Five Motifs: How to See the Overarching Theme of the Bible
Did you know that you can fit every portion of Scripture into five repeating themes?
Five great motifs?
And did you know that it’s important that as you study the Bible to see these recurring motifs like great hooks on which to hang each passage?
If you do this, the Bible will open up…
Not as a static collection of 66 isolated books in two testaments…
But a rich, fluid and overarching story about the redemption of sinners for the glory of God.
What are these five motifs that constantly crop up as God’s redemptive plan unfolds? Let’s explore them.
Motif 1: The Nature of God
In the Old and New Testament, God reveals himself through creation, angels, visions, the spoken words of prophets and apostles, the written word and through signs, wonders and miracles.
God reveals himself as the sovereign God of the universe who’s chosen to make man and to make himself known to man, especially through Jesus Christ. In that self-revelation he establishes his righteousness and sustains it to the last pages of the NT.
Motif 2: The Judgment of Sin
The Bible is the chronicle of the tragedy of sin. In fact, out of the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, only four of them don’t involve a fallen world–the first two and the last two. The rest are a relentless record of the devastation of sin.
And in the New Testament we see that disobedience is even more flagrant than OT disobedience since it involves the rejection of Jesus.
Motif 3: The Reward for Obedience
To those who confessed their sins and admitted their impotence to please God by their own effort and works and asked God for forgiveness–whether OT Gentile like the Ninevites or NT believers responding to John the Baptist’s preaching–there came and comes a promise of merciful redemption and blessing in this life and the life to come.
Motif 4: The Messiah
Naturally, if you’ve got a problem like sin, you need a solution. Both the Old and New Testaments record Jesus as that solution.
In the NT and beyond, when any sinner comes to God convinced he can’t escape God’s judgment and pleads for mercy, God then declares him righteous because of the sacrifice and sinless obedience of Christ is imputed to the sinner’s life.
That is propitiation.
In the OT, God justified sinners the same way…yet in anticipation of Christ’s work. Whether as the seed of the woman who will destroy Satan, the suffering servant or the very one symbolized in the sacrificial system of the Mosaic law, the Messiah is promised.
Motif 5: The Future Kingdom
In the OT, there is repeated mention of an earthly kingdom ruled by the Messiah. In the NT, this feature is defined and expanded.
The King was rejected and executed, but He promised to come back in glory, bringing judgment, resurrection and his kingdom for all who believe. And at some point, all of creation will be re-created into a new heaven and a new earth–which will be the eternal state separate from the ungodly in hell.
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5 Comments to Five Motifs: How to See the Overarching Theme of the Bible
Demian, this is a great way to view the Bible as a whole. In reading, studying, or contemplating the Scriptures, one can pray for wisdom to be alert to these themes and to see how they fit the various books and passages together, cementing the diverse parts into a seamless whole.
Many regard the Bible as an intellectual challenge, to be proved or disproved (perhaps it would be more accurate to say approved or discredited), while others remove the Scriptures entirely from the field of intellect, attempting to make religion center on mysticism and/or emotionalism. But the truth is that God has given us His sovereign pledge regarding all things, stated in His own words, and interpreted to us by His Holy Spirit. There is nothing to hinder us from receiving His message, both general and personal, except our own stubbornness, wilfullness, and rebellion against Him. Receiving the gift of His grace (undeserved by us, but freely given by Him), we can expect Him to overcome in and for us all hindrances to our being enriched by these grand themes you have shared. Thank you.
Demian FarnworthJune 17, 2009
Your welcome, Al. And well said. Good encouragement for all who wish to know the Truth.
I love this. So simple yet complete. I copied it to evernote, and I’m going to use it as a way to explain God and the Bible, and our need for him to curious unbelievers.
Demian FarnworthMarch 5, 2010
Gary, you use Evernote, too! Awesome. I’m glad you liked the article, sir. Feel free to share anywhere and anyway.
I might simplify it to a “cheat sheet” for the back if my Bible. I will post it if I do, with link back of course.
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June 16, 2009