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The Continuity of the Bible

Adult Class

Winter 2005/2006

Lesson 11: The Final Goal

            We've surveyed the continuity of the Bible, noticing how it naturally fits together to produce a record of God's redemption of humanity. From the first covenant with Noah and all the expansions and improvements of God's covenant with humanity, He has been working toward an ultimate goal. That goal is the redemption of humanity to make it what it was always intended to be. God has expended supreme effort and created a way to restore us to our original purpose to serve God in heaven for eternity.

            The covenants that God has instituted, upheld, expanded and fulfilled are not an end in themselves. They exist to define the relationship between God and man. It is the relationship that is permanent; the covenant will at some point cease to function. It serves the final goal, which is to transform us and fit us to heaven. There are few things to note about this final goal as we conclude this study:

• 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 discusses our desire to leave this world behind and be with God in eternity. It assumes that we will have a spiritual body suited to that realm and plainly declares that this is the purpose for which we were intended.
• Hebrews 9:27-28 points out that Christ will return to claim His own. He will not come again to bear sin that has already been done but He will fulfill the ultimate salvation for which we wait.
• 1 John 3:2 indicates that when Christ appears, we will be transformed into something we can only guess at in this life. One thing is certain: we will see Him in His full radiance and glory.
• 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 notes that at the end, Christ will victoriously return the kingdom to the Father and His entire plan will be accomplished.

            When Christ comes again, the story of the Bible will be completed. The record of God's dealings with humanity will no longer be needed to develop faith in us. The reason the Bible has been preserved is to show us how God has dealt with people throughout history and how He has kept His promises all along. It is because He is completely trustworthy that we can place our trust in Him now.

            The continuity of the Bible stretches from the Fall through the covenant with Noah, the promises to Abraham, the Exodus and the Mosaic covenant, the promises to David and the appearance and sacrifice of Jesus. Each of those upgrades led us closer to our ultimate redemption through Christ. Over and over we saw that events in the Bible sometimes prefigured later, much more important events.

            One of those events was the crossing of the Red Sea, in which the people of God crossed through the water to a new life, freed from bondage, freed to serve God. This prefigured baptism, in which we cross through water to a new life, freed from sin and freed to serve God. The end of the Israelites' journey was found at the Jordan River, where they duplicated the Exodus by crossing the river on dry ground to take up permanent residence in the Promised Land. We, too, face a Jordan crossing when we give up this pilgrimage and move to our permanent residence in heaven. And, just like when the Israelites entered Canaan, the entrance to our eternal home will be the signal for us to get down to the work God laid out for us to do.