Biblical theology seeks to make sense of God’s Word by studying biblical text, content and structure to form a biblical theological perspective. It is a useful tool when interpreting biblical events and perspective. Biblical theology “examines the big story and pays attention to how each book of the Bible contributes to it” . Biblical theology brings together the study of scripture to investigate, understand and guide Christian living. Authorities of scripture, marriage, family, gender, and sexuality are fiercely debated topics in today’s culture aimed at casting doubt about God’s commands. The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope to confront these false teachings in a loving manner while affirming God’s commands.
Biblical theology strives to “bridge the gap between exegesis (our study of text) and systematic theology (our formational of doctrine from the text.)” Biblical theology relates historical events to provide a deeper understanding of God’s word. It is the merging of biblical truths and biblical methods.
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Throughout the bible, are wonderful, inspirational, and sacred stories written by prophets, kings, and the common man. Between these timeless narratives, the authors weave lessons and words that bring us closer to the will of God. On their own as individual books, they give us a narrow but profitable view of their theology. But by combining them together the bible brings a new context into light. Upon close examination, it becomes apparent that despite the decades, generations, centuries, and millennia that separated these authors, they use common themes that are prolific across the bible. Biblical theology teaches us how to find these themes and how they fit into the bible’s story.
When we take this into account, the bible presents us with another layer of detail in symbolism. The symbolism in the bible is not exclusively used to teach a parable or convey a deep or unregistered meaning. In addition to these things, symbolism in the bible also foreshadows things to come. It lays out a roadmap from the present to future of both its characters, humanity, and the kingdom. And like the points mentioned above, these symbols are also known to the biblical authors who are able to also communicate them as though they all shared a common idea despite the separation between them. Biblical theology helps us by teaching how to find and interpret these symbols and how they fit into the bible’s big story.
The bible is trying to tell us something we can never forget. It tells us a history of individuals, peoples, and nations, and their struggle in life. All of these people and things combine and the stories they tell share an undeniable connection that is immutable by time or location. This is the bible’s big story. It is the overarching message or as others call it; metanarrative of the bible. In this narrative, God is the protagonist and Satan is the antagonist and their conflict revolves around the destiny of mankind in which the spirit of God shall restore His temple which will stand for eternity. The authors of the bible understood this, and it shows.
The big story of the bible is only possible because of the Holy Spirit working through these authors no matter where they were. The authors were not inspired by any human thinking or reasoning; they were inspired exclusively by the Holy Spirit. As a result, their insight has no equal in its authenticity. While it is difficult for us to tap into the Spirit like they did, we can examine the effect. With the aid of biblical theology, their inspiration can be understood.
This is all tied together in the big story because of what it is about: knowing God’s unchanging will. When Christ died on the cross and was resurrected, He did so to fulfil a promise that had been made. To the people at the time who had been told about Jesus, (who He said He was and what He had done and would do) they split themselves up but within a generation after His death, the church had grown greatly. To those believers who were of Jewish descent; they understood that Jesus was fulfilling an ancient promise and to the non-Jewish believers; they saw a God who allowed any who were worthy to join Him in His kingdom.
The promise of Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross for the sins of the world was foretold long before He was born. It was not done as vividly as that, but there were symbols, settings and descriptions that all pointed to not the when but the how of Jesus’ earthly ministry.
The when was irrelevant because Jesus could have arrived on earth whenever He wanted to because His mission was always guaranteed to be fulfilled. The people He would have encountered would always have been the sinful and the lost that was looking for salvation and it was always intended that He suffer in our place. His promise of salvation, not only for the Jews but also Gentiles would have always been true and the kingdom would come no matter what.
This might all seem complicated to modern people, things like kingdoms, prophecy’s, even public executions are things that modern people do not share with the contemporaries of the bible. Biblical theology makes use of the big story by tearing down walls of missing context by making the setting of the bible relevant to its pupils. While the bible takes place on earth, it does so in a distant past where nuance in normal. However, the word of God is timeless, and His lessons are not lost because of the passage of time. What is true today is not invalidated by tomorrow; the truth cannot be nullified by the future just because we have lost contact with the past.
Biblical theology calls God’s plan the big story because that is how it is studied: as though it was the story. Every promise is based on an event from the past and to know the future you can start with your history. Every reference, implication, and character is studied to find how God works through or with them to manifest His will.
An understanding of Biblical theology is practical for the day to day life of Christians because it deepens understanding and is catalyst resulting in a “more faithfully biblically understanding.” Biblical theology allows the Holy Spirit to fully open our hearts and minds to Jesus and His plan of salvation as supported by scripture in Luke 24:31, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” James Hamilton, Jr. notes that “studying biblical theology is the best way to learn from the Bible how to read the Bible as a Christian should.”
Our culture today has seen a dramatic shift in accepting scripture as God’s authority for our lives, marriage and family along with a growing approval of tolerance for homosexuality and gender concerns. The authority of scripture has special emphasis for Christian living as the true, inspired Word of God. One of the most powerful passages in the Bible that express the authority of scripture is 2 Timothy 3:14, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching and for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” The Bible is written by a variety of people which narrates the acts of God in a way that is accessible to all. Scripture is flawless and perfect because it comes from a perfect God whose inspired words are illuminating and infallible. Richard L. Mayhue suggests, “To understand and accept the fact of God’s authority is a simple as accepting the fact of God Himself.” God‘s authority in Scripture is expressed in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” God’s sovereignty is original and fundamental to the “nature of how God displays His authority.”
