The Fellowship of the Mystery--Part 1

I'm getting ready this morning to minister to a well established congregation in the area and I'm deeply stirred once again about how the Bible is an account of the one overarching and authoritative God-Story of universal history. (Still, in my humble opinion, there are details, interpretations and implications of the Story of "secondary importance" that are up for honest debate among genuine God-lovers and Christ-followers. Some segments of our brotherhood are inclined to project that their particular views of such details are the only valid and "orthodox" beliefs on these points of doctrine.)

Yet, the bigger Story clearly rings out across the breadth of the pages of the Scripture and we ourselves have "fallen into this Story" in Jesus the Christ. Here is just one brief reference to this reality:
Eph 3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church (i.e. simple people like you and me!) to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord….

For too long and in too many quarters of the Church, we have understood the Bible in "pieces" and have not been taught it as God's "metanarrative" (def. a controlling story that informs our worldview and operates at a presupposition and precognitive level.) of universal history. Here are just a few quotes from some deep thinkers that relate to us the problems that this creates for our lives and witness.

“The whole point of Christianity is that it offers a story which is the story of the whole world.” It is public truth.” N.T. Wright

“I can only answer the question “What am I to do?” if I can answer the prior question “Of what story do I find myself a part?” Alasdair MacIntyre

“The way we understand human life depends on what conception we have of the human story. What is the real story of which my life story is a part?” Lesslie Newbigin

“As I read the Bible I find in it a quite unique interpretation of universal history, and therefore, a unique understanding of the human person as a responsible actor in history. You Christian missionaries have talked of the Bible as if it were simply another book of religion.” Badrinath (Hindu scholar)

“… the Bible provides us with an overarching narrative in which all other narratives of the world are nested. The Bible is the story of God. The story of the world is first and foremost the story of God’s activity in creating, sustaining, and redeeming the world to fulfill God’s purposes for it.” C. Gerkin

“Scripture teaches one universal kingdom history that encompasses all of created reality: past, present, and future…its vision of history extends backward all the way to the beginning of time and forward all the way to the last day…the biblical vision of history spans time from the first creation to the new creation, encompassing all of created reality.” S. Greidanus

I must and will say more....