GENESIS 1 & 2—From Genesis To Revelation

Genesis: Beginnings

The word 'Genesis' means "beginning". In this book, we read about the beginning of creation, the beginning of man, the beginning of sin in the human race, the beginning of redemption, the beginning of the two streams of religiosity and spirituality, the beginning of Babylon, the beginning of Jerusalem, and the beginning of counterfeit religion and true religion.

The Scriptures begin with the words,  "In the beginning God." That's how it must be in our life every day. God must be in the beginning of everything in our lives, not man. In every area of our life—in our goals and our ambitions, in everything—God must be first. And wherever God finds a man or woman who will put Him first in every area of his/her life in business, in finances, and daily life—there will be no limit to what God will do in and through such a person.

Creation

In Chapter 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The heavens and the earth were created by God through His spoken word (Hebrews11:3), He made them perfect. Nothing that God creates is ever imperfect. 

The angel Lucifer fell and became the devil. That was when sin first came into the universe. That is not mentioned at this point, because the Bible was not written for angels, but for man. That's why the creation of man is mentioned in the first chapter, and the fall of Lucifer is mentioned only much later (in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28).

What we read of in the rest of Chapter 1 is the making of the earth. And by the time you come to the end of the chapter, it has become a beautiful earth. God Himself could look at it and say, "It is very good."

Chapter 1 has a message for all of us. Satan has come into the human race too and made man exactly as mentioned in verse 2—empty, dark and shapeless. We have lost the image of God. God did not create Adam like that. Adam was created perfect. But the devil came in and ruined man. And God had to begin to remake man.

God is in the business of remaking ruined humanity today. It doesn't matter how shapeless, dark or empty you are. Chapter 1 teaches that God can remake you. He can make you so perfect that you will finally reflect His likeness perfectly, and God Himself will be able to certify about you, "Very Good". That is the message of the very first chapter of the Bible.

But how did this change take place? If you understand how it happened, the same thing can happen in your life too.

Every day God spoke His word. He said something the first day. And He said something the second day. Every day He spoke. That's what you need to see in the very first chapter of the Bible—that our God is a living God Who speaks. If you want to be transformed, the most important thing you need is to hear God speaking to you. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4). That's how God planned for man to live. And so if we don't listen to His voice daily, we will not be transformed.

We have to develop the habit of listening to God through His word. God speaks every day. But most believers do not listen to Him. Even those who read the Bible every day don't listen to God. Listening to God is not the same as reading the Bible. You can read the Bible like you read a storybook or study it like a chemistry book—and never hear what God is trying to say to your heart.

The other thing we see here is that the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters (1:2). After you hear God speak, you must allow the Holy Spirit to move upon you. Only then can you be transformed. We see the Holy Spirit working along with God's Word right from the beginning. Only the Holy Spirit can change man. It was the combined working of God's Word and of the Holy Spirit that brought change and beauty to that chaotic earth.

The great need in Christendom today is for balance. Many believers emphasize the study of the word of God, but do not emphasize dependence on the Holy Spirit equally. If you study the word of God without the Holy Spirit's enabling, you will be as dry as a bone and just as dead. Others emphasize the ministry of the Holy Spirit and neglect God's Word and thus get sidetracked into emotionalism, which they mistake for the Spirit's workings. Like steam engines that have gone off the rails (of God's Word), they blow their whistles furiously and make a lot of noise, but they are stuck in the mud and make no progress, because they do not allow the word of God to guide them.

So we see that we can get correction and instruction in righteousness in order to be perfect in the very first paragraph of the Scriptures.

In 1:4, we read that "God separated the light from the darkness" . This separation is repeated on the fourth day (1:18). This is a very important thing, and that is why it is repeated. When God created the light, He didn't want the darkness mixed up with it and that was why He made a separation.

Many people imagine that all division must be from the devil. But here we read that the first person to make a division was God Himself. Light can have no fellowship with darkness. When light comes into our hearts, the very next thing God that wants to do in our lives is to separate us from all that is darkness. In 2 Corinthians 4:6, we have a Divine commentary on the creation of light. There we are told that this was a picture of the light of the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ coming into our hearts. Then two chapters later, in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, we are told of the necessity of separating ourselves from all darkness. The world is full of darkness, and there must be nothing of the world in our hearts. When Christians don't separate from the darkness, confusion is the result.

