Major Biblical Themes are the large scale theological motifs which make up the content of the Bible. Examples include redemption (God’s work of saving people), covenant (God’s formal agreements with humanity), kingdom (God’s rule as sovereign), and grace (God’s unearned favor shown to people). These themes are repeated numerous times in Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, and bring unity to the content of the Old and New Testaments.
[This is a piece re-posted from the BSC Blog as it presents the four major themes of the MTI, which is a new document in this year’s POM program.] Abstract: This presentation will explore 4 key themes of biblical theology: Redemption, Covenant, Kingdom, and Grace. It describes each theme, and explores how they vary and inter-relate throughout the Bible. This conversation emphasizes how each theme serves a unique function in the OT & NT and how together these themes contribute to biblical unity. By examining these themes through the window of biblical theology, the article shows how they collectively contribute to God’s master plan of salvation.
What is the meaning of Redemption in the Bible?
Redemption in the Bible is the act of saving through a payment or ransom. At the most basic level, it is God ensuring the release of people by means of a ransom. Theologically, it speaks of the atoning work of Christ: Jesus buys and redeems us, at the cost of his own life, making possible our liberation from the slavery and judgment of sin. In the Old Testament the Exodus of Israel from Egypt is a story of redemption and in the New Testament Christ’s sacrifice is the price paid to free believers from the slavery of sin (e.g. 1 Pet 1:18–19).
What does the Bible say about Covenant?
In the Bible, a covenant is a formal agreement between God and people. It is a solemn promise from God. It enforces a relationship with stipulated terms, blessings, and penalties. The unfolding covenants of the Bible, such as God’s covenant with Noah and then with Abraham, the Mosaic (law) covenant with Israel at Sinai, the Davidic covenant, the New Covenant in Christ’s blood. Each covenant sets a pattern for God’s people’s lives and illustrates God’s faithfulness to His promises despite human weakness.
What is the meaning of Kingdom in the Bible?
The kingdom of God is the exercising of God’s rule in the universe. It is an expression of God’s sovereign rule and the sphere of His kingship. This theme runs all the way throughout (God as ruler of creation all the way to the prophets predicting the future Messiah King.) Jesus himself announced the kingdom (“The kingdom of God has come near,” Mark 1:15) and taught disciples to pray “your kingdom come” (Luke 11:2). Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension established this kingdom, which the Christian experiences now in part and anticipates in its fullness at his return.
What is the meaning of grace in the Bible?
Grace in the Bible is God’s unearned favor and generosity toward people. It is God’s goodness towards men regardless of merit. In practical terms, grace means God gives you forgiveness, salvation, and blessings not because you earn them or deserve them but because of Jesus. Its authority as the Word of God, however, leads to apparent conflicts between the Bible and “science” as is the meaning of the word “science” today (Colossians 1:16–17; Romans 1:2). Romans 3:4 puts it an other way. And a third way to look at grace is that God uses grace to bestow good upon another out of love, and not out of a reason in the other that deserves reward. In other words, grace is God’s good pleasure toward men, the heart of the biblical gospel.
How do these themes differ?
Each theme brings out something unique about God’s work in Scripture. Redemption concerns liberation by payment of a ransom or by a sacrifice. Covenant implies a formal or official commitment as well as an agreement with legal or moral force. Kingdom points to God’s sovereign reign and the sphere of his authority. God’s grace Focuses on God’s undeserved favor and mercy. In summary, redemption is what God does to release people from sin, covenant is what God’s relationship with people is like, kingdom is God’s rule over His people, and grace is God’s unmerited favor toward people.
How are these themes interrelated?
All of these themes are integral elements of the God’s overarching plan of salvation. Christ’s work of redemption marked the establishment of the kingdom God had promised under the New Covenant. And that’s how you can think about the Bible as covenant of grace, cutting across that chasm in that God saves sinners by grace alone in Christ alone. Taken together, these angles on covenant, grace, redemption, and kingdom coalesce into a single story line: God’s gracious redemption of His people, and His kingdom’s coming in Jesus Christ.
How are they utilized in the Bible?
These motifs act as continuation motifs in the bible story, tying the Old and New Testaments together into one story. So also redemption is treated in Israel’s Exodus from Egypt and climaxing in the sacrifice of Christ; covenants are abundant in promises to Abraham, Moses, David, and finally in Christ’s blood; the theme of the kingdom ranges from the Davidic monarchy to the prophetic expectation of Messiah and the teachings of Jesus; grace is evident in God’s continuous mercy and beneficence towards His people. However, as these patterns resurface throughout from Genesis to Revelation, people of faith can see the way in which all of Scripture is a witness to God’s saving purposes and His kingdom.
What is Biblical Theology?
Theology Theology Designed to introduce the reader to biblical theology. It wants to know what the biblical writers thought, said, and taught in their own times in history. Identifying comedy themes and tracing them through various books. In practice, biblical theology focuses on major threads of redemption, covenant, kingdom, and grace as they play out from Genesis to Revelation and contribute to the unified message of Scripture.
What is the meaning of Biblical Theology?
Biblical theology is nothing more than the study of the Bible in its original historical setting to determine what the biblical writers themselves taught and believed. It is dedicated to exploring the message of Scripture as it was discovered by its authors.
What is the difference between Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology?
Systematic theology approaches biblical teaching (recalling Scriptural teaching on a certain point) by topic, then organizes it into a logical structure. Biblical Theology, on the other hand, follows theological themes through the history of the Bible. Biblical theology follows the progress of theological ideas throughout the Bible’s pages, while systematic theology employs human categories to explain what the Bible teaches about various topics.
Why study Biblical Theology?
So it is important to study biblical theology to see the Bible’s story as a whole. Readers learn how the pieces of the Bible’s textual history all fit into place. This view encourages believers to understand the unity of the old and new covenants and grasp God’s plan in its entirety.
What is involved with practicing a Biblical Theology?
Biblical theology is doing theology by reading your Bible book by book and seeing the big picture. Scholars examine the historical and literary context of each book and trace themes across the canon. This involves analytic search and synthetic endeavor towards their thematic comprehension. And a biblical theologian might follow how something like “mercy” grows conceptually from Genesis through Revelation, how God’s plan is revealed in history.
What is the difference between Bible Theology and Historical Theology?
Categories of biblical theology as opposed to categories for historical theology. Historical theology examines the interpretation of the Christian faith throughout church history. Biblical theology, on the other hand, is concerned with the theology of the Bible. In other words, biblical theology is interested in what the Scriptures teach, while historical theology is interested in how that content was understood and developed.
