Three now of our introduction to historical theology. A little bit of overlap last week, but hopefully a lot less this time. Remember, we'll define it in a second. I'll drop this soon, but just want everybody to get acquainted with the image in case you want to get that, because that's the general outline that we're going to be using. Historical theology, Greg Allison. To introduce it, I dropped it down to two questions. First of all, what is it and why we ought to study it? Here's the simplest definition, the one I've reduced it now down to this one by way of review, just so we know the basics. Historical theology does not mean the study of church history exactly, but the study of the interpretation of Scripture and the formulation of doctrine by the Church of the Past. So it's not necessarily just wanting to learn about the history, it's wanting to learn about the doctrine and the theology and how it's developed, and of course seeing it tethered to Scripture. So the question we already looked at was why should we study it? Number two, and I said we've been looking at two different areas to answer that, seeing whether or not it's proper to study it biblically. and then looking at its practical benefits, like why and how it helps us. And if you remember, I said the number one reason for me of why I think we, not only is it proper, but we ought to study it, is the simple fact that the Holy Spirit is always working in the Church of Jesus Christ. And that doesn't mean the Holy Spirit's always working in a way like he did with the apostles where it produces scripture. OK, that's not that's not happening. But if you remember, I use the metaphor. He's still guiding the ship. Right. It's like he's still and collectively speaking, he's still he's still preventing the the church at large from drifting off into soul damning heresy, right? Guiding her into truth, protecting her from error. Not to say few little groups and folks don't fall off, but in general, right, there's this work of preservation that the Holy Spirit is doing. And we can learn from that. Learn a lot, I think. This is Brooks Kenneth Cancer. We're going to read this one more week. It's important. While it's not infallible, he says, it must be acknowledged, talking about this directing work of the Holy Spirit. Now, our observation of it's not infallible, at least, it must be acknowledged as God's guidance of his people in accordance with his promise to the church of all the ages. What are those promises? We looked at them. I'll build my church and the gates of Hades won't prevail against it, right? And those things from John 14 and John 15 that we looked at, when the spirit comes, he'll guide you into all truth, right? He'll testify of me. We looked at all those that very first week. And I have been actually putting these on sermon audio, so that's why I'm recording them now, so people can get caught up if they, I didn't used to do that with prayer service, I thought kind of especially with this, it might be good to have that on there for when folks can't be here that are interested in it. All right, so still reviewing practical benefits to studying it. This one we focused on a lot before. It helps us to distinguish between orthodoxy, right belief, and heresy or heterodoxy. This is where we'll pick back up today. I think I got five or six of these reasons. But the second one is, or benefits, that studying it provides us with sound biblical interpretations and theological formulations. What in the world does that mean? We're gonna read a commentary about one, but you know, words and phrases and concepts like the hypostatic union, You're not going to go to chapter and verse in the Bible and find that phrase, hypostatic union. But it's a very important theological word that describes the union of divinity and humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. These are the kind of things, formulations that historical theology is going to observe. So, this is from Carl Truman. Here's the best example. A book called The Credal Imperative. The church has developed over time a tried and trusted vocabulary to express the concepts she wishes to articulate. The word Trinity is a good example of this. Oh, sorry about that poor editing down there. This term, Trinity, is found nowhere in the Bible, but it expresses neatly the fact that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all equally and eternally God. There is only one God, but that the Father is not the Son, and the Father and Son are not the Holy Spirit. Right, so they're distinct persons, but co-equal, co-eternal of one essence. See, that language didn't just come out of a vacuum, nor was it found in a particular chapter in the Bible all together in one, right? These are formulations that the church over time has made at the guidance of the Holy Spirit from the Word of God. And while it's not infallible, for at least our observation of it, we can learn and grow and glean much from those formulations. Here's an example, he goes on. Use of the Word, Trinity, thus has a clear theological advantage. What? It reflects an orthodox concept and it strongly suggests that the user is orthodox. In other words, if someone starts talking about a God as undifferentiated unity or unitarian, or as three separate gods, those familiar with Christian orthodoxy will immediately start to become concerned. This is a very simple one. Because of the Trinitarian formulation that we have now, that came through what we call historical theology. what studied through historical theology, we can easily now, because of that Trinitarian formula, spot doctrines that are false about the nature of God. Does that make sense? If God said, Or if people said, you know, in the Old Testament, God manifested himself as the Father. And in the time of Jesus, he