When God placed the sun and the moon in the middle of the skies, again He separated the light from the darkness (1:18). On both occasions, we read that "God saw that it was good." Only when you are separated from all that is of darkness can God say, "It is good", not otherwise. Many who have received the light have not separated themselves from the darkness. That is why they have so many problems in their Christian life.

Man was created on the sixth day. The beasts of the field were also created on the same day, just before Adam(verse 24). Those beasts were made from the same dust that man was made from. Only one thing distinguished man from those beasts: God breathed into man. It is only the Spirit of God in man that lifts him above the level of animals. From this we learn that if we stop living by the Spirit of God, we will sink to the level of animals very soon! God made man from the dust to teach him that he was worth nothing apart from the breath of God.

God kept the seventh day as a day of rest. That was the seventh day for God, but it was the first day for man. Man was created towards the end of the sixth day and so his very first living day was a day of rest. God was trying to teach man thereby that he must fellowship with God first before going out to work for Him. Adam and Eve were to work in the garden of Eden only after they had spent a day in fellowship with their God. That is the Divine order for man:Fellowship first and then service. In the beginning God Himself—then God's work. We forget that order to our peril. This was why God taught Israel to respect the Sabbath so strictly. Today, there remains a Sabbath rest for God's people to live in (Hebrews 4:9).

In 1:28 God told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply". How did He expect them to do that? Obviously by having a sexual relationship. It was God Who created the sexual function and told man to use it to produce children. The sexual function in man was also included in what God finally called "Very good" (1:31). So we see that sex in marriage is something that God himself has termed "Very good"? Sex is very bad outside of marriage, but very good inside it. There are many Christians who think that sex is a dirty thing even in marriage and therefore imagine that they can be holier if they are not married. This is un-Scriptural.

When God created man He blessed him (1:28). He told him not only to be fruitful, but also to subdue everything under him and to rule over everything. So we see that God created man to be a ruler, not a slave. God created man to be an overcomer who has everything under his feet. In Genesis, we read of God's desire for man to rule. And in Revelation, we read of God's desire for man to overcome (Revelation 21:7). That was God's original will for man, and He finally finds a few who fulfil His plan and become overcomers. God's purpose for you is to rule over everything. He wants you to rule over sin in your life, over your anger, your lusts and your passions. He wants you to put them all under your feet. God never created you to be a slave. He created you to be a conqueror and a ruler. And that can come about only when God blesses you (as we read in1:28).

Notice in Chapter 1, that God examined each day's work and certified it as good. (God did not say that on the second day, because Satan who had been cast down by God was permitted to dwell in the second heaven). We too should allow God to examine our work each day, to see whether it meets with His approval.

In Chapter 2, more details are given about the creation of man. We see there that God gave man three gifts—a marriage partner (Eve), a home to live in (Eden) and a work to do (as a gardener). These are the three things that many young people are seeking for today. God was interested in providing all three for Adam and He is interested in providing all three for His children today. Adam didn't even have to ask God for them. God Himself saw Adam's need and provided him with them. God knows your need of a marriage partner, a house and a job too. If you walk with Him, He will provide you with these and other needs too.

In 2:11, 12, it says that the gold in Eden was good! It is only in the presence of God, that gold is good. Away from Him, gold is a snare and can be a curse.

In 2:19, 20, we read that God brought the beasts to Adam—and Adam gave them all names. Then we read these words: "But for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him" .That phrase seems to indicate that when Adam saw each of the animals having a partner, he wondered whether he could have one of them as a partner!! The lion had its lioness, the elephant had its partner, the cat had its partner, and so on. Adam looked at them one by one and rejected them one by one, because none of them corresponded with his own nature. And when Adam had rejected all of them, God said, "All right, I will make a helper for you". He then caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and made a wife for him.

