Theology is the study of God. During the remainder of this year we are going to think about God according to five of the categories of what is called Systematic Theology... in fact, you should have begun taking notes and will begin commenting and quoting readings and categorizing this knowledge into five sections of your notebook.
We can say that "Systematic Theology is the study of God with this knowledge divided into categories"
The categories we will use are:
Bibliology (the study OF the Bible)
Theology Proper (the study of the nature and attributes of God)
Christology (the study of Christ)
Pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit)
Biblical Anthropology (the study of man, sin and salvation - this one is really a combination of three categories, but we will simplify things by using this one category)
Your notebook should have these five categories among the dividers.
As a Modernist (kind of), I am interested in knowledge but I want to say a word about mystery.
I want to address the amazing amount of really cool ideas in the Bible that seem to defy human understanding. As finite humans seeking to study who God is, we cannot answer everything, we cannot come to a full explanation of all things. We are not God. Our minds are limited, they are fallen. There are some things that I take on faith. My heart believes and the Bible informs my mind,[1] but - there are some things in the study of God that are paradoxical, mysterious and the Modernist cannot answer every question... YET, there is clearly enough knowledge that we DO understand enough about God to know God well in a relationship.
Yes, paradox exists[2]...
The church has recognized mysteries that are hard to wrap our brains around,
BUT we can know God and know Him well...
THUS, I have found that the categories of systematic theology are a way to seek that understanding...
now on to Bibliology
__________________________
[1] A student of mine in class mentioned this quote by G.K.Chesterton, which turned out to be from his amazing book, Orthodoxy: "You can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it." This is a great quote. While googling it, I found this blog post which is also very interesting. It's title is "G. K. Chesterton, Postmodernist", click here to read it.
[2] We can wrestle with eternally based ideas, mysteries and paradoxes like:
- the nature of the Trinity
- the hypostatic union
- predestination and free will
- God outside of time and space
- the existence of time itself
- and so on
without KNOWING the answers... Can we wrestle with ideas and slowly grow in understanding without being certain about the formulae? I hope so... that is what make the journey of learning and knowing God interesting.
Showing posts with label Theology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theology. Show all posts
Bibliology
God is there and He is not silent. This is actually the title of a book by, none other than, Francis Schaeffer. In the above statement are two assertions that we need to consider.
God is there.
and
He is not silent.
I begin this post with this idea because I mentioned some ideas on mystery at the end of the "Studying God" post). In that "sort-of-footnote" I raised some issues about paradox and mystery. BUT there are two things in my mind that are not at all paradoxical or mysterious:
God is there and He is not silent. So, we look at the 'not silent' bit. God reveals Himself to us. The clearest revelation is in the Bible. So, we do BIBLIOLOGY - the study OF the Bible.
First, why did I all cap "OF" above? Because I need to make sure you get the idea that Bibliology is not Bible Study, it is the study OF the Bible... what is it? how did we get it? can we trust it?
Second, why is Bibliology first in this presentation of systematic theology? The study of the Bible is the first category since it is the source of knowledge about God [1]
- - or - -
we can say that the Bible is the basis of Theology. Therefore, we learn about the Bible first. Remember, we need to consider not just the 'what' of belief, but the 'why' behind that 'what.'
So, God is not silent, he has revealed Himself to us. There are two types of revealing - read Psalm 19 and understand that this three part Psalm focuses first on general revelation and then special revelation and then ends with a request for a blessing.
So, we are introduced to the two types of revelation:
a) General - the creation itself
b) Special (sometime called specific) - the very words of God to man.
GENERAL REVELATION
All of God's creation classifies as General Revelation. The arguments for the existence of God that came from Aquinas and others have their basis in the fact that you and I can look around and see things which God can use to point us to Himself.
I see the stars, I am in awe of their beauty, their vastness... I "see" God.
But God speaks too.
SPECIAL REVELATION
Special revelation comes to us as God speaks, as He inspires the Bible.
Inspiration is... (KJV 2Tim 3:16) the 'God-breathed' message of God given to man as the Holy Spirit works through this human writer using the writer's
a) personality
b) education
c) experience
to produce the message that God has for man.
The question is raised: Doesn't the human vehicle introduce sin and therefore error? My answer is no. I reason that the Holy Spirit is inspiring the human author and this eliminates the concern over error. The Holy Spirit is greater than both the sin nature and the Enemy himself and therefore God the Holy Spirit has the ability to produce the message that God intends for man to receive in spite of the writer. Thus, the process which is here referred to as inspiration produces a text which I consider to be free from error. This writing, the original, is called the autograph.
