The Bible for Dummies (Like Me): Understanding the Bible's Message in 13 Verses
This might be foolhardy, even blasphemous. Let me say in advance that there is absolutely, positively no way to adequately condense or summarize the Bible or its message. Its full and complete meaning and importance can only be glimpsed in its entirety, and moreover, in a lifetime spent engulfed in that entirety.
Having said that, and with the utmost fear and trembling, inasmuch as summaries, doctrinal statements, and the like are useful (to allow for packaging of larger truths), I have listed here 13 bible verses that, for me, are critical as boundary-markers for the entire biblical narrative, the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ at its center. Again, these 13 verses alone will get you nowhere, but rather, once you've grappled with the entire text, these verses, I believe, can best encapsulate the message contained within that entire text.
OK, enough preliminaries. Here we go:
Gen. 1:1-31: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth...God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
Gen. 3:7: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
Gen 12:1-3: Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Exod. 3:7-8: Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey..."
2 Ki. 25:21: So Judah went into exile out of its land.
Isaiah 52:7-10:
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the LORD to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the LORD has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
Isaiah 55:13:
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
The Gospel of John: This is a pretty big "verse," I know, but there's really no way to further summarize John. He's already done it all for us. If you have ears, then hear.
Acts 17:6-7: "These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also... They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus."
Romans 8:19-24: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved.
1 Cor. 15:54-58: When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
"Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Ephes. 1:9-10: ...he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Rev. 21:1-5: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."
Let me know what you think. What verses would you add/subtract?
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
Having said that, and with the utmost fear and trembling, inasmuch as summaries, doctrinal statements, and the like are useful (to allow for packaging of larger truths), I have listed here 13 bible verses that, for me, are critical as boundary-markers for the entire biblical narrative, the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ at its center. Again, these 13 verses alone will get you nowhere, but rather, once you've grappled with the entire text, these verses, I believe, can best encapsulate the message contained within that entire text.
OK, enough preliminaries. Here we go:
Gen. 1:1-31: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth...God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
Gen. 3:7: Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
Gen 12:1-3: Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Exod. 3:7-8: Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey..."
2 Ki. 25:21: So Judah went into exile out of its land.
Isaiah 52:7-10:
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the LORD to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the LORD has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
Isaiah 55:13:
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
The Gospel of John: This is a pretty big "verse," I know, but there's really no way to further summarize John. He's already done it all for us. If you have ears, then hear.
Acts 17:6-7: "These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also... They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus."
Romans 8:19-24: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved.
1 Cor. 15:54-58: When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
"Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Ephes. 1:9-10: ...he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Rev. 21:1-5: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."
Let me know what you think. What verses would you add/subtract?
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
Hi Raffi.
Some good choices, and an interesting blog:)
Russ (via BlogRush)
Raffi,
I like it. Interesting concept. Are you going to produce tracts? :)
Off the top of my head I'd add more from Genesis 3 - pertaining to the curse. It would tie in well with the Romans verses and Revelation verses I think.
Kingpin,
Thanks, and thanks. Gotta love that BlogRush.
Mofast,
Tracts! Now why didn't I think of that? As for Gen. 3 and the curse, that whole poem is still really mysterious to me, and I don't think I'd be comfortable, at this stage of my grappling, to designate it as a boundary marker. But I hear what you're saying.
Love the new profile photo, by the way.
Grace and Peace.
I can't believe I forgot to mention that you should include my life verses: Deut. 25:11-12! In fact, I'd include that a couple of times.
I'm glad you enjoy the profile photo - it's my old blogger profile. I just started reading "Surprised by Hope" and I think it's appropriate for me to say that is a picture of me in heaven...
Hello !.
You may , probably very interested to know how one can manage to receive high yields .
There is no need to invest much at first. You may commense to receive yields with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.
AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
The firm represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.
It is based in Panama with affiliates around the world.
Do you want to become an affluent person?
That`s your choice That`s what you desire!
I feel good, I started to get income with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. It`s all about how to select a correct companion who uses your funds in a right way - that`s AimTrust!.
I make 2G daily, and my first deposit was 1 grand only!
It`s easy to start , just click this link http://ynabenuli.easyfreehosting.com/pejaly.html
and lucky you`re! Let`s take this option together to feel the smell of real money
Good day !.
You re, I guess , probably curious to know how one can collect a huge starting capital .
There is no need to invest much at first. You may commense earning with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.
AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
The company represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.
Its head office is in Panama with affiliates everywhere: In USA, Canada, Cyprus.
Do you want to become a happy investor?
That`s your chance That`s what you wish in the long run!
I feel good, I started to get income with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. If it gets down to choose a correct partner who uses your money in a right way - that`s the AimTrust!.
I earn US$2,000 per day, and my first investment was 500 dollars only!
It`s easy to get involved , just click this link http://firafowevo.the-best-free-web-hosting.com/mewijaw.html
and go! Let`s take this option together to become rich
Hello everyone!
I would like to burn a theme at here. There is such a nicey, called HYIP, or High Yield Investment Program. It reminds of ponzy-like structure, but in rare cases one may happen to meet a company that really pays up to 2% daily not on invested money, but from real profits.
For quite a long time, I earn money with the help of these programs.
I don't have problems with money now, but there are heights that must be conquered . I get now up to 2G a day , and I started with funny 500 bucks.
Right now, I'm very close at catching at last a guaranteed variant to make a sharp rise . Turn to my web site to get additional info.
http://theblogmoney.com
Good day, sun shines!
There have were times of hardship when I felt unhappy missing knowledge about opportunities of getting high yields on investments. I was a dump and downright pessimistic person.
I have never thought that there weren't any need in large starting capital.
Nowadays, I feel good, I started take up real income.
It gets down to choose a proper companion who utilizes your money in a right way - that is incorporate it in real deals, and shares the income with me.
You may get interested, if there are such firms? I'm obliged to tell the truth, YES, there are. Please be informed of one of them:
[url=http://theblogmoney.com] Online investment blog[/url]
Good day!
We are not acquainted yet? It’s easy to fix,
my parents call me Nikolas.
Generally I’m a venturesome gambler. all my life I’m carried away by online-casino and poker.
Not long time ago I started my own blog, where I describe my virtual adventures.
Probably, it will be interesting for you to find out about my progress.
Please visit my web site. http://allbestcasino.com I’ll be glad would you find time to leave your opinion.