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What is Theology?

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People often hear pastors and Bible teachers talk about theology, but they want to know, “What is theology?”

Well, here is one definition of theology:

What is theology?

Did that definition of theology help any?

I didn’t think so.

If you are like me, you are probably more confused (and bored) now than you were before you read that definition of theology. If you are asking, “What is theology?” the only thing you really learned from that definition of theology above is that theology is confusing and boring. But take heart, theology doesn’t have have to be this way.

When properly taught, theology is not confusing and is never be boring. When properly studied, theology sets the heart on fire and opens up the mind to imagination and wonder. Let me show you how.

What is Theology?

Here at Till He Comes, my goal is to Bring Scripture and Theology to Life. I not only desire to write about these subjects in ways that are interesting and engaging, but also write about them in a way which shows how they affect your life right now.

So when people ask, “What is theology?” I not only seek to answer the question and provide a definition of theology that makes sense, but also to show how theology matters and how it makes a difference in your life today.

What is theology? Here is the basic definition of theology: Theology literally means “the study of God.”

But theology is so much more than that. When theology is truly studied, it ushers you into a deep relationship with God. Theology is not simply the study of God, but an interaction with God, a conversation with Him and with others about the deep mysteries of divinity. Theology is thinking God’s thoughts after Him. It is tracing the mind and heart of God, and learning to see the world through the eyes of God.

What is theology? Theology is entering into a lifelong conversation with God about Himself, ourselves, and how He wants to live life with us.

What is theology? Theology is learning to make God your best friend.

That sounds more exciting than the boring definition of theology provided in the image above, right?

Learning Theology

I suppose my answer to the question, “What is theology?” needs some examples.  If theology is ultimately an adventure with God, then theology cannot really be taught, but must be experienced. However, learning theology is the first step in experiencing theology. So below I provide some basic instruction about theology, the various categories of theology, and some of my own thoughts about theology.

You may notice by looking through the posts below that this is a work in progress. But that again is a truth about theology. When we ask, “What is theology?” we cannot expect to learn theology in an afternoon. Learning theology is a life-long process, which I believe will be continued in eternity. Just as God is infinite, so learning about God requires infinity.

In the post below, I seek to answer the question “What is theology?” by sharing with you some of what I have learned about theology over the years, and by asking some of the questions I still have.

There are two types of posts below. Some contain summaries of my seminary class notes. I know this might sound boring, but I do my best to summarize them in an interesting way.

However, after I summarize my notes, it is then that things really get lively. I take the theology I was taught, and then challenge, question, and critique it in a way I was not able to do in seminary (at least, not if I wanted to graduate).

Eventually, there will be hundreds of posts on this page, so you may want to Subscribe to the Blog so that you get new posts as they are published.

The posts are divided into the traditional categories of Systematic Theology:

What is theology? Click on a link to jump to that section of the page
|  Introduction  |  Bibliology  |  Theology Proper  |  Anthropology  |  Hamartiology  |  Christology  |  Soteriology  |  Pneumatology  |  Ecclesiology  |  Eschatology  |  Angelology  |


What is Theology

Introduction to Theology


Bibliology

Bibliology

Theology Proper

Anthropology

Hamartiology

Christology

Soteriology

Pneumatology

Ecclesiology

Eschatology

Angelology

Books that Help with the “What is Theology?” Question

If you are eager to learn more about theology and cannot wait for me to finish the posts above, here are a few theology books that I recommend which will help answer your questions about theology. If you still want to know “What is theology?” the books below will help.

If you have any questions about theology you want me to answer, please out the form below, and I will try to answer it in a future blog post.

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    Do you have to believe that Jesus is God?

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    the ChristDo you have to believe that Jesus is God in order to receive eternal life? Some people think so because of what John says in John 20:31.

    These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

    Since most people assume that “Christ”=”God” and that “Son of God”=”God” they think that it is required to believe that Jesus is divine in order to receive eternal life.

    But is this assumption correct? Is it true that the title “Christ” (or “Messiah”) means “God”? How about the term “Son of God”?

    “Christ” and “the Son of God” do not require divinity

    Many people believe that the terms “Christ” and “Son of God” refer to the divinity of Jesus – the fact that He was God. While that certainly has been a popular view in the past, and is the “traditional” view, more and more students of Scripture are realizing this view does not fit all the Biblical data.

