JANUARY- THEOLOGY

“Everyone has a theology,” and out of that theology comes a philosophy— a way of life. Even if you are an atheist, your atheism will produce a philosophy in your life.

However, the greatest knowledge is the knowledge of God. Our highest aspiration is to know God. It was Charles Spurgeon who at the age of 20 said,

“There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity.

Other subjects we can compass and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, ‘Behold I am wise.’ But when we come to this master science, finding that our plumbline cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass's colt; and with solemn exclamation, ‘I am but of yesterday, and know nothing.’ No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts of God.

But while the subject humbles the mind, it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. The most excellent study for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the glorious Trinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity.”

But, theology? Who has time for that? With Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Cowboys and Packers and Disney and Netflix. Who has time to study archaic writings to surmise this person known as God?

Such a sentiment is based upon the idea that the knowledge of this God will not contribute to one’s happiness— that this knowledge is irrelevant and impractical for the modern man! Give us HGTV and ESPN! However, buried deeply in the soul of man is an awareness that he was created for more.

Solomon noted that the Almighty has placed, “the world” in our hearts. Eternity! That’s the thing we think about when the sounds of the world’s distractions are quieted. We were made for more!

J.I. Packer in his book Knowing God made this argument for the necessity to know God.

As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesman to fly him to London, put him down without explanation in Trafalgar Square and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to others if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God.”

So, what should be know, or rather, what skeletal system is needed upon which to hang all other revelation of God?

1. God has spoken to man, and the Bible is his Word, given to us to make us wise unto salvation.

2. God is Lord and King over his world, he rules all things for his own glory, displaying his perfections in all that he does, in order that men and angels may worship and adore him.

3. God is Savior, active in sovereign love through the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue believers from the guilt and power of sin, to adopt them as his children and to bless them accordingly.

4. God is triune; there are within the Godhead three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the work of salvation is one in which all three act together, the Father purposing redemption, the Son securing it and the Spirit applying it.

5. Godliness means responding to God's revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service. Life must be seen and lived in the light of God's Word. This, and nothing else, is true religion.

WHY THEOLOGY FIRST?

This year, we are going to look at the great doctrines of the Bible.

Bibliology- the doctrine of the Bible

Christology- the doctrine of Christ

Pneumatology- the doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Anthropology- the doctrine of man

Hamartiology- the doctrine of sin

Soteriology- the doctrine of salvation

Angelology- the doctrine of angels

Ecclesiology- the doctrine of the church

Eschatology- the doctrine of last things

Theology- the study of God

Why, then, study theology first?

Charles Ryrie notes, “…there can be no revelation of God unless God Himself takes the initiative to make Himself known.”

Job 11:7: “Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?”

“The study of God as He is revealed in Scripture is supremely important because there is a sense in which every other doctrine refers to Him.” -Lockyer

Therefore, without a biblical theology one will err in the study of every other Bible discipline.

We study God-------> then the revelation of God through His Word-----> and finally move into other disciplines.

Dr. Munro Gibson noted that our knowledge of God comes in three phases. The order may vary, but the steps remain the same. They are as follows:

the being of God, dominating Scripture

the revelation of God in Christ

the record of that revelation by the Holy Spirit in the Sacred Word

Let us start there: the being of God. Who is God and how can we know Him?

Arguments for the Existence of God

Eric Metaxas in his book Is Atheism Dead noted that there are better questions to ask than a simple, “Is there a God?”

Questions like,

Why do we have something rather than nothing at all? Why are we here? Why is the earth here? Why is the universe here rather than nothing at all?

Of this, one theologian wrote, “In one sense man does not ask the question about God, his very existence raises the question about God!”

It was Jonathan Edwards who wrote, “Something exists. Nothing cannot create something. Therefore, a necessary and eternal ‘something’ exists.”

In classical theology, the following arguments have been made to argue the existence of God.

cosmological- a cosmos/world exists, and because something cannot come from nothing, there must be an original cause that is the reason for the world’s existence

teleological- the Greek word telos means “design,” so this argument suggests that there is order and useful arrangement in a system, which implies intelligence and purpose in the organizing cause

anthropological- Chafer: “There are philosophical and moral features in man’s constitution which may be traced back to find their origin in God.”

moral- this argument acknowledges that man has an awareness of right and wrong, a sense of morality. “Recognition of moral standards and concepts cannot be attributed to any evolutionary process.”

ontological- if a man could conceive of a perfect God who does not exist, then he could conceive of someone greater than God, which is impossible. Therefore, God exists.

