目录

一、介绍

二、默示和权威

宣告

十二门徒

使徒和先知

新约圣经书卷

澄清

默示

权威

三、延续性和非延续性

时期考量

延续性

非延续性

文化考虑

延续性

非延续性

个人考量

延续性

非延续性

四、结论

一、介绍

    如果你曾经认真研究过一件艺术品、一部文学作品、一出戏剧或一部电影，你就会知道，在随意享受和认真分析之间存在着天壤之别。详细分析可能会是一种非常消耗人精力的任务，与我们想何时做、怎样做，就随意做是很不同。但说到底你我都知道，细致分析一个课题或作品而得到的丰富知识是难能可贵，难以取代的。

这是我们这个系列，《新约的国度与圣约》的第一课，我们在这系列里，要按照一种对神学非常传统的定义，把新约《圣经》的神学定义为，新约《圣经》对   上帝他自己和与   上帝有关的其他主题所教导的一切。我们给这一课定的标题是，《为什么要研究新约神学？》 我们在这一课要看到为什么我们不应该只是随意地对新约《圣经》所有了解，而是要让自己全力认真深入研究新约《圣经》神学。

使徒保罗在提摩太后书2章15节讲到这个事实，就是认识新约神学经常需要花大力气的工作，请听保罗对提摩太是怎么说的：

当然新约神学的许多层面是相当简单的，但保罗讲得很清楚，认识《圣经》并不总是一件容易的事情。提摩太「作无愧的工人，按着正意分解真理的道。」这里翻译为「工人」的希腊单词是「ergates」（ἐργάτης），这个词经常是指体力劳动者。保罗使用的比喻表明，把握新约神学，这常常需要努力工作。但如果研究新约神学如此艰难，我们为什么还要研究？

我们要从两方面来探索，为什么我们应当研究新约神学。首先我们要察看，认识新约《圣经》默示和权威的重要性，第二我们要来思想，处理新约《圣经》时期和我们今天之间延续性和非延续性的挑战。现在让我们更深入来看这两个问题，首先看新约《圣经》的默示和权威。

二、默示和权威

要研究新约《圣经》的默示和权威，我们就要关注《圣经》的宣告，《圣经》宣告说新约《圣经》既是   上帝的默示，也是   上帝的权威。然后，我们要对我们说的「默示」和「权威」是什么意思作出一些澄清。让我们首先来看《圣经》对这些至为关键的基督教信仰的宣告。

宣告

跟从基督的人思想新约《圣经》的默示和权威时，几乎总是诉诸于提摩太后书3章16节，在当中使徒保罗写道：

在这里我们看到，当保罗说「《圣经》都是   上帝所默示的」时候，他就触及到了《圣经》的默示这个问题。希腊文「theopneustos」（θεόπνευστος）这个单词可以翻译为「   上帝呼气」。当他讲到《圣经》是「于教训、督责、使人归正、教导人学义都是有益的」，他也触及到了《圣经》的权威这个问题。这是一节非常重要的经文，可以帮助人理解跟从基督的人对新约《圣经》的信念。但现在让我们来听一听提摩太后书3章15节，保罗对提摩太说：

严格来说，保罗在这里讲的「《圣经》」，以及提摩太「从小」就明白的《圣经》，并不是新约《圣经》经文，而是旧约《圣经》。那么为什么跟从基督的人说新约《圣经》是   上帝默示，有权威的时候，他们会诉诸于保罗对于旧约《圣经》的论述？

我们要来看《圣经》的三个宣告，帮助我们理解新约《圣经》是   上帝的默示和权威。首先，我们要探索耶稣呼召十二门徒。第二，我们要来思想，使徒和先知根基性的作用。第三，我们要证实新约《圣经》书卷本身是   上帝的默示和权威。让我们首先来看，耶稣呼召十二门徒，这如何证实了新约《圣经》的默示和权威。

十二门徒

当耶稣开始建立   上帝百姓新的余民，成就   上帝对以色列的旨意时，他呼召一群特别的人，就是十二门徒。福音书讲得很清楚，耶稣把这十二门徒与其他跟从他的人分别开来，这种分别使他们（犹大除外）成为他后来差遣进入世界，作他有权威的使徒。

