A visiting missionary once asked a small Muslim boy in a village school in Turkey, "What are you taught in your school?"
   "Only the Koran," replied the boy. When we finish elementary school we come here and begin to memorize the Koran in Arabic. It takes years, but when we have finished the task, we are Islamic priests.
   "And do you understand it?"
   "It is not necessary to understand it. The Koran has the sacred writings of Muhammed the prophet, and when we recite them from memory, we are qualified to be priests."
   In contrast, most Christians are not content with merely knowing the "words" of the Bible - they wish to understand it as well and to be able to explain it to others. One way in which this has been accomplished since the very beginning of Christianity has been to organize Bible teaching about specific subjects into systematic statements of facts. Such analyses of Bible truths are familiar to many in the form of confessions of faith, creeds, articles of faith and statements of belief. In a fuller form, such statements form the basis for the complete study of the Bible in what is known as systematic theology.

   Theology often seems to bristle with strange- sounding words and dry statements. Actually, systematic theology is simply the logical statement of things which the Bible teaches and which Christians believe, but stated in a precise manner.

   The subject of theology is being discussed with ever-increasing frequency. For those not involved in the ministry, the terms used may be confusing, yet such terms are becoming common even in popular literature, magazines and Bible study books. Everyone, therefore, should become familiar with the simple meanings behind basic theological terms.

   Theology is composed of a number of categories relating to the specific areas of biblical revelation. Theology "proper" is simply the study of God Himself (the Greek word theos means God). The Bible begins with a sublime statement, "In the beginning God created" (Gen. 1:1), which marks the start of a never-finished unfolding and revealing of the nature of God Himself. This first sweeping statement sets the stage for all subsequent revelation: God is eternal, having always existed; He is the Creator of all things, hence He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (everywhere present) and omniscient (all-knowing). The act of creation also implies that God is love.

   The Bible does not argue for the existence of God, but states it as a simple fact - a fact it considers so self-evident that only "a fool" would argue otherwise (see Ps. 53:1).

   Little by little the Bible adds to one's knowledge of God, including the fact that He is infinitely holy (Lev. 20:7), and the fact that He is merciful and the author of salvation (Jon. 2:9).

   Christology (from the Greek Christos, meaning the Anointed One, or the Messiah) is obviously the systematic study and arrangement of what the Bible teaches concerning Christ. Principally, He is the Son of God (John 3:16), He existed in the form of God (Phil. 2:6) and He is the express image of God (Heb. 1:3). Hence Jesus is God Himself, God incarnate, God with us (Matt. 1:23), and God dwelling among men (John 1:14).

   Christ, therefore, has the nature and all the attributes of God: He is all-powerful (Phil. 3:21), all-knowing (John 16:30), everywhere present (Matt. 28:20), loving and merciful (John 13:1; Heb. 2:17) and participant, in an incomprehensible manner, in the method and plan of salvation (Matt. 20:28; II Cor. 5:21).

   Pneumatology is the study of the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit (pneuma is Greek for "Spirit"). The Holy Spirit is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2 as being active in the creation. The Old Testament speaks often of the Spirit but only in the New Testament does one arrive at a clear understanding of His nature. He is also God, He is possessed with the nature and attributes of the Godhead, yet has a distinctive personality of His own. His present work is to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment John 16:8), to place believers in Christ at the moment of salvation (I...Cor.-1213) to comfort - strengthen and uphold -and guide believers (John 14:16,17- 16:12,13) and to anoint and prepare believers for service (Acts 13:2; ICor. 12:7-11). Jesus
Christ, the "fullness of the Godhead," dwells in the Christian through the agency of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17,20). Someone has put it this way: "Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, Pentecost is God in us."

   Anthropology (Greek anthropos: man, mankind) is the study of man as the Bible reveals him. The biblical revelation presents man as a created being made in the very image of God (Gen. 1:26) yet through his own disobedience he has fallen to the greatest depths of sin and degradation (Rom. 3:10-18), a condition which he cannot remedy by himself, but for which God has the answer. The study of anthropology introduces the related area of hamartiology (from hamartia, the Greek word for sin), the study of sin itself - its origin, nature and effects.

   Next is Soteriology, the study of the salvation of man. Soteriology (from the Greek word soteria meaning salvation) has to do with the problem of how a fallen, depraved being can ever be readmitted into any sort of relationship with a pure, perfect, holy God. Immediately after the fall oF man God's love moved into action, first to provide a temporary covering for man's sin and shame (Gen. 3:21) and then to prevent a compounding of the tragedy - living forever in such a fallen state - by expelling him from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22,23). Complete salvation, however, must be made possible without violating the righteousness of God. God's love and wisdom found the answer (an answer actually conceived in eternity past) - a "slain Lamb" (John 1:29; I Pet. 1:20).

   Intimately connected with the salvation of man is the relation that saved individuals have to Christ and to each other. Ecclesiology deals with the doctrine of the church (Greek work ekklesia, meaning church or assembly). ALl true believers are untied to each other in a close relation described under the figure of a Body (I Cor. 12:12-27) with Christ as the Head (Eph. 1:22,23). Despite apparent failures and weaknesses, the true church will ultimately emerge "triumphant" (Matt. 16:18) and be presented before God's presence "without spot or wrinkle" (Eph. 5:27), like a peerless pearl for which Christ paid the ultimate price (Matt. 13:45,46).
  
   Angelology (from Greek aggelos: a messenger, angel) is the study of angelic beings. Such beings comprise individuals such as Gabriel (Luke 1:19) and Michael (Dan. 12:1), living creatures such as the seraphim (Isa 6:2) and the cherubim (Ezek. 1,10), and perhaps others. The biblical revelation conceming such beings is not limitless, but one can know that angels are created beings (Neh. 9:6), that there are different degrees of service among angels that angels are involved in ministering to believers (Heb. 1:14), that there are countless numbers of angels in existence (Rev. 5:11) and that some angels, tragically, have fallen from their high estate (Jude 1:6).

   Satanology is the study of these fallen beings, particularly their leader, Satan (meaning tbe Adversary, Enemy). Isaiah 14:1&15 is generally regarded by conservative scholars as a passage referring to this primeval fall of Satan. A related study - demonology - has to do with demons. They are under the leadership of Satan (Eph. 2:2; 6:12), they afflict and possess human beings (Matt. 4:24) and they have certain doom awaiting them (Matt. 8:29, Luke 8:31).

   Eschatology deals with the doctrine of "last things" (from the Greek word eschatos: last). In a sense, everything since Christ's first coming is included in the "last things" (see Heb. 1:2), but in a more specialized sense, the subject deals with those events which will cluster around and serve to introduce the setting up of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth (see Matt. 24:3), including the period of Great Tribulation following the removal of the Church (v. 21), the glorious return of the King Himself (v. 30), the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom (25:31) and aB subsequent events up to and including the ushering in of the eternal state (I Cor. 15:24-28).

   Bibliology is the study of what the Bible teaches concerning itself (the Greek word biblios means a book, volume, scroll). The Bible is certainly not vague or ambiguous regarding its supernatural origin and design. It is all inspired by God or "God-breathed" (II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:21) and it ie eminently useful and necessary in every area of the individual and corporate Christian life. Despite disagreements as to the details of biblical inspiration, one's conclusion must certainly be that every word in the original manuscripts of the Bible is to be regarded as exactly the way God intended it to be - without exception or error. It is, therefore, trustworthy - the only Foundation on which to build for today or eternity!

   This great importance of the Bible illustrates the importance of systematically studying and logically arranging what it has to say, We always so that believers may put it into practice. Let's not only study the Bible, let's live it!