The Study Of Theology
One danger of theology is that “knowledge puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1) . True theology should lead us to exclaim with Paul, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33). John Owen advised those who desire to grow spiritually, “Be much in thoughtfulness of the excellency of the majesty of God and thine infinite, inconceivable distance from him.”1 Though he was one of the greatest theologians of all time, Owen said, “Persons of the most high and eminent attainment, of the nearest and most familiar communion with God, do yet in this life know but a very little of him and his glory….Our thoughts, our meditations, our expressions of him are low, many of them unworthy of his glory, none of them reaching his perfections.”2
Another danger is faced by academic theologians and students of theology in seminaries, as well as pastors in churches. Schoolwork and ministry can place such demands upon them that they have little to no time for anything else, and may be tempted to isolate themselves from Christian friendship. That would be a grave mistake, to the detriment not only of their spirituality but also of their theology.
Theology that is not lived out in real friendships is hardly worthy of the name. If Paul is a model for theologians, then we should note how many people he personally greeted in his epistles. His theological study was not abstracted from relationships, but was done in the context of rich friendships. Life is not about merely exchanging ideas through reading and writing, but face-to-face fellowship. John said, “Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made complete.” (2 John 1:12) %% #2John %%. Communion with God and godly people is the goal of theology: “what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3) %% #1John #1John1 %%. Let all theological professors, students, and pastors take this principle to heart, and do theology in the fellowship of Christ’s church.
J. I. Packer says, “All theology is also spirituality.” He explains, “If our theology does not quicken the conscience and soften the heart, it actually hardens both; if it does not encourage the commitment of faith, it reinforces the detachment of unbelief; if it fails to promote humility, it inevitably feeds pride.”3
Theologians are guilty sinners and receive the grace to serve God by faith in the Great High Priest who offered himself for sinners and now sits at God’s right hand to intercede for them (Heb. 10:12). All Christian theology revolves around “Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), for that is our glory (Gal. 6:14). Martin Luther said that the only person worthy “to be called a theologian” is the person who sees God’s glory “through suffering and the cross.” Luther explained, “True theology and recognition of God are in the crucified Christ.”4 Thus, theology becomes one aspect of what it means to live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us (Gal. 2:20).
We must do theology as believers in the truth of the Bible. We must study, write, and teach out of a solid conviction that God’s Word is truly perfect and perfectly true. Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) said, “No mixture of error defiles it, no stain of sin pollutes it.”5 God gives deeper insight to a mind committed to his Word. Psalm 119:66 says, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.”
We dare not do theology by subjecting God to our finite and fallen minds; rather, we must subject ourselves to God’s Word. Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033–1109) said, “I am not trying, O Lord, to penetrate thy loftiness, for I cannot begin to match my understanding with it, but I desire in some measure to understand thy truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand.”6
As those who spend much time in intellectual exercises, theologians must guard themselves from being hearers but not doers of the Word (James 1:22–25). Samuel Miller said, “Men may hold the truth with intelligent accuracy, and contend for it with earnestness, without submitting to its power.”7 Theology without application is like a horse without legs.
Our theology should be a kind of doxology as we elucidate the glories of our Lord and Savior. Witsius saw this as the essence of a theologian’s task, writing, “By a theologian I mean one who, imbued with a substantial knowledge of divine things derived from the teaching of God Himself, declares and extols, not in words only, but by the whole course of his life, the wonderful excellencies of God and thus lives entirely for his glory.”8 This, then, is a true theologian: the one who uses all his studies to glorify God and enjoy him forever. As we see in the Psalms, the best theology is a song of worship, and the best worship is full of theology.
Finally, once your theology is written and made public, you should be prepared for critique. Every endeavor done by mere men is subject to criticism, and yours will be no different. Learn from Apollos, “an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures,” who nevertheless was deficient in some aspects of his theology (Acts 18:24–25). Apollos had the humility to receive instruction from a husband and wife, Aquila and Priscilla, who “expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (v. 26). The result was a richly enhanced ministry to which “God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6; cf. Acts 19:1; 1 Cor. 1:12). While some criticism is malicious or mistaken, almost all criticism has at least a grain of truth from which we can learn. Do not let it crush you, but receive it as loving training from your Father in heaven. For you, theologian, will never be done studying in the school of Jesus Christ.9
References / Sources
Owen, The Mortification of Sin in Believers, in Works, 6:63. ↩︎
Owen, The Mortification of Sin in Believers, in Works, 6:64. ↩︎
[[Reformed Systematic Theology]] Vol 1. pg 145. ↩︎
Luther, Heidelberg Disputation, trans. Harold J. Grimm, thesis 20 with proofs, in LW, 31:52–53. ↩︎
Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David (London: Marshall Brothers, 1881), 1:273. ↩︎
Anselm, Proslogion, chap. 1, in A Scholastic Miscellany: Anselm to Ockham, ed. and trans. Eugene R. Fairweather, Library of Christian Classics 10 (New York: Macmillan, 1970), 73. ↩︎
Samuel Miller, “Christ the Model of Gospel Ministers,” The Presbyterian Preacher 4, no. 4 (1835): 51. ↩︎
Witsius, On the Character of a True Theologian, 27. ↩︎
[[Reformed Systematic Theology]] Vol 1. pg 172. ↩︎