There are (perhaps thankfully) no autographs in existence today. This is bad in that it would be cool to have an original but if we had one, I am afraid that it would be the subject of idolatry and thus displeasing to the God of the text. But we are not to worry.
Even though we have no autographs, we have an amazing wealth of manuscripts (MSS.) which point us, with virtually no question in matters of faith and teaching, to the original message. This wealth of MSS provide us with the basis for the translations that are available to us today. F.F. Bruce documents many important points in his book THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS: Are they Reliable? which is available for you to read on line, click here. [2] These MSS, their findings and history are the basis for the "extra-biblical argument" for the trustworthiness of Scripture.
The Extra-Biblical Argument:
Some facts to remember that may be helpful to you follow. Over five thousand complete New Testaments from ancient times including several MSS from the 4th century including (the oldest?) Codex Sinaiticus at the British Library. Further, there are over thirty thousand portions of books (fragments) available to scholars. These existence of these document are the basis for the argument which follows.
First, when one examines the vast number of New Testament documents available which are dated from a long period of time (1000 years) and
Second, that these texts were discovered over a wide geographical area (the whole of the Roman Empire at its peak) one would consider the probability for error to be very high but
Finally, the reality is that the amount of variance that is discovered in matters of theology is virtually non-existent.
Thus we may say that God not only inspired His message to us but protected it in the transmission process [3] that produced many of the translations we might use today.[4]
Internal Evidence:
Next we consider the internal evidence for the trustworthiness of Scripture by looking at several key texts: 2 Tim 3:16, Hebrews 4:12 and 2Pet 3:14-18. These texts speak to the trustworthy nature of the Scripture. Please note my capitalization of Scripture since I refer to the Bible. I always capitalize these in this context, and when you write for me, you should as well. See also 1Pet. 1:10-12, 2Pet. 1:16-21 (esp. v. 20-21), John 5:47, Matt. 5:17f, Luke 24:27, 44f, John 10:34-36.
Finally, a question that has become more important recently, especially since the publication of The DaVinci Code (which, while a really fun read, I wish people didn't take it so seriously - see NT Wright's excellent response). This important question is the subject of: Which books SHOULD be in the New Testament? I will not dwell too much here, please know three of the criteria to include a book in the New Testament:
--connection between the writer and an apostle
--consistency with the rest of God's message
--acceptance by the early church leaders
There are other criteria, but this is all I am requiring of you.
Personal Experience:
When I think of putting forth an argument for the Christian Scripture, I would be remiss if I did not mention the argument from Personal Experience. In one of the texts you just read, the writer of Hebrews says that Scripture enables us to be discerning. In the Psalms we find comfort. The Scripture really does come alive in us as we read it. Why? Because the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures awakens us to it and uses the Bible to awaken and challenge us. I have had so many experiences where God has used His word in my heart that this must be a part of my argument.
Finally, we have looked at Bibliology first, because it is the means by which God has revealed Himself to us. It is the means by which we grow in our understanding of God's nature and attributes, and that is what we go to next: Theology Proper.
___________________________________
[1] I need here to point to J. I. Packer's idea that there is a big difference between knowing God and knowing ABOUT God. Tons of people know great amounts of information about God while simultaneously not knowing God. This is tragic... I hope this is not you... I hope our seeking to know God is relational and not just propositional. Some have said the "the longest distance to travel is often the eighteen inches between the head and the heart."
[2] a recent visit by a leader of evangelicalism told me a little about a new find of MSS which will significantly increase the number of MSS which are even older than those studied today thus increasing the volume from which comparison can be made...
[3] what I call the "transmission process" is this:
God is there.
and
He is not silent.
I begin this post with this idea because I mentioned some ideas on mystery at the end of the "Studying God" post). In that "sort-of-footnote" I raised some issues about paradox and mystery. BUT there are two things in my mind that are not at all paradoxical or mysterious:
God is there and He is not silent. So, we look at the 'not silent' bit. God reveals Himself to us. The clearest revelation is in the Bible. So, we do BIBLIOLOGY - the study OF the Bible.
First, why did I all cap "OF" above? Because I need to make sure you get the idea that Bibliology is not Bible Study, it is the study OF the Bible... what is it? how did we get it? can we trust it?
