Describe your Theological method

Dave L said:

You are missing so many details you could be referring to another god nowhere mentioned in the bible.

Click to expand...

Except, this is quoted from scripture. The Gospel is very simple. All the details you speak of are theological systems of understanding. This is my last post on the subject. Be blessed.

Maria Billingsley said:

Except, this is quoted from scripture. The Gospel is very simple. All the details you speak of are theological systems of understanding. This is my last post on the subject. Be blessed.

Click to expand...

Here's a present. All of the bible verses that mention each person of the trinity in the same verse. Many cannot spot them. See if you can.


Trinity Passages
English Standard Version 233 results in 42 verses


Matt 1:20

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Matt 3:16

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;

Matt 12:18

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Matt 12:28

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matt 22:43

He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

Matt 28:19

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Luke 1:35

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Luke 2:26

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Luke 3:22

and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke 10:21

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

John 1:33

I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

John 3:5

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

John 3:34

For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

John 14:16

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26

“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.

John 16:15

All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Acts 1:4

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;

Acts 2:33

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

Acts 7:55

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Acts 10:38

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Rom 1:4

and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Rom 8:9

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Rom 8:11

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Rom 15:16

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Rom 15:30

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,

1 Cor 6:11

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Cor 12:3

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

2 Cor 3:3

And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Cor 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Gal 4:6

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Eph 2:18

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Eph 2:22

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Phil 3:3

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

2 Thess 2:13

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Titus 3:6

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

Heb 9:14

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Heb 10:29

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

1 Pet 1:2

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1 Pet 4:14

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

1 John 4:2

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

Rev 2:7

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

dms1972 said:

Hi,

I am finding my head is full of theological ideas and I am struggling a lot to know how to filter it all, and to avoid ideas that are erroneous or deficient. I suppose my reading of theology is part of my own search for truth and to be able to function and live it out.

My experience is that I have often found much that I think is of value in theologians that theological prejudices of others would have cautioned me against looking into. Finding someone who can truely understand where I am at and guide me in my reading is so rare, when people suggest anything they just suggest what they are benefiting from reading - which might well be completely irrelevant to me.

In any case please share or describe if you will your own theological method of study if you have one - I mean how you came to hold any theological positions you may hold, to what extent you pray about theological matters, whether you discuss with others or figure it out by yourself, read widely or narrowly, compare and contrast etc.

Click to expand...

Here is a couple of good articles to start- if you don't know this already.

7 Step-by-Step Bible Study Methods - Olive Tree Blog

How to Study Your Bible in 2020


1Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The best wisdom comes from the Bible only. Psalm 119, the longest chapter is all about how important the word of God is. Having said that, we do need trusted teachers too. They need to have a high regard for the Scriptures and believe the Bible is the word of God. That means conservative. But the more you know-or think you know, the less teachers will help (as psalm 119 states). But it helps to bounce ideas off someone who has committed a lifetime of study on the Bible, or certain parts thereof.

Remember, God is trying to communicate with us. Take what He says at face value unless there is an obvious reason in the context that God is using a figure of speech or something. If it makes sense don't look for another a deeper meaning, because it probably is not there. We get confused when we don't take God in a literal way for the most part. All the rules of grammar do not go out the window when we come to the Bible. But some seem to think it does.

General reading is how I got a good grasp of the whole Bible, then subject/doctrine studying with a Strong's concordance. It takes time, and just figure, the disciples already had a good grasp of the OT when Jesus came along, and He gave them three years or so of intensive study.

You have to know the OT or the NT don't make much sense. A trusted conservative study Bible, Bible dictionary, helps understand the background and time frame, geography. But always have an eye out for errors. Face it, people have biases and make mistakes, and there are plenty of false teachers waiting in the wings waiting to take the simple minded captive. You see it on these forums.

Of course different Denominations have different viewpoints on what is correct, so who is right? That's when you have to dig in and study and prove you are a proper workman of God, got to dig into the word. For most people it is hard to get too far from the ideas ingrained in them, even if they are false. But if you drop your biases, and really seek the truth, God will show you. God has shown me my error several times the last 33 years, and I had to change my stance on several points I thought was correct. That's part of having a teachable spirit. Got to be able to say, I made a mistake.

General reading of the Bible will allow the Holy Spirit to bring to mind things you have read when you are studying doctrine, subjects, and words, and also let you spot a false teaching a mile away. You got to have a good base, or you cannot tie things together because you don't have nothing up there to remember.

