The Drama of God
God is. God always has been. God will always be. He is our Creator, and we are His creation. He made us; we did not make ourselves. God is glorified by what He has made. God communicates with us. He tells us His story. We are part of His story.
Like the author of any good drama, we have watched or read, God knows His story from beginning to end. Because He is omniscient, every little detail is known to Him. No detail, no matter how minute, escapes His consideration.
God is not a mere observer to His story. He is the prime Mover. He is taking history to its intended end. Moreover, the Author has written Himself into His story, as the supreme protagonist. He has also created a formidable antagonist, who is Satan, the adversary.
Do you wish to know more about God’s tale of light and darkness, truth and lies, love and hate? You need look no further than the Bible. In this drama, spanning six thousand years, you will be introduced to God and the zenith of His creation…man (humanity).
God’s story has a redemptive theme and plot line. It begins with God and man at peace with one another (Gen 1–2). The relationship is hindered by a deceiving angel, posing as a serpent in the garden paradise of Eden (Gen 3). Man offends God by believing the lying usurper, who foolishly dreams of ruling God’s world.
Man (Adam and Eve) is removed from Eden. All creation suffers in the fall of man. The fallen world is filled with sin and sinners — those who trespass God’s Law (1 Jn 3:4). Man soon learned about death, the consequence of sin (Rom 6:23).
But there was another chapter to God’s story. Man’s needs were met by God in Eden. God graciously provided everything. Now, man was faced with toil and strife. He was outside of God’s grace, while still in His providential care. God multiplied man upon the earth. In his hatred toward God and those made in the image of God, the devil continued his work of deceiving the sons of Adam in every generation.
Recognizing his error, man invented religions to try and repair the broken relationship with God. Still, man continued to do what was right in his own eyes. This led to displays of God’s judgment. In the case of the great flood (Gen 6–9), all that was left was one man, Noah, and his family. Noah learned that man’s only hope for salvation was the wisdom and power of God.
From this saved family, God began to show man that election unto salvation was part of God’s story. In a wonderful display of mercy, God would save a remnant group of people (Rom 11:5), from eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Mt 25:46; Jude 7; Rev 20:14–15). This holy nation, drawn from people groups around the world (Rev 5:9), would be the redeemed elect, a chosen people of God’s own possession (Dt 7:6; 1 Pet 2:9). These were predestined to adoption as sons, before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4–5), whose names were written in the Lamb’s book of life from eternity (Rev 13:8; 17:8).
God, saving His people from their sins (Mt 1:21), is the central plotline of the Bible. Jesus Christ, being the Savior, means that He is the chief protagonist. We learn from the Bible, both Jesus’ identity and His function. His name means, “Yahweh (God) saves.” In this, great glory is ascribed to Him.
Jesus is the ultimate hero. He is good, righteous, and He demonstrates true love toward God’s elect (Jn 15:13; Eph 5:25), whom His Father had given Him before Creation (Jn 6:37; 17:2, 6, 24). In the story, actually played out in history, the eternal Son of God leaves heaven to become fully man (Jn 1:14), yet without sin (Heb 4:15). Being perfectly sinless, Jesus, our great high priest, is perfectly positioned to offer Himself, in love for His people, as a substitute sacrifice, dying on a Roman cross, shedding His blood for the forgiveness of sins (Mt 26:28; Heb 9:22).
One might think the story is over at this point, but the plot line turns, as the hero is raised from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ, from the dead, is a crucial element because this event anticipates our resurrection from the dead, on the last day (Jn 5:28–29;1 Cor 15). Everyone in Adam’s family dies because of sin (Rom 3:23; 5:12–21; 6:23); but those who have been adopted into Yahweh’s family will be raised to life, body and soul, when Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead (2 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 4:5).
God is eternal. Jesus is God. His dominion and kingdom are everlasting (Dan 7:13–14). Those who receive the Spirit of Christ are granted repentance (Acts 5:31) and granted faith (Phil 1:29), as a gift of God’s grace in this life (Eph 2:8–9). The hope of the born again is not in this world (Jn 3:1–8; 1 Pet 1:3), but we trust the One who promised to bring us safely into His kingdom (2 Tim 4:18). He has also promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5).
Peace, joy, and righteousness are rare in this world; but for those brought into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col 1:13), which is in the Spirit (Rom 14:17), these and other fruit of the Spirit are theirs in abundance (Gal 5:22–23). The kingdom of God is now present in the consulate of Christ, His church, occupying its place in the kingdom of this world. At the end, the present heavens and earth will be destroyed by the fire of God’s judgment, when Jesus comes again (2 Pet 3:10–12). His promise is a new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells (2 Pet 3:13).
To set your mind on the things above (Col 3:2), you must set your mind on the things of the Spirit (Rom 8:6), that is, upon the Word of God, the Bible.
There is a very happy ending to the story, for those who believe it. May God grant you the faith to do so, today. If you feel as if you are lacking this or anything else, ask God in prayer (Lk 11:13).
David Norczyk
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
November 14, 2020