Second, why is Bibliology first in this presentation of systematic theology? The study of the Bible is the first category since it is the source of knowledge about God [1]
- - or - -
we can say that the Bible is the basis of Theology. Therefore, we learn about the Bible first. Remember, we need to consider not just the 'what' of belief, but the 'why' behind that 'what.'
So, God is not silent, he has revealed Himself to us. There are two types of revealing - read Psalm 19 and understand that this three part Psalm focuses first on general revelation and then special revelation and then ends with a request for a blessing.
So, we are introduced to the two types of revelation:
a) General - the creation itself
b) Special (sometime called specific) - the very words of God to man.
GENERAL REVELATION
All of God's creation classifies as General Revelation. The arguments for the existence of God that came from Aquinas and others have their basis in the fact that you and I can look around and see things which God can use to point us to Himself.
I see the stars, I am in awe of their beauty, their vastness... I "see" God.
But God speaks too.
SPECIAL REVELATION
Special revelation comes to us as God speaks, as He inspires the Bible.
Inspiration is... (KJV 2Tim 3:16) the 'God-breathed' message of God given to man as the Holy Spirit works through this human writer using the writer's
a) personality
b) education
c) experience
to produce the message that God has for man.
The question is raised: Doesn't the human vehicle introduce sin and therefore error? My answer is no. I reason that the Holy Spirit is inspiring the human author and this eliminates the concern over error. The Holy Spirit is greater than both the sin nature and the Enemy himself and therefore God the Holy Spirit has the ability to produce the message that God intends for man to receive in spite of the writer. Thus, the process which is here referred to as inspiration produces a text which I consider to be free from error. This writing, the original, is called the autograph.
There are (perhaps thankfully) no autographs in existence today. This is bad in that it would be cool to have an original but if we had one, I am afraid that it would be the subject of idolatry and thus displeasing to the God of the text. But we are not to worry.
Even though we have no autographs, we have an amazing wealth of manuscripts (MSS.) which point us, with virtually no question in matters of faith and teaching, to the original message. This wealth of MSS provide us with the basis for the translations that are available to us today. F.F. Bruce documents many important points in his book THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS: Are they Reliable? which is available for you to read on line, click here. [2] These MSS, their findings and history are the basis for the "extra-biblical argument" for the trustworthiness of Scripture.
The Extra-Biblical Argument:
Some facts to remember that may be helpful to you follow. Over five thousand complete New Testaments from ancient times including several MSS from the 4th century including (the oldest?) Codex Sinaiticus at the British Library. Further, there are over thirty thousand portions of books (fragments) available to scholars. These existence of these document are the basis for the argument which follows.
First, when one examines the vast number of New Testament documents available which are dated from a long period of time (1000 years) and
Second, that these texts were discovered over a wide geographical area (the whole of the Roman Empire at its peak) one would consider the probability for error to be very high but
Finally, the reality is that the amount of variance that is discovered in matters of theology is virtually non-existent.
Thus we may say that God not only inspired His message to us but protected it in the transmission process [3] that produced many of the translations we might use today.[4]
Internal Evidence:
Next we consider the internal evidence for the trustworthiness of Scripture by looking at several key texts: 2 Tim 3:16, Hebrews 4:12 and 2Pet 3:14-18. These texts speak to the trustworthy nature of the Scripture. Please note my capitalization of Scripture since I refer to the Bible. I always capitalize these in this context, and when you write for me, you should as well. See also 1Pet. 1:10-12, 2Pet. 1:16-21 (esp. v. 20-21), John 5:47, Matt. 5:17f, Luke 24:27, 44f, John 10:34-36.
Finally, a question that has become more important recently, especially since the publication of The DaVinci Code (which, while a really fun read, I wish people didn't take it so seriously - see NT Wright's excellent response). This important question is the subject of: Which books SHOULD be in the New Testament? I will not dwell too much here, please know three of the criteria to include a book in the New Testament:
--connection between the writer and an apostle
--consistency with the rest of God's message
--acceptance by the early church leaders
There are other criteria, but this is all I am requiring of you.
Personal Experience:
When I think of putting forth an argument for the Christian Scripture, I would be remiss if I did not mention the argument from Personal Experience. In one of the texts you just read, the writer of Hebrews says that Scripture enables us to be discerning. In the Psalms we find comfort. The Scripture really does come alive in us as we read it. Why? Because the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures awakens us to it and uses the Bible to awaken and challenge us. I have had so many experiences where God has used His word in my heart that this must be a part of my argument.