It's easy to google things now and find out different beliefs of different Denominations, and doctrines and compare them with the Scriptures. How do they line up?

What are we talking about here? Doctrine. Learn the major doctrines of historical Christian faith. Read the Creeds. Cults will not agree with the Creeds, and we know who the big ones are. That should be a red flag. Study out these doctrines using word studies and subject studies. Everything needs to fit together or you don't have the truth, or proper interpretation. God don't make mistakes, we do.

That means a systematic study of the Bible in order to understand how it all fits together without contradiction. Big picture first, then how it all relates and comes together, taking in consideration all the doctrines. You should start with a study of God- because knowing Him is the most important thing, then go from there to the Scriptures and what the Bible teaches about them. You get those two right, and you are will on your way.

dms1972 said:

Hi,

I am finding my head is full of theological ideas and I am struggling a lot to know how to filter it all, and to avoid ideas that are erroneous or deficient. I suppose my reading of theology is part of my own search for truth and to be able to function and live it out.

My experience is that I have often found much that I think is of value in theologians that theological prejudices of others would have cautioned me against looking into. Finding someone who can truely understand where I am at and guide me in my reading is so rare, when people suggest anything they just suggest what they are benefiting from reading - which might well be completely irrelevant to me.

In any case please share or describe if you will your own theological method of study if you have one - I mean how you came to hold any theological positions you may hold, to what extent you pray about theological matters, whether you discuss with others or figure it out by yourself, read widely or narrowly, compare and contrast etc.

Click to expand...

Funny, already in post no. 2 what you wrote about happened!

I find that going to a good church that you like and feel comfortable in is the best way to learn. Then you read the N.T. yourself and make sure that you're being taught what you understand from your reading of the N.T.

I don't just accept everything that is thrown my way,,,but I also don't believe we should sit at home with bible in hand and make up our own theology.
This is not even called Sola Scriptura...this is called Solo Scriptura -- not a good method of study.

Then you hear some that state that the Holy Spirit guides them. I've always found this a rather interesting idea since we all believe something slightly different, so this method is also not very reliable.

Learning from a reliable source AND doing your own reading is the best way, as far as I can tell.

The beautiful thing about Jesus is that He is a person and He said, “seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened unto you.” The Holy Spirit is more than willing to reveal the Truth to you if you ask and seek His presence. I find the more you seek Him, the more you will know the depth and layers of His truth. Blessings

Also His truth is followed by good fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness and self control) so whatever lines up with the fruits of the spirit and bears witness with you- you can take it as truth. You will know. We look more like Jesus when we are in communion with Him and follow His word.

Dave L said:

Peace is not grounded in truth. Even hippies preached peace.

Click to expand...

Jesus Christ's peace is in Jesus who is the Truth. But there is false peace.

So, yes . . . for our theological study we need to know how worldly people may use words of the Bible in a different way than God means them. Worldly people do not mean the same thing, by peace, as Jesus means.

Jesus gives us His own peace > "My peace," He says in John 14:27.

This peace guards our hearts and minds > "through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). Hippy peace did not guard people's minds, I would say.

I don't really have a theological method. I learn as I go, both from theory (reading some theology) and trying to live as a Christian in practice.

When I was Presbyterian, the issue of morality was raised more often. Now I'm Catholic, concern for others is a bigger part of the equation. My wife is Baptist, and their preaching is more often about the fundamental call of Christ as saviour. The flavour varies with the church, or denomination.

I suppose I have one bias. If I pick up a book on theology or Christian living, and I find there's a whiff of anti-Catholicism in it, I won't buy it. Having been both Protestant and Catholic, I know first hand how much rubbish some Protestants peddle about Catholics and the Catholic Church.

So I'm selective in what I read. That doesn't mean I won't read Protestant authors, but I'm on the alert.

com7fy8 said:

Jesus Christ's peace is in Jesus who is the Truth. But there is false peace.

So, yes . . . for our theological study we need to know how worldly people may use words of the Bible in a different way than God means them. Worldly people do not mean the same thing, by peace, as Jesus means.

Jesus gives us His own peace > "My peace," He says in John 14:27.

This peace guards our hearts and minds > "through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). Hippy peace did not guard people's minds, I would say.

Click to expand...

What does feeling peaceful have to do with knowledge?

Dave L said:

What does feeling peaceful have to do with knowledge?

Click to expand...

It does not say "feeling peaceful" >

"the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" > in Philippians 4:6-7.

