One Story, One Spirit

Big Idea: Through the Holy Spirit, the Bible always ties in to one main story that ultimately points to Jesus.

Syncing Your Bible

In our technological world to “sync our devices” means our phones, computers and tablets can link bookmarks, apps, emails and other documents. Similarly the 66 books that make up the Bible are “synced” by the Holy Spirit to present the same message. They all point to God, specifically Jesus the Son.

Written over 1000 year Timespan

The Bible was written over a period of more than 1000 years by many contributing authors who came from diverse backgrounds. They included shepherds, kings, prophets, a doctor, a tax collector and others. Numerous writing styles and literary genres are used such as storytelling, poetry, prophecy, apocalyptic writings, and so on. How is it that all 66 books are telling the same central message? God the Holy Spirit orchestrates this, and the message points us towards God the Son, Jesus Christ.

All the Stories Ultimately Lead to Jesus  

The BibleProject, an organization using animation with simple Biblically sound explanations states it like this: “The Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus.” Even when Jesus is not mentioned directly, the stories tie in to Him. They give us background information on God’s plan through His Son Jesus to rescue us from our sinfulness.

This month’s series, The Bible in Sync, is based on how the Bible Project explains the connection of stories using patterns and themes throughout the whole Bible.

Many Styles With One Common Denominator

Though there are many styles of writing, this community of authors had one critical thing in common. They were all influenced (“carried along” I Peter 1:21) by God’s divine guidance in the form of the Holy Spirit. It was God’s divine word through ordinary human beings. This is how these diverse styles and stories became in sync. (See chart below on God’s goodness).

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 1:21 NIV

The BibleProject explains this synchronization of Scriptures in this introductory video.

 
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This is the first in a series, The Bible in Sync for the month of September 2022

Up next (New Series): Like a Symphony
Previous post: How to make a Bible Passage worksheet
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Reflect:

1.Do you believe the Bible is one unified story? Why or why not? Have you researched the subject yourself? How would you go about that?

2. What would it mean to you that the Bible has one main purpose and story, being about Jesus?