我们在约翰福音16章13节听到耶稣对他十二门徒说的这番话：

这一节经文表明，耶稣的门徒有很多要学习的地方。所以，「真理的圣灵」要来，「引导他们进入一切的真理」，关于「将来的事」的真理。我们在这里看到，耶稣设立他拣选的门徒，靠着圣灵教导其余跟从他的人。这一节和类似的经文证实了我们对新约《圣经》是   上帝默示的信念。

使徒保罗写了大量新约《圣经》书卷，但并不是原来十二使徒中的一员。但《圣经》讲得很清楚，保罗是一位有权威的使徒。他满足了使徒行传1章21节和22节对确立十二使徒提出的要求。这就是路加两次记载保罗在前往大马士革路上与基督相遇的一个原因：第一次是在使徒行传9章1到19节，然后在26章9到18节。加拉太书1章11节到2章10节表明，保罗花了三年，在阿拉伯的沙漠中与基督在一起。这同一部分经文也记载说，耶路撒冷的使徒证实保罗具有使徒的权威。

正如保罗在哥林多前书15章8到9节说的，在耶稣已经向超过五百名信徒显现之后：

保罗作为一位使徒，把自己称为是「未到产期而生的人」，是「使徒中最小的」。他是唯一一位在耶稣地上事奉期间并没有与耶稣在一起的有权威的使徒。但是保罗见证了耶稣的复活，耶路撒冷起初的使徒也认可他是这样的人。

在看完与耶稣呼召十二使徒相关的宣告后，我们也应当提到基督在主后第一世纪的使徒和先知受到   上帝默示，具有根基性的权威。

使徒和先知

请听保罗在以弗所书3章4-5节是怎样讲到这个事实的，就是不仅他，而且基督所有的使徒和先知，都领受了   上帝特别的启示：

保罗在这里指出，那些明显是基督教的教导，那从前隐藏起来，或者是奥秘的，现在基督「借着圣灵启示他的圣使徒和先知」。那么保罗在以弗所书2章20-21节也用这样的说法来讲第一世纪的使徒和先知，这就不令人感到奇怪了：

    正如这部分经文告诉我们的那样，   上帝正在建造教会，成为「主的圣殿」，基督耶稣是「房角石」。但是也请注意，保罗指出「使徒和先知」是教会「根基」的一部分，这表明   上帝使用使徒和先知有权威的教导来建立基督的教会。正如我们在前面的经文看到的那样，使徒和先知的教导是有权威的，因为他们得到圣灵默示。

除了《圣经》宣告耶稣十二门徒，以及基督的使徒和先知的根基性权威以外，我们也应留意，使徒本身也认为新约《圣经》书卷等同于旧约《圣经》。这种观点体现在新约《圣经》几处地方，但我们只需要来看两个例子就可以了。

新约圣经书卷

首先来看提摩太前书5章18节，保罗写道：

我们一眼看到这节经文，可能会觉得奇怪，但这对我们的讨论来说却十分重要，因为保罗一开始就说，「因为经上说」，然后引用了两处不同的经文。首先引用的，「牛在场上踹谷的时候，不可笼住它的嘴」，是出自旧约《圣经》中申命记25章4节，但第二处引用的经文，「工人得工价是应当的」是引自新约《圣经》路加福音10章7节。这种旧约和新约《圣经》权威之间对应的关系，表明使徒保罗认为基督使徒和先知的书信等同于旧约《圣经》经文。

我们在彼得后书3章15和16节看到类似的方面，使徒彼得说：

彼得在这部分经文承认，保罗是「照着所赐给他的智慧」写信，换言之，保罗的书信有   上帝他自己的权威。但是也请注意，彼得是怎样指出，反对基督教信仰的人如何强解保罗的书信，「如强解别的经书一样」。按照彼得书信更大的上下文，「别的经书」是指旧约《圣经》经文，所以我们在这里看到，彼得也把新约《圣经》的书信看作是像旧约《圣经》一样，具有同样的默示和权威。

《圣经》宣告新约《圣经》是   上帝赐给他教会默示和权威的话语。耶稣亲自应许，圣灵要教导他的使徒。他确立他的使徒和先知，作为他教会根基性的权威。除此以外，正如   上帝的百姓领受旧约《圣经》经文是   上帝默示和权威的话语，教会也得到呼召，要领受基督使徒和先知的书信，把他们看作是   上帝默示和权威的话语。

