help me to see and appreciate the themes of “creation, fall, and redemption” in your Word. Help them to shape the lens through which I look at everything in my life and please use those overarching themes to help me understand the rest of Scripture. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God bless,
Paul Tripp
This Wednesday’s Word is pulled from the first day of Everyday Gospel. You can read the daily entries on their own, or could pair it with the Bible reading plan—in this case, Genesis 1–3. Tomorrow, you would read Genesis 4–6, along with my devotional. And so on and so forth, until you complete the entire Bible, with my gospel commentary throughout!
My prayer is that Everyday Gospel would be a life-changing blessing, as you discover how Scripture connects to all of life, trains you for righteousness, and equips you for every good work!
Discussion Prompt for Children:
Why do you think every word in the Bible is helpful for us? How do you think God helps us to know him and understand his heart? Why is that so important?
Reflection Questions
- How has knowing, loving, worshiping, and obeying God personally defined your identity, meaning, and purpose as a human being? Why is it so important that God is in the center of all that there is? How often do you stop and consider that God created everything that exists? How has your consideration of him as the Creator changed the way you live your daily life?
- Why is your biggest problem in life you? If you are your own biggest problem in life, why don’t you have the ability to correct the problem yourself?
- How have you seen the legacy of destruction and death (because of sin) passed on to younger generations? How have you seen this legacy of destruction and death cause chaos in your life or the lives of those you love? How does sin and its consequences drive you to cry out to God in neediness of him?
- When you read that a second Adam is coming back to defeat temptation, crush the evil one, and restore us God, how does that make you feel about your current trials and suffering? How is Jesus changing you and your perspective about life right now?