What Is the Bible?
The Bible is a library of books telling one cohesive story.
The Bible is not a book. It’s a library of sixty-six books organized into two parts: The Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament is made up of thirty-nine books that fall into four categories: Law, History, Poetry, and Prophets (see figure 1). There are two kinds of prophetic writings: major and minor. The major works aren’t more important than the minor ones—just longer.
The New Testament is made up of twenty-seven books in three categories: Narratives, Epistles, and Apocalyptic (see figure 2).
The first four books in the Narrative category are called gospels. “Gospel” means “good news” and these four books tell the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe is good news for the whole world. The last Narrative book is Acts. It tells the story of the very first followers of Jesus and how they spread the good news about Jesus throughout the Roman Empire in the First Century.
An epistle is a fancy word for a letter. The Apostle Paul wrote the Pauline Epistles to early Christian churches. Other Christian leaders wrote the General Epistles.
Lastly, there is only one book in the Apocalyptic category. An apocalypse is not about the end of the world. “Apocalypse” means “revelation.” An apocalypse was an ancient type of literature written to pull back the curtain on human history and the material world we experience to reveal what God is doing in the spiritual reality behind the scenes.
What Story is the Bible telling?
All the books of the Bible work together to tell the story of God’s unwavering commitment to living in a loving relationship with humanity in a world of peace and plenty.
This story can be divided into five acts:
Act 1: Creation
The Bible begins with God bringing order out of chaos, crafting the earth, sky, and sea, and filling them with life, beauty, and purpose. At the center of this masterpiece is a lush garden on a mountaintop—a place where God lives in perfect relationship with humanity. This is how the world is supposed to be: full of peace, plenty, and the presence of God.
Humans are created in the "image of God," meaning they're designed to reflect His character. Humans are responsible for ruling over creation, not as tyrants, but as caretakers, managing it according to God's good ways. Their task is to cultivate the world like a garden, to bring about more goodness, peace, and plenty.
But they have a choice in the matter.
Act 2: Choice
Will humans accept God’s definition of good, or will they define good for themselves and go their own way?
This temptation is represented by a serpent. Tragically, humans decide to listen to the snake, redefine good, and choose their own path.
The fallout is immediate. Peace turns into conflict; plenty turns into scarcity. Humanity hides from God, turns against each other, and struggles to survive in a world that’s now broken.
But God doesn’t give up. He promises that one day, a human will come to crush the snake, though it will cost him dearly. This battle is coming—but it’s not here yet.
The choice to go against God’s way unleashes chaos that spreads from a single couple to their children and eventually to a whole civilization—a corrupt empire known as Babylon.
Acts 3: Israel
The story zooms in on one man and woman, Abraham and Sarah. God calls them out of Babylon and makes a covenant with them, promising that their family will be the means through which He will restore peace and plenty to the whole world—if they trust Him and follow His ways.
This family becomes the nation of Israel. But like all of humanity, Israel struggles to trust God. Time and again, they redefine good on their own terms, leading to chaos and conflict. Even their best leaders often start off strong and eventually fall into the same pattern of failure.
Israel’s prophets warn that their choices will lead them back to Babylon—not as a powerful empire, but as exiles. Sure enough, Israel is conquered and taken into exile. But even then, God doesn’t abandon them.
Through the prophets, God promises that one day, a new leader will arise—a leader who will succeed where Israel failed. This leader will transform people’s hearts and minds, enabling them to live out God’s good ways faithfully.
The Old Testament closes with these promises hanging in the air. The world waits for someone to come, crush the snake, change hearts, and restore peace and plenty.
Act 4: Jesus
The New Testament continues the story with the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of Israel's kings. Jesus boldly claims to be God in the flesh, here to fulfill the Old Testament's promises. He confronts the evil that has plagued humanity since the Garden, forgiving sin, healing the sick, providing for the poor, and never giving in to temptation.
Jesus is the true "image of God," the faithful representative who shows us what it means to rule the world God's way. He teaches people to experience peace and plenty with God by loving God with their whole being and by loving others—even their enemies.
Jesus willingly goes to the cross, suffering the consequences of humanity's redefinition of good. Through this self-sacrifice, Jesus conquers evil. And by rising from the grave, Jesus defeats death.
Act 5: New Creation
Humanity is faced with a new choice, symbolized by another tree—this time, it’s a cross. Every person must decide whether to define good for themselves and go their own way or to follow Jesus.
Those who follow Jesus are forgiven and empowered by God’s Spirit to love and forgive others. Many people follow Jesus and form new communities that live His good way. These Christians endure persecution and face temptation.
The early leaders of this movement write letters teaching and encouraging Christians to remain faithful.
These letters also promise that Jesus will return one day to recreate the world. The Bible ends with a vision of this future, where evil is eradicated, and God lives with his beloved people in a world of peace and plenty.
And that’s how the Bible, a library of books written in many styles and by many authors, tells one cohesive story.
