Biblical theology mainly focuses on the teaching in the Bible, written by individual authors. These teachings are published in scriptures as a part of the historical developments. Since scholars worldwide have used these theologies differently, they have been challenging to define in brief terms. This article has jotted down the ten things every Christian needs to understand about Biblical theology.
It is different from social and systematic theologies.
Biblical theology does not fall into the faithful practices of the teachings in the Bible. Although the primary aim of the theory is to impart the truths of the Bible to the people, the disciple is slightly different from other theological methods that people follow. For instance, the goal of systematic theology is to study the teaching of the Bible, God, and Salvation. Still, when we speak of historical theology, we aim to understand how Christians perceived the Bible in previous centuries. Hence, the teachings and the approach of biblical theology differ from the others.
It emphasizes God’s progressive revelation.
Instead of blindly preaching about everything the Bible says about a particular topic or concept, Biblical theology talks about tracing the revelation of God and how He plans to save the world.
It traces Bible’s storyline.
Biblical theology talks about tracing the origin and birth of the scripture. Most of the people who follow the Bible believe God who created entire universe and others as well. For example, Genesis 3 points forward to the coming of the Savior. In the New Testament, it is written that he is coming again to create a brand new world. According to biblical theology, we can trace this path, which can be summed up in five words – creation, fall, redemption, and new creation.
It uses the categories of scriptures.
Instead of using modern thoughts and philosophies, it focuses on the categories and ideologies that the book writers already used. Since each writer had their theological inputs and emphasis, it focused on delivering the same to people who follow the biblical theologies. This means it also provides us with a method to study each author of the scriptures.
It values the unity of the Bible.
Biblical theology is the best way to understand the author’s ideologies of each scripture, which also throws insights into the unity of the Christian community amidst all the authors of the other authors of different centuries. When read as separate parts, Bible can be a little confusing. But with the help of authors that write on the biblical theologies, it can help people unite and understand the scripture better.
It teaches us to read Bible with Christ in mind.
According to Biblical theology, since the scripture talks about one God, we must put Christ in the center of all our prayers. One of the primary goals of the Bible is to impart knowledge and read them with Jesus being the center of the book.
