Practical Theology_The Word of God_Thought Journal Reflection
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Practical Theology: The Word of God
Thought Journal
Justin Schalow
THEO525-B11: Systematic Theology I
October 1, 2023
Contents
Introduction…………………
....
……………………………...………………….………………1
Revelation……...…..……………………………………………………………………………..1
Two Types of Revelation….………………………………………………………….…...1
Incarnation ...…………………………………………………………………………………….2
Reasoning……………………………………………………………………………..………….4
Inerrancy and Infallibility………………………………………………………….…….……..5
Inspiration…………………………………………………………………..….………….7
God’s Word is Authoritative………………………………………………………..…………..7
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………...9
ii
1
Introduction
As believers approach the Word of God, several positions require clarity in order to
maintain both fullness and foundation of faith. Through these understandings, Christian believers
are equipped with the confidence required to live out their faith, as well as a complete
understanding of how to continue to grow within their faith. The Word of God provides insight
into the depth of a relationship with God, recording historical interactions, God’s incarnation,
and the salvation He offered, as well as the end state of the world that we live in. It is through
this living document that we find guidance for life, relationship with God, and hope for eternity.
If we fail to approach the Bible with a correct view of its position in the life of a believer, we are
left ill-equipped and open to attack. Alternatively, when God’s Word has taken its rightful place
as the authority of the Christian life, we are equipped to move forward as co-regents of the power
of God, here on earth.
Journal Entry I: Revelation
Revelation, according to Elmer Towns, is, “The act of God whereby He gives knowledge
of Himself which man could not otherwise know.”
1
Furthermore, the term revelation implies that
it was God’s prompting that brought understanding, not man’s discovery. If God was a discovery
of man, then finite humans would carry the burden of having encountered God, and this idea
would lend to God being completely inactive in the process. However, this is not the case. God
has chosen to reveal Himself to man through His Word and His Spirit so that future generations
would have access to the same revelation.
Two Types of Revelation
1 Elmer Towns,
Theology for Today
, eds. Michele Baird, Maureen Staudt, and Michael Stranz. (Mason:
Cengage, 2008), 30.
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2
General revelation
is available to all of humankind and communicates God’s essence and
an understanding of His creative and sustaining power while not specifically communicating
salvific truths such as Trinity, incarnation, or atonement.
2
Special revelation
, alternatively, is the specific revelation of divine truth regarding the
will and purposes of God specific to salvation and redemption. C.F.H. Henry makes the
following observation regarding the significant differences in general and special revelation:
The term revelation means intrinsically the disclosure of what was previously
unknown. In Judeo-Christian theology, the term is used primarily of God’s
communication to humans of divine truth, that is, His manifestation of Himself or
of his will. The essentials of the biblical view are that the Logos is the divine
agent in all revelation, this revelation being further discriminated as general of
universal (i.e., revelation in nature, history, reason, and conscience) and special or
particular (i.e., redemptive revelation conveyed by wondrous acts and words).
3
While we may be tempted to quickly move past the teaching of revelation within
discipleship, I believe it has incredible value when in teaching followers the two great
commandments: Love God; Love others. Revelation, both general and special, is where the
relationship begins, and where the relationship grows, and has incredible value at the heartbeat of
the Christian existence.
Journal Entry II: Incarnation
“And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth….For from his
fullness, we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through
Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the
only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (Jn 1:14, 16-17,
ESV)
John articulates beautifully how the Word of God (Logos) came to be known to mankind
through God’s incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ, God the Son, making the redemptive
2 B. Demarest, “Revelation, General,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second edition, ed., Walter
A, Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 1019.
3 C.F.H. Henry, “Revelation, Special,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second edition, ed., Walter
A, Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 1021.
3
work of God available to all who would believe. Jesus Christ was the manifestation of the Word
of God, in human flesh, bringing the revelation of God’s redemptive work to this world, apart
from, but in unity with, His eternal existence in Heaven.
According to Walter D. Draughon III,
“Incarnation is God’s becoming human; the union of divinity and humanity in Jesus of
Nazareth… As a biblical teaching, incarnation refers to the affirmation that God, in one of the
modes of His existence as Trinity, and without in any way ceasing to be the one God, has
revealed Himself to humanity for its salvation by becoming human.”
