On Page 18 in my book I reference our physical bodies having a spinal cord that branches off to other nerves that reach all parts of our bodies.

The spinal cord extends from our brain down to the pelvic area. Along the way it branches off into the peripheral nervous system that reaches all areas of our bodies, from head to toe, fingertip to fingertip. These nerves transmit signals causing each part of the body to function in its proper manner, from the largest muscles and bones down to the smallest cells, molecules and atoms.

Spiritually the Bible also has a spinal cord that branches off to all parts of the Bible. It sends messages regarding Jesus to all parts of the Bible.

I summarize these messages as:

The Bible is one central message with one main character – Jesus.

This Biblical spinal cord contains the key verses, which pass on the one main message about Jesus throughout the Bible from beginning to end. When we find these key verses we’ll see how the Bible’s spinal cord simplifies the Bible, making it much easier to understand. Let’s go!

As with any book, we start at the beginning. Genesis chapter 1 to chapter 3 verse 14 are the introduction to the main story in the Bible.

Introduction

Genesis 1,2 God created everything perfect.

Genesis 2:16,17 God warned Adam not to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If he did, he’d die; meaning eternal death.

Genesis 3:1-14 The devil said just the opposite and told Adam and Eve they would not die. They believed the devil instead of God and ate the fruit. The moment they did, Adam and Eve felt shame and broke their perfect relationship with God. This is what is called “The Fall” because Adam and Eve fell into sin. The result was they gave up their faultless human nature for a sinful nature and passed that nature on to all humans. Even worse, they gave up their perfect life for eternal death in hell. From then on humans are also born with that sinful nature and inherit eternal death.

So, we need a Rescuer to recapture us from our sinful nature and relentless death. This is where Jesus enters the picture as our rescuer.

The Main Story

From Genesis 3:15 on, the rest of the Bible is one main message about one main person Jesus.

We’ll list some key verses from the Bible’s spinal cord that pertain specifically to Jesus. See the book’s Appendix for a more comprehensive list. I put an approximate date before each verse to make it real to us that God actually broke into our human history on planet earth. He is wildly concerned about us and continually breaks into our history to help us.

(Pre History) Genesis 3:15 “He will crush your head.” In the Garden of Eden God spoke these words to the devil, telling him, so to speak, that Jesus would come to crush his head. That means God promised Jesus would come into our world to rescue us from the devil and our sinful nature.

Starting at approximately 2000 BC we will trace God’s promises that Jesus would come.

(2000 BC) Genesis 15:6 – God began His plan to send Jesus by choosing a man named Abraham. Jesus would be born from his family.

(1600 BC) Genesis 49:10 – From the nation of Israel, God chose the tribe of Judah to bring the Messiah into this world.

(1500) Exodus 3:1-14 – God the “I AM” releases Israel from slavery.

(1000 BC) 2 Samuel 7:16 – King David’s kingdom will last forever because Jesus, who is David’s descendent, will rule forever in David’s line.

(950 BC) I Kings 8: 41-43; 60-61; Israel’s purpose is to show the world how great their God is. The nation of Israel would birth Jesus.

(950 BC) I Kings 9:4-5 – The Davidic kingdom continues through David’s son Solomon, and later Judean kings. Jesus would come from their lineage.

(740 BC) Isaiah 44:26 – God promises to carry out His predictions through His prophets, including Jesus coming into our world. Prophets predicted His coming but never called him Jesus in the Old Testament. They referred to Him as The Messiah and other names.

(700 BC) Micah 5:2 – The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem of Judah.

(600 BC) Jeremiah 29:10-11 – God has plans for a good future and hope for those who believe in Him. Those plans continue through Jesus.

(500 BC) Daniel 2:31-45 – God’s Kingdom will crush all earthly kingdoms. This will be fulfilled through Jesus.

(0 AD) Matthew 2:1 – Jesus was born in Bethlehem, just as predicted throughout the entire Old Testament for 2000 years!

We have traced Jesus through the Old Testament. In my next blog we will follow Him through the New Testament.

What are your thoughts so far? Is this helpful for you to understand the Bible? Please hit the contact button and let me know! Thank you!