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Dec 15, 20258 min read

The Doctrine of the Word of God

Pages 31-169

2022-3-20 Pages 1-31

What I learned:
  1. Terms
    1. Systematic Theology is any study that answers the question, “What does the Bible teach us today?” about any given topic.
    2. Historical Theology is the historical study of how Christians in different periods have understood various theological topics.
    3. Philosophical Theology studies theological topics largely without use of the Bible. They instead use philosophical reasoning and what can be known about God from observing the universe.
    4. Apologetics is providing a defense for the truthfulness of the Christian faith for the purpose of convincing unbelievers.
    5. Biblical Theology gives special attention to the teachings of individual authors and sections of Scripture and to the place of each teaching in the historical development of Scripture.
  2. Doctrine is what the whole Bible teaches us today about some particular topic.
  3. Christian ethics differ from systematic theology as the former focuses on what God wants us to do and what attitude we should have; the latter focuses on what we should believe and know.
  4. Major doctrines are major since they have a more significant impact on our thinking about other doctrines and how we live the Christian life.
  5. Psalm 119:18 is a prayer to understand God’s Word.
  6. James 1:19-20 teaches we ought to steward our knowledge of theology with humility and love. Don’t study to win arguments or make another believer feel insignificant in the Lord’s work.
  7. Christian theology can tolerate paradox but God never asks us to believe a contradiction. Example is “God is three persons and one God” while a contradiction is “God is three persons and God is NOT three persons.”
Interesting Quote:
  • The basic reason for studying systematic theology, then, is that it enables us to teach ourselves and others what the Bible says, thus fulfilling the “teaching” part of the Great Commission. (9)
  • ===No matter how intelligent a student might be, if the student does not continue to pray for God to give him or her an understanding mind and a believing and humble heart, and the student does not maintain a personal walk with the Lord,=== then the teachings of Scripture will be misunderstood and disbelieved, doctrinal error will result, and the mind and heart of the student will not be changed for the better but for the worse. (17)
  • Systematic theology rightly studied will not lead to knowledge that “puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1) but to humility and love for others. (18).

2022-3-20 Pages 31-48

What I learned:

So they tore down the altar and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them” 1 Maccabees 4:45-46

such as had not been since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them.

  1. The verses above shows that author knew of no one who could speak with the authority of God as the OT prophets had done.
  2. Josephus admits that the later writings, now known as the Apocrypha, were not of “equal credit” to the OT. He also records in 95 A.D. that the Jewish people had not dared to alter a syllable in what they called the “Scriptures” for long ages.
  3. Jerome included the Apocrypha in the Vulgate while admitting they were not “books of the canon” but merely “books of the church.”
Interesting Quote:
  • The Old Testament closes with the expectation of the Messiah to come (Mal. 3:1-4; 4:1-6). (47)

2022-3-20 Pages 49-69

What I learned:
  1. 1 Timothy 5:17-18 shows Paul quoting a portion of Luke’s gospel and calling it “Scripture.”
  2. Mark, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, and Jude were not written by apostles.
  3. The Thirty-Ninth Paschal Letter of Athanasius, in AD 367, contained a list of the twenty-seven New Testament books we hold onto today.
  4. The Council of Carthage in AD 397 agreed with the eastern churches on the same list for the New Testament canon.
  5. The Gospel of Thomas, which was thought to be a part of the canon for some time, ends pretty absurdedly 😂:

Simon Peter said to them: “Let Mary go away from us, for women are not worthy of life.” Jesus said: “Lo, I shall lead her, so that I may make here a male, that she too may become a living spirit, resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself a male will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

  1. Scripture show all throughout that the word of the Old Testament was attributed to God Himself.
Interesting Quote:
  • Moreover, the apostles did much more oral teaching, which had divine authority (see 2 Thess. 2:15) but was not wrriten down and preserved as Scripture. (50)
  • Ultimately, then, we base our confidence in the correctness of our present canon on the faithfulness of God. (54)
  • In all of these arguments for an ultimate standard of truth, an absolute authority for what to believe, there is an element of circularity involved. (69)