There is a spiritual application to this: If you are a child of God, and are looking for a marriage partner, God may first allow some pretty girls (or handsome men) to come by you, who do not have the same Divine nature that you received when you were born again. He will test you through them to see whether you will choose one of them as your partner. If you do, you will miss the one God has planned for you. Honor God and obey His word that says,"Don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14)—and He will give you His very best.

Notice this: After God saying that "It was good" six times in 6 days (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), He suddenly said, "It is NOT good" (2:18). It was not good for Adam to be alone. Then, after He had made Eve, He says,"It is VERY good" (1:31). That is the difference that a happily married couple made to God's creation!

In 2:24,we read something that all married people need to pay heed to: When a person gets married he must leave his father and mother and cleave to his partner.This is not referring primarily to leaving one's parents physically (although that may also be necessary), but to being detached from them emotionally. Once a person is married, his marriage-partner must be far more important to him than his parents. A married couple must make their family-decisions in consultation with each other and not in consultation with their parents. I wish I could go up and down India proclaiming this important message to all married couples. There will be many more happy marriages in our land, if every married person obeyed this command. Here is a commandment given by God, even before sin came into the world. It is in fact the very first commandment written in the Bible for us. Why did God put this as the very first commandment in Scripture? Because He Who ordained marriage knew the vital importance of this step. Yet many married couples have not understood its importance.

THE GAP THEORY—From Genesis To Revelation—Introduction 2

Genesis 1:1–2 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” The gap theory is the view that God created a fully functional earth with all animals, including the dinosaurs and other creatures we know only from the fossil record. Then, the theory goes, something happened to destroy the earth completely—most likely the fall of Satan to earth—so that the planet became without form and void. At this point, God started all over again, recreating the earth in its paradise form as further described in Genesis. The gap theory, which is distinct from theistic evolution and the day-age theory, is also called old-earth creationism, gap creationism, and the ruin-reconstruction theory.

In young-earth creationism, Genesis 1:1 is seen as a summary of the complete chapter 1 in the Hebrew storytelling form. God created the heavens and the earth. Then verse 2 begins a detailed breakdown of the step-by-step process that verse 1 summarizes. However, the statement that “the earth was formless and empty, [and] darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2) can be puzzling. The idea that God created a useless and shapeless earth is an uncomfortable position for some conservative theologians, and this leads them to the gap theory, or an old-earth perspective.

According to conservative proponents of the gap theory, Genesis 1:1 describes the original creation of God—perfect in every way. Then, between verses 1 and 2, Satan rebelled in heaven and was cast out. Satan’s sin “ruined” the original creation; that is, his rebellion brought about its destruction and eventual death, and the earth was reduced to its “formless and empty” state, ready for the “re-construction.” The length of time involved—the size of the “gap”—is not specified but could have lasted millions of years.

Of course, Satan must have fallen before Adam did; otherwise, there would have been no temptation in the garden. Young-earth creationists say that Satan fell sometime after Genesis 1:31. Gap creationists say that Satan fell between Genesis 1:1 and 2.

One difficulty of the gap theory is that it requires that creation suffer death and destruction before Adam’s fall. Romans 5:12 says, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” The gap theory counters by positing two worlds. Satan’s sin brought death to the original creation, whatever that was like; and Adam’s sin brought death to the re-creation, the realm of mankind. Through Adam’s sin, evil entered our world and the realm of man was cursed. But rebellion already existed outside the realm of mankind (in the spiritual realm), since Satan and his angels had already fallen (Isaiah 14:12–14; Ezekiel 28:12–18). Sin could not enter the realm of man until man chose it. And Satan, via the serpent, successfully tempted man to make that choice.

Objections to the gap theory include the idea that, if something important had occurred between Genesis 1:1 and 2, God would have told us so, rather than leave us to speculate in ignorance. Also, Genesis 1:31 says God declared His creation to be “very good”—a statement difficult to square with the theory that evil already existed because of Satan’s fall in the “gap.”

It is possible to hold to a literal, six-day creation week and still hold to the gap theory—the gap theory does not require evolution to be true, since the gap falls before the events of Day One in Genesis 1:3. And that’s why some conservative scholars do believe the gap theory, although its acceptance has waned since the days of proponents C. I. Scofield and J. Vernon McGee.