Finally, we have looked at Bibliology first, because it is the means by which God has revealed Himself to us. It is the means by which we grow in our understanding of God's nature and attributes, and that is what we go to next: Theology Proper.
___________________________________
[1] I need here to point to J. I. Packer's idea that there is a big difference between knowing God and knowing ABOUT God. Tons of people know great amounts of information about God while simultaneously not knowing God. This is tragic... I hope this is not you... I hope our seeking to know God is relational and not just propositional. Some have said the "the longest distance to travel is often the eighteen inches between the head and the heart."
[2] a recent visit by a leader of evangelicalism told me a little about a new find of MSS which will significantly increase the number of MSS which are even older than those studied today thus increasing the volume from which comparison can be made...
[3] what I call the "transmission process" is this:
AUTOGRAPHS
copied into
MSS
collected and distributed
more MSS copied
over the first 1400 years
and then
in the 18th - 20th centuries
when scores of thousands of MSS and fragments from as early as 120AD are found
collected, compared, gathered and translated to the excellent
translations of today
they produce
God's Word to us in language we can understand
Theology Proper
We now turn to THEOLOGY PROPER which is where we consider the nature and attributes of God.
These are the nature and attributes which all three persons of the Godhead (the Trinity) share. So, we might put it this way: Theology Proper is where we consider that which God is. This is compared to the categories which follow it: Christology and Pneumatology, which contain the specific understandings of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Could one say that Theology Proper is about God the Father? Maybe, but this would not be fully accurate, so I would avoid such an assertion. The point of Theology Proper is to investigate what we can understand about God. The point of Theology is to contemplate the nature of God. Because God is infinite, we cannot know all there is, but we can learn and comprehend what is necessary in order that we may know God well. This is the point of God revealing Himself to us: That we may know God well.
Our first text is Psalm 139 which is a great introduction to "the omnis":
a) Omnipotent - God is greater than physics, not bound to the laws of physics, God is all powerful
b) Omnipresent - God transcends time and space, He is not limited to time and space
c) Omniscient - God has all knowledge
These are the three "omnis," but there are more attributes.
Eternal: God has always been. God is. God always will be. This is similar to omnipresence when we tie time and space together. This is referred to as the 'eternality' of God. God is eternal.
God is Trinity. The doctrine (an agreed upon teaching about something) of the Trinity is a difficult concept for many people to try to wrap their brains around. Trying to put it simply: God is one being in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Father is referred to as the First person. The Son is known as the second person. The Holy Spirit is called the third person.
God is not three gods, God's persons are united in mind, in purpose and in action. The word 'triune' is used to indicate the trinitarian and unified nature of God. The triune God has a single plan and works in perfect unity and harmony to bring this plan into being for fellowship and communion with humans.
Jesus mentions (John 17) being 'sent' by the Father; He also said in John 15:26 that He would send the Holy Spirit. From this we may understand that there is perfect cooperation in the work of God, what I call 'voluntary subordination' between the persons of the Godhead. No competition, no pride, no fighting about who is first... we see perfect cooperation here. This work, done on our behalf, is completed to satisfy the just nature of God who can not allow sin to go without being dealt with. Jesus did that, He dealt with the sin - on the cross.
So God is Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit. But there are other attributes as well.
God is Just. His decisions are always based on that which is right and, unlike man, these decisions are not subject to fallen emotions. This flows naturally from the idea that God is Holy.
Holy: this means that He is 'different', 'other', 'separate'... He is not a part of His creation. The universe is His creation, He is greater and beyond His creation. Hence, God transcends the creation. His greatness stems from this Holiness. Yet this Holy God is merciful as well.
Merciful. God cares about His creation. The Son came to us to bring the ultimate Mercy. Mercy should be understood as the with-holding of a just punishment in accordance with the will of the just judge, God is such a just judge. This mercy is brought forth in the plan of God because of the work of Christ, so we turn to Christology.
