The Bible in One Word (Psalm 119:105)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

If you were to summarize the Bible in one word, which one would you choose?

“Redemption” is a good place to start. Going back to our first devotional from Isaiah 43:1, God tells his people, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you.” As Bible scholar Sandra Richter writes, “The Bible, in all its parts, is intended to communicate to humanity the realities of redemption.”[1]

From Genesis to Revelation, we can see God’s hand working to redeem sinful humanity to himself. There is one key common denominator between the first chapter of Genesis and the last chapter of the Revelation. Satan is absent. This tells us God the Father’s plan for perfect redemption is a world without Satan.

This redemptive process aims to conform our lives to the character of His Son, Jesus. As John Oswalt points out, “The goal of redemption is transformed character, and unless that goal is achieved mere deliverance from a sense of condemnation is misshapen at best and abortive at worst.”

Consider a few of these verses:

• Ephesians 1:7 | “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
• Galatians 3:13 | Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
• Psalm 111:9 | “He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. His name is holy and awe-inspiring.

The theme of redemption is on every page of Scripture, and when you start looking for it, you can’t miss it.

A Meditation to PRAY

Praise | Thank you, God, for your redeeming work in my life. I worship you for saving me from sin and giving me eternal life. It’s because of you I can have freedom over sin’s grasp.

Release | Because of the life I find in you, I give you my desire to control life on my terms.

Ask | Help me to read Scripture through the lens of your redeeming work. As I read through the Bible this coming year, help me see your redemptive power.

Yield | When I’m tempted to doubt what you’ve done, set my soul at ease and remind me of your work on the cross and the power of sin you displayed by rising from the dead.

A Challenge to Act Like Christ  

Flannery O’Connor said, “Redemption is meaningless unless there is a cause for it in the actual life we live. I see from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. This means that for me the meaning of life is centered in our redemption by Christ and what I see in the world I see in its relation to that.”[2]

Every passage of Scripture and every part of our lives hinges on God's redemptive work. God the Father redeems us so he can transform us into the image of Christ and thus have the highest form of relationship with us.

Pastor Tyler Statton writes, “Relationship is God’s end game, but empowerment is his plan for getting there. Jesus did not merely come to redeem the world but to invite the likes of us, fallen men and women, to participate in that redemption.”[3] In The Challenge of Jesus, N.T. Wright says,

“Our task as image-bearing, God-loving, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled Christians, following Christ and shaping our world, is to announce redemption to a world that has discovered its fallenness, to announce healing to a world that has discovered its brokenness, to proclaim love and trust to a world that knows only exploitation, fear and suspicion.”[4]

*Unless you specify otherwise, comments and questions you ask may be featured in upcoming podcast episodes.

[1] Richter, Sandra L.. The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. InterVarsity Press, 2010.

[2] “The Fiction Writer and His Country.” Flannery O’Connor: Collected Works (Library of America, 1988), pp. 804– 805.

[3] Staton, Tyler. Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer. Zondervan, 2022. 124.

[4] N.T. Wright, The Challenge of Jesus