THE THEOLOGY OF THE APOSTLES

By Gary Ray Branscome

Because the Bible is the Word of God, it only contains one theology, one unified body of doctrine. In the past that was rarely questioned. However, some who have been influenced by secular religion, with its denial of the supernatural, interpret the statements of some Apostles to contradict others. In contrast, the words, “All the prophets testify of Him, that through His name whoever believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins,” tell us that all of the prophets agree in their testimony of Christ (Acts 10:43). And, the words, “The Spirit specifically says, that in the future some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils,” warn us against listening to those who teach otherwise (1Timothy 4:1).

That being said, God prepared the way for Christ by moving “All the prophets” to “testify of Him” (Acts 10:43). And, the Old Testament (which was all the Apostles had) clearly sets forth all of the doctrines that I summarized in the previous section. The words, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” told the Apostles that after the fall man was no longer good (Genesis 6:5, see Gen. 1:31). The words, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given… and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,” told them that Christ was God (Isaiah 9:6). The words, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him; and by His stripes we are healed,” told them that His death was the atonement for our sins (Isaiah 53:5). The words, “My own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who did eat of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. But you, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up,” speak of Judas and Christ’s resurrection (Psalm 41:9-10).

And, the words, “Who has ascended up into heaven, and come down?… what is His son’s name, if you can tell?” speak of Christ’s ascension (Proverbs 30:4-5). These and a multitude of other prophesies make it clear that the Apostles had the same Bible-history centered theology that we have. And, that theology is reflected in the words of the New Testament.

In his epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul begins his presentation of the salvation message with the words, “All men, both Jews and Gentiles, are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). He then follows that statement with a number of quotes from the Old Testament, beginning with the words, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10 and Eccl.7:20). (See, Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 5:9, Psalm 140:3, Psalm 10:7, Isaiah 59:7-8, Psalm 36:1.) Those quotes form the basis for his doctrine of Universal Condemnation, and he summarizes them with the words, “Therefore no flesh will ever be justified in God’s sight by the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:20).

Beginning with the words, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets,” he then transitions into the doctrine of Justification by Faith (Romans 3:21). That doctrine points to “The righteousness of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ,” and ends with the words, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:22, 28).

In the fourth chapter of Romans, Paul presents the doctrine of Imputed Righteousness, which clarifies and expands upon the doctrine of Justification by Faith. In chapter five, he summarizes the Doctrine of the Atonement (verses 6-11), and that leads to his Doctrine of the Fall and redemption, which contrasts the effects of Adam’s fall with the effects of Christ’s atonement (Romans 5:12-21). I could go on and on, but the point I want to make is that the doctrine that God wants us to believe and teach is not a matter of opinion, but is plainly stated in Scripture.

For that reason, a truly Biblical theology does not consist of principles and concepts abstracted from the words of Scripture, but the actual words of Scripture, arranged by topic and presented in a way that agrees with all of the other doctrines that are plainly stated in Scripture, “Line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). That being the case, the root of much theological controversy is not disagreement about what the Bible says, but disagreement about what conclusions should be drawn from what the Bible says. And, Satan will always try to cause division and undermine faith. So expect it (1Corinthians 11:19). The important thing is what God says, not what men think, or the conclusions they draw.