The Necessity of Theology

As I pursue specific growth towards leadership in ministry, I've wondered about the true benefits of seminary. If God chooses the foolish to shame the wise; if His wisdom, wiser than that of men and is folly in their eyes; if knowledge puffs up; if Paul comes without eloquence or persuasion; if there is no end to the writing of books, and all is vanity- would I be better off learning to love, and to serve, and to grow in personal worship and devotion?

It's a tempting thought, to live simply and believe simply and believe then that the Lord will simply use my leadership. But one cannot avoid the role that formal education played in the writing of the New Testament. Nor can we avoid the highly technical studies of the nature of God and of man in scripture.  Extensive effort is put into developing systematic theologies (organized, complementary beliefs which tie Christianity together coherently), and Jesus Himself goes to great pains in 'theological' descriptions of things to His students, the disciples (the kingdom of God, the nature of God, the nature of man, faith, love, and the law- these are some of His favorites).

Formal knowledge and instruction, then, cannot be excluded from the faith of a Christian.  There are things which we must strive to understand, which we must explain and study and comprehend and instruct.  Obviously, knowledge without love is worthless- but knowledge with love is a gift of God, and part of the growth of the believer.

Practically, the need for theological training can be seen in the pastoral implications of poor theology.  Say someone comes to you distressed. Their uncle is sick and they don't know what to do.  Pray for them, you say.  Lay hands on them and pray for their healing, like Jesus did.

Yeah, but He was God, they respond.  How can I pray for anyone?

This is a common conversation, with massive implications depending on the response. The distressed friend is correct in their recognition that Jesus is God, and correct in their recognition that they are not.  However, on one crucial point their theology misses the mark, and therefore changes the way they live: the nature of the incarnation is different than they believe.

'Incarnation' is the term we use to describe God-becoming-Man. Literally, the word means 'the process of taking on flesh', of the spiritual becoming physical. Most Christians would agree that Jesus was God, and most would claim that He became man- but how we think about this transformation, this incarnation, has massive repercussions. If we believe that God became man, but kept His 'super powers', then we can't say that that He really understands what it's like to be human- He always had an out.   We also can't 'follow His example' if He had something that we don't.

But if we understand the incarnation to mean the full submission of the nature of God to the nature of Man (not just a physical limitation, but a full limitation), then we can trust Jesus as one of us, one who understands us, and we can follow his example as one who lives fully in the kingdom of God as we can live.  If we understand that His power came not from His nature as the second Person of the Trinity, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This same Spirit is promised to us by Jesus himself, and therefore we too can pray for and expect healing to occur in those around us.

All that to say, poor theology can be incredibly damaging, and while not all need to be theologians of academic rigor, it is a right and wise and even loving thing to study and develop a thoughtful, systematic, humbly-submitted theology.

Theology, the study and knowledge of God, if done in love for Him and for each other*, is a good and beneficial thing.  True knowledge of God results in hope, and healing, and joy, as well as conviction, obedience, and worship.  And thus, as I pursue formal ministry, I am more and more convinced of my need to study formally, to study scripture, to study the church, and to study our Lord.  How that will come to pass, I am as of yet unsure.  But I am very excited at the prospect of a theological education, and would love your prayers as I seek it out.


---

* Contrast this 'knowledge in love' with knowledge to prove ourselves, or knowledge to manipulate God with our formulas, or to cling to control by our understanding- just a few ways we can make learning an idol, or twist it to our own intentions.