Continuing on in 2 Timothy 3:15, Paul refers to “the sacred writings,” which most likely corresponds broadly to the Old Testament.” This draws a distinct correlation between OT and NT teachings and doctrines and is proof that God speaks through all scriptures for the purpose of salvation.
An alarming trend for the church today is the dismissal of accepting the authority of scripture. To counter this trend, Christians need to speak biblical truth by asserting that the authority of scripture is permanent and “an inescapable element of Christian theology.” Those proclaiming to be Christians today seem to lack the ability to accept the “Bible as the Word of God for humankind to which we should all give total allegiance.” There is a quickness to accept only certain parts of the Bible and not allow scripture to change our thinking. The New Testament gives us the perfect example that we should receive the word of God as holy, just and full of truth as reflected in John 1:14 when “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Finally, 1 Thessalonians 2:13 points to the irrefutable truth of God’s authority, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also preforms it’s work in you who believe.” It is impossible to be a Christian without receiving and understanding that the Word of God “is something that God says, something that God does, and something that God is.”
The book of Genesis has much to say about marriage and family beliefs. God is clear that “marriage then is, according to scripture, a sacred bond that is characterized by permanence, sacredness, intimacy, mutuality and exclusiveness.” God’s Word is clear in Genesis 2:24 “That is why a man leaves his father and his mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Marriage is a divine covenant given to us by God “as an essential building block of a healthy state and the Church.” God’s teachings involve an order which God established right from the creation. This is evidenced in Scripture when God created land, animals, and man. Genesis 1:27, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.” God’s order and his divine teaching is that marriage is between a man and women and deserving of God’s blessing. The Bible speaks to God’s order in 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” God’s design for a covenant marriage is evidenced in New Testament scripture when Jesus speaking to crowds in Judea states, “Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together” in Mark 10:9. God’s wisdom and words and work did not end with the Old Testament, he sent His Son, Jesus to affirm that God’s Word is true.
Going back to the beginning in Genesis, God also reveals his biblical teaching about families and children. Genesis 1:22 states “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; the fill earth and subdue it.” Husbands and wives are to have children and God reminds his people of this teaching again “after the Flood, to Abraham after the birth of his son and when he sent his Son, Jesus.” God wants Christians to obey his commandments and teachings and to share these with our children. The words of the Jeremiah demonstrate God’s sovereignty over all in the passage of Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” It is God’s plan for Christians know His Word, teach His Word and preach His Word. “It is incumbent upon the church to educate both itself and the larger culture on God’s intentions for marriage.”
Sadly today, there are many in who wish to redefine God’s Word on marriage and families. “Scholars even speak of the postmodernist marriage that, according to them differs entirely from the traditional Christian idea of marriage.” The Bible teaches that marriage is sacred and Genesis 2:24 stipulates man and women shall be married then it’s clear that “Heterosexuality is the only possible arrangement for marriage as the Creator has commanded.” Thus, a marriage between same sex people would never be endorsed by God. It is key for all to have an understanding of the biblical foundation of marriage as a deeply spiritual covenant of which its significance is demonstrated in the Kingdom and in society.
Author and scholar James M. Hamilton, Jr. defines biblical theology as “the best way to learn from the Bible how to read the Bible as a Christian should.” Today’s debate about gender and sexuality reveal extreme “differences over how to properly interrelate science and theology.” The post-modern world today seems to cast aside the biblical truth of scriptures which define male and female, along with the marriage covenant as divine institutions. Genesis 1:27 reveals God’s creation of humans, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” By rejecting biblical truths and choosing alternative definitions for sexuality and gender which “align with the socially constructed world of same-sex attraction lacks the natural order” of God-given truths.
Today’s world seems to embrace the desire to reconstruct the biblical narrative on these two topics which exposes a lack of regard about “God’s sovereignty, the inspiration of Scripture, and the coherence and unity of the Bible’s message.” Recently new terms and definitions with regard to gender and sexuality have been developed to “reshape the values of society as regards attitudes of sexuality.” Terms such as redefining the meanings of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, sexuality, and sexual identity are undermining the “influence of theological beliefs” This clearly points to the changing the “biblical vision of human sexuality and sin.” The redefining of gender and sexuality is counter to God’s plans for His people and Kingdom. It removes the fullness of God’s plan for people as His image bearers. Jeremiah 29:11, should be a reminder for all of the fullness of the God’s love for us, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” By reshaping the narrative to support same-sex attraction and gender identity we are creating a shaking foundation. Certainly, the biblical truth found is the parable of the wise and foolish builder is a reminder of the importance of building one’s life in obedience to God’s teachings and truths.
It is tough for Christians today to navigate a conversation about the authority of scripture, marriage, family, sexuality and gender to those who may disagree. Christians are called to share the gospel and to be the light in the world offering hope and forgiveness to sinners as directed in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” Nothing else has the power to make known the righteousness of God except for the Gospel of Jesus which alone can change lives, give love to a lost world and bring restoration and reconciliation. The Bible directs us in Mark 16:15, when Jesus says, “Go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” By rejecting God’s Word and truth about the biblical theology in the authority of scripture, marriage, family, gender and sexuality “is unfaithful to the biblical witness.” and separates us from God, revealing that our world is truly in need of the Savior to rescue us.
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