Theological Term of the Week: Biblical Theology

biblical theology
The theological discipline that “seeks to discover what the biblical writers, under divine guidance, believed, described, and taught in the context of their own times”1 in order to discover how the different books of the Bible contribute to its overall theological message.2

• From Biblical Theology by T. D. Alexander:

The study of biblical theology is not an end in itself. It is rather a tool for understanding better the Bible as the inspired Word of God. Biblical theology helps us see the big picture, appreciate the themes that hold the Bible together, understand how the story develops, see how the promises of the Old Testament, sometimes expressed through covenants, are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, as witnessed in the New Testament, and appreciate how the Old Testament provides patterns or types that explain later developments in the story.

The study of biblical theology is about understanding how each part of the Bible contributes in a distinctive way to the overarching story of the Bible and how an awareness of this story informs our understanding of each part of the Bible. When this is achieved, biblical theology is strongly Christ-centered.

Learn more:

1. GotQuestions.org: What is biblical theology?
2. Monergism.com: What is the difference between Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology?
3. T. D. Alexander: Biblical Theology
4. Dr. Andreas J. Kostenberger: What Is Biblical Theology?
5. Michael Lawrence: 3 Ways to Define Biblical Theology
6. Dr Thomas Schreiner: Introduction to Biblical Theology (video)

Related terms:

• systematic theology
• redemptive history

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Sunday Hymn: I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and ev­ery grace;
Might more of His sal­va­tion know,
And seek, more ear­nest­ly, His face.

’Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has an­swered pray­er!
But it has been in such a way,
As al­most drove me to des­pair.

I hoped that in some fa­vored hour,
At once He’d an­swer my re­quest;
And by His love’s con­strain­ing pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
The hid­den ev­ils of my heart;
And let the an­gry pow­ers of hell
Assault my soul in ev­ery part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to ag­gra­vate my woe;
Crossed all the fair de­signs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this, I trem­bling cried,
Wilt thou pur­sue Thy worm to death?
’Tis in this way, the Lord re­plied,
I ans­wer pray­er for grace and faith.

These in­ward tri­als I em­ploy,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earth­ly joy,
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.

—John Newton

Sunday's Hymn: Come Down, O Love Divine

Come down, O love di­vine,
Seek Thou this soul of mine,
And vi­sit it with Thine
Own ar­dor glow­ing.
O Com­fort­er, draw near,
Within my heart ap­pear,
And kin­dle it,
Thy ho­ly flame be­stow­ing.

O let it free­ly burn,
Til earth­ly pass­ions turn
To dust and ash­es
In its heat con­sum­ing;
And let Thy glo­ri­ous light
Shine ev­er on my sight,
And clothe me round,
The while my path il­lum­ing.

Let ho­ly char­ity mine
Outward ves­ture be,
And low­li­ness be­come
Mine in­ner clo­thing;
True low­li­ness of heart,
Which takes the hum­bler part,
And o’er its own short­com­ings
Weeps with loath­ing.

And so the yearn­ing strong,
With which the soul will long,
Shall far out­pass the pow­er
Of hu­man tell­ing;
For none can guess its grace,
Till he be­come the place
Wherein the Ho­ly Spir­it
Makes His dwell­ing.

—Bi­an­co of Si­ena (?–1434)