Thought for Today
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
Psalm 33:4 For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
The word theology does not appear in the Bible. Jesus did not write any theological essays or books. Jesus never preached a directly theological lesson or sermon. Even today, few preachers ever preach or teach a directly, specifically theological lesson or sermon. Hopefully, none of you will stop reading this because I have already used the words theology and theological so many times.
This morning, my mind is focused on theology. First, the word theology is a compound word derived from the Greek θεός combined with λόγος. θεός (Theos) is the Greek word for God. λόγος (logos) is the Greek word for word. Theology literally means ‘words about God.’ In the most basic sense, the entire Bible is theology. Since Creation itself was created by God, every discourse on mathematics and science is fundamentally theology because all the words are words about God’s creation.
Our earliest ancestors-in-the-faith understood that, when they first compiled Genesis and especially the Creation Narrative in those first three chapters. Our universe, time, even reality itself is the creation of our Creator God. So, anything we speak, write or read about any topic is in some way theology, words about God.
The Gospel of John also begins with words about Creation and God’s role. In some aspects, that first chapter parallels the Creation Narrative in Genesis. John, however, addresses Creation from a distinctly Christian perspective. I often refer to Jesus as the Incarnate Creative Word of God, ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ in human form. John captures this with, “John 1:3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being . . . John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” Jesus was and is theology in human form. Words about God and the Word of God, “John 1:4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”
Interestingly, every seminary of which I am personally aware requires at least one class in Systematic Theology. The majority of seminarians I have talked to about that class have mentioned how much they dreaded the class and ultimately how much they disliked the class. F.W.I.W, I loved every theology class I took. Given my initial training as an engineer, the engineering discipline I studied and the subset of that discipline I focused on, I especially loved Systematic Theology.
I am a Reformed Protestant Christian. That means that my beliefs are largely based on John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, the first true book on Systematic Theology. I have also been greatly influenced by the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Reformed theologian martyred by the Nazis.
Does any of this imply that every thought I have and/or every word I speak is infused with or focused on the intricacies of theology? Am I implying that, or that the same should be true for any or all of us? Obviously and certainly not. I cannot imagine how rigid, stilted and boring our world would be were that the case. But, we should always be aware that everything, literally everything in Creation was created by God. The very fabric of reality, space and even time are all products of God’s “Let there be,” God’s words, ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ.
As a Christian, like John, I know that Jesus, the Christ, was and is the light of the world. Jesus is the Incarnate Creative Word of God. The reason that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” is that all scripture is composed of theology, words of God, words about God and words inspired by God.
Today, as I go about my mundane routine, as Greta and I prepare to make up our grocery list and head to do our weekly shopping, I know that the list, our discussions, all that we think, say, do, read or write, all of it is basically theology. Words about God, words from God, words about God’s Creation.
Be mindful of God’s Creation, think about God’s Creation, trust God,
Pastor Ray