However, many of those who hold to the gap theory do so in order to reconcile old-earth, evolutionary theories with the book of Genesis. But it seems to be a strained reconciliation. The plain reading of Genesis 1 does not at all intimate a length of time between the first two verses. Genesis 1:1 tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:2 informs us that, when He first created the earth, it was formless, empty, and dark; it was unfinished and uninhabited. The rest of Genesis 1 relates how God completed the formless, empty, and dark earth by filling it with life, beauty, and goodness.

WHY GOD GAVE US THE BIBLE—From Genesis To Revelation—Introduction

Before studying God’s Word, we must understand why God gave it to us. It is possible to study the Bible for the wrong reasons—a lot of Christians do just that. We must study the Scriptures for the same purpose that God gave it.

When we consider to study through the whole Bible, we must try to look into the heart of God, and keep this well-known verse in mind: “God so loved the world that He gave His Son, that whoever believes in Him should never perish” (John 3:16).

The primary purpose with which God gave us the Scriptures was that all people might know that He loves them so intensely that He sent His Son to save them from the grip of sin and bring them into fellowship with Him. In God’s heart there is a great desire that no one should be ruined by sin and perish.

Let us keep that in mind as we study God’s Word. Even if there are matters in the Word that we cannot fully understand, let us pray, “Lord, I want to understand Your heart, even if I don’t understand the meaning of everything in Your Word”.

We must pray as we study the Scriptures that we will understand what is in the heart of God. We can get so taken up with little details as we study, that we miss seeing the heart of God. God reveals His heart in His word.

But God’s purpose does not stop there—just like the construction of a building does not stop with laying the foundation. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 God breathed into this book, exactly as He breathed into Adam. If God had not breathed into Adam, Adam would have been just a pile of dust; and any book that God has not breathed into is also a pile of dust.

God’s Word has been given to us: 

1. To teach us, to show us the right path.
2. To reprove us and rebuke us. We need strong rebukes to be preserved in the pathway of godliness.
3. To correct us when we go astray, to direct us into the right path.
4. To train us in righteousness. It is a training manual.

So we see that God’s Word has been given to us to change our character, so that we can become godly men and women.

The ultimate goal is “that the man of God may be adequate”—perfect and complete. Like a glass of water filled to the brim, our character is to be rounded off, balanced and complete. We are to be anointed and equipped to serve God, so that we can do every good work that God has planned for us. That is the purpose of Scripture.

So if you study the Bible, you must study it for these reasons.

The Holy Spirit alone can teach us God’s Word. The same Holy Spirit Who taught the apostles in the 1st century, seeks to teach us in the 21st century too. That is how we must study the Scriptures. We don’t need to attend a Bible-school or Bible-college. The Holy Spirit can teach us God’s Word, if we are willing to study it with an open mind and a soft heart—to obey it. When the Lord Jesus walked with two disciples to Emmaus, He “opened the Scriptures to them”. That is what He wants to do for us today, as we walk with Him. Those disciples found that their “hearts burned within them when the Lord opened the Scriptures to them” ( Luke 24:32 ). That is what will happen to our hearts too, when the Holy Spirit opens the Scriptures to us today.

The truths that God reveals in His Word can never be boring, because the Lord Jesus is never boring. If we walk with our Lord and listen to Him, our hearts will burn within us—because we will see the glory of Christ in the Word.

Under the Old Covenant, people meditated on God’s written Word. But now we meditate on the Word made flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ (John1:14). Now we see the glory of the Lord Jesus as we meditate on the Scriptures (2 Corinthians 3:18). A person who looks at that Glory constantly will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, and will always be fruitful. Even in old age, he/she will bring forth fruit (Psalm 1:3; 92:14). That is the will of God for each one of us.

Proverbs 25:2 says,“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of kings to search it out”. Gold and diamonds are found deep down, many thousands of feet beneath the earth’s surface. It is the same with the Scriptures—its riches are concealed deep within. We are kings and queens in Christ, and our glory is to find those hidden treasures in God’s Word.

The Lord Jesus once said, “I thank You Father that You have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25). We don’t have to be clever to understand the Scriptures, but we must have clean, humble, trusting hearts, like an infant. It’s our heart condition and not our intelligence that determines whether we understand God’s Word or not.