These are the nature and attributes which all three persons of the Godhead (the Trinity) share. So, we might put it this way: Theology Proper is where we consider that which God is. This is compared to the categories which follow it: Christology and Pneumatology, which contain the specific understandings of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Could one say that Theology Proper is about God the Father? Maybe, but this would not be fully accurate, so I would avoid such an assertion. The point of Theology Proper is to investigate what we can understand about God. The point of Theology is to contemplate the nature of God. Because God is infinite, we cannot know all there is, but we can learn and comprehend what is necessary in order that we may know God well. This is the point of God revealing Himself to us: That we may know God well.
Our first text is Psalm 139 which is a great introduction to "the omnis":
a) Omnipotent - God is greater than physics, not bound to the laws of physics, God is all powerful
b) Omnipresent - God transcends time and space, He is not limited to time and space
c) Omniscient - God has all knowledge
These are the three "omnis," but there are more attributes.
Eternal: God has always been. God is. God always will be. This is similar to omnipresence when we tie time and space together. This is referred to as the 'eternality' of God. God is eternal.
God is Trinity. The doctrine (an agreed upon teaching about something) of the Trinity is a difficult concept for many people to try to wrap their brains around. Trying to put it simply: God is one being in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Father is referred to as the First person. The Son is known as the second person. The Holy Spirit is called the third person.
God is not three gods, God's persons are united in mind, in purpose and in action. The word 'triune' is used to indicate the trinitarian and unified nature of God. The triune God has a single plan and works in perfect unity and harmony to bring this plan into being for fellowship and communion with humans.
Jesus mentions (John 17) being 'sent' by the Father; He also said in John 15:26 that He would send the Holy Spirit. From this we may understand that there is perfect cooperation in the work of God, what I call 'voluntary subordination' between the persons of the Godhead. No competition, no pride, no fighting about who is first... we see perfect cooperation here. This work, done on our behalf, is completed to satisfy the just nature of God who can not allow sin to go without being dealt with. Jesus did that, He dealt with the sin - on the cross.
So God is Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit. But there are other attributes as well.
God is Just. His decisions are always based on that which is right and, unlike man, these decisions are not subject to fallen emotions. This flows naturally from the idea that God is Holy.
Holy: this means that He is 'different', 'other', 'separate'... He is not a part of His creation. The universe is His creation, He is greater and beyond His creation. Hence, God transcends the creation. His greatness stems from this Holiness. Yet this Holy God is merciful as well.
Merciful. God cares about His creation. The Son came to us to bring the ultimate Mercy. Mercy should be understood as the with-holding of a just punishment in accordance with the will of the just judge, God is such a just judge. This mercy is brought forth in the plan of God because of the work of Christ, so we turn to Christology.
Christology
We now come to a contemplation of the person and work of Jesus in CHRISTOLOGY. Jesus of Nazareth is the Second person of the Trinity, He is God. In Christology we are interested in considering the person and work of Christ. This is often refered to as the nature of Jesus and His life and ministry.
It makes sense to think first about his eternality in Gen 1.1, John 1.1, and Col 1.16-20. His eternality is an aspect of His Deity. To forgive all sins, Jesus must be God. This aspect of His dual nature is what sets followers of Jesus apart from others ways of believing.
We must also consider his humanity and the fact that He promised to come in Gen 3.15. This text is very important as we consider the following statements: 'you will strike his heel' - crucifixion and 'he will crush your head' - resurrection - the enemy's defeat is assured, the sin. Further, we need to look at John 1.14, this is the incarnation. So Jesus has what we call a dual nature. The technical term for this is the hypostatic union, He is 100% man while at the same time being 100% God.
It is necessary that Jesus be both human so that He would be tempted as we are, and that He die and that he be able to, as a human be able to empathize with us as our great high priest. As our great high priest, (Heb 4.14-16) He has empathy for us and suffered for us (Heb 5.5-9).
Thanks be to God for the work he has done for humans... Jesus prayed to the Father and asked him to sent the Spirit, so we turn next to Pneumatology...
TEXTS WE EXAMINED IN CLASS ON THIS TOPIC:
Matt. 1:18, 22-23
Mark 6.30-7.23
Mark 15.21-16.8
John 1:19-34
Col. 1:15-20
Heb. 4:14-16
Heb. 10:11-14
Rev. 4:1 - 5:14
It makes sense to think first about his eternality in Gen 1.1, John 1.1, and Col 1.16-20. His eternality is an aspect of His Deity. To forgive all sins, Jesus must be God. This aspect of His dual nature is what sets followers of Jesus apart from others ways of believing.
