The entire Bible is about Christ, the Trinity, and God’s plan of redeeming the world to Himself for His glory. We often look to find ourselves in the story of Scripture, usually as the protagonist—the main character. However, in reality, we’re either minor characters in the story, or worse, we are actually represented by the antagonist! Though we can have positive attributes, and these stories are examples of godly men and women that we can and should model, the Bible ultimately is a book about God, and we should see it as such! Every story and character (and often objects) in Scripture point beyond themselves to One who is greater—Jesus Christ. Many symbols, analogies, objects, people, places, and events are foreshadowing Christ. He is the true and better example and the only one who can reconcile us to the Father. When you read the Bible Christologically (seeing Scripture in light of the Gospel and through the lens of Christ) your heart will be drawn to worship God as you see how the entire Bible testifies about Him (John 5:39).

So, how do you remove yourself from the center and strive to discover Christ and the Gospel as you read? Use the acronym E.F.A.P described on the next page as a tool in your Scripture reading to help you in this process:

How Is Christ Our Example To Follow? (He Shows Us How)

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21

Is there something or someone described that reminds you of the person or work of Jesus and stands as an example of Him in which you should follow? This doesn’t have to be limited to the actual person of Jesus, but often the characteristics of other people or objects that point to Christ. Every command Christ completes to perfection. Every strong character quality Christ has in full. Every warning against sin Christ never does. Christ is the complete and perfect example for us.

How Has Christ Fulfilled Where We’ve Failed? (He Does What We Cannot)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Matthew 5:17

Are there roles, relationships, or characteristics in the Bible that are ruined by sin, wickedness, or mistakes? Although there may be good people or neutral objects in Scripture, the holistic story is that they’re never good enough. Jesus contrarily fulfills every single promise and does perfect every command of the Law; something we could never do. He is the true and better leader, king, friend, husband, Passover lamb, rock of our salvation, servant, priest, prophet, temple, etc. Watch this video for more examples of how Christ is the True and Better by Dan Stevers.

How Did Christ Make Atonement For Our Sins? (He Takes Our Place & Gives Us His Right Standing)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Not only did Jesus make right all of our wrongs, fulfilling what we couldn’t do, He also traded places with us, taking upon Himself the wrath that sin deserved for our lawlessness, and giving us the righteousness of God that should only come from perfection. As you read, do you see ways in which Christ actually takes the undesirable position or punishment even though He did no wrong? In order to do this properly, you have to be able to see yourself as the one deserving of judgment…which can be hard for some of us to do. We are often not the hero in the story; we’re more likely the enemy. Can you see how Jesus, the innocent One, traded places with Barabbas, the one who actually did commit sins worthy of crucifixion? Or how Pharaoh, the enemy of God’s people, was drowned in the Red Sea and yet we, who are enemies of God (Rom 5:10), are instead saved by the blood of Christ, His death for our life?

How Does Christ Give Us His Power To Walk In? (He Gives Us His Power)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8

Oftentimes, we end the Gospel narrative at the death of Jesus on the cross for our sins, but that’s not where the story ends! Jesus rose from the dead and the same powerful Spirit that was in Him now lives in us as believers! When reading Scripture, can you see how Christ gives us His power as He invites us to partner with Him in the ministry? In other words, now we can actually follow His example originally set for us, and if/when we fall short, we have the gospel that forgives. For example, Joshua led the people of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho, trusting the Lord’s promise, and the walls fell down in their victory over the enemy! We too have the same power to knock down the walls of oppression and sin in our lives and the lives of those around us. We are not Joshua—he’s the Christ figure—but we are the people who followed him and joined in the fight!

One of the questions I get often is how to find Christ in the Text. The follow up question is always then how to apply Christ through that Text into our lives. Even from the last blog, I’ve gotten many questions about how I came to this understanding of Jesus being the “end” of Psalm 119. Over the next four weeks, I’ll walk through a method that I use to help Jesus become more clearly visible.

At The Well, we practice a method called E.F.A.P.: Example, Fulfillment, Atonement, Power. Jesus is the example, the fulfillment, the atonement, and the power of everything in Scripture.

