December 21, 2023 | Alli Miller

“The second person of the Trinity is the One in whom all things find their coherence and unity and consistency. [The Son] is the outward manifestation of the inward logic, as it were, of God.” -R.C. Sproul¹

When we sit down to read, we approach each book with subconscious expectations: there will be a plot that progresses, a protagonist that seeks movement toward their ideal plan, an antagonist that countermoves toward their own desires, and a climactic point that reiterates clearly where the storyline is going in light of where it has come. We expect a throughline that can be traced, and, ultimately, one that can be more deeply understood and appreciated after turning over the last page of the book.

Imagine a book that has a chapter about a character named George who is striving toward law school, and the next chapter is about Sally, a widow, learning to live a new routine in her old age; the next details the life cycle of an Axolotl, and the remaining chapters continue in a similar irregular fashion. If you’re creative enough, you might be able to connect such unrelated topics and genres, but pointedly speaking, there is no big picture. Now, think of the myriad of books that you have started and have yet to finish – the primary themes with their loose ends yet to be tied up in your mind. You likely have a broad grasp of their theses, but an attempt to teach back the concepts without glaring gaps would be a challenge.

Apply this to Scripture, and we see that our subconscious expectations ring true. We can approach Scripture knowing there is a primary storyline (spoiler: it’s redemption) that has interconnected parts all moving toward the climax. When we read the Bible in its entirety, we are able to comprehend how the big themes illuminate the minute, interwoven details to inform the climax’s impact on the lives of those detailed and also our own.

Despite how disorienting routinely broaching Scripture might feel, Scripture does not contain a random conglomerate of characters with no interconnection. Yet, we cannot get a firm handle on this until we turn the last page – again and again and again and again… That’s the nature of the living and active word of God (Hebrews 4:12). As we open it, we come to understand how clearly God has sovereignly orchestrated His plan for redemption, and we enjoy God’s gracious invitation to commune with Him. Through reading all of Scripture, we more greatly experience the Word’s power to unify, to bring wisdom and rational thought, and to sanctify.

We miss critical plot development if we only read certain passages or sections of Scripture instead of all of God’s Word. For example, the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 bears greater impact when someone understands the intertextual context for each person mentioned. In Hebrews 11:8, we read simply, “Abraham obeyed,” but in Genesis 15:2-3, Abraham inquires of God, “what will you give me, for I continue childless… you have given me no offspring.” Later, Abraham falls “on his face and laugh[s] and sa[ys] to himself, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?’” Critical to understanding the point of Hebrews 11 in the grand storyline of redemption is the covenant that God will make a great nation from Abraham and will establish an eternal king from his lineage. We see in Genesis that Abraham had his doubts, but in Hebrews, we see Abraham through the lens of the redemptive power of the cross – he has taken on the righteousness of Christ, perfect and blameless and obedient and faithful to the fullest. Ah, there is the beauty and the power to understanding Scripture in its complete plot: seeing the Gospel. Thus, it is paramount to read it through once, twice, thrice, and onward.

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

Scripture reveals how God designed the world to function best. In short summary, all of our lives are meant to honor, worship, and serve the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31). As we immerse ourselves in more of His Word, we become more keenly aware of this reality, and our once seemingly wise way of life becomes foolish (Romans 7:15, 1 Peter 1:14-16). We begin to see more clearly what God intends for the unique nature of men and women, for intimacy with us, for the purpose of work, etc. We begin to conceptualize what our lives are meant to be, and we feel conviction toward it.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

As detailed in prior blogs [A Simple Way to Read, Feasting on the Word], you can ask the following of every passage of Scripture: What do you see? What can you infer? What can you conclude? What does this text tell me about God the Father? God the Son? God the Holy Spirit? In this passage, is there a promise to believe? In this passage, is there a command to obey? In this passage, is there a sin to repent of? How does this help you to live?

These questions permit keen reflection on Scripture’s most critical concepts that help to build the storyline. They allow readers to remember, reflect on, and outwardly rehearse God’s consistent character and His perfect design. As we read, we are repeatedly faced with remarks of humanity’s naturally unholy intentions (Genesis 8:21, Romans 3:10-12) and God’s unwavering holy state (Leviticus 11:44-45, 1 Samuel 2:2, Isaiah 6:3). We remember who God is and who we truly are. We reflect on God’s faithfulness and sovereignty throughout all of time, lending us toward worship in every space of our livelihood – in greater alignment with God’s perfect design for humanity (Psalm 86:8-11, Romans 11:33-36).

I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. (Jeremiah 32:39)

When someone professes and actively possesses faith in Christ by the grace of God, they are a member of the Church, the body of Christ – which contains all other active recipients of and participants in the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption. When we read Scripture, we aren’t only unifying ourselves deeper with the Lord and, therefore, becoming closer in mind to Him, but we also are, consequently, becoming closer in mind to the other members of our body. As we’re brought to rational thought and refined to a mind more similar to Christ’s, we draw nearer to one another, becoming of one heart, one mind, one way.

Through sanctification helping us better pursue wisdom, we begin to seek to edify those around us. We find opportunities to serve the body and care for each member so that there is “no division,” especially because “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (1 Corinthians 12:26, 1 Corinthians 12:18). We each have unique gifts, propensities, and convictions that complement the rest of the body – one member with great faith, another with an ability to teach, others with boldness, and still others with humble curiosity.

With the various means through which edification might occur, one way our church body plans to foster unity is through reading all of Scripture together and intentionally discussing it. You are invited into this – to follow the reading plan attached below, to come to your respective men’s or women’s weekly Bible study, and to actively participate in conversations. We are aspiring for purposeful cultivation of conversations regarding the big themes seen, the convictions felt, and the questions arising while reading.

As we read and discuss, we are seeking to boast together in Christ, reminding one another of our humble state amidst God’s glory. You should routinely share testimony about how the Word is stirring you. You should speak the Word boldly into others’ lives, trusting it may land on a heart primed by the Spirit for richer accountability. You should inquire deeper about the things you may not yet understand and also glean from that which others do. Ultimately, you should enter this plan excited about how our thoughts might be expanded by tying together what we might have otherwise not considered.

As we read, rational thought and sanctification will occur individually; as we share and discuss, we trust the Spirit, working in tandem with the Word, will further impact participating members. The goal is to ask these questions together: What is the storyline? What critical details inform this? How are the books of the Bible interconnected? What does this mean about God and humanity? Just as with most endeavors in the Church, this is more fruitful with more members involved. When we open every page of God’s Word with the intent of parsing together the throughline of Scripture, we can have deeper communion with the Lord and His body (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). Actively relish in this opportunity!

CLICK HERE FOR THE READING PLAN