Theology You Can Count On: Experiencing What the Bible Says About... God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Angels, Salvation...
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Theology You Can Count On: Experiencing What the Bible Says About... God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Angels, Salvation...
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Overview
"For many people the word theology suggests seminary-educated scholars who sit in ivory towers, isolated from the real world, studying the Bible. Such study is often viewed as esoteric and unrelated to the world where men and women live, work, play, raise families, and struggle with the realities of day-to-day life.
Nothing could be further from the truth." ---Tony Evans
What we think about God, also known as theology, influences what we believe, do, and say. And what we think, whether true or false, makes a big difference in real life.
Tony Evans wants you to know the truth about God, so Theology You Can Count On communicates truths about God in language you can understand. He walks through what the Bible teaches, topic by topic, truth by truth. The great thing is, these truths aren't reserved for people with PhDs. They're for real life. They're for you.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781575673967 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Moody Publishers |
| Publication date: | 07/01/2008 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 1376 |
| Sales rank: | 467,753 |
| File size: | 9 MB |
About the Author
For more information, visit: www.TonyEvans.org.
Read an Excerpt
Theology You Can Count On
Experiencing What the Bible Says About ... God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Angels, Salvation, the Church, the Bible, the Last Things
By Anthony T. Evans, Phil Rawley, Jim Vincent
Moody Publishers
Copyright © 2008 Anthony T. EvansAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-57567-396-7
CHAPTER 1
THE STUDY OF GOD
It's hard to know where to begin when your subject is God Himself, a subject more important than anything else we could ever study. Nothing can fully express the subject, especially since God is more than the sum total of His attributes. King David said, "Such knowledge [of God] is too wonderful for me" (Psalm 139:6). But God invites us to know Him. He wants us to contemplate all that He is, because nothing else matters without Him.
I like what the great English preacher Charles Spurgeon told his church one Sunday (and J. I. Packer cites in his book Knowing God):
I believe ... that the proper study of God's elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.
No study of God can be said to be comprehensive for three reasons. The first has to do with the sheer limitation of the human mind. A finite mind cannot fully grasp an infinite being. Second is the moral problem. The presence of sin, even in our converted state, has limited our capacity for understanding spiritual truth. Third, we have a resource problem. God has simply not told us everything about Himself. What He has told us we can know, but He has not revealed everything.
Because of the greatness of our subject, I will be taking you to many portions of Scripture. But due to the limitations of space and my own finiteness, we will neither exhaust the subject nor be able to give equal attention to all of these Scriptures.
THE STUDY OF GOD
My thesis in this introductory chapter can be stated simply: The study of the knowledge of God is the most important pursuit in life.
Of all the things that matter in our lives, to know God through a purposeful study of His nature, His character, and His perfections should be our driving force. Only then will we be able to define everything else accurately. But let me make three clarifications right now before we get into the heart of this chapter and the book.
More than Awareness
First of all, when I talk about the study of the knowledge of God, I am not referring to an awareness of God. Simply to say there is a God doesn't say a whole lot about Him, because it would be hard to miss Him entirely when you understand that He is an all-encompassing Being. So when I talk about knowing God, I mean more than that you are aware He exists.
More than Information
Second, when I talk about knowing God, I mean more than that you have information about God; that is, knowing that He is the Creator or powerful or big or grand or majestic.
More than Religion
Knowing God also means more than having a religious experience with God or saying that we feel Him. It is valid to have an emotional and religious experience with God, but to know Him involves more than that.
To know God is to have Him rub off on you, to enter into relationship with God so that who He is influences who you are. One of the great tragedies today is that you can go to church and be aware of God; you can go to church and have information about God; and if your church has a great choir, you can even go to church and "feel" God; but you can leave church with Him never having rubbed off on you.
LIFE'S MOST MEANINGFUL PURSUIT
The study of God is the most meaningful pursuit in life. Jeremiah 9:23-24 expresses the importance of knowing God better than I ever could:
Thus says the Lord, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me."
The Right Kind of Bragging
It's amazing how many things we brag about. Some of us can brag about our educational achievements. We've gone through school and we've done well. We've got a bachelor's degree. We've earned a master's degree. Perhaps we even graduated magna cum laude.
Perhaps you started on the bottom rung of the ladder at your company. You've grown up through the company and now you've become a supervisor; you've "graduated" to become a manager. You own your own business, your own success. Now extra money is in the account. The home looks nice. The cars are modern. The suits are authentic.
But God says, "If you are going to brag, if you really want something to shout about, can you brag that you know Me? Because if you can't talk about that, you don't have much to brag about."
