The Big Story · Stop 1
How does the Bible's big story begin, and what went wrong?
The Bible isn't one book. It's a library of 66 books, written over more than a thousand years. But it tells one big story. Today you'll start at the beginning: a good world, a broken trust, and a question God asks that's still being asked.
Start this stopBeginning
The Bible has two main parts. The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, long before Jesus. The New Testament was written in Greek, after Jesus. Together they tell one story: God making the world, and God working to set it right.
Genesis starts with God making everything and calling it very good. People are made in God's image, to care for the world and for each other. Many Lutherans read these chapters as true about who made the world and why, without reading them as a science book.
Then trust breaks. In the garden, the first people listen to the snake instead of God. They hide. Christians call this the Fall, and sin has been part of every human life since.
But the story doesn't end there. God comes walking in the garden and calls out, “Where are you?” Even after they turn away, God makes clothes for them. From the first pages, God keeps coming to find people.
Read it in your Bible
- Genesis 3:8–9. After eating the fruit, the man and woman hear God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze. They hide among the trees. God calls to the man, “Where are you?”
- Genesis 3:21. Before sending them out of the garden, God makes clothes out of skins for the man and the woman and dresses them.
The First Article, from Luther's Small Catechism
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
What does this mean? I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
Words to know
- Bible. A library of 66 books that tells one big story. Bible comes from a Greek word for books. It's a whole shelf in one cover.
- Testament. One of the Bible's two main parts, Old and New. It means covenant or promise. Both parts are about God keeping promises.
- Genesis. The first book of the Bible. Its name means beginning. It starts with a good world and a God who won't give up on people.
- Fall. The name Christians give to the first people turning away from God. It explains why the world is good and broken at the same time.