GOD'S STORY

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2, ESV)

Life is a story, comprised of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. What is God’s story, how does Jesus contribute to the story, and why is the Spirit a critical part of the story? To comprehend God’s story, knowing a portion of my story may help – the story of preparing for ministry.

Six months after graduating from High School, I began my enlistment in the US Air Force. After serving overseas on the island of Okinawa, the last two years were spent stationed near the Black Hills of South Dakota. While praying at a church altar during a Sunday evening service, I sensed a beckoning call to prepare for vocational ministry. The church pastor encouraged me to start considering a Bible college to attend. I made two inquiries: The alma mater of the pastor, and a college close to my hometown in Washington. The pastor’s institution never replied but the school nearest my home accepted my application.

After being discharged from military service in December, my wife and I moved to the Pacific Northwest to prepare for ministry. Classes started in January, so to graduate with my classmates required completing the program in 3½ years. Our first child was born a month after starting college and our second child during the summer months between the Junior/Senior years. After a June graduation, we moved to Montana for our first ministry assignment.

As a married student, my involvement with other classmates was mainly in the classroom, library, and chapel. I was uncertain about what kind of ministry to prepare for, so I asked several ministerial students what they were planning to do. They mostly spoke of becoming a pastor, majoring in Biblical Studies, and minoring in Pastoral Theology. After reviewing these two programs in the academic catalog, neither seemed to fit my sense of purpose. While assessing other programs, I discovered one entitled, “Religion and Philosophy”, which lined up with my hopes and aspirations. After declaring this as my major, I selected “Speaking and Preaching” as my minor (a better title may have been “Communication”; it included studies in listening, interpretive reading, and group discussion).

The Religion and Philosophy major required the classes in the Biblical Studies program plus church history, logic theory, ancient philosophy, historical theology, and two years, instead of one, of language study (New Testament Greek). The first year of Greek involved learning the linguistic structure. The end of the first year and the entire second year included translating four New Testament books, primarily to understand the four main writing styles used within the Roman Empire during the first century.

After completing the language study, I looked for a translation that was like my version of Mark, Ephesians, James, and 1 John. The New American Standard Version (NASV) was almost word for word with my own efforts and became my study Bible.

The work of translating involves textual criticism. Phrase structure and word selection must be personally determined – such as, should the word “steadfastness” or “endurance” be used (2 Peter 1:6); is the word “grasped” or “exploited” a better fit (Philippians 2:6); is the word “despising” or “ignoring” more appropriate for the context (Hebrews 12:2)? No matter how translators attempt to remain neutral, their theological platform influences their phraseology and word usage.

The Bible translations used in most churches are good, yet every translation has strengths and weaknesses. The NASV is recognized by scholars to be the most literal, but the sentence structure is sometimes awkward, causing needless difficulty remembering Scripture. The English Standard Version (ESV) is much more functional for memorization.

The New International Version (NIV) is an extremely popular translation, interpreted by a consortium of evangelical theologians. Yet, some phrases and words lean heavily toward Calvinism, favoring TULIP terminology. If someone considers reform theology as having some serious inconsistencies, the NIV becomes uncomfortable for study purposes.

A favorite college course for ministerial students is Systematic Theology. This manner of study is designed to establish beliefs by the declarations of Scripture and create clear-cut rules for faith and practice. The organized concepts are to come from the didactic (teaching) books, such as Romans, and not the historical (narrative) books, such as Acts. Yet, the combination of both the teaching and historical books are required for gaining a clear picture of God; they flow harmoniously together.

The first two chapters of the Old Testament, written by Moses, uses teaching and narrative to give a more accurate revelation of God’s nature. Genesis 1 (the first creation story) reveals God as the Hebrew Elohim, the majestic God. The beautiful poem is not a scientific treatise but teaches that God made everything out of nothing by verbal commands. Creation is also revealed as done in an orderly fashion, with the Almighty doing everything methodically, completely, and perfectly.

Genesis 2 (the second creation story) shows God as the Hebrew YHWH, the personal LORD. The name was mentioned only once a year on the Day of Atonement, in the Holy of Holies, by the High Priest – the holiest day, in the holiest place, by the holiest person. The correct pronunciation of the name is not entirely certain. YHWH was so revered that it was considered inappropriate to record the full spelling – vowels were omitted. The pronunciation evolved by adding the first letter from God’s other names recorded in Scripture – Adonai (Lord) and Elohim (God). The result was a two-syllable word: YHWH became Yahweh (LORD).

