Soul Rejoice

In Genesis 3, a mysterious and menacing character suddenly appears on the scene. It is unclear at first glance exactly who this tempter is, because he doesn’t (visibly) appear in Genesis or the rest of the Torah. The only clear Old Testament references to him outside of Genesis 3 are in 1 Chronicles 21 (where he is shown to be a secondary cause of God), Job 1 and 2 (where he is clearly subject to God’s sovereignty), and Zechariah 3 (where he is an adversary to be rebuked). Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 should probably be added to the list, though they are disputed (see discussion below). There is another possibility if the King James translation is correct in Psalm 109:6 (Appoint a wicked man over him, And let an accuser (or Satan) stand at his right hand).

THE NATURE AND WORK OF ANGELS Angelology - Lesson 19 The subject of angels has fascinated people since the beginning of time. The subject is still widely discussed, even in our post-Enlightenment, post-modern, naturalistic, and anti-supernatural society. However, much ignorance abounds on the subject. People tend to rely on their own experiences or the experiences of others to shape their understanding of angels. [1] This only leads to confusion; and it all-too-often results in people—even Christians—chasing after angelic experiences. For this reason, we need to be grounded in the truth of God’s Word. We go to God’s Word to pull together (systematically) all of the information concerning angels, so that we can synthesize it into a theology of angels. This lesson will concentrate on the holy (elect) angels. Lesson 20 will focus on Satan and the demons.

THE LIFE AND COMMUNITY OF MANKIND Anthropology - Lesson 18 In this lesson, we consider the life and community of mankind. When we view these topics through the lens of Scripture, we are brought to see God’s purpose for individuals and peoples and governments and nations. God created people in community. While we act individually, we are also part of a whole. Of course, that community has been infected by sin (even the church is not completely free of it), but we yearn for a day when our relationships will be free from the corruption of sin.

  THE CREATION AND COMPOSITION OF MANKIND Anthropology - Lesson 17 Psalm 8:4 – “What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?” It is important that we have a biblical anthropology, because the culture we live in is so steeped in secular evolutionary philosophy. A biblical anthropology will inform us about the hot-button issues of our day. With a correct anthropology, we can navigate the waters of topics such as abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, transgenderism, Communism, etc. The world is confused about these things, but God’s Word is clear. The Bible teaches us that mankind is a direct creation of God, imbued with dignity and purpose and worth by being made in the image of God. Though mankind rebelled against God in Adam, the image of God still persists in every man, woman, and child; though distorted by sin. Christ Jesus, the perfect image of God, laid down His life, so that all who believe in Him will be renewed into the image of Go...

  THE BAPTISM AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Pneumatology - Lesson 16 Having studied the person and works of the Holy Spirit, we need to take some time to consider the gifts that the Spirit gives to the church. This topic is crucial. There is much controversy surrounding the nature of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church. We would do well to internalize the Scripture’s teaching so that we will not be fooled by false arguments. First, we must consider what the Scripture teaches about a believer being baptized by the Spirit. Second, we will consider the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Finally, we will consider what it is to be filled with the Spirit.  

  THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Pneumatology - Lesson 15 Systematic Theology draws together all of the pertinent information about the subjects that are addressed in the Bible. Having studied what the Bible has to say about itself (Bibliology), the existence and works of God (Theology Proper), and the person and works Jesus (Christology); we now turn our attention to the study of the person and works of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology). The neglect of this study always leads to the detriment of the church. On the other hand, a proper attention to a study of the Holy Spirit—as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures—has always yielded abundant blessing.

  THE WORKS OF CHRIST IN HEAVEN Christology - Lesson 14   Luke 24:50-51 – And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.   Having accomplished the work of redemption, Christ ascended to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Because He completed the work of redemption (Heb 10:12-13; 12:2), Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-11) into the glory of heaven (1 Tim 3:16) to take His seat at the right hand of His Father (Matt 26:64; Acts 5:31; Eph 1:19-20) on the throne of His Father (Rev 3:21). This is in fulfillment of Psalm 110:1.   Though He is removed from earth, He continues His work in heaven. [1] “It would be a mistake to infer from the fact that the Bible speaks of Christ’s ‘sitting’ at the right hand of God, that the life to which the risen Lord ascended is a life of rest. It is and continues to be a life of constant a...