When we read the Scriptures, we often look for ourselves in the story of Scripture, usually as the protagonist – the main character. However, in reality, we’re either minor characters in the story, or worse–we are represented by the antagonist!

Though we can have positive attributes and these stories are examples of godly men and women that we can and should model, the Bible ultimately is a book about God, and we should see it as such! Every story and character in Scripture points beyond themselves to One who is greater – Jesus Christ. Many symbols, analogies, objects, people, places, and events foreshadow Christ. He is the true and better example and the only one who can reconcile us to the Father. When you read the Bible Christologically (seeing Scripture in light of the Gospel and through the lens of Christ) your heart will be drawn to worship God as you see how the entire Bible testifies about Him (John 5:39-40).

Each week, we’ll walk through a letter to show how we do this at The Well. Additionally, each week we’ll draw on two passages—one the same and one different—to show how to apply this.

EXAMPLE

JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW, HE SHOWS US HOW

“13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” (Jn. 13:13-16)

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Pet. 2:21)

When reading a story it is right to ask, is there something or someone described that reminds you of the person or work of Jesus and stands as an example of Him in which you should follow? This doesn’t have to be limited to the actual person of Jesus, but often the characteristics of other people or objects that point to Christ.

Every command Christ completes to perfection. Every strong character quality Christ has in full. Every warning against sin Christ never does. Christ is the complete and perfect example for us.

BIBLICAL PASSAGE (We’ll Study this Passage Each Week)

We’ll look at a common story from 1 Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath, each week as our model story. Familiarize yourself with the story if this is helpful. Additionally, each week I’ll only pick out some of the examples that I see. I’ll leave some of the “easier” and some of the “harder” ones in case you want to practice this exercise as well.

1 Samuel 17:14-15 “David was the youngest…went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep…”

1 Samuel 17:19-19 “Take for your brothers… parched grain…ten loaves…ten cheeses…”

1 Samuel 17:32 “… ‘your servant will go and fight.’..”

1 Samuel 17:37 “…’The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me…’”

David was tasked with keeping watch of his father’s sheep as a shepherd (v. 14) and as the youngest, delivering provisions to his brothers in Saul’s army (v. 15, 18-19). He was ready and willing no matter the ask, even if it meant fighting the feared Philistine, Goliath, for Israel (v. 32). He had seen the provision and power of God in his own life (v. 37) and therefore trusted and acted in obedience.

David, like Christ, was a servant willing to go. Jesus, too, has seen the Father’s work throughout eternity and trusted in His plan. He obediently carried out the work set before him, even unto His death. We, too, must trust our God and be willing servants who will go and do the work He calls us to.

What else can you see in the story? There’s about 30 examples that we’ve seen in a class that I’ve taught over the years!

ADDITIONAL BIBLICAL PASSAGE

This week at church, we walked through 1 Corinthians 9:19-27. Notice a string of this section in verses 19-23:

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

I mean… come on! Paul was a great example, but think of Jesus. Jesus was literally “free from all” yet became a “servant to all.” While Paul was a great example, he wasn’t actually a servant to literally everyone. Jesus was. Jesus literally “became a Jew” so that He might “win the Jews.” Jesus was placed “under the law” though being the very law of God Himself! He reached those “outside of the law” often being accused by the Pharisees of doing this very thing, not following the law, although, like Paul, he was not “outside of the law of God.” That word “weak” can be translated even deeper, as the word sick. To the sick, Jesus literally became sick with sin, weak, and broken. Jesus became all things to all people that by all means He might win some. Why? That He might share with us in the gospel’s blessing!

Paul was great, no doubt. But Jesus was better! He was the example of doing whatever it takes that we should follow. He was the ultimate example that Paul followed in order to write this passage!

Jesus is our example in all of the Scriptures. If and as we see this, our life and Scripture reading will flourish.

We’re currently in a series on how to better see Christ in all of the Scriptures. In the last newsletter, we looked at Jesus as our example. This laid the foundation and framework for the method we use at The Well, which we call E.F.A.P.: Example, Fulfillment, Atonement, Power. Jesus is the example, the fulfillment, the atonement, and the power of everything in Scripture.