God’s Word gives us promises to believe and commands to obey. It has words to rebuke us, and words to comfort us as well.

Unless we make the Bible our final authority in all matters relating to our faith and life, we will be tossed about here and there, until our faith itself is lost.

We are told by the psalmist that God has magnified His Word above all His Name (Psalm 138:2). To reject or ignore it therefore, or to treat it lightly, is to end up with immeasurable loss. But to reverence it is to discover a door into untold riches.

So with those words as an introduction, let us begin our study of the Word of God.

DEFINITION OF THEOLOGY

NOTE: We understand the terms “the whole counsel of God” and “foundation”, used by Paul (Acts 20:27; 1 Corinthians 3:10, 11), as synonymous with “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” used by Judas in his epistle (vs. 3). These terms mean the entire body of truth given to us in the Bible. It is what we also call Christian Doctrine, and Biblical or Systematic Theology.

I. DEFINITION OF THEOLOGY

“Theology is the science of God and of the relations between God and the universe” (Strong).

Theology is the “science of things divine” (Hooker).

1. Derivation.

Theology comes from two Greek words, namely, theos, God, and logos, speech or reason. Etymologically, theology means a reasoned discourse or treatise about God.

2. Use.

As a term, theology has both a narrow and a broad use:

a. In its narrow use, theology means the doctrine of God, His being and works.

b. In its broad use, theology means the sum of Christian doctrines.

NOTE: John is called “the theologian,” because he treats of the inner relations of the Trinity. Gregory Nazianzen was so called because he defended the deity of Christ against the Arians (A. D. 325-300), and since his time it has been the prevailing usage to employ the term theology in the broad sense.

3. Possibility.

According to  Strong’s definition, theology has a threefold ground, viz:

a. “In the existence of a God who has relations to the universe”.

b. “In the capacity of the human mind for knowing God and certain of these relations”.

c. “In the provision of means by which God is brought into actual contact with the mind, or, in other words, in the provision of revelation”.

4. Necessity.

The science of theology finds its necessity in these grounds:

a. In the instinct of the mind for system.

“Theology is a rational necessity. If all existing theological systems were destroyed today, new systems would arise tomorrow. So inevitable is the operation of this law that those who most decry theology show, nevertheless, that they have made a theology for themselves, and often one sufficiently meager and blundering. Hostility to theology, where it does not originate in mistaken fears for the corruption of God’s truth or in a naturally illogical structure of mind, often proceeds from a license of speculation which cannot brook the restraints of a complete Scriptural system” (Strong).

b. In the importance of systematic truth to the development of Christian character.

Theology should be dignified, not disparaged. Its study has sometimes been decried as deadening the religious affections. This is a mistake, since it deals with those truths which are best adapted to nourish the religious affections. Genuine piety is not weakened but strengthened by the systematic study of religious truth. Other things being equal, he is the strongest Christian who has the firmest grasp on the great fundamental truths of Christianity. It has been well said that “Christian morality is a fruit that grows only from the tree of doctrine and that Christian character rests upon Christian truth as its foundation” (Farr).

“Some knowledge is necessary to conversion— at least, knowledge of sin and knowledge of a Saviour; and the putting together of these two great truths is the beginning of theology” (Strong).

See Colossians 1:10; II Peter 3.18. Texts representing truth as food, Jeremiah 15.16; Matthew 4.4; I Corinthians 3.1, 2; Hebrews 5.14; Job 23.12.

c. In the importance to the believer of definite and just views of divine truth.

Especially true is this of the preacher: Ephesians 6.17; II Timothy 2.2, 25. “To mutilate it or misrepresent it (the teaching of the Scripture) is not only sin against the Revealer of it—it may prove the ruin of men’s souls. The best safeguard against such mutilation or misrepresentation is the diligent study of the several doctrines of the faith in their relations to one another, and especially to the central theme of theology, the person and work of Jesus Christ” (Strong).

d. In the close relation between correct doctrine and the safety and aggressive power of the church: I Timothy 3.15; II Timothy 1.13.