在看了我们相信新约《圣经》的默示和权威，是怎样得到极多《圣经》宣告支持之后，我们现在应当来对我们这两种说法的含义作出一些澄清。

澄清

在讲到新约《圣经》的时候，基督徒经常误解「默示」和「权威」这两个术语。所以，很重要的是，我们要确认这些观念是正确的，但我们也需要肯定，我们对这些概念要有正确的理解。

我们要分开来看对新约《圣经》这两个特点的澄清。首先，我们要澄清我们说新约《圣经》是受到   上帝默示，这是什么意思；然后，我们要思想新约《圣经》的权威。让我们首先来查看新约《圣经》的默示。

默示

贯穿历史，宣告自己是跟从基督的人，对于说新约《圣经》是   上帝所默示，或由   上帝「呼出」的含义，曾经有过不同的理解。我们把这些观点放在一个连续性的范畴里来看待，这对我们思想问题会有帮助。

在一个极端，一些神学家持守一种浪漫式的默示观，他们相信圣灵默示《圣经》的作者，就好像世俗的诗人和音乐家受到感动写作一样。结果就是，他们认为新约《圣经》只包含其人类作者的个人的反思和观点。他们承认，这些作者可能很有智慧，可能能够得到对我们有帮助的信息，但是，他们否认新约《圣经》是   上帝要我们相信、感受和行动的完全可靠记载。

在这范畴另一个相反极端，其他神学家相信那称为机械式的默示观点。根据这种看法，《圣经》的作者写《圣经》的时候是相对被动的。圣灵在根本上是口授《圣经》，人类作者是被动记录圣灵所说的话。这种观点承认新约《圣经》的真实性和权威性，但否认了它的人类作者是写作过程的一个重要部分。

最后，大部分福音派基督徒相信那被称为是有机式的默示观。这种描述表明，要把   上帝圣灵的工作和《圣经》人类作者的工作分开，这是不可能的。按照这种观点，圣灵感动人类作者写下他们的话语，监督和指导他们写的话。结论就是《圣经》的话语正是   上帝的话语。与此同时，圣灵引导人类作者写作时，使用他们的个性、经历、观点和意图。所以《圣经》的话语在很大程度上也是它人类作者的话语。这第三种观点是最好地反映出《圣经》自己对默示性质的见证。

举例来讲，让我们再一次来听一听使徒彼得在彼得后书3章15-16节是怎样写的：

正如我们之前提到的，彼得承认   上帝的圣灵默示了保罗的书信。但请留意，彼得是怎样也表明，这种默示是有机的。当彼得写到，「信中有些难明白的」，他就是承认保罗所写的，体现出他的背景、个性和写作风格。这声明反映出保罗受过很高的拉比教育，而保罗的神学成熟度，对彼得本人作为一个相对没有受过很好教育的加利利渔夫来说是一种挑战。

彼得的观点给我们提供了一个榜样，让我们看新约神学的时候可以效法。我们必须记住，《圣经》的神学观点是由   上帝呼出的，是真实可靠，因为它们来自于   上帝他自己。然而也很重要的是，我们探索新约神学时，要尽心竭力的努力，了解《圣经》人类作者和他们的意图。

事实上，有机默示的其中一个牵涉到最重要的隐含意义，就是它对我们研究新约神学的意义。如果我们依靠的是完全浪漫主义或机械式的默示观点，我们要不就是无视经文的权威，要不就是忽视作者的贡献。但是有机的默示迫使我们至少要从三个层面来探索新约神学。

主要和最明显的层面，就是经文本身的层面。这些明确断言能教导我们大量关于新约神学的内容。

在经文的下一个层面，我们要准备好探索许多隐含、或者没有写出来的新约《圣经》作者的神学前设。我们要研究作者的背景和神学信念，我们应当尽力去了解他们的背景和信念是如何影响他们的写作。

在第三个层面，在经文之上的层面，我们也需要思想作者隐含目的。换一句话说，《圣经》的作者对他们的受众怀有什么意图？有时候，新约《圣经》作者在希望对他们受众产生何种冲击方面讲得非常具体。但更经常的是，他们期望他们的受众可以从他们写的经文中推论出隐含的意义。

