The Bible Storyline – Lesson 1 – Before the Beginning
Click to Download: The Bible Storyline – Lesson 1 – April 19, 2026
The Bible’s Storyline • Lesson 1 | Before The Beginning |
Introduction
The Bible Storyline: God’s Unstoppable Plan to Defeat Evil, Restore Creation, and Establish His Kingdom on Earth
By Michael J. Vlach • Professor at Shepherds Theological Seminary • 100 Concise Sessions • 11 Themes • 1 Story
Lesson 1 – Before the Beginning: Triune God and Eternal Love
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The Bible’s Story begins in Genesis 1. But to fully grasp the drama, we must go even further back. These first three sessions serve as a prologue to the Story, pulling back the curtain on conditions before creation and what disrupted the harmony of heaven. — Dr. Vlach, pg. 5 |
Why Did God Create Us?
What do you know about WHY God created you, me, and this world that we live in?
How would you answer someone who asked: “Why did God create everything?” Or, “Why did God create me?”
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Warning: Many people who attempt to answer those questions get it wrong! Usually because they are repeating something they heard someone else say. |
You should also know, there is no single Bible verse to turn to for this answer.
But this does not mean we are left without answers.
It just means we have to look to the Bigger Storyline of the Bible to find it.
We can begin by exposing a few misconceptions and false answers.
For starters, get rid of any answer that indicates God was lonely, or lacking something in any way.
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Acts 17:24–25 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. |
The Apostle Paul was arguing that God does not need anything from His creation because God is complete and whole, lacking nothing.
Therefore, when we ponder the question of why He created us, it must rule out anything that suggests He was lonely, or needed a place to demonstrate His glory.
The simplest answer is because He wanted to! And the fact that He was not lonely, nor lacking anything that He needs from us, means we are sort of a BIG DEAL. God made us just because He decided to, and He chose not only to create us but to LOVE us!
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God chose to create you and He chose to love you. But He did not stop there — God chose to adopt you into His family. |
Let’s Take a Look at How Big a Deal This Really Is
Try to picture what everything was like for God before He created the world.
He was not lonely, nor was He alone. The Bible teaches our God is a Triune God. This means three persons in one Godhead (The Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) all existed in “eternal love, joy, and unity.”
The Son Was There From the Beginning
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John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. |
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John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. |
These two verses teach us that Jesus was with God in the beginning, or we can say in eternity past. Jesus became flesh (human) and lived among us when He came to save us.
Jesus Had a Role in Creation
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John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. |
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Colossians 1:16–17 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. |
The Holy Spirit Was There Too
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Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. |
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Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. |
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Psalm 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. |
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What does all of this mean? It means God was not alone, and God was not lonely. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed together in perfect unity, love, joy, and fellowship. |
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John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. |
Where the Bible Storyline Begins
The first step in understanding the Bible storyline is to start in eternity past, with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sharing life, love, joy, and unity together.
The next step is to know that they decided to create us (mankind) and share their life, love, fellowship, and unity with us.
Jesus stated this desire when talking to the Father about us:
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John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. |
This means God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created you because they wanted to share their life, love, joy, and fellowship with you! That is sort of a big deal!
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Ephesians 1:4–5 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. |
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Galatians 4:4–5 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, Toredeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. |
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1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. |
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This is the key that unlocks the Bible Storyline. |
Back to Our Original Question: Why Did God Create Us?
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God created us to adopt us into His family and share His life, love, joy, and fellowship that He shares with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. |
Reflection — Knowing and Living |
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