“Defective understanding of the truth results sooner or later in defects of organization, of operation, and of life. Thorough comprehension of Christian truth as an organized system furnishes, on the one hand, not only an invaluable defense against heresy and immorality, but also an indispensable stimulus and instrument in aggressive labor for the world’s conversion” (Strong).

“A creed is like a backbone. A man does not need to wear his backbone in front of him; but he must have a backbone and a straight one, or he will be a flexible if not a humpbacked Christian” (H. Osgood).

e. In the injunctions of Scripture, both direct and indirect: John 5.39; I Corinthians 2.13; Colossians 1.27, 28; Ephesians 4.11, 12; I Timothy 3.2; II Timothy 2.15; Titus 1.9.

II. DEFINITION OF RELIGION

“Religion in its essential idea is a life in God, a life lived in recognition of God, in communion with God, and under control of the indwelling Spirit of God” (Strong). “The life of God in the soul of man”.

1. Derivation.

This is uncertain. Two views are held:

a. By some it is taken from the Latin verb religare, signifying “to bind back,” that is, man to God.

b. Others, with perhaps greater accuracy, take it from the Latin verb religere, signifying “to go over again,” “to ponder carefully,” that is, a reverent observance of one’s duties to God.

2. Relation to Theology.

Theology is a science; religion is a life. “One may be a theologian and not a religious man. One may know some things about God and not know God Himself” (Farr).

NOTE: Some would make religion a kind of knowing, while others would make it exclusively a matter of feeling; but as  Strong says, “Since it is a life, it cannot be described as consisting solely in the exercise of any one of the powers of intellect, affection, or will. As physical life involves the unity and cooperation of all the organs of the body so spiritual life involves the united working of all the powers of the soul. To feeling, however, we must assign the logical priority, since holy affection toward God, imparted in regeneration, is the condition of truly knowing God and of truly serving Him”.

3. Relation to Morality.

Morality is a law; religion is a life. “Morality is conformity to an abstract law of right, while religion is essentially a relation to a person, from whom the soul receives blessing and to whom it surrenders itself in love and obedience” (Strong). From the Latin mos, plural mores , comes the word moral. The original word means a way of acting and the English word signifies a right way of acting. “Ethical” comes from the Greek and has the same force. “Hence the law which tells men how they should act with reference to right and wrong is called moral law, and man is said to have a moral nature because he is capable of acting right” (Farr). See Titus 2.1-15.

4. Relation to Worship.

Worship is an art: religion is a life. “Worship is the outward expression of religion. In it God speaks to man and man to God. It therefore properly includes the reading of Scripture and preaching on the side of God, and prayer and song on the side of the people” (Strong).

Worship, of course, may be both private and public.

NOTE: “We judge a man’s theology by his creed. We judge of a man’s religion by his life. Theology is of the head, religion is of the heart. God judges us not by what is in our heads, but by what is in our hearts. Religion, not theology, is the final test by which we stand or fall. Many a one who did not subscribe to the Westminster Catechism may be in heaven after all, while another, well grounded in the Five Points of Calvinism and with the Thirty-nine Articles at his tongue’s end, may find himself in hell, damned in spite of his theology” (Farr).

III. SOURCES OF THEOLOGY

The sources of theology are twofold, viz: Nature and the Scriptures. See Romans 1.20; Psalm 8.3; 19.1; II John 9.

1. Nature.

“The universe is a source of theology. The Scriptures assert that God has revealed Himself in nature. There is not only an outward witness to His existence and character in the constitution and government of the universe, but an inward witness to His character in the heart of every man. The systematic exhibition of these facts, whether derived from observation, history, or science, constitutes natural theology” (Strong). Outward witness: Romans 1.18-20, 33; 2.15.

2. The Scriptures.

“The Christian revelation is the chief source of theology. The Scriptures plainly declare that the revelation of God in nature does not supply all the knowledge which a sinner needs: Acts 17.23; Ephesians 3.9, 10. This revelation is therefore supplemented by another in which divine attributes and merciful provisions only dimly shadowed forth in nature are made known to men. This latter revelation consists of a series of supernatural events and communications, the record of which is presented in the Scriptures” (Strong).