Hitting the Right Target
A man once went to visit a farmer and noticed something very odd. On the side of the farmer's barn were a number of targets with holes dead center in each bull's-eye. The visitor said, "My goodness! Every single hole is right in the center of every single bull's-eye! I didn't know you were that good." His farmer friend said, "I'm really not."
"Wait a minute. I see a hole in the center of every single bull's-eye. How could you not be that good and shoot that well?"
The farmer replied, "It's like this. I shoot the hole into the barn first, then I draw me a bull's-eye."
That's the way a lot of us live our lives. We shoot for riches, power, or education and then draw the meaning of life around these things. Then we go around saying, "I hit a bull's-eye!" We give the impression that we know how to shoot, when in actuality we don't know what in the world we are doing. We are as confused as those around us.
But God says, "If you are going to brag, can you brag on the fact that I have rubbed off on you; that My thinking has become your thinking; that My way of living and walking and moving and functioning has become your way? Only when that happens can you say that you know Me." And so we need to say, "We will boast in the name of the Lord, our God" (Psalm 20:7).
LIFE'S MOST AUTHENTIC PURSUIT
The study of God is also life's most authentic pursuit. In John 17, Jesus gave His high priestly prayer in which He prays on behalf of His disciples, including you and me:
Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (vv. 1-3)
Authentic Life
According to Jesus, authentic life is eternal life. Jesus is not referring to how long you are going to live. He's talking about a quality of life in verse 3. Eternal life means knowing God. Life can never be what it was intended to be for you or me unless that life consists of God's life being lived out in us.
Jesus says in verse 3 that the only way you will get eternal life experience in this life is in the knowledge of God. To know God is to live life as it was meant to be lived. That's why Jesus said He came to give us life and to give it to us more abundantly.
To understand life, you have to understand a very simple principle: Eternal life, or the quality of life that God has intended for us, equals the knowledge of Him. Jesus makes a comparative statement in John 17:3. If you want to live, He says, don't go looking for life. Look for the knowledge of God, because authentic life means knowing Him.
Telling the Truth
Only one standard of information clarifies what life is all about: the Word of God. Jesus said to the Father in His prayer in John 17, "Your word is truth" (v. 17). If we are going to live life authentically, we need someone who will tell us the truth. We don't do that with each other. We don't tell people the truth because we don't want to offend them. We don't tell them the truth because we don't want them mad at us. We don't tell them the truth because people like being lied to. Therefore, our relationships are often shallow and never get to where they are supposed to be.
You don't have that problem with God. God calls it as He sees it. He will not tell you, "I'm OK, you're OK." He tells you, "You were dead in your trespasses and in your sins, and you lived according to the flesh, according to the lust of this age." He's not going to make it comfortable or convenient for you. He will tell you the truth, like a good doctor.
The Real You
That's the downside of our study. When God unveils who He is, the knowledge will also unveil who we are. We're faced with the problem Peter had when he ran into Jesus Christ and found out who he was. The revelation of Jesus Christ made Peter fall on his face and say, "I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8).
The prophet Isaiah saw the Lord and cried out, "Woe is me!" (Isaiah 6:5). Why? Because if you want the real deal, if you really want the truth, God will give you the truth. When you see God as He is, when He unveils Himself, when the true knowledge of God is revealed, it shows you for who you are.
The Real World
The knowledge of God also shows the world for what it is. People spend much time analyzing our world. Philosophers analyze society because people want answers to the fundamental questions of life, such as, Who is man? Where did man come from? Where is he going?
Other people pursue the social analysis of man: how man functions in communication and communion with others, how people relate to each other, how people can stop themselves from hurting one another, and how they can live in peace with one another. The result is often political attempts to make the world right. But when you have the Word of God, you understand the rules of society because God tells the truth about the world.
God also tells the truth about sex, about money, and about all the ingredients that relate to life. He tells the truth about who you are. And so who you are, where you came from, why you are here, and where you are going all come from the knowledge of God.
LIFE'S MOST BENEFICIAL PURSUIT
Nothing will benefit you more in day-to-day living than the knowledge of God. Daniel 11:32 says this: "The people who know their God will display strength and take action."
Daniel was a captive in Babylon, an ungodly nation that was turned over to the Medes and the Persians. Daniel was constantly under oppression. He was constantly being victimized, but he says, "The people who know God even in the midst of a bad situation will know the right steps to take in confronting the issues of life."
Confidence
The knowledge of God gives the ability to make the correct response to the circumstances of life. The people who know their God will have the confidence and ability to do the right thing. You see, the problem today with people who want to correct the social or political order, who want to change this and fix that, is that they want to do good things, but they don't know the right way.
