September 4, 2015

Theology Proper: Knowing God the Father -- A Review

Theology Proper is the sub-discipline of Systematic Theology which deals with the being, attributes and works of God, particularly God the Father. Romans 11:33 is perhaps the best summary verse for theology proper: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

Greg Brown’s Bible Teacher’s Guide is a very useful resource for those believers who want to dig more deeply into the Word of God. Of course, as the Author warns in the Introduction of this valuable work, “before beginning we should consider the limitations of our study.” In fact, “no study of God can be considered comprehensive,” and this for three reasons: the first is a theoretical one (the limitation of the human mind), the second is a moral one (we each have been affected by the presence of sin), and the third is a “resource problem” (“God simply has not told us everything about himself. What he has told us we can know, but he has chosen in his sovereignty to not reveal everything”). That being said, there is so much to be explored, learned and understood...

After all, what is the highest good in life that anyone can pursue? What else but “the highest good out of which all good flows,” that is what in Latin is called summum bonum? As a matter of fact—and as this book wants to suggest—nothing on earth compares to the benefits of knowing God. One of those benefits being that if people don’t know God they can’t properly value human life:

Man is made in the image of God, and therefore, has value. I have value because in some way or another, even though I sin, I bear the image of God. Having God as my maker and having been created in his likeness, gives me innate value. Humanity has value. Depression often arises because of a lack of knowing God. One says, I am unattractive; I can’t do anything right; nobody loves me. These types of thoughts happen because we do not truly know our value as people made in the glory and image of God.

The Bible Teacher’s Guide: Theology Proper: Knowing God the Father is concise but thorough, scholarly enough for pastors but accessible to everyday Christians with thought-provoking and discussion-provoking questions. Pastor Gregory Brown has created a useful tool for studying and teaching God’s Word.