  THE WORKS OF CHRIST ON EARTH Christology - Lesson 13 This lesson will highlight some of the works of Jesus Christ during His life on earth. Due to the nature of this overview, we will not be able to examine every text possible about the works of Christ. We must keep in mind what John ended His gospel with: There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).   This lesson on the works of Jesus Christ during His life on earth will essentially be an exposition of Philippians 2:5-8.

THE NAMES AND NATURES OF JESUS CHRIST Christology - Lesson 12 Our definition of Systematic Theology is that it is the study of the being and works of God by gathering together the biblical information on different topics and arranging them together in a logical fashion.   We come to our third topic: Christology. This is the study of the biblical data about our Lord. As always, our purpose is to give a general overview of systematic theology; an introductory glance at each of the doctrines. For this reason, we cannot gather together every text; but we will attempt to give a good representation of biblical texts for each subject discussed.   I once heard Sinclair Ferguson say that if you asked the average Evangelical Christian to tell you all they know about Jesus, they wouldn’t even take up five minutes before their knowledge of the subject was exhausted. This is not to shame anyone. This has served as a challenge to myself. I hope it will serve as a challenge to you also...

THE DECREE OF GOD Theology Proper - Lesson 11 The Bible has presented us with the God who is perfect in every way, without beginning or end, infinite in nature, incomparable in every way. We have been humbled as we have learned that God is not just a bigger and better version of us. He is who He is; and we are merely His creations, weak and finite, dependent and needy. Everything we have comes from His hand. Whatever we are, it is because He knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psa 139:13); and even there He knew us and had plans for us (cf. Jer 1:5).   We need to consider that in a much deeper way. Therefore, before we leave the topic of Theology Proper, we need to consider the scope of God’s sovereign DECREE concerning all things. [1]

  THE TRINITY Theology Proper - Lesson 10 We have discussed how God is perfectly incomprehensible, far beyond our capability to fully know and understand. We are the creature, and He is the creator. How could the pot ever comprehend the potter? How can the finite understand the infinite?   Thus, in theology, we must learn to be content with answers that make the questions harder and more of a problem. This is true in every aspect of theology, but it is certainly true when we talk about the essence of God. I hope that we have underscored the greatness of God in such a way as to highlight the mystery of God’s being and the awe and fear that is due Him by all creatures. Theology teaches us about God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible, but it also exposes the limits of our understanding. Theology does not attempt to solve the deep mysteries of God. Rather, it is like we stand at the shore of the ocean and marvel at its vastness and mystery. Yet it is our joy to plumb the ...

THE BEING OF GOD Theology Proper - Lessons 8-9   Since theology is the study of the being and works of God as He is revealed in the Bible, we must take some time to focus on God’s being. As this course is a broad overview of systematic theology, we must resist the temptation to spend too much time here. [1] It is my hope that this section makes you thirst all the more after knowledge of the Holy One.   We saw in the last lesson that God exists, and that He has revealed Himself by His names: Almighty God, Most High, Eternal, and Alive, who was, is, and will always be the sovereign provider, healer, banner, sanctifier, peacemaker, shepherd, justifier, and present comfort of His people—all wrapped up in the name Yahweh.   The Bible fills in the picture of God with numerous references to His ESSENCE or NATURE . While we should hesitate to separate these two, Essence is often used to refer to what God is in Himself (for instance, God is Spirit [John 4:24] and Trinity [...

  THE EXISTENCE AND NAMES OF GOD Theology Proper- Lesson 7   In the previous six lessons, we have defined Christian Theology as the study of the being and works of the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible. For this reason, we spent some time verifying the reliability of the Bible as the revelation of God through men, the recognition and collection of which books were divinely inspired, and the accuracy of the Bible’s transmission through history. Now, as we turn to the study of the existence and being of God, we, through reliance on our definition of Christian Theology, can skip over the “natural proofs” of God’s existence [1] and start to dig deep into the Scriptures. What has God revealed about Himself?   This is THEOLOGY PROPER . In Theology Proper, we study the being of God. We need to first realize that while God has made Himself known in the hearts of all people, because the creation testifies to His existence and being (Rom 1:18-22), sin has ruined our ...