现在你就可以想象，当我们探索新约《圣经》的时候，要同时看到明确的断言、神学的前设和隐含的目的，这并不总是一件容易的事。这经常要求我们要做大量认真的研究。但有机默示的性质，要求我们必须探索新约神学所有这三个层面。

我们已经看了对新约《圣经》有机默示的一些澄清。现在让我们来看新约《圣经》经文的权威是什么意思，我们今天应该如何回应这种权威。

权威

所有福音派基督徒都正确相信，新约《圣经》对我们的人生具有权威。但我们需要小心理解这种权威的性质。令人难过的是，许多好意的基督徒没有想到新约《圣经》并不是直接写给他们的。可以这样说，新约是为我们 写下，但不是直接写给我们的。我们都知道，新约《圣经》是两千年前写的，是写给生活在当时的其他人的，但这个事实常常对于我们如何承认新约《圣经》的权威产生极少冲击。这一切就是说明了新约《圣经》权威某些很重要的方面：新约《圣经》的神学对于今天跟从基督的人的生活具有完全，但是是间接的权威。   这个事实意味着我们必须总要做好准备，尽可能了解新约《圣经》经文对它们原本受众的含义。

跟从基督的人一开始读新约《圣经》的时候，通常被它相对基本的教导所吸引。他们看到好像「耶稣是主」，「悔改相信福音」，「要彼此相爱」，以及一些其他基要的教训。他们无需过多地去思考新约《圣经》作者们的历史背景、人格特性和特定目的。出于各种实用的目的，他们可以把这些基本的教导看作是完全不受时间限制的真理。他们很少要努力思想顺服新约《圣经》权威带来的隐含意义。但是随着我们更多了解新约神学，事情就变得越来越明显，就是我们要仔细去看新约《圣经》经文起初的背景，好使我们可以在今天正确承认它们的权柄。我们需要了解作者的背景、处境和意图，只有这样我们才能恰当地顺服新约《圣经》对我们人生的权威。

也许一个类比可以帮助澄清我们说的话。有两个以上孩子的父母都 非常清楚，他们是如何对儿女行使完全的、但经常是间接的权威。想象父母责备儿子行为不当，对他说：「找一个地方坐下来，想一想你做的事。」当然，他的妹妹会很高兴继续玩游戏，毕竟父母并不是对她说话。但如果在一段时间过后，作妹妹的不顺服父母，父母可以很有理由地说：「难道你没有看见你哥哥刚才受到的处理吗？」在像这样的处境当中，父母期望他们全部的儿女，都从他们怎样对待其中一个孩子学到教训。这种间接的权威教导所有的孩子，即使他们并不是起初受到管教的人，他们也应当晓得怎样行事为人。

这就是我们说的，有机默示给现代跟从基督的人带来完全的、但却是间接的新约《圣经》权威的意思。新约《圣经》经文带着完全的权威，直接对起初的受众说话。我们必须记住，它们也是在今天带着完全的权威说话。对于忠心跟从基督的人来说，我们从来不会质疑是否需要顺服新约《圣经》的一条教训。问题只不过是我们应当怎样顺服《圣经》的权威。所以要决定我们应当如何回应这种权威，我们就必须准备好回头去看一节特定的经文写下来的时候，它起初的目的和情形。

例如，耶稣在马太福音19章21节对一位有钱的少年人的官发出这条具体的指示：

我们应当怎样把这节经文应用到我们的生活当中？是不是我们全部人，在各种处境当中，都应当变卖我们所有的，分给穷人？我们能够负责任地回答这问题的唯一办法，就是把握住这个有钱的少年人的官是谁，耶稣为什么这样对他说话。

《圣经》对这个人的称呼和他与耶稣的互动，给我们一个提示，这人有犹太人的背景，在他所处的社区，在金钱方面发挥很大的影响力。我们也可以看得出来，他非常关注要坚持犹太人的传统。在这一章前面的部分，他问耶稣说：「夫子，我该作什么善事，才能得永生？」耶稣回答说：「当遵守诫命。」这少年人骄傲地宣告，他已经做到这一点。所以耶稣讲了看来是这人首要关注的问题，主要就是财富和影响力。《圣经》反复向我们表明，拥有财产本身并不是邪恶的事，这也不拦阻我们作基督真正的门徒。但是作为跟从耶稣的人，我们的内心应当总是做好准备，为了服侍   上帝而放弃我们自己的愿望。