All of these views are valid, but what is God’s view?

How does God argue for His own existence?

Psalm 19: “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, Where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, And his circuit unto the ends of it: And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

Isaiah 40:26: “Lift up your eyes on high, And behold who hath created these things, That bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names By the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; Not one faileth.”

Acts 14:17: “Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

This God must be. Man’s morality suggests it. The design of the world suggests it. And if there is this God,

• He must be supernatural in nature (as He created time and space). • He must be powerful (exceedingly). • He must be eternal (self-existent). • He must be omnipresent (He created space and is not limited by it). • He must be timeless and changeless (He created time). • He must be immaterial because He transcends space/physical. • He must be personal (the impersonal cannot create personality). • He must be infinite and singular as you cannot have two infinites. • He must be diverse yet have unity as unity and diversity exist in nature. • He must be intelligent (supremely). Only cognitive being can produce cognitive being. • He must be purposeful as He deliberately created everything. • He must be moral (no moral law can be had without a giver). • He must be caring (or no moral laws would have been given). These things being true, we now ask if any religion in the world describes such a Creator. The answer to this is yes: the God of the Bible fits this profile perfectly. He is supernatural (Genesis 1:1), powerful (Jeremiah 32:17), eternal (Psalm 90:2), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7), timeless/changeless (Malachi 3:6), immaterial (John 4:24), personal (Genesis 3:9), necessary (Colossians 1:17), infinite/singular (Jeremiah 23:24, Deuteronomy 6:4), diverse yet with unity (Matthew 28:19), intelligent (Psalm 147:4-5), purposeful (Jeremiah 29:11), moral (Daniel 9:14), and caring (1 Peter 5:6-7).

The Revelation of this God

The term “revelation” means, “unfolding; disclosure.” Thus, revelation is the disclosure of a thing or a person which is not or could not be known. Paul Enns notes that revelation is, “God’s disclosure to man, in which He reveals truth about Himself that man would not otherwise know.” This revelation is divided into two parts:

GENERAL

nature

Psalm 19--

content of the revelation- 19:1

continuousness of the revelation- 19:2

character of the revelation- 19:3

coverage of the revelation- 19:4-6 (Even a blind man can feel the heat of the sun)

One of Helen's friends was Philips Books who was a famous of his generation in america at one time. Helen was blind and deaf from the age of two, she had lived a life of isolation, unable to speak words she could not hear, unable to know what a word was. So, how did she know God? In one of her letters, Helen told Bishop Brooks that she had always known about God, even before she had any words. Even before she could call God anything, she knew God was there. She didn't know what it was. God had no name for her -- nothing had a name for her. She had no concept of a name. But in her darkness and isolation, she knew she was not alone. Someone was with her. She felt God's love. And when she received the gift of language and heard about God, she said she already knew. Phillips Brooks was thrilled by this. This was the God he knew. Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/christianity/687203-helen-keller-blind-deaf-but-knew.html

Romans 1:18-21: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

“Nature is God’s Braille for a blind humanity.”

history (Matthew 5;45; Acts 14:15-17)

Dr. A. T. Pierson says that-

History is God's age-long drama with its grand acts, its many scenes, its countless actors, and the whole universe the stage and theatre; only these are not fictions, but real august transactions. Details may be comparatively unimportant, because they are, like drapery and scenery, mere accessories to the main end--the great lesson God would teach, upon which attention should principally be fixed.

It can be truly said that "history" is HIS-story

In a measure, God has revealed Himself in His dealings with the human race. From Adam's day down through the ages, God has not left Himself without witness. Through succeeding generations.

God's over-ruling Providence has been at work. In conspicuous historical events He is found in the shadows, achieving His purpose.

conscience (Romans 2:14-15)

SPECIAL

Nature, history, and conscience only partially reveal the existence of God. It is to the Bible alone that we turn for the complete and final revelation of His words, works, and ways.

The Bible presents man with a four-fold revelation of God--

in nature, a God above us

in history, a God beyond us

in law, a God against us

in grace, a God for us and in us