We must also consider his humanity and the fact that He promised to come in Gen 3.15. This text is very important as we consider the following statements: 'you will strike his heel' - crucifixion and 'he will crush your head' - resurrection - the enemy's defeat is assured, the sin. Further, we need to look at John 1.14, this is the incarnation. So Jesus has what we call a dual nature. The technical term for this is the hypostatic union, He is 100% man while at the same time being 100% God.
It is necessary that Jesus be both human so that He would be tempted as we are, and that He die and that he be able to, as a human be able to empathize with us as our great high priest. As our great high priest, (Heb 4.14-16) He has empathy for us and suffered for us (Heb 5.5-9).
Thanks be to God for the work he has done for humans... Jesus prayed to the Father and asked him to sent the Spirit, so we turn next to Pneumatology...
TEXTS WE EXAMINED IN CLASS ON THIS TOPIC:
Matt. 1:18, 22-23
Mark 6.30-7.23
Mark 15.21-16.8
John 1:19-34
Col. 1:15-20
Heb. 4:14-16
Heb. 10:11-14
Rev. 4:1 - 5:14
Pneumatology
It is unfortunate that the study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit, PNEUMATOLOGY, is given so little emphasis in many quarters of Christian thought. This could stem from the relatively small amount of text in the New Testament which speaks explicitly to the Holy Spirit. These texts are: John 14, John 16, Rom 8, and the book of Acts, which some commentators have said should be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles (instead of the Acts of the Apostles)
As noted above, the study of the Holy Spirit has been in some quarters the most ignored of the doctrines of God. However, as those who has read the above linked texts will realize, we should know the doctrine because it is the Holy Spirit who lives in, empowers and strengthens the believers who follow Jesus.
First we should consider that the Holy Spirit is indeed God. The Spirit was already present at creation and is therefore, like the other persons of the Trinity... eternal in nature.
In the work of the Holy Spirit, we note that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the helper, the comforter, the counselor. It is important for us to realize that the Holy Spirit knows our needs and our prayers because He indwells the believer. At the point of justification, the Holy Spirit comes to live IN the follower of Jesus, sealing us forever, and enhancing our conscience.
The Holy Spirit enhances our conscience to enable us to know, within our hearts, what is right. Every human has a conscience; but that conscience is impaired by the fall. Hence, when the Spirit indwells us, our conscience is awakened to that which God's wishes from us: His will. Thus we are better able to live for God.
We should further understand that this pleasing of God comes from growing more like Christ, this is sanctification. In that we are being sanctified, we understand that it is the Holy Spirit who is the agent of this sanctification. To fully understand what this is about, we must now consider human nature, sin and salvation... what we will term Biblical Anthropology.
TEXTS WE EXAMINED IN CLASS
John 16:5-16
John 15:26-27
Acts 2:1-4
1Cor 12:1-11
Gal. 5:16-26
As noted above, the study of the Holy Spirit has been in some quarters the most ignored of the doctrines of God. However, as those who has read the above linked texts will realize, we should know the doctrine because it is the Holy Spirit who lives in, empowers and strengthens the believers who follow Jesus.
First we should consider that the Holy Spirit is indeed God. The Spirit was already present at creation and is therefore, like the other persons of the Trinity... eternal in nature.
In the work of the Holy Spirit, we note that Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the helper, the comforter, the counselor. It is important for us to realize that the Holy Spirit knows our needs and our prayers because He indwells the believer. At the point of justification, the Holy Spirit comes to live IN the follower of Jesus, sealing us forever, and enhancing our conscience.
The Holy Spirit enhances our conscience to enable us to know, within our hearts, what is right. Every human has a conscience; but that conscience is impaired by the fall. Hence, when the Spirit indwells us, our conscience is awakened to that which God's wishes from us: His will. Thus we are better able to live for God.
We should further understand that this pleasing of God comes from growing more like Christ, this is sanctification. In that we are being sanctified, we understand that it is the Holy Spirit who is the agent of this sanctification. To fully understand what this is about, we must now consider human nature, sin and salvation... what we will term Biblical Anthropology.
TEXTS WE EXAMINED IN CLASS
John 16:5-16
John 15:26-27
Acts 2:1-4
1Cor 12:1-11
Gal. 5:16-26
Biblical Anthropology
We have been considering the nature of God to this point. Next, we need to begin considering the nature of humans and their relationship with God, this is BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY. In fact, the category that we are considering (as our fifth and final category) is a combination of three theological categories: humanity, sin and salvation (there are other theological terms for these but you are not responsible for them).