2022-3-20 Pages 70-84

What I learned:
  1. Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 assures us that God cannot lie.
  2. Psalm 119:89 says every word is fixed in heaven for all eternity.
  3. In John 17:17, we would have expected Jesus him to say, “Your word is true.” Jesus chooses not to use the Greek word, alethes (meaning “true”), but uses aletheia (meaning “truth”). God’s Word is truth itself.
  4. Truth is what God says.
Interesting Quote:
  • They have recognized that the actual words of Scripture have more spiritual power than any merely human words or human wisdom, and therefore their sermons have focused on explaining the text and then relating real-life stories not merely to entertain but rather to illustrate how the text has made a difference in their own lives and the lives of other believers. (72)

2022-3-20 Pages 85-108

What I learned:
  1. The Doctrine of Inerrancy is consistent with loose or free quotations of the Old Testament.
  2. 2 Timothy 3:16 says ALL Scripture is profitable for us.
  3. Original copies of Scripture are called autographs.
  4. The Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament we have today are the same as the original manuscripts. MIND BLOWN.
  5. Grudem responds to a controversy arisen by Daniel P. Fuller who said God, “deliberately accomodated his language in nonrevelational matters to the way the original readers viewed the world about them, so as to enhance the communication of revelational truth.” His example is the mustard seed NOT being the smallest seed. It is better to understand Jesus referring to it as the smallest of all agricultural seeds.
  6. Grudem resolves seemingly contradictory passages regarding Jesus’ charge to his disciples on what supplies they can/cannot bring on their mission trip. He reconciles this by noting Jesus was simply saying to not bring extra supplies.
Interesting Quote:
  • The issue with the doctrine of inerrancy is truthfulness in speech. (88)

Pages 109-136

What I learned:

the clarity of Scripture means that the Bible is written in such a way that it is able to be understood, but right understanding require time, effort, the use of ordinary means, a willingess to obey, and the help of the Holy Spirit; and our understanding will remain imperfect in this lifetime.

  1. Deut 30:11-14 clearly shows that God expects His people to understand His commands.
  2. Jesus blames the misunderstandings not on the Scriptures themselves but on those who misunderstand or fail to accept them. Examples: Matt. 12:3,5; 19:4, 21:42; 22:29,31; 9:13; John 3:10.
  3. Jesus explicitly rebukes the two disciples on the road to Emmaus when they were slow of heart to believe what the prophets had spoken.
  4. Deeper understanding is given to those who are more mature in their faith.
  5. John 8:43 hits hard.
  6. Requirements for understanding Scripture rightly:
    1. Time - the Bible emphasizes meditation.
    2. Effort - Ezra set his heart to study the Law of the Lord in Ezra 7:10.
    3. The Use of Ordinary Means - translation in native language.
    4. A Willingness to Obey - 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 shows that maturity determines availabilty of konwledge/teaching.
    5. The Help of the Holy Spirit - Psalm 119:18, 27, 34, 73.
    6. Humble Recognition that Our Understanding is Imperfect - some of the disciples didn’t even understand.

Without the clarity of Scripture someone could say, “I believe fully in the absolute divine authority of Scripture—but I have no idea what it requires me to believe or how it requires me to live.” In this way, if Scripture has no clarity, its authority is effectively nullified in real life.

  • The fact that the New Testament frequently quotes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint justifies the translation of Scripture into other languages.
  • Doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture should lead directly to universal literacy for a nation.

Pages 137-151

What I learned:
  1. According to v.13, people under the old covenant were also saved through trusting in Christ. It was through a forward-looking faith of His coming Messiah or Redeemer found in the person of Jesus Christ.
  2. v.4, quoting v.3, indicates that our spiritual life is maintained by daily nourishment with the Word of God.

To neglect regular reading of God’s Word is as detrimental ot the health of our souls as the neglect of physical food is detrimental to the health of our bodies. (141)

  1. According to v.14-15, unbelievers are under a law whether they know it or not.
  2. Scripture never gives an example that someone can know the gospel through general revelation (creation).

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