the big picture of scripture pages 13-17

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THE BIG PICTURE OF SCRIPTURE

Beth Snodderly

Beth Snodderly is the Provost of William Carey International Universityand the Coordinator of the Training Division for the Frontier MissionFellowship, both in Pasadena, California. She studied in the doctoralprogram of WCIU for 4 years, then completed her doctoral studies in New

Testament at the University of South Africa. Her doctoral thesis waswritten to provide biblical and theological support for Ralph Wintersinterpretation of the phrase in 1 John 3:8, the works of the devil.

he image at the center of First Epistle of John conveysan image that is found throughout Scripture, the

cosmic war, the battle for earth: The Son of Godappeared for the purpose of undoing/destroying the works of thedevil (1 John 3:8). From Genesis to Revelation, the consistenttheme of Judeo-Christian Scripture is Gods purpose to win a

people for himself back from the ruler-ship of Satan (see 1 John5:19: the whole world lies in the power of the evil one). Thissummary of the biblical story presents the big picture of thebiblical narrative from the viewpoint of the Johannine

community of believers.

A. Big Picture: Prior to the Coming of Jesus

Before the appearing of Jesus, no one had ever seen God (1John 4:12, John 1:18). The Gospel and First Epistle of Johnshow that God wants to be known to people who choose to bein fellowship with him (1 John 1:3, 4; John 1:12), but the

people to whom he chose to reveal himself in most detail, thepeople of Israel, did not recognize him, in the form of his SonJesus, when they saw him (John 1:11.) What was blinding anddeceiving them, keeping them from recognizing their Creator

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(John 1:1-4)? The beginning of Scripture, Genesis 1:1, 2, pointsto the answer.

The first thing recorded in the Hebrew scriptures, withwhich the Johannine community would have been very familiar, isthat God is having to re-build a world that was in chaos followingsome sort of disastrous judgment (tohu wabohu). 1 This wasapparently due to the sinning of the devil from the beginning (1

John 3:8a), prior to the sin of the first humans. Could it be that inan earlier period of time before Genesis 1:1, Satan had turned

against God and distorted Gods good creation into the sufferingand violence now seen throughout nature? According to Genesis1:26, God created humans to take charge of the creation on hisbehalf. But at some point the devil, who is a liar and has been amurderer from the beginning (John 8:44), deceived the firsthumans into joining him in rebelling against Gods will. The devilsmurderous, hateful nature is illustrated by Cain, who was of the evilone and killed his brother because his deeds were evil, while hisbrothers deeds were righteous (Genesis 4:3-8; 1 John 3:12). Thesuccess of the devils pervasive influence is seen by the fact that the

whole world is said to be under the influence the evil one (1 John5:19), who is called the ruler of this world in John 12:31.

Gods plan to reverse the evil ones influence (Genesis3:15), as recorded in the Penteteuch, called for humans to freelychoose to obey him as their rightful ruler. This plan was delayed

numerous times by humans making wrong choices andexperiencing the consequences, such as the Flood, or when theIsraelites asked for a human king and ended up in Exile. Eachtime judgment was followed by a fresh beginning.

B. Big Picture: Jesus Life and Death on Earth

Finally, at the right time, God made a radical new beginning: the

Word became flesh (John 1:14). Johns Gospel is clear that Jesusdid not see himself coming to bring further judgment andcondemnation, but rather to make eternal life possible for the

world God loved so much (John 3:16, 17). Jesus appeared to


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demonstrate that love, to take away sin and to destroy the worksof the devil (1 John 3:5, 8b), loosing people from slavery to sin(John 8:34-36), and making it possible for people to chooseobedience to God as their father. (See John 1:12: he gave themthe authority or the power to become sons of God.) First Johnemphasizes two commandments requiring obedience from truechildren of God: love for one another, and belief in Jesus as theChrist, the Savior of the world (1 John 3:23; 4:14).

The author of 1 John and his inner circle were

eyewitnesses that the Father had sent the Son to be the Savior ofthe world (1 John 1:1-3; 4:9, 14; John 3:16; 4:42). Jesus ministrybegan with his baptism by John (1 John 5:6-8; John 1:32-34) andhis temptation by the devil, whom he successfully overcame(Matthew 4:10, 11). His ministry included defeating the worksof the devil by casting out demons and healing the sick whiledemonstrating a life of love and obedience to God.

Jesus life set an example for the believer to follow (1John 1:7; 2:6; 3:2, 16). His command to his disciples from thebeginning was to love one another (1 John 4:7, John 13:34,15:17), one demonstration of which was washing his disciplesfeet (John 13:14-16). Not only would his disciples ideally followhis positive example, but they would also experience similarnegative consequences. Jesus warned that since the world hatedhim, it would hate them also (1 John 3:13; John 15:18-24). But

the ruler of this world had no hold on Jesus (John 12:31; 14:30)and ultimately will have no hold on Jesus followers (see 1 John5:18 which promises that the evil one does not touch thebeliever). Jesus successful accomplishment of the Fathers willled to the driving out and defeat of the evil one. Jesus appeared totake away sins (1 John 3:5) and in doing so, broke the hold thatthe devil had on humankind (1 John 3:8b; 5:18). Jesus atoning

death on the cross (1 John 2:2) was the turning point in thebattle against Satan.


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C. Big Picture: After Jesus Returned to the Father

As a result of the devils works being undone in the lives of Jesusfollowers, believers are able and obligated to follow his exampleby laying down their lives for those in need (1 John 3:16, 17).These demonstrations of love are intended to continue in a chainreaction of destroying the devils works across time and cultureby bringing love where there is hatred (1 John 3:11-17), truth

where there is falsehood (1 John 4:1-6), and life to overcome

death (1 John 3:14): in other words, Gods Kingdom beingdemonstrated on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

D. Big Picture: The End of HistoryAt the end of the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation, thefulfillment of Gods purposes in history is described in termsshowing that the state of tohu wabohu has finally been reversed:there is no more death, crying or pain; and darkness and night

have been permanently replaced with good light (seeRevelation 21:3, 4; 22:5). By describing the opposite of Godsintentions in the context of the Creation account, tohu wabohu

points toward the goal of that creationa place that can beinhabited by humans in purposeful fellowship with God. Anadversary that is hostile to life and who opposes Gods intentionsexists. The biblical story shows humans are to fight back against

the enemy who orchestrates disorder and chaos in opposition toGod. The rest of Genesis 1 points the way in showing that it ispossible to restore order with creativity and patience, showinghow to overcome evil with good. John Sailhamers insight on a

play on words illustrates this theme: tohu describes the landbefore God made it tob, good.2 As believers follow Gods andthe Sons example, and as they demonstrate what Gods will isand what He is like, the peoples of the earth will be attracted to

follow that kind of God and experience His blessing.


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End Notes

1. The condition of the earth prior to creation is described in Genesis 1:2 astohu wabohu, which can be translated destroyed and desolate, or topsyturvey, or, traditionally, formless and void. A comprehensive study of the16 other occurrences of the word, tohu, reveals that the context isjudgment on rebellion against God. It seems logical that the first occurrenceof the term, in Genesis 1:2, would also have been in the context of judgment,setting the tone for the remaining usages of the term in the Hebrew Bible.

2. J.H. Sailhamer, Genesis Unbound (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah, 1996), 63.

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