So we begin with human nature. The first and, according to some, the most important thing to consider about the nature of the human is that humans are made in the "image of God." This is, in fact, very important to realize because God values each human so much. It is the human who has received the revelation of God. It is the human who communicates with God. It is the human for whom God paid the ultimate sacrifice - in dying for the human's reconciliation with Himself.
What then, is the image of God? Some have said that it is the ability to communicate with God, others that it is the ability to love God, still others the ability to imagine. I think all of these are correct. But I would contend that it is also about higher thought, reason.
Further, when we consider the nature of humans, there are two ways of thinking about this, humans are:
a) two part: body and soul
b) three part: body, soul (mind, emotion and will) and spirit (everlasting)
There is a fine distinction between the soul and the spirit. Some would say that the second idea of body, soul and spirit are the most biblical as they point ot the teaching of Paul and the quote in Hebrews about God's Word separating the soul and spirit. Which is right is not what I ask you to figure out, but that you give thought to the everlasting aspect of you.
The human is fallen. Fallen-ness affects all aspects of human life. Some would go so far as to assert that the whole of creation was impacted by the fall. The ground was cursed, says Genesis. The creation eagerly awaits the redemption of the human to set things right, says Paul.
The fallen-ness of the human affects not just his spirit in that they are separated from God BUT it causes them to be sick, hurt, ill, and die... but the impact is also on the emotions, the will and all aspects of life...
Humans are made in God's image. They are fallen. They need to be reconciled with God, because of sin.
Definitions
Sin - “to miss the mark.”
Salvation - God making humans right with Himself as they have faith in God’s work.
Justification - God declaring a human to be right with God
Sanctification – the process by which the believer is steadily and gradually made into Christ-likeness by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
One of the great explanations of man, sin and salvation is the New Testament book of Romans. This important book is looked upon as pinnacle of Paul's writing... but first, we need to consider the life of the writer, Paul the Apostle.
TEXTS EXAMINED IN CLASS
Gen. 2-3
Acts. 3.17-26
Deut 6.4-6
1Chron. 28.9
Luke 10.25-28
1Pet. 3.8
Psa 51
So we begin with human nature. The first and, according to some, the most important thing to consider about the nature of the human is that humans are made in the "image of God." This is, in fact, very important to realize because God values each human so much. It is the human who has received the revelation of God. It is the human who communicates with God. It is the human for whom God paid the ultimate sacrifice - in dying for the human's reconciliation with Himself.
What then, is the image of God? Some have said that it is the ability to communicate with God, others that it is the ability to love God, still others the ability to imagine. I think all of these are correct. But I would contend that it is also about higher thought, reason.
Further, when we consider the nature of humans, there are two ways of thinking about this, humans are:
a) two part: body and soul
b) three part: body, soul (mind, emotion and will) and spirit (everlasting)
There is a fine distinction between the soul and the spirit. Some would say that the second idea of body, soul and spirit are the most biblical as they point ot the teaching of Paul and the quote in Hebrews about God's Word separating the soul and spirit. Which is right is not what I ask you to figure out, but that you give thought to the everlasting aspect of you.
The human is fallen. Fallen-ness affects all aspects of human life. Some would go so far as to assert that the whole of creation was impacted by the fall. The ground was cursed, says Genesis. The creation eagerly awaits the redemption of the human to set things right, says Paul.
The fallen-ness of the human affects not just his spirit in that they are separated from God BUT it causes them to be sick, hurt, ill, and die... but the impact is also on the emotions, the will and all aspects of life...
Humans are made in God's image. They are fallen. They need to be reconciled with God, because of sin.
Definitions
Sin - “to miss the mark.”
Salvation - God making humans right with Himself as they have faith in God’s work.
Justification - God declaring a human to be right with God
Sanctification – the process by which the believer is steadily and gradually made into Christ-likeness by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
One of the great explanations of man, sin and salvation is the New Testament book of Romans. This important book is looked upon as pinnacle of Paul's writing... but first, we need to consider the life of the writer, Paul the Apostle.
TEXTS EXAMINED IN CLASS
Gen. 2-3
Acts. 3.17-26
Deut 6.4-6
1Chron. 28.9
Luke 10.25-28
1Pet. 3.8
Psa 51
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