What is theology?

C. THEOLOGY (cf. Kattenbusch, in the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia, vol. xi:, pp. 394-397), concerned with systematic, logical development of TRUTH (see Fairbairn, p. 263), as a process collects and formulates religious ideas; in the form of "Biblical" Theology doing this for Revelation in the light of the periods during which that was vouchsafed; in the form of "Symbolic" Theology treating of the fundamentals of the Faith as these were investigated in the age of the first Church Councils, which issued "Catholic Creeds" (cf. note on Luke 18:8); whilst "Dogmatic" Theology has to do with the development of such doctrine in the light of spiritual experience; and so on.

We have now taken a rapid survey of the teaching of the four Gospels as to the Godhead, and looked at the special instruction given as to each of the divine Persons. It is scarcely necessary to say that in no portion of the word of God is this teaching more rich. Indeed, we might say, nowhere is it so rich as here, though of course we do not hold up one portion of Scripture against another. But the glory of the four Gospels is that they reveal to us Christ in the fulness of His person, as God, as Man, in one person. It is the special joy of our Lord that He reveals God the Father to us in His attributes, in His character, His love; and the Holy Spirit unites in this blessed ministry. Thus, the Gospels are most rich in what may be called theology — the knowledge of God.

Not so, however, with one who knows God as He is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. Such a one has gotten life eternal. "This," says Christ, "is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." (John 17:3) It is not life eternal to know theology or divinity. A man may sit down to the study of these, as he would to study law or medicine, astronomy or geology, and all the while know nothing of God, and therefore be without divine life, and perish in the end.

But it is not so with one who knows God in Christ. Such a one has life and an object. He has God Himself for his priceless portion. This is divine. It lies at the very foundation of personal Christianity and true religion. It is above and beyond everything. It is not, we repeat, mere theology, divinity, or religiousness; it is God Himself, known, trusted, and enjoyed. It is a grand, unmistakable reality. It is the soul of theology, the groundwork of divinity, the life of true religion. There is nothing in all this world like it. It is something which must be felt in order to be known. It is acquaintance with God, confidence in Him, and enjoyment of Him.

The Bible is not a book of theology. Its truths are not arranged in what we might call a logical manner. In one sense the chronological method is followed. Doctrines are revealed as the occasion for making them known is reached; but even this is hardly sufficiently clear. Doctrines are found, like the precious ore embedded amongst the rocks, distributed throughout the entire Scripture. To gather these doctrines, therefore, requires a survey of the entire word. of God. Of course, in the Epistles we have doctrinal truth presented in a more abstract, connected way, but even here it remains true that the Epistles are instinct with life, and every truth presented has its experimental connection with the soul.

The Doctrine as to God — the Trinity The knowledge of God is, as some have put it, "The noblest of all sciences." We guard however against the thought that we can gain a knowledge of God as we would of the natural sciences. Indeed these do not yield their true meaning until we couple them with God, for surely He is revealed in all the works of His creation; but the knowledge of God as given to us in the Scriptures, and particularly in the New Testament, is a moral, rather than an intellectual, acquirement. It is this which our Lord declares when He says: "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent."

1914 122 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." In vain would men pretend to the knowledge of God apart from the Scriptures. They have tried long and hard to attain to it by their own means, science, philosophy, etc., but only to end with this confession of their ignorance, "To the unknown God." Such was the boasted wisdom of the Greeks nothing indeed to be proud of. God can only be known by the revelation of Himself, and a revelation of Himself He has given nowhere but in the Scriptures. He has given, in creation, visible proofs of His eternal power and divinity; but these proofs, if sufficient to condemn the fool who hath said in his heart, "There is no God," do not reveal Him in His nature and character. The Scriptures only, because God-breathed, can do that. Therein alone is God manifested in His holiness, righteousness and love. "God is light" and "God is love" is what we learn and see both in His written Word and in the incarnate Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person," or, as it may be translated, "the resplendence of His glory and the imprint of His substance."

We have thus, in this rapid and partial summary, gathered a few of the salient teachings of the four Gospels as to the great outlines of doctrine. We find that they are particularly rich in setting forth God and the person of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ; that the way of salvation is made plain, and the future, both for the saved and the unsaved, is clearly stated. When we compare these truths with those of the Old Testament we see an immense advance in every particular. All that went before was partial. God dwelt in the thick darkness, revealing Himself, as we have it in the epistle to the Hebrews, "in many parts and in many ways." There is unquestionably a theology of the Old Testament, and from the very beginning, we could not fail to recognize God as a Being of infinite power, holiness, righteousness and goodness; but all things were pointing forward, and we have not the truth as it is in Jesus made known in the Old Testament.

However important doctrine may be, still true faith rests in the subject of all divine doctrine, God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ; and we cannot truly receive doctrine until we have received Christ. If we rightly read the scriptures we shall, by them, become better and better acquainted with the Lord. True religion is true dealing with God; it is not the mind mastering what God says. A son might understand what his father told him, and yet lack obedience: and who then would value his knowledge of his father's will? Knowledge of the truth apart from faith in God and His Son only adds to the sinner's condemnation; to know all about what God is, and what He has done for man, and still not to believe God Himself, is double death.

The fact is that many fundamental doctrines are not summarised in Scripture by a single defining statement. To find the scriptural authority for a doctrine it may be necessary to glean information from many places. The clear inferences from all these texts are then put together and the doctrine is found proven, so that it can be defined in a plain statement. This statement is not in the plain words of Scripture, but, in spite of that, the doctrine so stated has all the authority of the Word of God behind it. If a person says he will not affirm the doctrine because he will only repeat the exact Biblical wording, let him say whether he is prepared to limit all his expressions of doctrine to conform to this principle? Of course he will not, thus showing that there is something wrong with such a principle. What is the motive behind this objection? It may be only due to ignorance; but it also may be because the object is to conceal a heretical opinion.