4
Through Jesus, the Word
of God was communicated to man, and ultimately, man was inspired by the Spirit of God to
record His teachings within the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Further, His message
would be communicated throughout the Pauline Epistles and is the center point of the New
Testament Canon of Scripture. The life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus provided
propitiation for a Holy God’s wrath against sinful man, creating a means by which man can be
redeemed and return to a right relationship with God. Jesus Christ was both one hundred percent
human as well as one hundred percent God, who was the Word of God at the origins of the earth,
“in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1,
ESV). Towns provides this insight:
Some New Testament scholars claim John got the title Word for Jesus from Greek
philosophy. Others argue he was thinking of the Hebrew idea of wisdom, as the
personification of wisdom described in Proverbs 5-8. But this author’s conviction
is that John was using the term “word” as it was used literally in the Old
Testament “The Word of God.” As such John is meaning that Jesus Christ is the
human revelation of God to men, just as in the Old Testament, the Word of God
was the vocal revelation of God to man.
5
Jesus Christ is the perfect, ultimate revelation of God’s Word to humanity.
4 Walter D. Draughon III, “Incarnation”
in Holman Bible Dictionary: The Complete Guide to Everything
you Need to Know About the Bible
. eds., Trent C. Butler, Marsha A. Ellis Smith, Forrest W. Jackson, Phil Logan, and
Chris Church. (Nashville: Holman, 1991), 693.
5 Towns,
Theology for Today
, (Mason: Cengage, 2008), 199.
4
Journal Entry III: Reasoning
Towns elaborates, “God does not reveal Himself through reason, and we should never
base a doctrine on reason. But correct doctrine is always reasonable. Because it reflects the mind
of God… Reason is the intellectual and moral faculties of man as exercised in the pursuit of truth
apart from supernatural aid.”
6
The word of God connects with man’s intellectual faculties to
connect the “what” with the “why.” Without the Word, man would be left incapable of drawing
on truth to arrive at conclusions that drive toward faith in connecting these two. Often driven by
logic, man is able to examine the Bible and create an understanding, grow in that understanding,
and learn how to communicate that understanding to others. While the concept of reasoning is
argued against by some theologians due to its seemingly close relationship to philosophy, the
Prophet Isaiah affirms the need for human reasoning in connection with faith when he records
Yahweh stating, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Is 1:18, ESV).
Reasoning embodies the discipleship experience, as it connects our faith to our outward
presentation, broadening our understanding of how our worship is manifested as love—for God
and for others. If we fail to teach intellectual engagement with the Word, then we are left with
believers who operate solely on a basic understanding of the Word, leaving them vulnerable
throughout their Christian walk. Reason connects to faith through the Word and builds resilience
within the heart of the believer that will allow him to continue to stand even when doubt,
challenges, or questions arise.
Journal Entry IV: Inerrancy and Infallibility
If we understand God to be holy and perfect, then it tracks to have an understanding that
all that He would create was in a state of perfection, to include the revelation of Himself through
6 Towns,
Theology for Today
, (Mason: Cengage, 2008), 35.
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5
the Word—both in the person of Jesus Christ, as well as the recorded scriptures. Critical to
understanding this fact and fully embracing the Christian faith, a believer must be aware that the
Word of God is both inerrant (without error) and infallible (incapable of being wrong).
Norman Geisler and Lanny Wilson simply profoundly observe, “The argument for
biblical inerrancy is simple: (1) The Bible is the Word of God; (2) God cannot err; (3) Therefore,
the Bible (which is the Word of God) cannot err.”
7
It would only make sense that God, incapable
of imperfection, would produce anything less than perfection for man. First, we must agree with
Timothy that the Bible is the Word of God, “All Scripture is breathed out by God…” (1 Tim
3:16a, ESV). Furthermore, evidence for inerrancy falls within the realm of general revelation.
More specifically, the footprint of a moral code that mankind is inherently provided, which
evidences a moral lawgiver. The perfect and all-knowing standard for truth, objectivity, and
morality cannot speak something He knows to be false. To deny the conclusion that the Bible
cannot be in error, you must also deny either God cannot err or the Bible is the Word of God.
8
The inerrancy and infallibility of scripture is an essential fundamental to the Christian
faith, though neither concept is explicitly taught within the Bible. How Christians approach the
Word of God is rooted in who God is in their faith lives. If God’s holiness, sovereignty, and
perfection are sincerely held beliefs, then believers must also affirm that God is big enough to
have provided an accurate recording of His intentions and, further, that He has managed the
oversight of this recording until present day. However, evangelically, biblical inerrancy and
infallibility seem to be a massive apologetic hurdle for the unbelieving population. This is the
number one “excuse” I have encountered when having faith conversations with the unchurched.
7 Norman L. Geisler and Lanny Wilson, “Bible, Inerrancy of” in
The Popular Encyclopedia of
Apologetics: Surveying the Evidence for the Truth of Christianity
, eds. Ed Hindson, Ergun Caner and Edward J
Verstraete. (Eugene: Harvest House, 2008), 103.
