Wayne C. Kellis - From Chaos to Clarity: The Simplest Story Ever Told

FROM CHAOS TO CLARITY

THE SIMPLEST STORY EVER TOLD

Wayne C. Kellis

Copyright 2012 by Wayne C. Kellis.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

All Scriptures quoted were taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-3405-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-3404-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011962535

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/22/2017

Dedicated to

Zack, Kristy, Lynden & Kylie

Teach your children
to love Jesus

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Despite having grown up in a church that highly values Gods word, attending Bible camps, a Christian college, Bible studies, and having personal study time, I have always struggled with having a clear understanding of the Bible. Given the difference in cultures, time periods, and multiple story lines, it is not hard to understand my dilemma. Having talked to many other people, I believe this is not uncommon.

For my 25 th birthday I asked my Dad to write a simple summary of the Bible. It is not intended to replace or be a substitute for Gods word but it is meant to be used as a tool to help me (and others) grasp the context of the Bible. By far, this is the best birthday present ever.

I am so thankful for this book as it has already helped me to learn more about our amazing God. I hope you find it as beneficial as I do.

Love In Christ,
Kylie Kellis Myers

The purpose of this account of the main storyline of the Bible is to help the reader to know and to understand the story. Many people are unnecessarily intimidated by the Bible. Even though they may have heard or read stories from the Bible, they have never really understood how it all fits together. They may be confused about which Biblical characters come first chronologically, how they are related, or the order of events. The fact that the Bible has been shrouded in mystery only adds to this confusion. Gods message to mankind was never meant to be hidden or difficult to understand. As a nation, we have gotten so far from serious study of the scriptures that it seems we are now overwhelmed by the idea of actually understanding them. This writing will not replace careful, prayerful study of Gods word to mankind, but it is my hope and prayer that this account will remove some of the confusion that surrounds this greatest of all books.

It is true that the Bible is so rich and so deep that a lifetime of serious study would not be adequate to mine its riches. No one will ever fully comprehend all that is taught in this book. The amazing thing is that a book so rich and so deep can, on another level, really be quite simple. The person of average abilities can grasp the story in sufficient measure, but the highest intellect will never fully grasp it all. So, you should not be discouraged if you do not understand it all immediately. It is truly an amazing book. The Bible is Gods love revealed and truly is the simplest story ever told.

As we begin, it is important to point out that the Bible is not written as a rule book. The majority of it is narrative. It tells a story of love, violence, wrath, mercy, separation and redemption. Our task is to understand the story and make application as we are able.

THE CREATION STORY

(Genesis Chapters 1-2)

There is a great deal of debate over the first few chapters of Genesis. The book opens with the statement that In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This statement alone was revolutionary for its time. The significance of this statement is that there is one God. Most cultures were polytheistic and worshiped many gods.

The creation story is told in the first two chapters. Many questions have been raised about this section of scripture. Is the creation story allegory? Were the six days of creation really only six twenty-four hour days? There are many unanswerable questions, but we should not get bogged down in issues of this sort. What we need to take away from the creation accounts is that one God created the world, and that He created man, as His crowning achievement, in His own image.

Unlike the creation stories found in mythology, the biblical story of creation makes no attempt to explain where God comes from. It is assumed that the Creator was always there. Likewise there is no attempt to explain where the matter used in creation came from. God created ex nihilo (Latin for out of nothing) as he simply spoke the universetime, matter, energy, laws of physics and chemistryinto existence. All other creation stories try to explain where the creating deity originated or what he (or she) used in creating. The point we should not overlook is that the Bible stands alone in maintaining that God has always been and that there was nothing in existence until He created it.

It is interesting to note that God says Let us make man in our image. It is clear that there is only one God. Yet somehow God the Father, Jesus the Son, and Gods Spirit are all God. One more note before we move on: God is not known as our Father until Jesus refers to Him in this way.

THE FALL

(Genesis Chapter 3)

After creation, Adam and Eve enjoyed fellowship with God for an unspecified period of time. They were free to eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the course of time, Satan, appearing as a serpent, appealed to Eves pride and convinced her to eat the forbidden fruit. Eve gave some to Adam, who was with her, and he ate. Sin has entered the world and things will never be the same. Adam and Eve become conscious of their nakedness, hide from God, and suffer many hardships as a result of their sin.

We were created to live in a relationship with God. Yet sin (disobedience to God) separates mankind from the Creator. The problem is that man has broken the relationship and is unable to repair it. God cannot have fellowship with man in his sinful state. So, God takes it upon Himself to repair the relationship by paying the price Himself. God worked this out in a way that did not interfere with mankinds free will or His (Gods) holy and just nature. Sin seems inevitable in that God only gives one command to be obeyed, but Adam and Eve could not keep even the one. Yet the story of the Garden makes it clear that it was a free choice to disobey God that led to separation and expulsion. In some way that is difficult to understand, all Creation, not just mankind, is affected, left in this fallen state as a result of Adam and Eves disobedience until God redeems everything at His chosen time.

It is impossible to know just how fallen we really are. Paul states in Romans 8:22 , We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Very early in scripture, God hints at His love for us that will be manifested in our redemption. In Genesis 3:15 God says to Satan, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. This is a reference to the work of Jesus on the cross. Satan will strike at Him, but He will crush Satan.