Today, we’ll focus on Jesus as our fulfillment. Although I wrote this in the first blog, this is a really helpful reminder to know why we’re doing this:

When we read the Scriptures, we often look for ourselves in the story of Scripture, usually as the protagonist – the main character. However, in reality, we’re either minor characters in the story, or worse–we are represented by the antagonist! Though we can have positive attributes and these stories are examples of godly men and women that we can and should model, the Bible ultimately is a book about God, and we should see it as such! Every story and character in Scripture points beyond themselves to one who is greater – Jesus Christ. Many symbols, analogies, objects, people, places, and events foreshadow Christ. He is the true and better example and the only one who can reconcile us to the Father. When you read the Bible Christologically (seeing Scripture in light of the Gospel and through the lens of Christ) your heart will be drawn to worship God as you see how the entire Bible testifies about him (John 5:39-40).

Jesus is our example in everything, but how does he also fulfill?

Jesus is our fulfillment where we’ve failed and he does what we can’t

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Mt. 5:17)

When reading any story, we should pay attention to the details. Are there roles, relationships, or characteristics in the Bible that are ruined by sin, wickedness, or mistakes? Are there people who were trying really hard, but just messed up somewhere along the way? Is there an offering that falls just short, a temple that is only temporal, a king that dies… do you see the need for something (someone!) greater?

Jesus is the fulfillment of literally everything in Scripture! Jesus fulfills every promise (yes and amen, 2 Co. 1:20!), follows every command to perfection, he does what every human, object, etc., cannot do. He is the “true and better” leader, king, friend, husband, Passover Lamb, Rock in the wilderness, servant, priest, prophet, temple, etc.

Biblical passage: 1 Samuel 17

We’ll go through a common story from 1 Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath, each week as our model story. Familiarize yourself with the story if this is helpful. Additionally, each week I’ll only highlight some of the examples that I see. I’ll leave some of the “easier” and some of the “harder” ones in case you want to practice this exercise as well.

1 Samuel 17:5 “…he was armed with a coat of mail…”

1 Samuel 17:51 “…took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it.”

1 Samuel 17:25 “…the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and he will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free…”

In verse 5, the “coat of mail” can be translated as scales (along with a bunch of other things Goliath is wearing!). Look for others, and you’ll see the Bible clearly paints him as a type of “snake.” Not to mention his giant (Nephilim…) status.

The fight between a man and a serpent is not a new one. Adam and Eve listened to the serpent and sinned, destroying our right relationship with God (Genesis 3). But God promised in Genesis 3:15 that although there would be enmity between the woman and the snake, there would be someone who would come and crush the head of the serpent and restore the relationship that was broken.

David, in the battle, takes the “scale-armored” weapon—Goliath’s own weapon, mind you—and uses it to kill him by removing his head (v. 51), essentially crushing the “serpent.”

But Jesus is the true and better warrior. He took his enemy’s weapon, sin and death, submitted to it, and then used it against him to gain victory! Christ took on the punishment for sin we deserved, but in rising from the grave, he defeats the snake once and for all.

David did what the people of Israel could not. He won them the victory. Christ likewise did what we could not, and even better. He has given us His victory over sin and death! Verse 25 reminds us of what we have received because of Christ’s fulfillment. We share in the riches God, the king, has lavished upon his son. God has given Christ his daughter/bride the church (that’s us!) and made those in his family free (that’s us too!).

What David partially fulfilled, Jesus fulfilled even better, fully! Jesus is our fulfillment! Praise God! What else can you see in the story?

Additional biblical passage: 1 Corinthians 10:1-33

A few weeks ago at church, we walked through 1 Corinthians 10:1-33. There’s a ton in this passage, but notice verse 4: “and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”

I mean… come on! Jesus was the rock in the wilderness (Ex. 17, Num. 20), Paul says! Further, those Israelites died. But those who drink from Christ will never die and never thirst again (Jn. 4:14, 8:51). Like that rock in the wilderness, Jesus was struck, that this “living water” might burst out. And now, everyone who simply asks for this “water” (which is what Moses was supposed to do the second time!) can have eternal life.