manifested himself in the Son. And then starting in Pentecost, he manifested himself as the Holy Spirit. We don't have to have a PhD from Southern Seminary to say, whoa, that doesn't sound Christian at all, right? And we just kind of take for granted. It's because we're so familiar with the Trinitarian formula. But that Trinitarian formula that we all know so well, thankfully, right? Like that was something that, I mean, it was always there in the Bible, but it was something that was eventually kind of collectively recognized by the church at large and agreed upon, right? Doesn't mean it's right because everybody agreed on it. It means it's right because the Bible says it, right? But the fact that it accurately reflects the Bible and it's condensed into this concise formula that we can learn and memorize can really help us when we hear somebody say something like God is undifferentiated unity. What are they denying in that? That he's not three persons, right? So yeah, am I confusing everybody? Or do you see the practical helpfulness in all that? Okay, that's what I'm wanting to see. Now let me show you this, because it doesn't really matter if something's pragmatically helpful if the Bible doesn't allow for it, right? The Bible's our final authority. We've qualified that every week hard and heavy. But let me show you this, because I think the Bible exemplifies this kind of thinking more than what we Baptists tend to think. And I'm a committed Baptist, don't misunderstand that, hardcore. But where we're at today, probably the majority of Baptists would push against any sort of recognition of creedal formulations. Creed means I confess. So it's been something that Christians have used throughout its history. It's not very popular in Baptist life today, though that's not always been the case. But I want to show you a few things from the scripture where the scripture itself seems to use creedal formulas, okay? So if that's the case, and you'll have to be good Bereans, but if that's the case, then we need to say, well, if the scripture writers are willing to use creedal formulas, it's not inherently wrong for us to. If the formulas are wrong, they're wrong, right? But as long as they reflect biblical truth and the scripture writers use them, then we shouldn't be so opposed to them. You guys know the statement, right? No creed but the Bible. Anybody heard that? No creed but the Bible. Very popular, you know, among Baptists and even evangelicals and such today. And what's the problem with that? That's a creed. Come on, that's funny. But I mean, it's true, it's philosophically, you know, self-refuting, because that's a creed. But anywho, yeah. I just said that for fun. Look at this. Let me show you what I'm talking about. And that broke the creedal imperative. I had to read that in school. I wasn't excited about it, by the way, but it was really helpful for me, being sort of a no-creed-but-the-Bible kind of Baptist. 1 Timothy 1.15, watch this. Paul says, the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. So he's talking about a saying, so that's what's that. something people say regularly, right? Usually when we say, oh, I love that saying, what is it? Something, who knows, whatever it is, right? And then he states it, says, here's the one, here's the trustworthy saying that I would assume Christians are saying that's deserving of full acceptance. What is it? That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Now why would I, we'd all be like, well that's basic gospel. It is, but what's the scandalous part of that at that time, to whom he was speaking there? That God came into the world He became matter. The Greeks, because of that early Gnostic influence, matter was inherently evil. Timothy's in Ephesus, Asia Minor, there was a lot of that pushback from the Christian idea that Jesus was really a man, like actually flesh and blood. They were better with him. The Jews couldn't stomach him being God, divine. The Greeks couldn't stomach him being humanity, right? And Paul's saying, hey, this saying that's going around, Jesus came into the world to accomplish the salvation of sinners. He's like, that's a good saying, right? Now, is that a creedal statement? I don't know for sure. A lot of scholars think it was, but we can't be sure. But the way he says that certainly would seem to support that. But we'll read on. 1 Timothy 3, 14. I hope to come to you soon, but I'm writing these things to you so that If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth." That's just the preface to what we're about to read. But I want you to see where Paul's saying, hey, here's why I'm writing this to you, so you can properly order the church of God. And he reminds him the function of the church of God is to uphold and support, preserve the truth, right? And then he said, watch this, and it sounds like a confessional statement, or a creedal statement. Verse 16, great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness. And notice the ESV translators put a colon right here, meaning what? That mystery of godliness that we confess, he's about to say, right? and see how it's creedal-like language. Can't be dogmatic, but it sure seems to fit. He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed in the world, taken up in glory, right? That doesn't necessarily kind of fit the motif of the pastoral epistles, right? It's like it's its own little summary like short summary of just the broad Christology, right? Manifested in flesh, starting at the Incarnation, ending in the Ascension, right? So it's this little creedal statement to kind of help people walk through all the different aspects of Christ's earthly ministry. You following with me? Not saying you agree, but you following with me on how it sounds like that? Can't be dogmatic on these, okay? And look, the