另外一个这方面的例子是在使徒行传5章1到11节，亚拿尼亚和撒非喇假装把他们所有的金钱都奉献给了教会，但却偷偷把一些留给自己。他们的罪并不是没有把所有奉献出去，教会并没有要求他们这样做；而是他们为了得到大家的称赞，对他们的慷慨做了虚假陈述。

耶稣回应这位富有的少年官，要求他变卖他的所有，并不是在具体讲金钱的问题，而是讲这人关注的，他必须作出怎样牺牲的问题。耶稣讲到这人不愿舍弃的一件事，就是他的财富，这就切中了问题的要害。

这个例子帮助我们明白，如果我们要顺服《圣经》的权威，就需要考虑一处经文的上下文和原本目的，只有这样，我们才能评价我们应当如何遵守耶稣的命令。

我们这一课讲的是《为什么要研究新约神学？》，到目前为止我们已经看到，新约《圣经》的默示和权威要求我们尽可能了解一卷新约《圣经》书信古代的背景。我们现在准备来看我们今天和新约《圣经》写作年代之间延续性和非延续性的问题。

三、延续性和非延续性

想象一下，你拿起一本500年前写的书，其用语至少在某方面与你今天的说法有所不同。它解释概念的方式可能看起来有一点点奇怪，书里面提到的风俗和传统，看起来可能过时。但是同时，如果你认真读此书，你仍能看到这本书是怎样与你今天的生活关联的。即使一本很久以前写成的书，也不会与你所生活的世界完全不同。它不会如此怪异，以致你不能对它有任何认识。你可能需要下一些功夫，但最终你能把握这本古代的书所写的大部分内容。

这就是我们来看新约《圣经》时面对的问题。新约《圣经》是写于几乎两千年前，出于这原因，它的语言、概念、习惯和传统，和我们在当代世界所经历的有所不同。但与此同时，如果我们让自己投身来研究这些问题，我们就能看到新约《圣经》依然在很多方面与我们的世界产生着联系。

要看到认真的研究怎样能帮助我们明白我们自己和新约《圣经》之间的延续性和非延续性，我们就要关注来看三个主要的考量：时期考量，文化考量和个人考量。这三个题目是互相关联的，但分开单独处理，仍然对我们有所帮助。让我们首先来看一些重要的时期考量。

时期考量

当我们讲《圣经》历史的一个时期，我们指的是   上帝的默示确立的一段时间，这种确立把它和其他时间段分别出来。当然，有很多方法可以给历史划分阶段，并且没有一段时间是与它之前和之后的时间完全不同。然而我们最经常是把《圣经》的历史分成新约《圣经》时期和旧约《圣经》的各个时期。我们把新约《圣经》时期看作是新约的时候，这时期始于基督第一次降临，要一直延续直到他再来。这新约时期的独特之处，在于它是弥赛亚的世代。这一段的时间是大卫那位伟大的子孙耶稣代表   上帝作王的时间。

要了解为什么时期考量使得人必须研究新约神学，我们就要看一看把新约时期联系在一起的时期方面的延续性，然后我们要来看存在的时期的非延续性。让我们首先来看延续性。

延续性

我们今天和新约《圣经》的日子之间存在着许多时期方面的延续性。看这些联系的其中一个最好办法，就是要认识到今天的基督徒和第一世纪跟从基督的人一样，是在服侍同一位   上帝。传统的系统神学家经常指出，《圣经》是怎样教导   上帝是不变的。比如，他们关注在民数记23章19节，以赛亚书46章10节和雅各书1章17节这样的经文中，   上帝的属性，他亘古的计划和他圣约的起誓都是不改变的。因为我们服侍的是同一位不改变的   上帝，我们就应当期望，   上帝对新约《圣经》时期他百姓的期望，和他对我们今天的期望存在着许多类似的地方。请听希伯来书13章7-8节是怎样说的：