The rock was great, no doubt. But Jesus is better! He fulfilled the thirst, fulfilled eternal life, and we should receive from Him that we might be forever free. Jesus did what a rock, manna, the “baptism in the Red Sea,” what King David, Goliath’s sword, Israel, etc. could never do.

Jesus is our fulfillment in all of the Scriptures. If and as we see this, our life and Scripture reading will flourish.

Next week, we’ll look at Jesus as our atonement. Not only is Jesus our example to follow, and not only does He fulfill every passage to perfection, to a point we never could, but He also, in radical generosity, becomes the opposite—he becomes sin—for us. If he is the “perfect good” in the entire text, in irony, he also, for our sake, becomes the utter bad!

How did Christ make atonement for our sins? He takes our place and gives us right standing

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21

This paragraph is immensely important: Not only did Jesus make right all of our wrongs, fulfilling what we couldn’t do, but he also traded places with us, taking upon himself the wrath that sin deserved for our lawlessness and giving us the righteousness of God that should only come from perfection.

See, if Jesus is just our fulfillment, he did what you could not… but how does this get applied to you? It is through his substitutionary atonement. Substitute = traded places. Atonement = made righteous. Jesus did this for you!

As you read Scripture, do you see ways in which Christ takes the undesirable position or punishment even though he did no wrong? To do this properly, you have to be able to see yourself as the one deserving of judgment…which can be hard for some of us to do. We are often not the hero in the story; we’re more likely the enemy. Can you see how Jesus, the innocent One, traded places with Barabbas, the one who actually did commit sins worthy of crucifixion (whose name means son of the father…)? Or how Pharaoh, the enemy of God’s people, was drowned in the Red Sea and yet we, who are enemies of God (Rom 5:10), are instead saved by the blood of Christ; his death for our life?

Biblical passage: 1 Samuel 17

We’ll go through a common story from 1 Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath, each week as our model story. Familiarize yourself with the story if this is helpful. Additionally, each week I’ll only pick out some of the examples that I see. I’ll leave some of the “easier” and some of the “harder” ones in case you want to practice this exercise as well.

1 Samuel 17:11 & 24 “…they were dismayed and greatly afraid…fled from him and were much afraid…”

1 Samuel 17:22 “And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks…”

1 Samuel 17:42 & 43 “…he disdained him…the Philistine cursed David by his gods.”

We often think of ourselves as the hero in the story, but let’s be real, we are not David! We’re not Goliath either, though. If Goliath acts as a “Satan” figure, do we even make an appearance? Yes, we most relate to the Israelite army: dismayed, afraid, and waiting in the wings (v. 11 & v. 24). How could we overcome a demon-man? How can we win a battle with a giant? We cannot, so we stand afraid.

David was a shepherd, not a warrior. He wasn’t responsible for fighting the war against the Philistines, yet he left the things he oversaw to run to the battle and be with his brothers (v. 22). Verse 42 and 43 tell us that David was mocked and cursed by Goliath, and though the odds were against him, he, by God’s strength, defeated Goliath.

Christ is a shepherd and warrior, but likewise, left his charge, his heavenly throne, to join the ranks as a human. He took our place in the battle and was undeservedly mocked, scorned, beaten, and cursed. He was not just our fulfillment, he was our atonement. He gave up his life (Matthew 27:28-31, Galatians 3:13).

Though it appears he was defeated, we know his resurrection on the third day brings us salvation (Matthew 28:1-9). But we’ll get to that next week. For now, we marvel at the fact that Jesus took our place and died where we should have. Our sin, and the sin of our appointed earthly king should have left us dead, but Jesus came and took our place.

Additional biblical passage: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

A few weeks ago at church, we walked through 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, a passage about communion. Jesus, in this section, ties himself to the Passover meal, saying that he is the bread broken (his body torn) and he is the cup of the covenant (his blood spilled). He is, ultimately, the Passover Lamb. When sin left us as good as dead, Jesus’ blood was shed, put over the doorpost of our heart, and through faith and belief in Christ, we’re spared and freed.

The Corinthians were taking communion in wildly ungodly ways (getting drunk off of it… literally), and because of this, some of them were dying. Paul said they should “examine themselves…” Each of us, though, takes communion in sin, and therefore we should die! Yet Jesus was examined by wicked men, in sin. Jesus was led to a hill, body broken, blood spilled, examined as guilty, though innocent, so that we who are guilty can receive his innocence, and now this Eucharist is no longer a condemnation ceremony, but one where we remember he took our sin and gave us his righteousness.