What I have is God's peace is God's own harmony of how He in His power almighty of love functions. So, this is not only a feeling, to say the least. And so . . . if we are ruled by God's peace, this means God in us is even sharing His own harmony with us in our hearts and our minds. And this peace has God's own immunity almighty against cruel and chaotic, nasty and negative spiritual and emotional things.

Now, compare this with what humans are getting with their understanding, in their efforts to solve mental problems and relational troubles; not to mention, humans with all their knowledge can keep on failing and falling apart because of their heart issues of being selfish so they can not function in an intimate and tender relationship "without complaining and disputing".

I think you can see that God's peace surpasses how human understanding has been able to help people. This is, I would say, at least part of what God's word means by His peace surpassing "all understanding".

So, our Apostle Paul is saying the relationship between the two is that God's peace is superior to any and all understanding which humans might try to use to do themselves good. Even knowledge of the Bible is not enough, compared with how God's own peace in us has us sharing with God Himself; I consider this is part of what Paul means.

com7fy8 said:

It does not say "feeling peaceful" >

"the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" > in Philippians 4:6-7.

What I have is God's peace is God's own harmony of how He in His power almighty of love functions. So, this is not only a feeling, to say the least. And so . . . if we are ruled by God's peace, this means God in us is even sharing His own harmony with us in our hearts and our minds. And this peace has God's own immunity almighty against cruel and chaotic, nasty and negative spiritual and emotional things.

Now, compare this with what humans are getting with their understanding, in their efforts to solve mental problems and relational troubles; not to mention, humans with all their knowledge can keep on failing and falling apart because of their heart issues of being selfish so they can not function in an intimate and tender relationship "without complaining and disputing".

I think you can see that God's peace surpasses how human understanding has been able to help people. This is, I would say, at least part of what God's word means by His peace surpassing "all understanding".

So, our Apostle Paul is saying the relationship between the two is that God's peace is superior to any and all understanding which humans might try to use to do themselves good. Even knowledge of the Bible is not enough, compared with how God's own peace in us has us sharing with God Himself; I consider this is part of what Paul means.

Click to expand...

Illiterate people have peace of mind but know nothing of what scripture teaches. Morons have peace as do infants....

dms1972 said:

Hi,

I am finding my head is full of theological ideas and I am struggling a lot to know how to filter it all, and to avoid ideas that are erroneous or deficient. I suppose my reading of theology is part of my own search for truth and to be able to function and live it out.

My experience is that I have often found much that I think is of value in theologians that theological prejudices of others would have cautioned me against looking into. Finding someone who can truely understand where I am at and guide me in my reading is so rare, when people suggest anything they just suggest what they are benefiting from reading - which might well be completely irrelevant to me.

In any case please share or describe if you will your own theological method of study if you have one - I mean how you came to hold any theological positions you may hold, to what extent you pray about theological matters, whether you discuss with others or figure it out by yourself, read widely or narrowly, compare and contrast etc.

Click to expand...

I came to read historical church literature in a search for truth that was always as open and unbiased as I thought possible. Early church fathers, decrees of various church councils, and early histories: Josephus, Pliny, and the “Ecclesial History” by Eusebius was especially enlightening.

Bob Crowley said:

I don't really have a theological method. I learn as I go, both from theory (reading some theology) and trying to live as a Christian in practice.

When I was Presbyterian, the issue of morality was raised more often. Now I'm Catholic, concern for others is a bigger part of the equation. My wife is Baptist, and their preaching is more often about the fundamental call of Christ as saviour. The flavour varies with the church, or denomination.

I suppose I have one bias. If I pick up a book on theology or Christian living, and I find there's a whiff of anti-Catholicism in it, I won't buy it. Having been both Protestant and Catholic, I know first hand how much rubbish some Protestants peddle about Catholics and the Catholic Church.

So I'm selective in what I read. That doesn't mean I won't read Protestant authors, but I'm on the alert.

Click to expand...

This. Definitely.

A lot of stuff out there can be universally helpful. If something helps us to live out our Christian life, it’s helpful. If it helps us grow in patience, mercy, love, humility, and prayerfulness, it’s helpful.

The Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate is one of those topics that I don’t find helpful or useful. If anything, some Christians have lost peace and balance by over-studying that topic.

Dave L said:

Illiterate people have peace of mind but know nothing of what scripture teaches. Morons have peace as do infants....

Click to expand...