希伯来书的作者在这里坚持要他的受众「要想念他们的领袖，效法他们的信心，留心看他们为人的结局」。他说「耶稣基督昨日今日，一直到永远，是一样的」，这就是在提醒他们   上帝的不变，用来支持这劝勉。他的受众可以相信，如果他们效法那些在过去带领他们的人的信心，因为耶稣是不变的，他们就能在他们自己的日子看到类似的结局。

我们也是好像新约《圣经》原本受众一样，生活在基督的死已经为罪作了最后的赎罪祭之后。我们就像第一世纪的信徒，已经在基督的复活中与他一同复活。我们生活在这个世代，   上帝圣灵的浇灌，远远超过旧约《圣经》时期。我们是基督那同一个身体的部分，有同样的使命，要把耶稣教导的每一件事传播直到地极，尽管历史的距离把我们和新约《圣经》成书的日子分隔开来，创造主的不变已经确保这些时期的延续性，好让我们可以把新约《圣经》应用在我们今天的时候。

我们已经看了一些时期考量，以及在我们的日子和新约《圣经》的时候之间的延续性，现在就让我们来看新约时期当中的一些非延续性，这些非延续性要求我们专注于认真研究新约神学。

非延续性

肯定的是，新约《圣经》的时期和我们当今时代之间的非延续性，并不像旧约《圣经》时代和我们今天时代之间的非延续性那样大。然而，每次我们研究新约《圣经》，总有一些很大的差别，是我们必须要记住的。

使徒保罗在以弗所书2章20节，指出其中一个最大的时期非延续性，他说：

保罗在这里把教会被建造在使徒和先知的根基上，有基督耶稣自己为房角石，和贯穿历史的教会作了分别。

正如我们在这一课的前面说过的，有将近2000年时间，教会已经看到基督和他的使徒和先知对我们有根基性的权威。但我们也必须要认识到，他们现在不生活在我们中间，这个事实带来新约《圣经》时期和我们今天生活之间的一些非延续性。

首先，新约《圣经》包含有许多由耶稣和他的使徒先知所行，验证性的神迹的例子。行这样神迹的能力，让耶稣和他的使徒与其他人分别出来，使他们成为教会的权威，根基性的领袖。   上帝今天继续在教会里超自然地动工，但我们并不是在寻找神迹，把这看成是一种验证新的教会领袖是否拥有权威的方法。今天教会中的权威，而是由新约《圣经》的标准设立。出于这原因，我们必须确保要非常认真研究这标准是怎样应用在我们今天的时候。

第二，在新约《圣经》的时候，人有可能直接诉诸于耶稣的使徒和先知。基督徒能诉诸于使徒和先知，请求他们指引，回答问题。例如，我们从保罗在好像哥林多前后书和腓利门书中回应基督门徒的呼求中，看到这一点。而且在新约《圣经》的时候，教会范围内的问题，可以由教会根基性的领袖干预来决定。例如，使徒行传十五章的耶路撒冷会议。但在我们今天，我们并没有这些根基性的权威生活在我们当中，所以我们要依靠对新约《圣经》的研究，思想它是怎样应用在我们今天的时候。

第三，我们研究新约神学的时候，经常要面对这个事实，就是新约《圣经》的作者有一些的神学强调，对于教会建立根基的时期来说是特别重要，但可能并非为我们今天的主要关注。

新约《圣经》是在   上帝的百姓从旧约《圣经》信仰过渡到新约《圣经》信仰期间写成。因此新约《圣经》中讲到的许多问题，处理的是跟从基督的人应当怎样面对旧约《圣经》的做法和犹太人的传统。男性的基督徒需要行割礼吗？基督徒需要遵守犹太人饮食的律例吗？基督徒如何理解在基督最后献上赎罪祭之后，圣殿中仍继续有献牲畜为祭物的做法？犹太人的礼仪和节期应当怎样融入教会的生活当中？当然许多这些根基性的神学问题，在很久以前已经解决了。一旦新约根基性的时期结束，基督教会就继续前进，面对其他挑战。

我们读新约《圣经》的时候，可能会很难克服时期的非延续性，但如果我们要把新约《圣经》对这些古代神学争论的解决之道应用在今天的时候，我们就常常必须花大力气，非常认真研究这些经文。

