Salvation History: The Story the Bible Tells The first thing to know is that the Bible gives us history from God’s perspective. It shows us that all throughout time, God is working to bring us salvation. That’s why we say that the Bible gives us "salvation history."

Why SALVATION HISTORY Salvation history is what laid the foundations for the covenant. “You will be my people and I will be your God,” The whole Bible can be outlined as a series of covenants. "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.“ –St. Augustine (Confessions)

Creation Genesis 1:1 tells us that in the beginning the world was "formless and empty." The plot proceeds by showing us how God sets out to fix this - first, by giving the world form and then filling it.

FIRST CREATION ACCOUNT In Days 1-3, God creates the “form” or the “realms” of the world - the day and the night; the sky and the sea; the land and the vegetation.

FIRST CREATION ACCOUNT –cont’d In Days 4-6, God fills these realms with "rulers" or "governors" - the sun, moon & stars (which "rule over the day and over the night"; verses 14-19); the birds and the fish to fill the sky and the seas; and Humankind and beast, which rule the land.

There’s a perfect order to all this There’s a perfect order to all this. First God creates the “structure” of the world, then He fills that structure with living beings. It’s like God is making a house and then putting inhabitants into it.

God started out with nothing and six “days” later He had fashioned, through His Word ("Let there be…"), a virtual “Temple” in which He would dwell with all that He created. On the seventh day, He made a “covenant” with the world - binding Himself to His creation for all time.

The Human Person

The Original Image God created the human race in own God’s image…in the divine image…male and female. (Genesis 1:26-28). We are all created in the image and likeness of God. Through this creation we have the privilege of participating in some of the attributes of God’s nature. We are good, we have the capacity to love and we have freedom.

The First Creation Story shows us: There is only one God (the God of the Hebrews) who freely created everything. God created everything in a planned and purposeful way; it did not just happen or emerge haphazardly out of chaos. God made everything good. God made the Sabbath holy. God’s pattern of working 6 days and resting on the 7th is reflected in Jewish Law. The God who created everything –the earth and all it contains, the sun and stars- is the God of the Hebrew people, who reigns supreme over all peoples, over all creation and over all other tribes’ gods. 5. God made human persons in the divine image: we are the masterpieces of God’s creation, and are more like God than any other creature, because we can reason and choose between good and evil. God accordingly gives humankind dominion over the earth, its plants and creatures