Introduction To Theology — The Pursuit of God’s Mind — 1

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds Heb 1 vs 1–2

The Genesis of All Religion

All kinds of religion in the world originated from either of these two sources: God’s sovereign revelation to man (God choosing to reveal Himself to man), or man’s attempt to know God. Please read this statement again.

Religion can be defined as an organized system of beliefs, practices, and rituals focusing on sacred or spiritual matters, often involving the worship of a deity or a higher spiritual power. This means that for any religion to exist, three main components need to be present:

• A deity or higher spiritual power
• A worshipper, who is the man
• A system of worship — the practices, codes, and conduct that govern the relationship

Any religion that lacks these three components is not a true religion. And here lies a critical truth: The differentiating factor of every religion is the deity being worshiped, for the deity alone establishes the requirements of acceptable worship and not the man. The system of worship is dictated by the deity, based on the acquired knowledge of the deity. There are three ways knowledge of a deity can be acquired: through direct communication, experiential encounter, or human perception.

Every mainstream religion claims to know God and how to relate to Him. So what we call religion is the institutionalization (the action of establishing something as a convention or norm in an organization or culture) of the knowledge of God. That’s why the secular world classifies religion as an institution, an institution of what? The knowledge of God.

Theology — A Journey Into The Knowledge Of God

Theology is the study of God, His nature, what He has revealed about Himself, and His works. The primary purpose of theology is to know God. Every Christian, consciously or unconsciously, actively engages in theology. The moment you declare that “God is love” or “Jesus is Lord,” you have made a theological statement. The only question is whether your theology is sound or suspect, deliberate or accidental, anchored in Scripture or adrift in speculation.

The word Theology can be broken down into two words: THEO (God) and LOGY (Word / Logic).

The suffix -ology appears across numerous disciplines: biology, physiology, and anthropology. This suffix derives from the Greek word logos, which we encounter in the opening verse of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word [Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

Logos carries profound meaning: “word,” “idea,” “reason,” or, as certain philosophers have rendered it, “logic.” It is the root from which we derive our English word logic. When we study biology, we examine the word or logic of bios (life). When we pursue anthropology, we investigate the word or logic of anthrōpos (humanity). So, Theology is the word, the logic, the very mind of Theos Himself — the one true God.

When you engage in theology, you are not merely accumulating religious information. You are pursuing the mind of the Infinite, tracing the thoughts of the Eternal, and seeking to comprehend — insofar as finite minds can grasp — the self-revelation of the Creator of all that exists.

Let me quickly point out that not everything that falls under the name of theology will be worth your time. But that doesn’t mean that all theology is irrelevant. The study of theology is important because what you believe about God affects everything in your life: your studies, your vocation, your worldview, your habits, your hobbies, your marriage, your friendships, and much more.

Theology seeks to understand who God is, what He has done, and how He relates to humanity as revealed in Scripture. Theology is the pursuit of the mind of God as it is revealed in Scripture. Its primary purpose is to know God

Theology is possible because God has chosen to reveal Himself to man at different times and through different means. The highest of His revelations being the Person of Jesus Christ. No man can know everything about God, but you can know God enough based on what He has revealed about Himself.

Let me also mention that the goal of doing theology is to know God, and not just to acquire knowledge. As we go through this journey, I beseech you to accompany your study with prayer. To see beyond the written word, into the mind of God, and get to know and understand Him intimately. For He has promised in His word:

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Heb. 8 vs 10–12