在看了时期考量当中的延续性和非延续性这个问题之后，我们现在要来探索一些文化考量。

文化考量

我们讲到文化的时候，指的是人类群体的模式。这些模式发展出人共有的概念、行为和情感。文化表现在艺术、潮流、技术，政治结构和其他日常人类互动的规范之中，当我们面对新约神学的时候，我们要关注第一世纪和我们自己在这时候生活的这些文化的层面。

每次我们关注文化考量的时候，既要看到文化的延续性，也要看到非延续性。有时候这并不是一件容易的事。所以我们要做好准备，让我们自己专注来认真思考。让我们来看一看，首先在文化延续性方面，情况为什么是这样。

延续性

我们都知道每一种文化互不相同，这些不同之处，随着时间和地域的距离变得越来越大。虽然我们看到这些差异，但是每一种人类的文化都是存在于同一个世界上。这个事实衍生出许多文化方面的延续性，甚至跨越了时间和地域。地球上的每一种文化，都是受到人类本性和物质与自然环境的塑造。如果这些因素类似，文化的模式也会类似。正如传道书1章 9节说的那样：

在这节经文的光照下，当我们穿过表面差异，就能看到我们的时代与新约《圣经》时期之间的文化有许多类似特点，这本不应当让我们感到惊奇。我们仍然穿衣，享受艺术，有家庭，建立政府，惩罚犯罪，这和新约《圣经》时期的人非常相像。出于这原因，我们经常很容易就可以看到，在第一世纪和我们今天这时代的文化之间有类似的地方。

我们举一个例子来看，约翰福音4章6-7节引入耶稣与一位撒玛利亚妇人交谈的场面：

我们很多人已经听过对这个场景文化层面的解释。耶稣遇到一位撒玛利亚妇人，与她谈话，尽管在耶稣的时候，犹太人认为撒玛利亚人是「不洁净」的，拒绝与他们来往。

我们这些现代的读者，对于撒玛利亚人没有任何特殊感情。我们甚至不会思想，人是否在礼仪方面洁净的问题。但尽管如此，我们并不难看出，《圣经》这个场面和我们今天文化方面的偏见存在着显著的对应关系。不幸的是，今天的人和第一世纪的人在这方面并没有很大差别。因为我们就像新约《圣经》时候的人一样，生活在同一个世界，尽管存在着差异，我们经常能够很容易地就发现我们当代文化经历方面和从前的对应之处。

虽然认识到文化考量包括了我们自己和新约《圣经》之间文化的延续性，这很重要；但我们也必须知道，文化方面的非延续性对我们理解新约神学带来的冲击。

非延续性

实际上我们今天许多文化方面的观念和新约《圣经》时候非常不一样，我们要花大力气，克服这些差异在解释和应用新约神学时给我们带来的障碍。

这种文化非延续性的其中一个最明显例子，就是用来写作新约《圣经》的语言。在今天跟从基督的人当中，能够按照新约《圣经》原文希腊文来读《圣经》的人，相对来说非常之少。

除此以外，我们也需要考虑第一世纪文学的规范，以及新约《圣经》作者使用的希伯来文和希腊文旧约《圣经》版本的影响。我们也必须克服因为我们对当时的政治、经济和范围更广阔的社会习惯的无知带来的困难。只有我们专注于进行这方面的研究，才能处理在新约《圣经》和我们今天这时代之间许多文化方面的非延续性问题。

在了解了时期考量和文化考量的延续性和非延续性之后，现在让我们来看，为什么个人考量也要求我们认真研究新约神学。

个人考量

我们根据共同的经验都知道，人和人之间并不完全一样。即使是生活在同样文化中的人也不相同。经常当我们遇到从很远地方来的人，或者读到前人的事迹时，我们认识到人的心理、情感和灵性方面的差异可能会是巨大的。我们都有不同的经历、长处、惧怕、才干、属灵倾向。可罗列的人与人之间的差别是很多的。所以，当我们研究新约神学的时候，我们必须正确关注，在我们这时代和新约《圣经》时期，人与人之间的相似与差别之处。

