Systematic Theology I: Midterm Study Guide

Systematic Theology

The study of God and all things in relation to God according to His Word. The end goal is worship.

Biblical theology

The attempt to arrange biblical teachings or themes in a more organized way while maintaining biblical images, frameworks, and worldviews.

Philosophical theology

The approach to theology that employs the methods, terms, and resources of philosophy for theological work.

Orthodoxy

That which is considered correct or proper belief, particularly the teachings of early ecumenical church councils from Nicaea to Chalcedon.

Orthopraxy

Right practice

Orthodoxology

Right praise

Apologetics

The endeavor to provide a reasoned account of the grounds for believing in the Christian faith.

Theological Triage

The levels of ranking doctrines. First rank being essential to the gospel. Second rank are urgent for the health and practice of the church. Third rank are important to theology but not enough to justify separation.

Wesleyan Quadrilateral

A 20th-century description of sources of authority in the thought of John Wesley: Scripture, tradition, the Holy Spirit, and reason.

Tradition II

two sources of divine authority= scriptures and church tradition (catholics)

Tradition I

one source of divine authority+ scriptures, tradition is a tool to aid in faithful interpretation (Protestants)

Tradition 0

also scripture but all personal interpretation/contemporary interpretation elevated above previous generations (parts of radical reformation)

Sola Scriptura

according to the Scripture alone

Solo Scriptura

my own w/ the Scriptures

existential

moral arguments for God's existence

revelation

Generically-"the making known of that which is unknown; the unveiling of the which is veiled"

Theologically-"God's self-disclosure in some capacity"

general revelation

"God's communication of Himself to all persons at all times and in all places."

Nature, history, humanity (complexity, mental capacity, moral consciousness, religious nature)

special revelation

"God's particular communications and manifestations of Himself to particular persons at particular times... available now only by consultation of certain sacred writings."

univocal

identical, synonymous knowledge (1:1 correspondence)

For ex w/ the term father, not in the same the Father is, we r not birthed being a father but its who is and has been for eternity

equivocal

ambiguous (open to more than one interpretation), uncertain (no correspondence)

analogical

similar but not identical

-works bc God knows both sides

-"qualitatively the same"

triunity

Lat. Tri, "three," and unus,"one"; together "being three in one.

trinity (Grudem's 3 statements)

"God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God."

Threeness, Co-equality, Oneness

progressive revelation

"God's revelation, asknown through Scripture, is a continuing processin which later revelation is built on earlier, so thatnew aspects of revelation may occur."- Traditional Starting Point: begin with OT and moveto NT. (Curious plurals, Angel of the Lord, thethree angelic visitors to Abraham, etc.)

trinity shield

Key Qualifications:--There is no God behind the persons of the Trinity.--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each fully God--Best Use: Describing logical relations

internal relations

(Relations of Origin): God in himself (a.k.a., Immanent Trinity)

missions (or "Sendings")

The Triune God as he relates to what he has made (e.g., creation, revelation, salvation, etc.). (a.k.a., Economic Trinity)

paternity

The Father eternally gives life to the Son.

filation

The Son eternally receives life from the Father (Matt 11:27; John 5:26)

spiration

The Spirit is "breathed out" or proceeds from both the Father and Son (John 15:26; 20:22)

homoousia

of the same substance

homoiousia

similar substance

modalism

One person appearing in three different forms/modes

Arianism

Jesus (and the Spirit) are creatures.

•"There was a time when he [the Son] was not"

adoptionism (a.k.a. Dynamic Monarchianism)

Jesus is adopted by the Father at his baptism

perichoresis

•Greek term meaning "mutual interpenetration." (John 10:38; 14:10; ILLUS. Light in a room)

Inseperable Operations

•"the works of the Trinity are a unity; every person of the Trinity is involved in every outward action of the Godhead" (McGrath)

-"There is no god behind the back of Jesus"

-John 14:8-11

-Trinity isn't a contradiction; God's Threeness and oneness are in different respects

trinitarian grain of prayer

Christian prayer that we see in Scripture is normally to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

life

•“God is an independent being who does not need anything or anyone to exist, for He exists in and of himself uncontingently”

•Biblical & Theological Teaching

•God is characterized by life. (Exod 3:14; Heb 11:6).