CANONICITY AND PRESERVATION Bibliology- Lesson 6 We have defined Christian theology as the study of the being and works of the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible. We have also studied how God moved the authors of Scripture by His Spirit, so that they, without error, wrote down what God desired them to write. We need to ask: “How do we know which writings belong in the Scriptures?”   This brings us to the issue of CANONICITY . When we speak of the canon of Scripture, we are referring to those books that are included in the Bible. The word canon comes from the Greek Word κανων (kanon, from which we get our word ‘cane’), which means “rod, measuring rule, standard” (Gal 6:16; 2 Cor 10:13, 15, 16). “By 350, Athanasius was the first to use the term in the technical sense in which we use it today—to designate the collection of inspired books as the ‘standard’ of the faith.” [1]   When you get down to it, canonicity is much simpler than many would lead us to believe.

  INERRANCY AND AUTHORITY Bibliology- Lesson 5 If we define Christian theology as the study of the being and works of the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible, we must be sure of the trustworthiness of Scripture.    “The trustworthiness of the Scriptures lies at the foundation of trust in the Christian system of doctrine, and is therefore fundamental to the Christian hope and life.” [1]     In the last lesson, we learned that the Bible claims that it is the revelation that was breathed out by God ( inspiration ) that is sufficient for life and godliness. We also learned that the Bible is clear ( perspicuity ), yet must be illumined to us by God. Once illumined to its truth, the Scripture animates a person. Finally, we learned that the Bible endures forever ( eternality ).   If all of this is true, then it follows that the Bible is both inerrant and authoritative. “There is no such thing as inspiration which does not carry with it the correlation of inf...

BIBLICAL REVELATION, INSPIRATION, SUFFICIENCY, PERSPICUITY, ILLUMINATION, ANIMATION, AND ETERNALITY Bibliology- Lesson 4   If Christian theology is the study of the being and works of the God who has revealed Himself to us in the Bible, then it is to the Bible that we go to learn about God.    The Bible is the REVELATION of God. The word ‘revelation’ comes from the Greek word αποκαλυπτω (apokalupto), which means to uncover or reveal. When we speak of the revelation of God, we mean the revealing of the being and works of God. As we will see, God has revealed Himself in a multitude of ways.   He has made Himself known to us in the Bible. We sometimes will refer to this as SPECIAL REVELATION . How, then, did God reveal Himself to the authors of Scripture?

THE METHOD OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY Prologomena - Lesson 3 REVIEW -  Definition of Christian Theology: The study of the being and works of the God who has made Himself known in the Bible. Definition of Systematic Theology: The study of the being and works of God by gathering together the biblical information on different topics and arranging them together in a logical fashion. The Topics of Systematic Theology:   a.            Bibliology - Bible b.            Theology Proper - God c.            Christology - Christ d.            Pneumatology - The Holy Spirit e.            Anthropology - Man f.             Angelology - Angels g.     ...

WHAT IS SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY? Prologomena - Lesson 2 REVIEW:     What is Theology?  Theology is the study of the being and works of God or the gods. Christian Theology is the study of the being and works of the God who has made Himself known in the Bible. SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY Systematic Theology: Systematic Theology is the study of the being and works of God by gathering together the biblical information on different topics and arranging them together in a logical fashion.  When we create a systematic theology, we rely on all the above categories of theology. We study the Bible exegetically and categorize our discoveries into topics/doctrines. Once we have the information in a text categorized, we are doing systematic theology. When we teach systematic theology, we study deductively. Romans 6:17 - ‘that form (τυπος) of doctrine (διδαχη).’’ There is a defini...

WHAT IS THEOLOGY? Prologomena - Lesson 1 DEFINING THEOLOGY Comes from three related Greek Words: Θεολογεω ( theologeo ) - lit. I speak about God/the gods. OR  I study God/the gods. Theology. Θεολογια ( theologia ) - lit. A word about God/the gods. OR A study about God/the gods. Theologize. Θεολογος ( theologos ) - lit. One who speaks about God/the gods. OR One who studies God/the gods. Theologian. The Greeks used these words for “discourse on the gods.”  Theology, simply defined, then, is the study of the being and works of God or the gods.