1. Introduction to the Outline of the Bible

The Bible is unique in that it is divinely inspired. Its 66 books were written by some 40 different human authors, from kings to fishermen, over a period of some 1500 years. Yet it all fits together perfectly around a specific theme: God redeems a people for himself through a blood sacrifice.

The word "redeem" literally means to "buy back." Suppose a guitar player falls on hard times and takes his guitar to a pawn shop, in exchange for a loan. To get his guitar back, he must redeem it with money. In redeeming it, he does three essential things: (1) he pays a price for it, (2) he returns it to its rightful owner and (3) he restores it to its proper purpose --playing beautiful music. In the same way God pays the necessary price: the blood of his beloved Son. And in doing so, he restores man to a right relationship with himself so he might return to his ultimate end: glorifying God and enjoying Him.

If you look intently into the greatest book ever written, you will see the beautiful face of the greatest person ever to walk on this earth: the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a poster of the Constitution of the U.S. which is engraved in such a way that from a distance you can see the face of George Washington. So it is with the Bible. As you view the big picture, you can see God's ultimate revelation of himself to mankind: the Lord Jesus Christ. As you go through the outline, notice how all the different parts fit together to form a perfect whole. It is nothing less than a miracle in print, and a key part of God's gracious self-disclosure to a ruined world.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of the God's ultimate self-disclosure in the Savior this way:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, who he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.