warning that follows that, I didn't even put it up there, did I? Sorry, that's it. He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. And then here's the warning that comes in the next verse. The Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. So he started with saying the church is a pillar and buttress of the truth, which implies, hey, y'all gotta be about protecting the truth. Then he gives that summary of Christological doctrine in a sentence that covers so much, right? And then he says, hey, watch out, because people are gonna try to corrupt the truth, see? I mean, like it really seems to fit to me, but again, I wouldn't be dogmatic. Here's another one, 1 Corinthians 8.6, it's a similar formation. Notice, yet for us, so here's what Christians confess, there is one God the Father, from whom are all things, and for whom we exist, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist. Again, can't be dogmatic, but the language certainly sounds like some sort of early Christian creed. Sorry, I got a nose hair that's just itching me to death. It's too much information, but they drive me crazy, getting to that age. All right, now some people think this, and this one seems less conclusive to me, but a lot, a lot of New Testament scholars think this glorious little part of Philippians 2 actually was the lyrics of a Christian hymn that was popular at the time. Paul taking that and canonizing it here in Scripture, at least this portion of it. I'll just read it to you. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. So again, we're walking linearly right through the work of Christ, starting at the incarnation, going to end at the ascension, right? Just like that little statement we saw from 1 Timothy. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. So, again, can't be dogmatic about it. It seems to fit the formula. But do you see how having like such Clear, concise, orthodox statements can be really practically helpful to avoid just the lay Christian falling into error, falling into heresy, like the Trinitarian formula. or like some of these Christological things, Christ came into the world to save sinners. You're a first century Christian in the Greek world, and people are saying, well, Jesus wasn't really a man because matter's evil. But you're like, well, that thing Paul taught us said, what'd that say? Remember, they didn't have the Bible, like, as a book, like we did, little portions of it that they passed around at this time, but in letter form. But they didn't have, they had the whole Old Testament, but not the whole New. Like, what's that little thing Paul taught us? Oh, yeah, yeah, he was, he was, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Yeah. Yeah, that don't square. He's got to be a man, you know. Anywho. I don't know. You be good Bereans. I wanted to at least give you those examples for your consideration. Certainly, the benefits of studying historical theology don't rise or fall with whether or not those are creeds. Just a lot, lot, lot of people think they are some sort of creed or confessional statements. Here's a simple one we'll have time for. Benefits of studying historical theology. It presents us with examples of faith, love, courage, hope, and obedience that are worthy of imitation. In other words, It's this principle from Hebrews 12. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, motivation to persevere, right? Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which cleans so closely and let us, like they, run with endurance the race that is set before us." Now, the author of Hebrews said that after Hebrews chapter 11, which listed out all those Old Testament saints who ran the race of faith and said, because of that, because of the example we see in them, let's be motivated ourselves to persevere and to seek a greater country, even though we're going to suffer in this one, in their context of their persecution. I'm saying the study of historical theology does a similar thing for us when we can look back and see, you know, teenage Perpetua, who is one of the first martyrs, a young girl who gets fed to the lion simply because she won't deny Jesus. Or Justin Martyr, or Ignatius, or fill in the blank, right, of people. There's countless, countless numbers of of our spiritual ancestors that have been burned alive, beheaded, fed to animals, killed by gladiators simply because they wouldn't pinch a piece of incense and say, Caesar is Lord. learning about those things, I mean, it inspires me. So it's just a practical benefit, but I think it's a good one. Here's a big one. It helps protect us against individualism and chronological snobbery. What do I mean by that? Like Christian individualism and chronological snobbery in the sense of No other generation, it's bad in Western society, no other generation before us knew anything about anything, right? That's just, I don't know why that's so rampant in the West today, but it is. And studying historical theology will humble us in that regard. Here's a good quote from Allison on that. It says it reminds believers that theirs is a corporate faith. It's not just you, Jesus, and your Bible. Although your relationship with Jesus is personal, don't get me wrong, but it's not merely that. It's a corporate faith. The church is one that has always affirmed these major tenets of the faith. What? Divine sovereignty, hell, holiness, biblical authority. Studying historical theology helps us to realize that. This rich heritage protects against the tendency to select the doctrines, here's the individualism, to select the doctrines one likes and to reject those ones, I can't read that, to reject those one does not like, sorry, thus giving in to one's sinful propensities. Similarly, historical theology can guard Christians and churches from the penchant