But the people who know their God will move forward with confidence, and take action. Knowledge of God is not passive. It's not something you do on the sidelines. It really frees you up to do something, but to do the right something.
Security
The knowledge of God also gives security in life. Look at Psalm 46:1-3:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.
The psalmist says that even when earthquakes shake things up, those who know God will be secure. When the ground under you starts shaking, there isn't much around you to hold onto.
Wisdom
The knowledge of God also gives wisdom. Paul prays in Ephesians 1:17 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him." Wisdom is spiritual insight for earthly application, the ability to know what God wants and the know-how to apply it where you live. Wisdom is to truth as a shoe is to shoe leather. Wisdom means the ability to take a divine, spiritual perspective and turn it into an earthly, functional application.
Proverbs 9:10 puts it this way: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Solomon says God will show you how to live a wise life. A lot of us have book sense, but we don't have common sense.
It's not that we don't have information; it's just that we don't have wisdom, the ability to apply the knowledge we have. But the knowledge of God can give us wisdom, Proverbs says, the ability to make the right decisions in life.
Order
The apostle Peter says the knowledge of God can give you a well-ordered life:
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us. (2 Peter 1:2-3)
Peter says the knowledge of God will give you grace, peace, and power. What more could you ask for? A grace life, a peace life, and a divinely powerful life is a well-ordered life, but Peter says it only comes by the true knowledge of God.
Spiritual Fruit
If you allow God to work in your life and transform it, He will give you spiritual development:
For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)
Paul says that the knowledge of God will change the way you walk. When you know God, you walk differently. You move differently. You act differently. You think differently. Why? Because you are filled with the knowledge of God. With this knowledge comes the knowledge of His will, and the knowledge of His will transforms your life. As He transforms your life, you bear spiritual fruit.
Fruit has two characteristics. First, it always reflects the character of the tree of which it is a part. When you bear spiritual fruit, you begin to look like Christ. Second, fruit is never borne for itself. It is always borne so someone else can take a bite. When you start bearing fruit, other people want to take a bite out of your life. Other people want to be like you, because you are a productive person for the purposes of God.
LIFE'S MOST CHALLENGING PURSUIT
Finally, the study of God is the most challenging pursuit in life:
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)
An Eternal Challenge
Do you want a challenge? Decide to get to know God. It's a challenge first because verse 33 says getting to know God will never end. God is never, and will never be, fully comprehensible to man, not only in time, but in eternity.
Any married person can relate to this You can live with a woman or a man for fifty years and still discover new information. Now, if you can do that with another person over a lifetime, think about our infinite God. It will take eternity and then some to understand Him. The knowledge of God will always be a challenge because you will never learn it all.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Theology You Can Count On by Anthony T. Evans, Phil Rawley, Jim Vincent. Copyright © 2008 Anthony T. Evans. Excerpted by permission of Moody Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments /15
Introduction /17
Part 1: THEOLOGY PROPER
The Doctrine of God the Father
Section I: The Subject of God
1. The Study of God /21
2. The Nature of God /34
Section II: The Attributes of God
3. The Sufficiency of God /47
4. The Holiness of God /60
5. The Sovereignty of God /74
6. The Glory of God /87
7. The Omniscience of God /99
8. The Omnipresence of God /110
9. The Omnipotence of God /122
10. The Wisdom of God /34
11. The Goodness of God /147
12. The Wrath of God /158
13. The Love of God /170
14. The Grace of God /180
Part 2: CHRISTOLOGY
The Doctrine of God the Son
Section I: The Uniqueness of Christ
15. The Uniqueness of the Person of Christ /193
16. The Uniqueness of Christ in Prophecy and Typology /204
17. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Humiliation /221
18. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Death /232
19. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Resurrection /245
20. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Ascension
and Present Ministry /256
21. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Return and Millenial Rule /269