•He is living (Jer 10:10; 1 Thess 1:9)

•God’s life is underived (John 5:26; Gen 1:1).

•God doesn’t need anything, including us (Acts 17:24-25).

•Implications:

•God doesn’t need us (accents God’s Grace)

•No concern that God will cease to exist or be coerced by anything or anyone.

infinity

•Definition: “God as infinite is unlimited and unlimitable”

Space, time, knowledge, power,

constancy (a.k.a., Immutability)

“God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations”

•Theological Meaning

•God Does not change QUANTITATIVELY

•God does not change QUALITATIVELY

•God’s “mind, plans, and actions” are unchanging

Moral Purity: Holiness

God is absolutely unique, pure, God's holiness is the moral standard for life and worship.

Moral Purity: Righteousness

God's law is perfect/actions r perfect,

Moral Purity: Justice

God's rule accords w/ His law, God judges impartially

integrity (genuineness)

He is not like the idols of the nations

integrity (veracity)

God does not speak falsely, God is trustworthy and God's ppl should be too

integrity (faithfulness)

God keeps all His promises, God is faithful even when His ppl are not

integrity (benevolence)

God's love is self-giving, its the heart of His character for all of time

integrity (grace)

God's dealings "with His people not on the basis of their merit or worthiness (what they deserve) but simply according to their need."

integrity (mercy)

his goodness expressed toward people in their misery or distress

Matt. 28:18-20

"[18] And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19]Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Sonand of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I amwith you always, to the end of the age.'" (ESV)3M

Ex. 34:6-7

"[6] The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful andgracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, [7] keeping steadfast love forthousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty,visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourthgeneration.'" (ESV)

Concurrence, divine

The actions of God in working in the world in conjunction with the actions of human beings.

Creatio ex nihilio

The Christian view that God created all things out of nothing and is thus the ultimate cause and source of meaning for the whole created order.

Creator-Creature Distinction

A fundamental starting point for biblical faith that recognizes God as the sole, unique, and absolute source of all that exists, and humans as the creation of God who owe every aspect of their existence to God, and as limited and finite creatures can never attain any form of equality with God.

Decrees of God

Expressions of the will of God, or the ways by which God enacts the divine plan of salvation in history. Theological elements considered include election, the fall into sin, and salvation to eternal life.

Evolution, Theistic

The view that God has guided the process of evolution and used it as a means of achieving divine purposes.

Fiat Creationism

The view that God brought into being all things that exist by a direct act of God's speech. All things were created virtually instantaneously by God's direct working and God's word. It opposes evolutionary views or the concept of God using existing materials out of which to produce new species or organisms. Humans were thus created by a direct action of God.

Government, divine

An aspect of God's providence by which God directs and rules over all things according to the divine will.

Free-will defense

The view that the existence of evil cannot be blamed on God. God gave humans the initial freedom of will (choice), so they had opportunity to enact selfish desire rather than turn to God as the highest good.

Middle Knowledge/Molinism

A concept developed by the Jesuit Luis de Molina concerning God's conditioned and consequent knowledge of future events. God foreknows how each person will cooperate with grace.

Miracle

An event that is considered unusual or extraordinary in that it appears to be contrary to what is currently known of nature.

Preservation

An aspect of the Christian doctrine of providence indicating that God sustains or continues to maintain the creation.

Progressive Creationism

Also called "microevolution." The view that God initially created the first member of each "kind," which have not "evolved" from other "kinds." The members of each "kind" have evolved or developed from one another.

Providence, Divine

God's maintenance, guidance, and continuing involvement with creation and humans as means of carrying out divine purposes in history.

Attributes of God, Communicable

Divine characteristics considered to have corresponding characteristics in human beings.

Attributes of God, Incommunicable

Divine qualities with no corresponding attribute in humans, such as perfection, omnipotence, and omniscience.

God, Aseity of

The view that God is entirely self-sufficient and not dependent upon anything else.

God, Holiness of

God's separateness from all creation as well as the divine purity and goodness in God's being and willing.