8 Ibid.
6
Ironically, I have heard the same hurdle come up within groups of believers as well. I believe
part of the problem (probably all of it) is a lack of understanding in the area of “inspiration,”
which renders the whole of the Word as “inerrant” and “infallible.” If believers were well versed
in this foundational belief, they would, in turn, be better equipped to help others come to the
same understanding. P. D. Feinberg notes five essential elements of understanding from a biblical
argument of understanding the inerrancy of God’s Word:
First, the Bible teaches its own inspiration, and this requires inerrancy. The
Scriptures are the breath of God (2 Tim. 3:16), which guarantees they are without
error. Second, in Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:20-22 Israel is given criteria for
distinguishing God’s message and messenger from false prophecies and
prophets… Third, the Bible teaches its own authority, and this requires
inerrancy… Fourth, Scripture uses Scripture in a way that supports its inerrancy…
If the Bible’s inerrancy does not extend to every detail, these arguments lose their
force… Finally, inerrancy follows from what the Bible says about God’s
character. Repeatedly, the Scriptures teach that God cannot lie. If, then, the Bible
is from God and His character is behind it, it must be inerrant and infallible.
9
These points, taken into consideration, reinforce the understanding of how God’s
inspiration of Scripture deems such as being incapable of error or wrongness. As believers seek
understanding in this essential understanding of the Word of God, we are better equipped to
assist others in their understanding.
Inspiration
Yes, God used human authors to record His thoughts and words to pass them through the
generations. Inspiration is a critical aspect of inerrancy and infallibility because it changes our
understanding that sinful man wrote what he knew and provides the necessary understanding that
God is the author, who miraculously inspired these men to record precisely what He intended. It
can, however, be observed that God did allow the writing style and personality of the human
9 P. D. Feinberg, “Bible, Inerrancy and Infallibility of,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second
edition, ed., Walter A, Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 157.
7
authors to be present within their writings, but this does not change the origination of the
message being from God. Henry provides a helpful definition, stating, “Inspiration is a
supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit upon divinely chosen agents in consequence of which
their writings become trustworthy and authoritative.”
10
Journal Entry V: God’s Word is Authoritative
The Bible is a living document in that it is a record of God’s character, nature,
commands, and relationship with mankind. Therefore, knowing this, in addition to points
outlined within previous journal entries, the clear understanding that the Bible holds authority in
the life of the believer is an obvious deduction. Authority is defined as, “The right and power to
command, enforce laws, exact obedience, determine or judge.”
11
The Bible is the revelation of
God and as such, provides purpose, direction, and motivation for Christian believers in every
facet of life. With the accuracy established within the aforementioned entries, Christian believers
understand the Bible as the baseline of instruction regarding matters of faith, expectation, and
mission, as well as the fundamentals of our relationship with God. Furthermore, as believers lean
into, and trust the authority of God’s Word, they will inherently come to the position of
embracing its nature of perfection as the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.
Alternatively, if the Bible is merely acknowledged as a guidepost and not the authoritative Word
of a Holy God, then believers will struggle to embrace and trust its guidance, “Because the Bible
points beyond itself to God, it has a conferred authority. Yet the Bible has a real authority in itself
as the authentic embodiment of God’s self-disclosure.
12
10 C.F.H. Henry, “Bible, Inspiration of,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second edition, ed., Walter
A, Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 160.
11 J. D. McDonald, “Bible, Authority of,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second edition, ed.,
Walter A, Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 153.
12 McDonald, “Bible, Authority of,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001),
153.
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8
Bibliography
Demarest, B. “Revelation, General,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second edition, ed.,
Walter A, Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
Draughon III, Walter D., “Incarnation”
in Holman Bible Dictionary: The Complete Guide to
Everything you Need to Know About the Bible
. eds., Trent C. Butler, Marsha A. Ellis
Smith, Forrest W. Jackson, Phil Logan, and Chris Church. Nashville: Holman, 1991.
Feinberg, P.D., “Bible, Inerrancy and Infallibility of,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
,
second edition, ed., Walter A, Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
9
Geisler, Norman L., and Lanny Wilson, “Bible, Inerrancy of” in
The Popular Encyclopedia of
Apologetics: Surveying the Evidence for the Truth of Christianity
, eds. Ed Hindson,
Ergun Caner, and Edward J Verstraete. Eugene: Harvest House, 2008.
Henry, C. F. H., “Bible, The Inspiration of,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second
edition, ed., Walter A, Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
Henry, C. F. H., “Revelation, Special,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second edition,
ed., Walter A, Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
McDonald, J. D., “Bible, Authority of,” in
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
, second edition,
ed., Walter A, Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
Towns, Elmer,
Theology for Today
, eds. Michele Baird, Maureen Staudt, and Michael Stranz.
Mason: Cengage, 2008.