NOTE: There are four mistaken sources of theology, namely: traditionalism, rationalism, confessionalism, and mysticism.

1. TRADITIONALISM.

Rome elevates her interpretations of the Scriptures to a plane of equality with the Scriptures themselves.

2. RATIONALISM.

Rationalists subject the teaching of the Scriptures to the criterion of human reason, rejecting what is contrary thereto.

3. CONFESSIONALISM.

The symbol and creed of the church interpret and explicate the Scriptures, but can add nothing thereto in the way of new knowledge.

4. MYSTICISM.

Christian experience is a witness to the truth of Scripture, but is not an independent source of knowledge of divine things.

IV. LIMITATIONS OF THEOLOGY

These are found:—

1. In the finiteness of the human mind: Job 11.7; Romans 11.33.

2. In the imperfect state of science.

The so-called conflict between science and revelation grows out of either an imperfect knowledge of science or an imperfect knowledge of revelation. They cannot conflict when rightly understood, for both are from the same mind and hand: Psalm 19.

3. In the inadequacy of human language: I Corinthians 2 13; II Corinthians 3.5, 6; 12.4.

It is impossible perfectly to express divine truth in human words. Even the Greek language, the most perfect medium of human communication known, is not subtle enough to catch shades of divine truth. The New Testament writers had to give new meanings to old words, thus: logos, hamartia, mysterion, katallasso, etc.

4. In the incompleteness of our knowledge of the Scriptures: Psalm 119.18; Luke 24.32, 45.

5. In the silence of the written revelation: Deuteronomy 29.29; Luke 13.23, 24; John 13.7; I Corinthians 2.9.

Observe the silence of Scripture: On the life and death of the virgin Mary, the personal appearance of Jesus, the origin of evil, the method of the atonement, the state after death. Little is said about social and political questions, such as slavery, the liquor traffic, governmental corruption, capital and labor, etc.

Of course principles of right action are laid down, but specific injunctions about many things are lacking.

6. In the lack of spiritual discernment caused by sin.

“The spiritual ages make the most progress in theology. Witness the half-century succeeding the Reformation and the half-century succeeding the great revival in New England in the time of Jonathan Edwards” (Strong).

V. QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF THEOLOGY

In order to study theology to the best advantage one should have:

1. A well-disciplined mind.

2. An intuitional habit of mind.

The student should trust his intuitive convictions as well as his logical reasoning. “The theologian must have insight as well as understanding. He must accustom himself to ponder spiritual facts as well as those which are sensible and material; to see things in their inner relations as well as in their outward forms; to cherish confidence in the reality and unity of truth” (Strong).

3. Some acquaintance with science: Physical, mental, and moral.

4. Some knowledge of the languages of the Bible: At least of their genius and idiomatic structure. This of course is not indispensable, but yet a great help.

5. A holy affection toward God: Psalm 25.14; I Corinthians 2.14.

“Only the renewed heart can properly feel its need of divine revelation, or understand that revelation when given” (Strong). “It is the heart that makes the theologian”.

6. The illumination of the Holy Spirit: Psalm 119.18; Luke 24.32, 45; I Corinthians 2.10-12.

 G. R. Crooks of Drew Theological Seminary used to say: “One needs but three things to understand the Scriptures; a knowledge of the languages, the illumination of the Holy Spirit and common sense”.

VI. DIVISIONS OF THEOLOGY

Theological science is generally divided into exegetical, historical, systematic, and practical theology.

1. Exegetical Theology.

This is the study of the languages of the Bible, the Hebrew and Aramaic of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament.

2. Historical Theology.

This is the study of the facts of Christianity. “As giving account of the shaping of the Christian faith into doctrinal statements, Historical Theology is called the History of Doctrine. As describing the resulting and accompanying changes in the life of the church, outward and inward, Historical Theology is called Church History” (Strong).

3. Systematic Theology.

Besides Systematic Theology, which is theology proper, two other terms are used, namely: Biblical Theology and Dogmatic Theology. These three need to be carefully distinguished.

a. Biblical Theology.

This “aims to arrange and classify the facts of revelation, confining itself to the Scriptures for its material, and treating of doctrine only so far as it was developed at the close of the Apostolic Age” (Strong).

