Biblical Theology
Objective: Reflect on how the theological message of the passage fits within the broader framework of Scripture, the Great Controversy, and key Adventist themes, drawing connections to God’s character, human purpose, salvation history, and personal faith.
Guiding Questions:
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What does this passage reveal about God, humanity, and the plan of salvation in the context of the Great Controversy and Adventist theology?
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How does the passage connect with key biblical and Adventist doctrines (e.g., sanctuary, Sabbath, second coming, state of the dead)?
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What message of faith, hope, or love emerges from this passage, and how does it shape our belief and action?
Primary & Secondary Level
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Begin reflecting on your theological tradition. What are some key theological themes from an Adventist perspective that interact with your passage? How does the Great Controversy theme in the writings of Ellen White help you identify the position of your text in Salvation history? How is your passage related to the plan of salvation following the Sanctuary doctrine as a model of understanding? Are there implications from your passage to the Sabbath, the State of the Dead, the Spirit of Prophecy, the Stewardship of our Bodies, the Sanctification of our Souls before the Investigative Judgment, or any other fundamental doctrine? You don’t have to list these; just reflect and write as the Spirit leads you.
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Another way of reflecting theologically is to focus on your text: Based on your exegetical work, what does the passage infer about God? What about his design for creation? What about human nature? What about God’s relationship with humans and with His creation?
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A third way to think theologically based on the text is to identify faith, hope, and love in your passage: What does it compel us to believe? What hope does it present? What does it urge us to do?
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Another way of thinking theologically is considering how this passage might contribute to the classical categories of biblical systematic theology: Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Anthropology, Ethics, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology. As with the procedures above, you don’t have to make a list of these; just reflect and write as the Spirit leads you.
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In light of the thematically related passages that you analyzed in the previous step, consider how your passage contributes to a biblical theology of that topic within a single book of the Bible, within a corpus, a testament, or of the entire canon of Scripture.
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Research what Ellen White has written about the subject.
Additional Library Resources
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The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments
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Call Number: BS543 .S386 2013ISBN: 9780801039393Publication Date: 2013-07-15Thomas Schreiner, a respected scholar and a trusted voice for many students and pastors, offers a substantial and accessibly written overview of the whole Bible. He traces the storyline of the scriptures from the standpoint of biblical theology, examining the overarching message that is conveyed throughout. Schreiner emphasizes three interrelated and unified themes that stand out in the biblical narrative: God as Lord, human beings as those who are made in God's image, and the land or place in which God's rule is exercised. The goal of God's kingdom is to see the king in his beauty and to be enraptured in his glory. -
New Dictionary of Biblical Theology
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Call Number: Reference BS440 .N437 2000ISBN: 0830814388Publication Date: 2000-11-07The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology will quickly establish itself as an essential building block of every library of basic biblical reference books. Building on its companion volumes, the New Bible Dictionary and New Bible Commentary, this work takes readers to a higher vantage point where they can view the thematic terrain of the Bible in its canonical wholeness. In addition, it fills the interpretive space between those volumes and the New Dictionary of Theology. At the heart of this work is an A-to-Z encyclopedia of over 200 key biblical-theological themes such as atonement, creation, eschatology, Israel, Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, redemption, suffering, wisdom and worship. Students and communicators of the Bible will be well served by articles exploring the theology of each biblical book. And for those interested in the wider discipline of biblical theology, major articles explore foundational issues such as the history of biblical theology, the challenges raised against biblical theology, and the unity and diversity of Scripture. Over 120 contributors drawn from the front ranks of biblical scholarship in the English-speaking world make the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology a work of distinction and a benchmark of evangelical biblical theology at the turn of the twenty-first century. Bibliographies round out all articles, directing readers to research trails leading out of the Dictionary and into crucial studies on every subject. Cross-references throughout send readers through the varied maze of reading pathways, maximizing the usefulness of this volume. Comprehensive, authoritative and easily accessible, the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is certain to establish itself as an essential resource for students of the Bible and theology. -
Out of Egypt: Biblical Theology and Biblical Interpretation
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Call Number: BS543 .O86 2004ISBN: 0310234158Publication Date: 2004-11-28Biblical theology attempts to explore the theological coherence of the canonical witnesses; no serious Christian theology can overlook this issue. The essays in the present volume illustrate the complexity and richness of the conversation that results from attentive consideration of the question. In a time when some voices are calling for a moratorium on biblical theology or pronouncing its concerns obsolete, this collection of meaty essays demonstrates the continuing vitality and necessity of the enterprise. Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, The Divinity School, Duke University, USA This volume on biblical theology jumps into the fray and poses the right kind of questions. It does not offer a single way forward. Several of the essays are quite fresh and provocative, breaking new ground (Bray, Reno); others set out the issues with clarity and grace (Bartholomew); others offer programmatic analysis (Webster; Bauckham); others offer a fresh angle of view (Chapman, Martin). The success of this series is in facing the challenge of disarray in biblical studies head-on and then modeling a variety of approaches to stimulate our reflection. Christopher Seitz, Professor of Old Testament and Theological Studies, St. Andrews University, UK -
What Is Biblical Theology?
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Call Number: BS543 .H3355 2014ISBN: 9781433537714Publication Date: 2013-11-30This concise and highly readable book orients readers to the unified story of Scripture, helping Christians grasp the perspective of the biblical writers and follow their lead in reading and interpreting God's Word.
Online Resources
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New Testament Reading RoomThis page is designed to help make New Testament commentaries, dictionaries and related resources available to those without easy access to a theological library. Many of the links below connect you to scanned, published books made available by Google Books (often 75% of content). Importantly, Google Books allows you to search within a volume and also across volumes (rather than across the entire WWW).
"A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Exegesis" Recommendations & Categories
Essential
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New Testament Theology
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Call Number: BS2397 .C35 1995ISBN: 0198263880Publication Date: 1995-12-28Generations of students have known G.B. Caird as a penetrating and lucid guide to the many questions and problems posed by modern biblical study. His brillant commentaries on St Luke, the Book of Revelation, and St Paul's Prison Epistles, as well as his other studies on theology and the Bible, have won for him a place among the twentieth century's foremost biblical scholars. This new and masterly presentation of New Testament theology, completed and edited since the author's death by Professor L.D. Hurst, takes the unique step of setting up an imaginary debate amongst the various authors of the New Testament themselves. As central concepts (predestination, sin, atonement, the church, sacrament, ethics, eschatology, and christology) are `discussed' between such figures as Luke, Paul, John, and the author of Hebrews, the work moves to its climax with a presentation of the theology of Jesus himself. The result provides a particularly fresh and illuminating picture of the ideas at the heart of Christianity, deserving a place on the shelf of every serious pastor, theologian, and student of the Bible. -
A Theology of the New Testament
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Call Number: BS2397 .L33 1974ISBN: 0802834434Publication Date: 1974-08-01