Section II: The Authority of Christ
22. The Authority of Christ over Nature /281
23. The Authority of Christ over Satan and the Demons /290
24. The Authority of Christ over Disease /308
25. The Authority of Christ over Sin /321
26. The Authority of Christ over Circumstances /331
27. The Authority of Christ over Trials /342
28. The Authority of Christ over Death /353
Part 3: PNEUMATOLOGY
The Doctrine of God the Holy Spirit
Section I: The Presence of the Holy Spirit
29. The Holy Spirit's Promise /367
30. The Holy Spirit's Baptism /378
31. The Holy Spirit's Security /389
32. The Holy Spirit's Filling /400
33. The Holy Spirit's Freedom /410
34. The Holy Spirit's Illumination /420
Section II: The Purpose of the Holy Spirit
35. The Holy Spirit's Conviction /433
36. The Holy Spirit's Power /444
37. The Holy Spirit's Authority /455
38. The Holy Spirit's Fellowship /466
39. The Holy Spirit's Restraint /476
Section III: The Provision of the Holy Spirit
40. The Holy Spirit's Fruit /489
41. The Holy Spirit's Intercession /500
42. The Holy Spirit's Guidance /510
43. The Holy Spirit's Gifts /523
Part 4: ANGELOLOGY
The Doctrine of Angels
Section I: The Holy Angels
44. The Existence of Angels /539
45. The Ministry of Angels /549
46. The Operation and Enlisting of Angels /561
Section II: The Evil Angels
47. The Character ofSatan and the Demons /579
48. The Strategy of Satan /592
49. The Defeat of Satan /608
Section III: The Reality of Spiritual Warfare
50. The Nature of the Battle /619
51. The Origin of the Battle /631
52. The Expansion of the Battle /642
53. The Scope of the Battle /652
Section IV: The Authority for Spiritual Warfare
54. The Purchase of Authority /665
55. The Agency of Authority /674
56. The Weapons of Authority /685
57. The Access to Authority /695
Part 5: SOTERIOLOGY
The Doctrine of Salvation
Section I: Our Great Salvation
58. Sin: The Need for Salvation /707
59. Justification: The Verdict of Salvation /718
60. Redemption: The Payment for Salvation /728
61. Propitiation: The Requirement for Salvation /738
62. Reconciliation: The Relationship of Salvation /749
63. Regeneration: The Miracle of Salvation /759
64. Grace: The Gift of Salvation /770
65. Sanctification: The Progress of Salvation /781
Section II: The Assurance of Salvation
66. The Foundation of Assurance /793
67. The Demands of Assurance /808
68. The Blessings of Assurance /823
Section III: Our Eternal Security in Christ
69. The Importance of Eternal Security /835
70. The Process of Eternal Security /846
71. The Protection of Eternal Security /857
72. The Privileges of Eternal Security /866
Part 6: ECCLESIOLOGY
The Doctrine of the Church
Section I: The Nature of the Church
73. The Importance of the Church /879
74.The Purpose of the Church /889
75. The Mission and Distinctives of the Church /900
76. The Power of the Church /914
Section II: The Ministry of the Church
77. The Worship of the Church /925
78. The Fellowship of the Church /934
79. The Proclamation of the Church /943
80. The Witness of the Church /952
Section III: The Function of the Church
81. The Leadership of the Church /967
82. The Unity of the Church /977
83. The Service of the Church /987
84. The Accountability of the Church /996
85. The Ordinances of the Church /1006
86. The Orientation of the Church /1015
Part 7: BIBLIOLOGY
The Doctrine of the Bible
Section I: The Nature of the Bible
87. The Bible Is Unique /1027
88. The Bible Is Truth /1037
89. The Bible Is Authoritative /1046
90. The Bible Is Powerful /1055
91. The Bible is Sufficient /1064
Section II: The Communication of the Bible
92. The Revelation of the Bible /1075
93. The Inspiration of the Bible /1085
94. The Illumination of the Bible /1094
95. The Interpretation of the Bible /1103
96. The Canonicity of the Bible /1112
Section III: The Benefits of the Bible
97. The Bible Produces Spiritual Life /1123
98. The Bible Provides Spiritual Direction /1132
99. The Bible Brings Spiritual Blessings /1143
100. The Bible Brings Spiritual Freedom /1152
101. The Bible Gives Spiritual Victory /1161
Part 8: ESCHATOLOGY
The Doctrine of the Last Things
Section I: The History of Fulfilled Prophecy
102. The Importance of Prophecy /1173
103. The Key to Prophecy /1184
104. Prophecy and Human History /1194
105. Prophecy and the Covenants /1204
106. Prophecy and the Times of the Gentiles /1216
107. Prophecy and Israel's Timetabe /1227
Section II: End Times Prophecy
108. Prophecy and the Church ./1239
109. Prophecy and the Rapture /1250
110. Prophecy and the Judgment Seat of Christ /1260
Section III: The Return of Christ
111. Prophecy and the Antichrist /1273
112. Prophecy and the Tribulation /1285
113. Prophecy, the Battle of Armageddon,
and Christ's Second Coming /1296
114. Prophecy and the Millennial Kingdom /1312
115. Prophecy and the Great White Throne /1323
116. The Eternal Estate /1333
Subject Index /1343
Scripture Index /1355