for the novel. What's that mean? New, right? Everybody wants to discover something new. And this is a good safeguard against that. Remember my little saying from last week from Sam Waldron? Heresy is the progeny of novelty. The thirst for something new almost always leads to unsound doctrine. The yearning for relevancy almost always leads to unsound practice and doctrine, and the tendency to follow strong leaders who are biblically and theologically shallow. Studying historical theology is a great safeguard against those errors. I'll put it like this, and we can stop here. I may just read the headings to you after this so we can actually move on next week. But I think what you have in historical theology is simply an observation of this promise right here, Ephesians 4. He gave Christ as gifts to his church, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, to what end? To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." So these folks are God's gift to the church, that gifts the church itself for ministry, and the church and its leaders go forth in ministry, and there's a growth that happens through all that until the church reaches perfect maturity. When does that happen? At the return of Christ. Glorification, right? So until then, there's going to be this growth, right? The Holy Spirit, through its ministers, etc., and through His work in the hearts of individual believers, steering the ship. What we're doing in historical theology is observing that, so that, watch, we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes. Right? These gifts are given to Christ's church to prevent it from falling off into error. And the apostles and prophets laid that foundation of the Word of God, right? That work doesn't go on only in the foundation that's laid of the Word of God. we build on that foundation. So, anywho, rather speaking the truth in love, we're to grow up in every way into him who is head into Christ, from whom the whole body joined together and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. See the language of progression in that, of the progressive growth and maturity of the church collectively? through the Holy Spirit, through Christ's gift of its ministers and its members' ministry, both things included there, and reaching this perfection. I think when we study historical theology, what we're studying is these gifts that God has given to the church. Now that doesn't manifest itself infallibly like the scripture does, right? Those men, besides the apostles when they wrote Holy Writ and the prophets when they wrote Holy Writ, those men can err, okay? The pastors, the teachers, etc. But examining that work, examining their interaction with the scriptures and their dealing with heresies and stuff over the course of the last 2,000 years can be a great benefit to us. At least I think so. And I think most would agree. But given what qualifier? I've said it every week a lot. What qualifier? the scripture has the final word, right? We can affirm the Nicene Creed when properly understood on the part about descending into hell. We can say that's an accurate reflection of the word of God. We can affirm the Chalcedonian Creed, the Christological Creed. But guys, at the end of the day, Those creeds aren't true because the church agreed on them. Those creeds are true because they align with the Word of God. See the difference? They align with infallibility, there you go. And I want to be very careful throughout this study to stress that. All right, let me just read these headings. We won't go through the stuff so we can move on. But let me just read these headings so y'all can consider them. Another benefit, it helps us to identify the essentials of the faith and major on those. Guys, I've never seen it turn out well when people major on the minors. You almost always have a cult start. We major on the majors, right? Good to know the minors, but we don't major on the minors. That causes division and all sorts of other error. Let's see. Let me skip to the next one here. It gives us a sense of belonging with the church of the past, right? We see a connectedness there. There's a lot of biblical reason for that, not the least of which we won't read it. Revelation 7, what do you see? Before the throne of Jesus, people from every nation, language, kindred, tribe, and tongue. Guys, you think that's in one generation? No, there's lots of nations, kindreds, tribes, and tongues that don't even exist anymore where there were Christians, people that had faith in Christ. This is like we are connected to these people of different ages through Christ, our King, and it helps us to see that. Oh, that's the last one, so let me read this. It really reminds us of this. Ephesians 4.4, there's one body, in 2,025, in 1,400, in 700, in 200, right? Many would argue in 1,000 BC, but we don't need to get into that right now. One body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who's over all and through all and in all, right? And because of that, we're called to walk worthy, in a manner worthy of our calling, and look, be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And I think studying historical theology helps us to do that, not just within our own generation, but with all Christians. of every age, right? It brings a broader time-spanning unity to Christ's church. All right. Any criticisms? I mean questions? No? No questions? All right. Well, let's, Ben, would you dismiss us in prayer and we'll go. And if it's time to come together and start to work together like we said before. to study and to learn from and to look back at the history of it and just to use it to as a guideline and to apply it to our lives and to work through work which is great to see each one of us and to help us to see each other closer to each day. Thank you. Thank you.