CHAPTER 1

Chapter 1

God’s Good
Creation:
The Beginning
of Salvation
History
 God created human beings in his
image and likeness
God sent his Son to the Jewish
people
God never ceased to show his care
for humans.

God sought to save humanity part

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to
assemble believers in the
God’s
by part after the fall community as part of his

God invited [Adam and Eve] to

intimate communion with himself
and clothed them with resplendent
promise to remain with us
forever Love
grace and justice

God made a promise to Abraham

and his descendants that one day
for Us
would be fulfilled through Christ

God continued to remind his

people of his promise of salvation

God Created Humans to Share in His Own Life

 Knowledge
of God
Natural Divine
Revelation Revelation
Observation
Observation
of other Pre-Christian Christian
of the natural
world human
beings

Primitive Mosaic Truths

revelation Patriarchal revelation: revealed by
made to revelation made to Jesus Christ or
Adam and Eve Moses and his apostles
prophets

God Created Humans to Share in His Own Life

 How should I live my life? Where am I going?

Philosophy What is the purpose of my life?

Why am I here?
The human attempt to
provide rational
explanations for why
things are the way they
are and for how people
should conduct their lives

“Through an utterly free decision, God has

revealed himself and given himself to [us]
…. God has fully revealed [his plan for us]
by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 50) God Created Humans to Share in His Own Life
 VISIBLE
• Trees and
I believe in one God, plants
• Mountains
the Father almighty, and deserts
maker of heaven and • Water
• Creatures of
earth, the Earth
• Sun and Moon INVISIBLE
of all things visible • Celestial
• Angels
and invisible. Bodies
• Human
souls
• Heaven

God Created Humans to Share in His Own Life

Old Testament
Angels in the Bible
“For he commands his
angels with regard to
you, to guard you
wherever you go. With
their hands they shall
support you, lest you
New Testament
To St. Joseph three times in a
dream about moving his family
(Mt 1:18-2:23)
To Mary
Angels announce the birth of
Christ to shepherds (Luke 2:14)

Proclaimed Christ’s resurrection

strike your foot against a
stone. ” -Psalm 91:11̶12
from the dead (Jn 20:12)
Ministered to Christ after his
temptation in the desert (Mt
4:11)
Comforted Jesus in his agony
in the garden (Lk 22:43)

God sent an angel to free St. Peter

after being jailed by Herod (Acts 12:
7-11)
God Created Humans to Share in His Own Life
The Allegorical Sense
seeks to understand Scripture by recognizing its connection and
significance to Christ. For example, the creation account of God
breathing life into the first humans foreshadows Christ bringing all
humans to new life through the Paschal Mystery.
Genesis 22: 1-18

Literal Sense Allegorical Sense

Abraham carries his son up the hill to offer Isaac is a prophetic figure of Jesus
up the sacrifice to God. God spares Abraham Abraham walks up the hill of Golgotha,
his son, Isaac, and substitutes a ram instead. carrying his cross to offer up his sacrifice .
God ultimately sacrifices his own son for our
eternal salvation.

Understanding How to Read Scripture

The Moral Sense
seeks to understand how Scripture teaches people to act more justly.
The Genesis creation accounts teach, for example, that one gender
should not be viewed as superior to the other. They also teach that all
humans should be stewards of creation.

Moral sense Scripture verse

God expected Abraham’s story to guide “And in thy seed shall all the nations of
his people to live within his moral guides. the earth be blessed, because thou hast
His faithful people must imitate the obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 22:18)
obedience of Abraham

Understanding How to Read Scripture

The Anagogical Sense
reminds you that the sacred words are intended to lead you to eternal
life. You might think, “If I want to go to heaven, what do I need to do to
treat men and women fairly and to respect God’s gift of the earth?”
Scripture provides answers to this and other similar questions.

Anagogical Sense Scripture verse

Jesus speaks of a wedding feast symbolizing “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a
the feast of Heaven king who gave a wedding feast for his son.”
(Mt. 22)

The Psalmist speaks of the eternal house of “I rejoiced at the things that were said to me:
God, Heaven that we have been promised We shall go into the house of the Lord.”
(Psalm 121:1)

Understanding How to Read Scripture

 Reading Luke 17: 11–19 applying the scriptural senses
As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village,
ten lepers met [him]. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity
on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were
cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at
the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him,
“Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

Literal Sense Allegorical Sense Moral Sense Anagogical Sense

Jesus came across 10 The 9 Jews represent the We are taught to give “Your faith has saved you,”
lepers healing them all. Jewish nation who was thanks to God for the reminds us to reflect upon
The Samaritan stopped, blessed by God but many blessings he where we are going after
giving glory to God. ungrateful for their bestows upon us our earthly life is
“And one of them, blessings. The Samaritan especially cleansing our complete.
realizing he had been represents the world to souls of disease.
healed, returned, whom the Good News of
glorifying God in a loud the New Testament is
voice; and he fell at the revealed.
feet of Jesus and thanked
him. “
Understanding How to Read Scripture
Journal
Reflection
How can
understanding the
four senses of
reading scripture
help us to discern
our true destiny?
Literary Forms in the Bible
Literary Form Purpose example
Poetry Prayer and praise psalms
Historical narrative
Historical fiction Time period, key themes, and Esther and Ruth
perceptions
Allegory Symbolic, spiritual ,or moral Parable of the Sower (the seed is
meanings the Word of God)
Parable Story and interpretation Parable of the Prodigal Son
Apocalyptic form Truths conveyed in astonishing Books of Daniel and Revelation
visions and devastating images
Epistles Letter writing to communicate a Pauline epistles and general
directive or other epistles

Understanding How to Read Scripture

Primeval History

The First Creation Account (Genesis 1:1—2:4a)

 Religious Truths of
First Creation Account
• There is only one God.
• God planned for creation.
• God created the world out of nothing.
• God ordered the world and made it good.
• God created humans in his own image, male and female.
• God created humans with an individual unique soul.
• God blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.
The First Creation Account (Genesis 1:1—2:4a)
The Second Creation Account (Genesis 2:4b-25)
 Etiology
An explanation of the cause
of something. In the Bible,
etiology appears as narrative,
typically reaching back to the
distant past to describe the
core meaning of something
that we experience
universally. For example,
Truths of Second Creation Account although Genesis attributes
the origin of sin to Adam and
• Humans are created both equal and different.
Eve in the past, it is also an
• Adam and Eve were born in a state of original.
explanation of humanity’s
holiness and original justice.
• God willed that man and woman be for each other. rejection of God at all times,
• God is not in the image of humans. even today.
The Second Creation Account (Genesis 2:4b-25)
 Two Become One
God created man
and woman to
express
something of his
Father Son inner life, and so
that we would be
capable of Man Woman
sharing in the
Blessed Trinity’s
Holy communion of
Spirit love.

The Second Creation Account (Genesis 2:4b-25)

References
http://catholicism.org/four-meanings-scripture.html