God the Father Son and Holy Spirit

HTH-515 Topic 2

Revelation and God

I. Ranking Christian Doctrines Activity and Reflection

Without doing any prior research, use the chart below to organize the following 20 doctrines by placing them under the category you think they best fit.

Election Sinful Nature Baptism Rapture Church Government

Justification Hell Trinity Atonement Jesus’s Virgin Birth

Young Earth Predestination Inspiration Lord’s Supper Deity of Jesus

Demonology Millennium Sanctification Origin of Evil Gifts of the Spirit

Ranking Christian Doctrines Chart

First Order

Second Order

Third Order

Sinful Nature

Hell

Deity of Jesus

Baptism

Trinity

Sanctification

Atonement

Origin of Evil

Gifts of the Spirit

Lord’s Supper

Jesus’s Virgin Birth

Church Government

Predestination

Election

Inspiration

Election

Justification

Predestination

Millennium

Rapture

Church Government

Young Earth

Demonology

Inspiration

After you have finished placing the 20 doctrines in the chart, do some research and reconsider where you placed each doctrine. If you decide to change a doctrine from where you originally placed it, cross it out using the strikethrough function and retype it in red in the category where it was moved. Also, feel free to add other doctrines that you might encounter. Place these additional doctrines in blue. Finally, what did you learn as you thought through your original ordering? Are there doctrines you are still unsure where to place? If so, why? [100-150 words]

It appears to me that there are more first order doctrines in Christianity than anything else, simply because it is so important that Christian beliefs be defined. While there are various sects, this is a problem when it comes to unity. The more that what must be believed is defined, the more unity there can be. After thinking through my original ordering I learned that I put some issues in the second and third order of doctrines because I know that there is disagreement among the sects—but I still think they have been defined and must be believed a certain way.

II. Key Issues Regarding the Inspiration and Authority of Scripture

Skim through pages 160-184 of Michael Horton’s The Christian Faith. Outline some key issues regarding the inspiration and authority of Scripture. Why are these doctrines so important? What is at stake if these doctrines are not given priority? [150-200 words]

Scripture is like the constitution—the Word as Canon—that lays down the rule for our life as Christians. It is the inspired Word of God and thus contains the authority of God within it. Just as we have a Constitution from our Founders of the nation, so too does God give us a constitution in Scripture. These doctrines are important for our salvation because they tell us how to work out our salvation, applying ourselves to the Word and putting it into practice so that our faith is not dead. If these doctrines are not given priority then the risk is that we will lose salvation.

III. Five Strategies for Using Scripture in the Theological Task

Often Christians believe to be simply interpreting Scripture when they read the Bible. However, at times our intellectual presuppositions and prior denominational convictions prevent us from truly placing Scripture in the place of authority it deserves. Reflecting on this, think of five strategies you will use to help you discern if you are arriving at your theological conclusions through Scripture and to guard against the danger of reading into Scripture what you already believe. [100-150 words]

1) Set all biases aside before reading. Identify what you believe upfront and then put these beliefs aside.

2) Look at the Bible as though coming to religion for the first time. Think about what it contains on its own terms.

3) Read the words of Scripture and meditate on them solely. Allow the Word of God to work within you by engaging directly with Scripture instead of commentaries.

4) Pray before reading Scripture that the Holy Spirit will guide you in your reading and reflection and give you the gift of knowledge and understanding.

5) Read other commentaries to gain insight after reading, reflecting, meditating and praying.

IV. The Concept of Trinity in the Bible and Early Church Tradition

Choose and list three biblical passages that help define the concept of Trinity. Then, find a quotable quote from a theologian of the early church era who says something significant about the Trinitarian passage and briefly state the main insight it establishes. Make sure you provide a footnote reference in Turabian format to document the source. [150-250 words]

1) \"He will take what is mine and declare it to you\" (John 16:13-15)

According to Augustine, “Nor can we say that the Holy Spirit does not proceed also from the Son, for it is not without reason that the same Spirit is said to be Spirit of both the Father and the Son.”[footnoteRef:2] [2: De Trinitate 4, 20 (29) (PL 42, 908)]

Summary of main insight: The Holy Spirit proceeds through the Son.

2) \"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.\"

According to Augustine, “The Holy Spirit ... is properly called Holy Spirit relatively, since He is referred to both the Father and the Son, because He is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son.”[footnoteRef:3] [3: De trinitate 5, 11 (12) (PL 42, 919]

Summary of main insight: The Holy Spirit is equal to the Father and the Son and bears witness to Christ.

3) “And when he had said this, he breathed upon them, and saith to them, Receive ye (the) Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

According to Augustine, “For that bodily breathing, proceeding from the body with the sensation of bodily touching, was not the substance of the Holy Spirit but a manifestation through a fitting sign that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the Father but also from the Son.”[footnoteRef:4] [4: De Trinitate 4, 20 (29) (PL 42, 908)]

Summary of main insight: Christ sends the Holy Spirit to the disciples and to all believers.