Finding Your Place in the Story of Jesus
Seeing the Gospel Through the Lens of Jesus Christ
A Meta-Narrative of the Gospel
by Raimer Rojas
A Meta-Narrative of the Gospel
by Raimer Rojas
This gospel presentation begins with Jesus as the center of reality. It explains God’s design for humanity, the distortion caused by sin, and the restoration Jesus has made possible. It also invites people to receive Him, live under His loving reign, and join His work of making all things new.
Before thinking about forgiveness, heaven, or even ourselves, the Bible invites us to begin with Jesus Christ. He is not simply God’s answer to our problem. He is the One through whom everything was created. Everything exists for Him and finds its true meaning in Him. (see: John 1:1-5, 9-14, 16-18)
The gospel is therefore far more than the message that our sins can be forgiven. It is the good news that through Jesus we discover who God is and who we were created to be. We also discover what has gone wrong and how God is restoring all things.
Every person longs to know why they exist. The Bible begins with a beautiful answer. God created humanity in His image. We were made to know Him, reflect His character, and participate in His purposes. We were created for loving relationship with God. We were meant to live in joyful dependence upon Him and flourish under His wise reign.
Our deepest longings for truth and goodness are not accidents. Neither are our desires for belonging, beauty, or purpose. They are echoes of the life for which we were created. We were made by God and for God.
Yet something has gone terribly wrong. Rather than trusting God, humanity chose independence. Instead of living under His loving reign, we sought to define life on our own terms.
Sin is more than breaking rules. It is rejecting the rightful King. This rebellion separated us from God and distorted our humanity. Our understanding became darkened. Our loves became disordered. Our relationships became fractured. Sin brings guilt and bondage. It also corrupts us, damages our relationships, and leads to death. The world is no longer as it was meant to be.
Neither are we. The brokenness around us and within us reveals what happens when humanity becomes disconnected from the One for whom we were created. We cannot restore ourselves. We need God to rescue us, reconcile us, and make us new.
God did not leave humanity in darkness. He came to us in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who became truly human. He is the perfect image of the invisible God. When we look at Jesus, we see what God is like.
We also see what true humanity looks like. He revealed the Father and embodied true humanity. He lived faithfully and proclaimed God’s kingdom. He showed compassion to the hurting and welcomed those who had wandered far from God. Jesus did not merely teach the truth. He embodied it.
But Jesus came to do more than show us the life we were made for. He came to rescue us. On the cross, Jesus bore our sin and faced its judgment. He gave His life to reconcile us to God. He then rose bodily from the dead. Through His resurrection, He conquered death and inaugurated God’s new creation.
Jesus is now exalted as the rightful King. Through Him, God forgives our sin and reconciles us to Himself. He defeats evil and begins the restoration of all things. Jesus does not simply offer us a better life. He offers us Himself.
The gospel calls for a response. Jesus invites us to repent, believe, and receive Him. Repentance means turning from sin and self-rule. It means turning toward God and welcoming His reign. Faith is more than agreeing with facts about Jesus. It is trusting Him and entrusting ourselves to Him.
We are not saved by becoming good enough. We cannot earn God’s acceptance through religious effort or moral improvement. Salvation is God’s gift of grace.
Yet grace does not leave us where we are. Those who receive Jesus begin a new life of following Him. Through Jesus we receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God. We are adopted into His family and given the Holy Spirit. We also receive a new identity and a place among His people. We are given the hope of resurrection and new creation.
Following Jesus begins a lifelong journey of becoming like Him and living under His leadership. We participate in the life of His people and join Him in His mission. This journey is called discipleship. It is not the way we earn salvation. It is the new life salvation makes possible.
The gospel does not end with individual forgiveness. God is restoring all things through Jesus Christ. He is gathering people from every nation and forming them into a new humanity. He is building His Church and restoring His image in His people.
One day, Jesus will return and His kingdom will come in its fullness. Sin and death will be no more. Creation will be renewed, and God will dwell with His people.
Those who belong to Jesus are not merely waiting for this future. They begin participating in it now. As Jesus restores us, we become people through whom His love enters the world. We also embody His truth and demonstrate the hope of His kingdom. The future God has promised begins reshaping our lives in the present.
The gospel is God’s invitation to behold Jesus Christ:
See in Him the God who created you.
See in Him the true humanity for which you were made.
Recognize the sin that has separated you from God.
Receive the forgiveness Jesus purchased through His death.
Believe that He rose from the dead and now reigns as King.
Turn from self-rule and entrust your life to Him.
Jesus invites you into a restored relationship with God. He welcomes you into His family and gives you His Spirit. He will teach you to live under His loving reign. He will form you into His likeness and include you in His mission.
Everything converges in Jesus Christ.
In Him, we see God’s design for humanity.
In Him, we see true humanity perfectly embodied.
Through Him, we are forgiven and restored.
Under His reign, we begin participating in God’s purpose for the world.
The invitation of the gospel is simple:
Come to Jesus. See Him for who He truly is. Trust Him with your life. Follow Him into the life you were created to live.
In Jesus Christ, God’s design for human formation, God’s model of restored humanity, God’s pathway of discipleship, and God’s mission of restoration all converge.
The "new humanity" is humanity restored in Christ—a people increasingly conformed to His likeness who live under His loving reign, once again image God by reflecting His character and ways, and participate in His mission of restoring all things.