Colossians, Theology of Introduction. Although short in length and written to a church Paul did not plant, Colossians stands tall in highlighting the centrality of Jesus Christ as the mediator of God’s saving activity. It emphasizes that those who belong to Jesus need only draw on the resources God provides through Jesus in order to […]

Christ, Christology Jesus Christ is the central figure whom the Old Testament foreshadows and the New Testament proclaims as prophecy become fact. It is accordingly of first importance to understand the biblical portrayal of the Messiah (Heb. masiah [jyiv’m]; Gk. Christos [Cristov”], from chrio [crivw], to anoint), whom God has anointed to redeem his people and creation. A key passage that […]

BIBLE, ENGLISH VERSIONS. Published trs. of the Holy Scriptures in the Eng. language. Outline I. Need for versions and new versions. A. The ordinary reader cannot read the Scriptures in the original Heb. and Gr. Only a Biblereading Christian can be an effective Christian to the limit of his potential; only a Bible-reading church can […]

Bible, Inspiration of the The cornerstone of evangelical theology lies in its confession of the inspiration and authority of the Bible, as the revealed “Word of God Written.” Since the term “inspired” is used of the Bible in different ways, it is important to clarify the particular sense in which it should be employed, not […]

Study of the Bible that seeks to discover what the biblical writers, under divine guidance, believed, described, and taught in the context of their own times. Relation to Other Disciplines Biblical theology is related to but different from three other major branches of theological inquiry. Practical theology focuses on pastoral application of biblical truths in modern […]