A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith

Top Highlights

“Luke expressly informs us that later, ‘beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [the glorified Christ] explained [διερμήνευσεν, diermēneusen] to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27; see also 24:44–47). Such an extensive engagement of his mind in Scripture exposition involved our Lord in theological activity in the highest conceivable sense. It is Christ himself then who established for his church the pattern and end of all theologizing—the pattern: we must make the exposition of Scripture the basis of our theology; the end: we must arrive finally at him in all our theological labors.” (Page xxviii)

“According to these passages, then, a true prophet was one who did not put forth his own words or ‘speak out of his own heart,’ but rather was ‘an appointed regular speaker for a divine superior, whose speech carries the authority of the latter.’² In short, the prophet was God’s spokesman.” (Pages 26–27)

“That is to say, God’s glory is the sum total of all of his attributes as well as any one of his attributes.” (Page 165)

“How can the Reformed Christian speak of man’s ‘freedom’ if God has decreed his every thought and action? The solution is to be found in the meaning of the word. Reformed theology does not deny that men have wills (that is, choosing minds) or that men exercise their wills countless times a day. To the contrary, Reformed theology happily affirms both of these propositions. What Reformed theology denies is that a man’s will is ever free from God’s decree, his own intellection, limitations, parental training, habits, and (in this life) the power of sin. In sum, there is no such thing as the liberty of indifference; that is, no one’s will is an island unto itself, undetermined or unaffected by anything.” (Page 373)