Basic Theology Part I
Theism/General Revelation
Lesson I
Introduction to Theology
Theology comes from two Greek words "Theos" meaning God and "logos" meaning word. Theology is therefore words about God. In the Revelation of John God says "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God,"who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Paul testifies of Christ "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Col. 1:15-17.
We, as a race, are in desperate need for words about God. Most of humanity spend their entire lives in willful ignorance of God and active disobedience to His person and His will. The apostle Paul said of the Gentiles "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." Romans 1:21-23.
Theology is the study and science of God. It is the highest pursuit of the believer because it has as its aim the revelation of God and His will for our lives.
There are four basic divisions of Theology:
A. Exegetical Theology: Exegetical Theology is the direct study of the biblical text. This is the privilege and responsibility of each believer. Believers must study the Bible using the correct method of interpretation so that they can properly understand what God is telling them. "Exegesis" is a fancy term that simply means "to draw out the meaning" of the Biblical text instead of reading into the text a meaning that is foregin to it. The goal is to understand the message that God is communicating directly to them through each text. It is so believers can say with Samuel "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening." I have taught on exegetical theology before in my class in interpretation and will do so again.
B. Historical Theology: Thiessen says "Historical Theology traces the history of God's people in the Bible and of the church since the time of Christ. It deals with the origin, development, and spread of the true religion..." p. 20.
C. Systematic Theology: Systematic Theology is the truths of the Scriptures gleaned from exegetical theology arranged systematically and logically according to the great headings of theological study. Biblology is the study of what? The Scriptures. Christology is the study of? Christ. Pneumatology is the study of? The Holy Spirit. Harmatiology is the study of? Sin. Angelology is the study of? Angels. Soteriology is the study of? Salvation. We will be studying each of these subjects in detail as we progress through the course.
D. Practical Theology: This is truly the goal of all theology, and that being to affect the life of the believer unto sanctification. So that we can daily be conformed to the image of His Son! Practical Theology takes the fruits of the other divisions of theology and teaches the believer to apply those truths to his or her life so that sin is conquered and Christ is exalted and glorified.
Theism
Thesim means generally the belief in a God, or gods, or supernatural power or powers. Christians are theists by this definition because we believe in God. In his book Lectures on Systematic Theology Thiessen gives four senses in which used:
1. The belief in a supernatural power or supernatural powers, in a spiritual agent or agents, in one or many Gods.
2. The belief in but one God, whether personal or impersonal, whether at present active in the universe or not.
3. The belief in a personal God who is both transcendent and immanent and exists as but a single person. This is the view of modern Judaism, Islam, and Unitarian Christians.
4. The belief in but one God, who is both immanent and transcendent, who exists eternally as three distinct Persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is Christian Theism.
The Revelation of God
How does man know that God exists? If we are to know that God exists we must have some information about Him. Take the proverbial tribal people in a distant land who have never heard the gospel. Do they have information about God? What information do they have about God? Turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:18-23. Someone else turn to Psalm 19:1-6.
What is the source of the information about God in these verses? Nature. What information does it reveal about God?
1. It reveals that God is powerful. Look at the sky at night, behold the stars. Look at the sun during the day, enjoy its warmth and light. Look at the power of nature. These teach us of an almighty Creator who is the pantokratos, the over all ruler.
2. It reveals that God is an intelligent being. That there is purpose and design in His creation. It implies strongly that He has but one plan for His creation.
3. It reveals that God good, benevolent, and kind. Paul said of God to the Gentiles "and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." Acts 14:17.
4. It teaches that there is but one God because there can be but one almighty and all powerful One.
What can this information not do. It cannot save. If a distant tribe accepts the information of God revealed in nature, it cannot save them. To be saved you must believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is God's special revelation in the Scriptures. It is only through special revelation that man can be saved. It will however prompt them to seek further revelation of God.
This is your first step in becoming mature Christians and theologians. What I mean by that is that you lay aside sentimental devotional theology. Sentimental devotional theology will want to believe everyone, including distant tribes in unreached people groups can be saved via general revelation, that they don't need the gospel. God will save them and people like Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus based upon the "light they have" and that God would not condemn these billions to hell.
The first step to becoming a mature Christian is to set such devotional ideas aside and examine What the Bible actually says. Jesus said "I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but by Me." John 14:6. Peter said "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12. It means that men must believe the truth about Jesus in order to be saved. We must leave the judgement of the distant tribes to God but continue to insist that unless they hear and believe the gospel they cannot be saved.
Turn in your Bibles Romans 2:14-15.