The word Yahweh gives attention to “the One who is”, his personal nature. Genesis 2 is a detailed narration of when the holy Lord God created the first man and woman. He is portrayed as personally shaping, forming, and breathing life into his image and likeness.

Through two creation stories, Moses introduces God majestically and personally, creating both by verbal commands (Genesis 1), and by intimate touch (Genesis 2). Using both instruction and narration the divine story begins, with the opening scene located in the Garden of Eden – the Lord God created a perfect dwelling place, a civilization of cooperation, but mankind chose a culture of competition, and everyone now lives with the consequence.

Scripture is more than a life roadmap, or a lifetime instruction manual, or a lifestyle handbook; it is God’s story, a beautiful drama, a five-act play – Creation, Choice, Consequence, Covenant, Coming King – with the encore of a New Creation. The production moves from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2) to the renewed Garden of Eden called the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22). To add suspense to the drama, God appears in the flesh at the end of Act 4 and personally introduces the concluding Act – “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.” Today, we are living in the Last Scene of the Final Act, the eve of His imminent return. Gaining a clear understanding of God involves his relationship with heaven and earth, from creation to new creation, with Jesus Christ in the middle.

A few years ago, I came across a translation of John 1 (a historical narrative’s explanation of creation) that interprets the opening lines with a clearer focus. The NASV & ESV reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  One translation expresses the narrative this way: “Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking. The Voice was and is God.” (The Voice Bible)

The literal rendering of the Greek word “logos” is “word”, but words are how we communicate, and we communicate with the voice. The voice is the act of speaking, involving both sides of communication, what is spoken and what is heard. A voice is distinct and personal, bridging the gap between the sender and the receiver. The voice distinguishes people from one another. By the Word, God is definitively speaking and revealing himself to those willing to listen.

Merge John 1 with Hebrews 1 (a teaching letter’s interpretation of creation). Very similar to the NASV, the ESV reads: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” Another translation better captures the essence of the passage: “Throughout our history God has spoken to our ancestors by his prophets in many different ways. The revelation he gave them was only a fragment at a time, building one truth upon another. But to us living in these last days, God now speaks to us openly in the language of ‘Son,’ the appointed heir of everything, for through him God created the panorama of all things and all time.” (The Passion Translation)

We speak to one another in English; God speaks to his creation in “Son”. Jesus is the voice accurately communicating the powerful activity of the living God.

John and Hebrews (narration and instruction) challenges the notion that faith in God can be reduced to rules or doctrines that can be merely believed or dismissed and not lived out in Christ. Systematic theology has value in understanding God’s aspirations but only when abiding alongside, and in close proximity to, story theology. When disengaged from story theology, systematic theology ends up deficient, defacing the majestic and personal God. Comprehending God’s nature requires the blending of teaching and history – declared truth and portrayed truth.

Studying Scripture is not just learning facts about faith and organizing them into a reasonable outline. A living faith in God is about knowing his story – “its plot, the characters, the protagonist, the villains, the struggle and the resolution; it is knowing the church’s place and our own place, within that story, the ongoing divine drama.” (N. T. Wright)

When anyone attempts to establish their life merely by decrees, proclamations, and laws, they fail to achieve what God intended; namely, to listen and abide in the Son, be led and walk in the Spirit, and reflect and reveal the living, breathing, pulsating, creating God. Scripture helps you recognize his voice, so you can increasingly and progressively fulfill your specific role in his story as it unfolds and expands.

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) Everything orbits around the Spirit of God resting over his creation, especially those who abide in the Son of God, displaying his mirror image. Followers of Jesus are to be dynamically engaged by the power of the Spirit in the last scene of his amazing five-act drama, which is enriched with a glorious finale.

A classic song of the church written by Fanny Crosby includes the resounding chorus: “Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice! O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done.” (To God Be the Glory).

The older way of representing God involves standing with two tablets in your hand, declaring to others holy directives and pronouncements (Exodus 20). The newer way includes kneeling with a towel in your hand, cleansing others by the holy touch of grace (John 13). Through speaking and kneeling, give a true and clear narrative of God’s majestic and personal story.

Adhere to his voice, live in the Spirit, and, within the circumstances and situations of life, be an ongoing, resounding story of praise to God.