What Is Biblical Theology?

One of the most confusing concepts I ran across in seminary was "biblical theology."

In fact, I think I had a better idea of what biblical theology was before I went to seminary. Now, that seems strange. I knew what the Bible was; I knew what theology was; but when you put the two words together it seemed like everyone defined it differently. When I tried to wrap my head around the concept, my head started spinning.

Initially, it was hard to appreciate what I could not define. It is sometimes difficult to see the value in something that you don't understand.

However, I have grown to appreciate biblical theology quite a bit. The insights from biblical theology have helped me understand Scripture much better.

What is biblical theology?

Let's start with a brief overview of various branches of theology.

An Overview of Different Branches of Theology

In my previous article titled "What Is Theology?," I provided this brief overview:

The following shows some of the different disciplines in the theological world. The ESV Study Bible helpfully refers to these disciplines below as steps in the theological process (ESV Study Bible, p. 2506).

- Exegetical theology = studying a particular passage of Scripture and extracting the meaning out of it (For example, what does Colossians 1:3-14 mean?).

- Biblical theology = studying the main story of the entire Bible (Some also add studying particular themes of specific book(s) of the writers of Scripture. For example, studying the theme of prayer in the letters from Paul would be biblical theology.).

- Systematic theology = studying topics according to the whole Bible (For example, what does the whole Bible teach on prayer, spiritual gifts, baptism, the church, God, etc.?)

- Historical theology = studying how believers in church history have understood those topics (For example, what did Martin Luther teach about baptism?).

- Philosophical theology = studying theological topics primarily apart from the Bible (For example, through philosophy and science).

- Practical theology = studying how to apply those truths to our lives and to the church (For example, what does the Bible say about preaching, singing, praying, etc.)

- Apologetics = studying theology to defend it when it's criticized (For example, how do we respond to atheists' views?)

(Click here to read the full article.)

Now, let's cover the history of biblical theology.

The History of Biblical Theology

(As seen in the endnotes, I am leaning heavily on the New Dictionary of Theology in this section.)

The phrase, "biblical theology," seems to have first appeared in the mid-17th century. Biblical theology (theology derived from the Bible) was originally used in contrast to scholastic theology (theology derived mostly from philosophy and tradition).[1]

Initially, biblical theology was considered a reform of systematic theology. In 1787, Johann Philipp Gabler suggested making the two separate categories. Biblical theology would be more concerned with describing what the biblical authors thought and systematic theology, on the other hand, would be more concerned with teaching what particular theologians and traditions taught [2].

Despite this catching on, the interest in biblical theology has continued to wane over time. Particularly, the decline can be seen a couple of centuries later. Many in the 19th century began to focus more on a historical-critical approach to the Bible. Many scholars considered this a better approach than that of their predecessors; focusing on Scripture as a historical book was considered to be less affected by bias (more objective) than considering it a theological book.[3] Tragically, the emphasis on reading the Bible as a historical book led to a neglect in considering it a theological book.

In the early 1900s, with the publication of Karl Barth's commentary on Romans (and various other books), a movement was sparked. Many refer to it as the "biblical theology movement." One author has given these five major emphases of the movement: (1) rediscovery of the theological aspect of Scripture; (2) the unity of Scripture; (3) Scripture is the revelation of God in history; (4) demonstration in how Hebrew thought contrasts with Greek though; and (5) the contrast between Scripture and its context.[4] While there some arguments over points two through five, point one, the rediscovery of the theological aspect of Scripture, was the major moment of agreement among biblical theology scholars.

Still, this resurgence of biblical theology did not come without detractors. Some scholars pushed back on various aspects of the movement. Nevertheless, the interest swept through many seminaries. Publishers began producing more content with biblical theology.

Traditionally, biblical theology has been divided into Old Testament theology and New Testament theology. Some, however, have emphasized the story of the whole Bible while others have emphasized certain themes throughout Scripture.[5]

Today, however, with the abundance of information and viewpoints to interact with, many scholars have been forced to focus on a smaller section rather than tackling the whole Old Testament, New Testament, or the whole Bible.[6] Therefore, as time has progressed, biblical theologians have narrowed their focus. Many now focus on themes in particular books, among certain authors, or in specific sections of Scripture (e.g., the theme of prayer in the letters of Paul).

Some Concluding Thoughts on Biblical Theology

• Difficult to define: Biblical theology is notoriously difficult to define. Some define it as the story (or metanarrative) of the whole Bible. Some define it as biblical themes. Some define it based on an author or section (e. g., Paul's theology of...; Old Testament theology; New Testament theology; theology of the Pentateuch). I've even heard some erroneously refer to biblical theology as topics in all of Scripture (this is systematic theology). Others use it as a contrast: biblical theology as opposed to unbiblical theology.

• Helpful: It is a very helpful subject in understanding how Scripture relates to itself. A study on the relationship between the Garden of Eden, tabernacle, temple, and New Jerusalem can demonstrate this!

• Challenge: One challenge for the discipline has been this question: How does the Old Testament relate to the New Testament? Some say the relationship is one of salvation-history. Others say it relates with the kingdom of God. Still others may suggest promise-fulfillment or typology. Many hold to the view that the relationship is a complex one with both continuity and discontinuity.[7]

• Unity: Biblical theology has helped us see the interconnected parts of Scripture. It reminds us that Scripture is a unified book and a unified message. The widest context of any particular text is the whole Bible. In other words, all of Scripture is one, related book. As Christians, we do not interpret the Old Testament as Jews do.[8]

• Relationship to other disciplines: Biblical theology functions as a helpful discipline in conjunction with the other disciplines. That is, it is an intermediary between exegesis and systematic theology (which of course should also be informed by historical theology).[9] You can clearly see the importance of each of these disciplines.

  • Exegetical theology - without exegetical theology, specific verses and passages of Scripture may be misunderstood.

  • Biblical theology - without biblical theology, people may not see how interconnected Scripture is and may also be prone to view Scripture as a book of proof-texts where we turn to the ones that we like to make a point.

  • Systematic theology - without systematic theology, we struggle to understand what the whole Bible teaches about a particular subject and we have difficulty applying it to a modern world.

  • Historical theology - without historical theology we often cannot see our cultural blindspots and we may not realize that many Christians for centuries would disagree with us on certain issues.

For more information, here is a fascinating, fairly short read on the topic of biblical theology.

T. Desmond Alexander, From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2008).

End Notes:

[1] "Biblical theology," in New Dictionary of Theology, eds. Sinclair B. Ferguson, David F. Wright, and J. I. Packer (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1988), 96.

[2] Ibid., 97.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid., 98.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid., 99.