Jesus is the atonement of every single story in the Scripture. Think, friends, what this is saying. Every bad decision, every broken picture and character, everything that couldn’t measure up, Jesus takes on himself, and gives his righteousness in its stead. Praise God!

Jesus is our atonement in all of the Scriptures. If and as we see this, our life and Scripture reading will flourish.

Next week, we’ll look at Jesus as our power. Jesus is our example to follow, he fulfills every passage to perfection, and he stands in our place, taking on our failure as our atonement. But not only that, since Jesus didn’t just die, but resurrected, he becomes our power that gives us the ability to begin to live like him.

How does Christ give us new hope? He gives us his power

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

Oftentimes, we end the Gospel narrative at the death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. But that’s not where the story ends. Jesus rose from the dead and the same powerful Spirit that was in him and raised him now lives in us as believers.

When reading Scripture, can you see how Christ gives us his power as he invites us to partner with him in the ministry? In other words, now we can actually follow his example, and if or when we fall short, we have the gospel that forgives. For example, Joshua led the people of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho, trusting the Lord’s promise, and the walls fell down in their victory over the enemy. We, too, have the same power to knock down the walls of oppression and sin in our lives and the lives of those around us. We are not Joshua—he’s the Christ figure—but we are the people who followed him and joined in the fight.

Biblical passage: 1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:52-53 “And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines…the wounded Philistines fell…they plundered their camp.”

David’s victory led to the engagement of the Israelite army. They were empowered and strengthened by David’s victory to join the battle, relentlessly pursuing the Philistines. Though we have nothing to offer, and though we did nothing to win the battle against Satan, there is still a battle ahead, and we, like the Israelites, should be empowered to charge ahead. Why? Because Christ too empowers and strengthens us through the gift of the Holy Spirit to join the fight. We can now confidently pursue the destruction of sin in our lives and our community. We may lose a battle or two along the way, but we have the gospel that forgives and keeps us fighting. We know that our God wins the war.

Additional biblical passage: 1 Corinthians 12-14

We recently began a section at church on the spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12-14. At a very high level, let’s quickly use Paul as our model and swing back through E.F.A.P. before landing on power.

Example: Paul is an apostle (1 Co. 9:1-2) and prays better than the Corinthians (1 Co. 14:18). Jesus is the sent one from God (Jn. 17:3) and prays continually as a high priest (Heb. 7:25).

Fulfillment: Paul had very clear teaching and wisdom giftings (1 Co. 3:10), but he didn’t have every gift to be able to truly lead this church. Jesus not only has every gift—he is every gift. Paul had wisdom, Jesus is wisdom (1 Co. 1:24). Paul could teach the Word, Jesus is the Word (Jn. 1:1).

Atonement: Paul was gifted yet the “least of the apostles” (1 Tim. 1:15). Paul could minister not because he earned it, but because Jesus took the punishment Paul deserved. The gifts flow not from our merit, but from mercy. Jesus needed no atonement; he was sinless. Yet, fully gifted, on the cross he became “powerless,” with no gifts being displayed as he died for our sins.

Power: Because Jesus atoned for our sins, rose from the grave, and gave us his Spirit, we now have the power of the Spirit to do some of the very things Christ did. He is the prophet of God, but we have the Spirit who knows the mysteries of God living in us (1 Co. 2:16). Though we only see and know in part (1 Co. 13:9, 12), we can still unveil Christ, and make him known more and more. Though we don’t deserve to be used by God, Jesus took on that sin. Now we can be used by God to genuinely push back darkness here on this earth. Though we are not Christ to perfection, we still carry a “part” of him that we, because of his power, can now do good like he did (1 Co. 12:7).

Jesus is our power in all of the Scriptures. If and as we see this, our life and Scripture reading will flourish.

I hope this 4-part series helps you see Christ in the Scriptures and animates your Scripture reading in beautiful and worshipful ways. Feel free to respond with any thoughts on this series.