    Instead, the terms seem to refer to the role or function of someone who is being used by God in a special way to carry out God’s will on earth. Here is what I believe about the terms “Christ” and “Son of God”:

    The terms “Christ” (or “Messiah”) and “Son of God” did not originally refer to someone who was divine, but to someone who had a special relationship with God and was therefore given a God-appointed task, which was often related to some sort of deliverance. However, as Jesus performed His ministry as “the Christ, the Son of God” the terms grew in significance to include the idea that the God-appointed task of Jesus required Him to be God in the flesh. The Gospel writers (especially John) emphasized the divinity of Jesus to prove that everlasting life is freely given to those who believe in the name of Jesus for it.

    I believe this for many reasons. First, the term “Christ” (or “Messiah”) simply referred to an anointed deliverer. In Jewish literature, mere humans were often referred to as “Messiah.” No Jewish person thought that the promised Messiah would be God in the flesh. They were looking for, hoping for, and praying for a human deliver who would be specially anointed and gifted by God to lead the Hebrew people back into their rightful place among the nations.

    Support for this idea is seen in the fact that the disciples believed Jesus was the promised Messiah long before they believed He was God incarnate. But the disciples do not appear to understand that Jesus is God incarnate until sometime after Jesus rises from the dead. Even at the Last Supper, they ask Jesus to “reveal the Father to us” and Jesus says, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

    Secondly, regarding the term “Son of God,” it was a term that was commonly used for Kings, Emperors, and Caesars. It was thought that Emperors and Caesars were the offspring of a deity, but were not themselves deity. An Emperor or a Caesar could become a god once they died, but they were not considered to be fully divine while alive.

    Much more can be said about this. But the point is that the terms “Christ” (or “Messiah”) and “Son of God” are not, in themselves, equivalent with deity. One could believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, but not realize that He was also God incarnate, God in the flesh.

    What does this mean for John 20:31?

    The Gospel of John is often seen as “the only evangelistic book of the Bible.” I am not completely convinced that this is the case. In fact, I think every single book of the Bible is “evangelistic” but this is primarily due to how I understand the word “evangelism” than anything else.

    I believe that John, in his Gospel, is trying to get people to see that Jesus is God, and is possibly trying to inject more meaning into the terms “Christ” and “Son of God” than the average person in the first century would have understood or immediately grasped.

    In other words, one of the primary purposes of John is to impregnate the terms “Christ” and “Son of God” with new meaning and significance that cannot be used of any other human throughout history.

    If this is true, John is not trying to teach that believing that Jesus is God is how a person receives eternal life, but that believing that Jesus is God brings a person to the place where they can believe in Jesus for everlasting life. There is a vast difference.

    While I don’t think a person necessarily has to believe that Jesus is God in order to receive eternal life, I do think that believing that Jesus is God will help get a person to the place where they understand why and how Jesus can give eternal life to anyone who believes in Him for it. A person does not need to believe that Jesus is God to receive eternal life, but why would they believe in Jesus unless they believed Jesus was God?

    So while believing that Jesus is God may be logically necessary for receiving eternal life, it is not theologically required.

    Yes! Jesus IS God

    I do believe that Jesus is God, and I do believe that some of the later uses of the term “Christ” and “Son of God” in the New Testament refer to the divinity of Jesus.

    Jesus is God! Jesus is fully divine.

    But there is a difference between believing that Jesus is God and believing that it is required to believe that Jesus is God in order to receive eternal life.

    I do not believe that to receive eternal life, one must grasp and understand the divinity of Jesus. According to Jesus Himself, He gives eternal life to everyone and anyone who simply believes in Him for it.

    Of course, who would believe in Jesus for eternal life without understanding that Jesus is God? So in this sense, it is unlikely that anyone will believe in Jesus for eternal life without believing that Jesus is God, but once again, there is a difference between something being likely and something being required. After all, none of the apostles believed that Jesus was God until after Jesus had risen from the dead, but they did believe in Jesus for eternal life.

    Anyway, let me get your thoughts on the subject in the comment section below, and if you want to learn more about how the gospel truth that Jesus is God fits in with the offer of eternal life through Jesus, take my online course on the gospel:

    The Gospel According to ScriptureWant to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

    The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

    God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: , , , , , ,

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