Did you know that the Gospel is painted beautifully throughout all of Scripture; not just the four books we call the Gospels?

For centuries many Christians have thought of the Bible as a simple collection of stories about morality. Like each story is meant to teach us some new life principle. But it seems in every century there are some Christians who see the bigger picture. They see that there is a Grand Story behind all of these stories. Some of these Christians started calling it the Scarlet Thread through the Bible, and this Scarlet Thread is the story of the Gospel.

See, the Gospel is not a set of facts. The Gospel is a story. I want to reframe our understanding of the Gospel, as told in the Bible, because, truth be told, all of the Bible is the Gospel. From Genesis 1:1 to the final “Amen” in Revelation.

I wish I could go through each chapter with you to find the scarlet thread of the Gospel. I wish we had the time, energy, and focus to see how each book of the Bible is really part of the Gospel story. But for the time we have, I’m going to spend the next few articles looking at some very familiar stories through the lens of the Gospel.

We’re going to look at Adam and Eve, Joseph, Moses in the Exodus, and a couple others. We’re going to see how each of these characters cast a shadow of the Christ.

I said it begins in Genesis 1:1 and that’s where we’re going to begin with this article. I don’t even really want to talk about Adam and Eve just yet. I simply want to talk about the beginning.

I’m sure you remember the first verse of the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And that’s how the Gospel begins. God created. He’s a creative God. But He didn’t just make planets and stars. The pinnacle of His creation is humankind. Furthermore, Colossian 1:15-17 tells us that “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Jesus Christ was present at the Creation of this perfect planet. But not only was everything created by Him, all things were created through Him and for Him. It’s funny how sometimes our feeble little brains can lose our eternal perspective. Sometimes we just get so caught up in life that we forget this world doesn’t revolve around us.

It’s amazing how this one verse can bring about a new perspective for that is so powerful that it can crash my pity party. I’ll admit I can get really mopey at times. But when I’m confronted with the reality that this world was created by, through, and for Him, and not me, it allows me to see my life and circumstances in a way that frees me from my sense of entitlement.

So chapter one of the Gospel is simply this: God rules. He created this universe, which means He owns it. We’re the crown of His creation, but that still means He owns us. I suppose if you don’t like the rules of the Universe then you can go create your own. But this is God’s universe. Created by Him, through Him, and for Him. He owns it, which means He makes the rules. And the best part of it is this: His rules are what’s best for us. His rules are not cruel and overly demanding. His rules are meant to bring us to the one thing that can give us the most joy. Himself.