God, Immutability of

God's freedom from all change, understood to emphasize God's changeless perfection and divine constancy.

God, Infinity of

The limitlessness of the divine essence so that God is superior in all ways to all things.

God, Integrity of

The aspects of God's truthfulness that include God's being true (genuineness), telling the truth (veracity), and proving to be true (faithfulness).

God, Simplicity of

God as absolutely ultimate and perfect by being completely free from all composite parts. All the attributes of God do not become added together to form God; rather, God's attributes are identical with God's essence and constitute God's oneness.

God, Mercy of

God's grace and compassion toward sinful creatures and special care for those in need.

God, Transcendence of

God as being over and beyond the created order and superior to it in every way.

Immanence of God

The view that God is present in and with the created order. In Christian belief, God is not identified with the created order. It contrasts with transcendence.

Impassibility

The traditional theological view that God does not change and thus is not affected by actions that take place in the world, particularly in terms of experiencing suffering or pain. It emphasizes that God is active, rather than passive or acted upon by other agents.

Omnipotence

God's ability to do all things that do not conflict with the divine will or knowledge. God's power is limited only by God's own nature and not by any external force.

Omnipresence

God as an infinite spirit being everywhere present in the cosmos.

Omniscience

God as knowing all things, all events, and all circumstances in a way that is perfect and immediate.

Binitarianism

The view that the Godhead consists of only the Father and Son. It was prevalent in the early church among Monarchians, some Arians, and the Pneumatomachians. Today it is found in views that deny divinity to Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit.

Economic Trinity

A view of the Trinity, propounded by Hippolytus (c. 170-c. 236) and Tertullian, that stressed the functions or work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rather than their eternal being in relation to each other.

Eternal Generation

The relation of the Son to the Father in the Godhead, with the Son being "eternally begotten" or "generated" by and from God the Father.

Filioque

Latin phrase inserted into the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed at the Council of Toledo to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both Father and Son in the Trinity. It was rejected by the Eastern church and was part of the reason for the East-West church schism.

Hypostasis

The objective essence of something. Biblically, the term is used for confidence or assurance. Theologically, it was used in the early church for the three persons of the Godhead, each as an individual reality.

Modalism

A view of the Trinity that the one God was revealed at different times in different ways and thus has three manners (modes) of appearance rather than being one God in three persons. The early church considered modalism a heresy.

Perichoresis

A term used in the theology of the Trinity to indicate the intimate union, mutual indwelling, or mutual interpenetration of the three members of the Trinity with one another. Also used for the relation of the two natures of Christ.

Person

Boethius (c. 480-524) defined this as "an individual substance of a rational nature."

Subordinationism

A theological term for the view that the nature and status of Jesus Christ is less than that of God the Father, or that the Holy Spirit is inferior to the Father and the Son. These positions were rejected by the Council of Constantinople. These views appeared in Arianism and in writers such as Origen.

Trinity, Ontological

The three persons of the Trinity in themselves, sharing the divine essence (substance) as one God.

Trinity, Relations in

In the doctrine of the Trinity, the relations of the three persons to one another: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person has distinct characteristics but shares the same divine essence.

Trinitarian Functions

The differing works of the three persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In classical theology, the work of one member of the Trinity is also considered to be the work of the whole Trinity.

Tritheism

Belief in three separate and individual gods. Some early formulations by Christian theologians were considered to move in this direction. Early Christian apologists sought to defend the faith from charges of belief in three gods.

Unitarianism

The belief that God is one. It contrasts with Trinitarianism, which holds that God is one God in three persons.

angelology

study of the doctrine of angels

anthropology (theological)

the doctrine of humanity that views humans in terms of their relationships to God. It includes critical reflection on issues such as the origin, purpose, and destiny of humankind in light of Christian theological understandings.

Bibliology

Study of the Bible

christology

the study of the person and work of Jesus Christ. The church's understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done grew and developed through the centuries. Early church councils produced christological statements.

demonology

the study of demons

ecclesiology

the study of the church as a biblical and theological topic. The NT presents various images of the church that the early church struggled with as it sought its self-understanding in light of the gospel and controversies.