What is the source of information about God in these verses? Conscience. Conscience means knowledge together with. It is knowledge of self with regard to a given standard of behavior, of right and wrong. Conscience is an aspect of the image of God in man. It sets us apart from the animals and the rest of creation. It is not something that's origins in our development, though it is trained by parents. It is not a result of our culture, though it can be negatively affected by culture. It is a revelation of God in the soul.
The activities of conscience are commendation for right behavior and accusation and guilt for wrong behavior
What information about God do we gain from conscience?
1. That God has standards of behavior for mankind. That right and wrong do exist and that there is joy in doing right and punishment for doing wrong. No animal feels guilt when it does something we would consider wrong. But man does! Because man is created in the image and likeness of God.
2. That mankind both personally and corporately violate the standards of behavior and are therefore guilty and deserve punishment from God.
3. That God is holy. Only a holy God would give such a standard in the heart of man.
Again, what can this information not do? It cannot save. It informs man that God has a standard for human behavior and that man fall short and is liable to punishment. It tells man that God is holy and that man is unholy, but it cannot save his soul. It leaves man with no excuse for his sin.
Turn in your Bibles to Joshua 2:6-13. What is the source of Rahab's information? History. Word of the works of God among the children of Israel had reached the citizens of Jericho. What information about God did Rahab learn from God's revelation among the children of Israel
1. That God has a plan for people.
2. That God has a people that are uniquely His.
3. That the God of Israel is a God of judgement and a God of mercy.
Again, what can this information not do? It cannot save. It informs men that God has a plan for humanity, that he has a people that are uniquely His, and that He is a God of judgement and mercy, but it does not nor can it bring men into a personal relationship with God.
Examples:
1. Biblical Example: Turn in your Bibles to Acts 10:1-48. Cornelius was a Gentile who basically had general revelation about God. He had been exposed to God's people and heard their history, much as Rahab had. The only difference is we know the source of his information from the Jews living in his midst. He began to pray to the God of Israel. What was God's response?
A. He sent an angel who witnessed the gospel to him. No, an Angel to instruct him to find someone who would share the gospel with him
B. Peter comes, shares the gospel, and Cornelius and those Gentiles in the house were saved.
C. The lesson we learn when people respond positively to General revelation God will find a way, through humans beings to share the gospel with them so they can be saved.
2. Missionary Example: There was a tribe in a distant land who received missionaries for the first time. This tribe had never encountered anyone from the outside world before. The missionaries upon entering the village noticed that each family had their own hut as a home. But curiously there was an empty hut. They found that it had been built long ago. After the tribe found that these people were there to tell them about God they were invited into this hut. After a time of learning the language the missionaries asked the chief why they had built the empty hut. He said that it was for the people who would come and tell them about the one true God. Yes this is a people who had responded positively to general revelation and were ready to hear the gospel. In time the whole of the people accepted the gospel and were saved.
3. But we should not expect this to be the norm. Most people in the lands that have the gospel will not be saved. "Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it." And most people in distant lands will not be saved.
General Revelation is the information about God that He has disclosed to us in nature, conscience, and history. It leaves man with no excuse for his sin because it reveals God's eternal power, His divine glory. It reveals that He is intelligent and benevolent Creator who is holy, just and a God who has a plan for humanity, and for those who He has chosen to be His own.
It cannot save, but it ought to become the motivator to move men to desire a greater and more perfect revelation of God.
Arguments for the Existence of God:
1. Cosmological Argument: Everything that exist must have an adequate cause. The universe exists and therefore must have an adequate cause. The only adequate cause for the universe, life, and man is God. Hebrews 3:4.
2. Teleological Argument: The universe is characterized by order, design, and complexity. From all that we know order design, and complexity are only the result of intelligent beings. Psalm 19, etc.
3. The Ontological Argument: Mankind intuitively has the idea of God. That idea is greater than mankind itself and therefore could not have originated with man himself, and it must therefore have come from God. C.S. Lewis said in effect "If there is no God, I should have never come to know that there is no God. Since I know that there is no God, God must therefore exist. Because the very idea of God exists in my mind."
4. The Moral Argument: Every person has a conscience a knowledge of self with respect to a given moral standard. This moral standard resident in the heart of man is universal in all men everywhere. It is a sense of moral obligation and duty and a sense of guilt and accusation when violated. (Romans 2:14-16). This proves the existence of God.
5. The Argument from Congruity: The postulate that best explains the facts is probably true. The postulate that best explains the universe, man, and life is God as Creator. The chance that all of creation just arose by pure chance is scientifically and statistically impossible.