Biblical Theology traces the development of revelation in successive books of the Bible and compares the same revealed truth as treated by various writers, as Paul, Peter, James, etc.

b. Dogmatic Theology.

This is the study of the theology of the creeds and confessions of faith of the Christian Church. It often lays more stress upon these symbols than upon the revelation of Scripture.

c. Systematic Theology.

This “takes the material furnished by Biblical and by Historical Theology and with this material seeks to build up into an organic and consistent whole all our knowledge of God and of the relations between God and the universe, whether this knowledge be originally derived from nature or from the Scriptures” (Strong).

d. There is yet another term to be preferred either to Biblical or to Systematic Theology. It is Christian Doctrine.

The word doctrine comes from the Latin doctrina, signifying teaching or instruction. It is a New Testament word; see Matthew 7.28; John 7.16, 17; Acts 2.42; 5.28; 13.12; 17.19; Romans 6.17; I Corinthians 14.6; II Timothy 4.2; Titus 1.9; Hebrews 6.2; 13.9; II John 9, etc. Christian Doctrine partakes in part of the character of Biblical Theology and in part of the character of Systematic Theology. That is, while not ignoring the material of Natural Theology (the universe) it yet lays chief emphasis upon the contents of revelation. Christian Doctrine may be denned as the cardinal doctrines or truths of the Bible arranged in systematic form. This is the term which has been chosen for this course; and the expression Outline Studies has been adopted because the lectures are not exhaustive of the subject.

“The Scriptures are rich in doctrinal material, but in elementary form; and it is only through a scientific mode of treatment that these elements can be brought into a theology in any proper sense of the term” (Miley).

4. Practical Theology.

This is “the system of truth considered as a means of renewing and sanctifying men, or, in other words, theology in its publication and enforcement” (Strong).

VII. VALUE OF THE STUDY OF THEOLOGY

A good working knowledge of theology is of very great value:

1. It forms the basis of Christian experience: Titus 2; II John 9.

2. It is the touchstone of error: Matthew 22.29; Galatians 1.6-9; II Timothy 4.2-4.

3. It is the foundation of teaching: I Timothy 4.13.

VIII. METHODS OF THEOLOGY

Various have been the methods of treating the material of theology.

• The Analytical method begins with blessedness, which is the end of all things, and then treats of the means by which it is secured.

• The Trinitarian method regards Christian Doctrine as a manifestation successively of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

• The Federal method treats theology under the old and the new covenants.

• The Anthropological method begins with man’s disease, sin, and ends with redemption, the remedy for this disease.

• The Christological method treats of God, man, and sin as presuppositions of the person and work of Christ.

• The Historical method discusses, chronologically, the history of redemption.

• The Allegorical method describes “man as a wanderer, God as the end, life as a road, the Holy Spirit as a light, and heaven as a home”. This is done in Bunyan’s “Holy War”.

Opposed to all these is the Synthetic method, so called, which “starts from the highest principle, God, and proceeds to man, Christ, redemption, and finally to the end of all things” (Hagenback, Hist. Doctrine, 2:152).

We adopt the Synthetic method with some modifications from the usual treatment. The following are the cardinal doctrines of the Bible. Around them may be grouped all the teachings of revelation: God, angels (including Satan), man, sin, Christ (His person and work), the Holy Spirit (His person and work), the church, and the future. The doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit are usually classed together under another doctrine called Soteriology, the doctrine of salvation.

But preliminary to the study of all these doctrines is the study of the Bible itself as the source and support of divine truth. Accordingly, we begin with the Holy Scriptures. We may now exhibit the doctrines, which will comprise our course of lectures in this subject:

1. Bibliology: Doctrine of the Bible.

2. Theology: Doctrine of God.

3. Angelology: Doctrine of Angels (including Satan).

4. Anthropology: Doctrine of Man.

5. Hamartiology: Doctrine of Sin.

6. Christology: Doctrine of Christ, His Person and Work.

7. Pneumatology: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, His Person and Work.

8. Ecclesiology: Doctrine of the Church.

9. Eschatology: Doctrine of the Future.

~ end of introduction ~