Having peace does not depend on what we know . . . or can know. Also, ones might feel something nice, but this is not the same as sharing with God in His own peace. So, what morons and infants and illiterates are feeling might not be genuine and stable and therefore God's trustworthy peace.

So . . . in studying theology > @dms1972 > we need to know that what we know does not give us real peace. We need to submit to our Father and how He rules us in His peace, in order to have this peace . . . by sharing with God in His love and His way of loving.

Therefore, in our study of theology, we need to seek how God has us loving so we are sharing with Him in His love and joy and peace which are not feelings.

I suspect humans can suppose they are in love, when in reality they are being intimate with pleasure feelings inside their own selves. And these feelings are reactions to how certain people are charming them and giving them pleasure. So, their intimacy is not God-deep with God as their connection in His stability. And so they can break down in arguing and complaining and unforgiveness. Because only God's peace has strength and sense to keep us out of abusing each other and only or mainly trying to use one another for what we want.

But knowing this, alone, can not do this. Peace surpasses knowing, by actually having us succeed in how God's word says for us to relate in His love.

And this peace is lasting and stable . . . unlike how morons and infants and illiterate people might have some sort of nice feeling, but it can change very quickly into deep trouble in a person. Moronic and infantile and illiterate feeling peaceful can change very quickly, just with a change of situation. So, if their peace is circumstantially dependent, it is not real and trustworthy peace.

With Jesus, we can have "rest for your souls." (in Matthew 11:28-30) This comes with learning from Jesus, He says in Matthew 11:28-30.

Plus, if you confess this about Jesus, Jesus says if you confess Him before people He will confess you before His Father in Heaven >

"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven," Jesus says (Matthew 10:32)

So, I see how it is wise to confess Jesus and how His peace is so superior to what worldly humans might feel only while things are nicer for them.

com7fy8 said:

Having peace does not depend on what we know . . . or can know. Also, ones might feel something nice, but this is not the same as sharing with God in His own peace. So, what morons and infants and illiterates are feeling might not be genuine and stable and therefore God's trustworthy peace.

So . . . in studying theology > @dms1972 > we need to know that what we know does not give us real peace. We need to submit to our Father and how He rules us in His peace, in order to have this peace . . . by sharing with God in His love and His way of loving.

Therefore, in our study of theology, we need to seek how God has us loving so we are sharing with Him in His love and joy and peace which are not feelings.

I suspect humans can suppose they are in love, when in reality they are being intimate with pleasure feelings inside their own selves. And these feelings are reactions to how certain people are charming them and giving them pleasure. So, their intimacy is not God-deep with God as their connection in His stability. And so they can break down in arguing and complaining and unforgiveness. Because only God's peace has strength and sense to keep us out of abusing each other and only or mainly trying to use one another for what we want.

But knowing this, alone, can not do this. Peace surpasses knowing, by actually having us succeed in how God's word says for us to relate in His love.

And this peace is lasting and stable . . . unlike how morons and infants and illiterate people might have some sort of nice feeling, but it can change very quickly into deep trouble in a person. Moronic and infantile and illiterate feeling peaceful can change very quickly, just with a change of situation. So, if their peace is circumstantially dependent, it is not real and trustworthy peace.

With Jesus, we can have "rest for your souls." (in Matthew 11:28-30) This comes with learning from Jesus, He says in Matthew 11:28-30.

Plus, if you confess this about Jesus, Jesus says if you confess Him before people He will confess you before His Father in Heaven >

"Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven," Jesus says (Matthew 10:32)

So, I see how it is wise to confess Jesus and how His peace is so superior to what worldly humans might feel only while things are nicer for them.

Click to expand...

Theology is knowledge not provided for by peace of mind.

Dave L said:

Illiterate people have peace of mind but know nothing of what scripture teaches. Morons have peace as do infants....

Click to expand...

Why can't illiterate people know scripture?

"Moron" isn't a civil word. Would you like to be called a moron by an intellectual superior?

I wonder if the disciples had a theological method?

Hmmm! said:

Why can't illiterate people know scripture?

"Moron" isn't a civil word. Would you like to be called a moron by an intellectual superior?

Click to expand...

Actually, I consider myself a high functioning moron. God uses stupid people more than he does the ones with brains.

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise: and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, ‘He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord’.” 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (NCPB)

You are free to call yourself a moron or anything you want, but not other people

Hmmm! said:

You are free to call yourself a moron or anything you want, but not other people

Click to expand...

Who did I call a moron? I'm only saying the mentally impaired have a measure of peace through ignorance. That doesn't make them theology savvy.