我们要按照之前讨论同样的方向来看个人考量。首先，当代人和新约《圣经》时期的人有什么个人方面的 延续性？其次，他们之间有什么非延续性？让我们先来看延续性。

延续性

从《圣经》的角度来看，人之间有足够多的相似之处，使我们可以确信，我们能够使用适当的方式学习和应用新约神学。实际上《圣经》教导我们说，新约《圣经》年代的人和今天所有的人都是同一类人。新约《圣经》的作者、受众和其他人物，就像我们今天的人一样，都是按   上帝的形象所造。他们就像我们一样，是有理智，有思想的人。他们带着欢喜和悲伤对事情作出反应，和我们今天非常相似。像我们一样，他们是堕落的、按   上帝形象样式受造的人，需要在基督里的救赎。他们在这堕落的世界上与罪抗争，忍受痛苦和苦难。在新约《圣经》的时候相信基督的人，就像我们今天一样，经历   上帝饶恕的恩典，圣灵在他们个人生命中带来的祝福。因着这些和许多其他个人方面的延续性，我们读新约《圣经》的时候，经常能很容易就与那时候的人产生共鸣。

例如在罗马书9章2至4节，保罗这样表达了他对他的犹太人同胞深切的感情：

这些经文揭示了保罗非常个人化、感情方面的经历。从保罗那时候到我们自己这时候，人性并没有发生太大改变，因此我们仍然能够与他的感情发生共鸣。像这些的个人方面的延续性，常常使我们相对比较容易就能把握新约《圣经》作者、受众和人物所经历的，我们可以把他们的经历应用在我们自己今天的时候。

与此同时，虽然新约《圣经》中个人考量包含有一些个人方面的延续性，但也有许多个人方面的非延续性，这就让我们很难明白和应用新约神学。

非延续性

新约《圣经》经常讲到一些特别种类的人，他们与我们今天所知道的如此不同，以致我们有时候很难与他们拉上正确的联系。个人、情感方面的倾向，甚至像年龄和性别这样的问题，都会成为障碍，必须通过认真研究才能克服。

例如保罗在以弗所书6章5和9节，对两种特别的人作出指示。他说：

我们大多数人看这两节经文的时候，对于保罗向以弗所教会中奴隶和主人所说的认识是表面的，我们对于这些在基督里弟兄姊妹面对的挣扎，认识受到严重的局限，因为我们当中绝大多数的人都从来没有当过奴隶或奴隶主。

他们是和我们今天非常不同的人。出于这原因，我们应当努力了解这些人在第一世纪，在像以弗所这样的地方经历了什么，只有这样我们才能开始得出恰当的联系，对应到我们今天自己的时代，明白保罗在一段经文中阐述的神学观点。

健康的人和生病的人，残障的人，强壮的人，软弱的人，富人，穷人，年轻人和老年人，父亲，母亲，弟兄和姊妹，在新约《圣经》的时期，需要按照他们所在的日子，与他们身份相符的方式来接受新约神学。按照这样或者那样的程度，这些和类似的个人方面的因素，也总会影响我们怎样把新约神学应用在我们今天的日子里。这些个人方面考量迫使我们所有人都要努力研究新约《圣经》。

四、结论

我们在这一课已经探索了，跟从基督的人为什么要研究新约神学，我们已经看了新约《圣经》的默示和权威，看到我们应当让自己专注于研究新约《圣经》，因为它是由   上帝呼出的。我们也思考了在新约《圣经》的年代和我们的时代之间，在时期、文化和个人方面的延续性和非延续性，是如何要求我们专注于认识和应用新约神学。

新约《圣经》是那一种值得深入研究，不是随便看过就完的书。它是   上帝给他教会的话语，我们必须做好准备，不管要付什么代价，都要尽我们所能明白新约《圣经》。为达成此目标，在后面的课程中我们要关注几种重要的方法。我们这样做的时候，就能看到认真思想这部分《圣经》带来的益处。我们将要一次又一次看到，我们为什么要致力於研究新约《圣经》神学。

Kingdom and Covenant in the New Testament: Why Study New Testament Theology?

INTRODUCTION

If you've ever seriously studied a work of art, a piece of literature, a play or a movie, then you know that there can be a big difference between enjoying it casually and analyzing it carefully. Detailed analysis can be a very consuming task, much different from just doing it when we want and how we want. But at the end of the day, you and I know that few things can replace the rich knowledge that comes from a meticulous analysis of a subject or piece.

In many ways, this is the kind of experience followers of Christ often have when it comes to the New Testament. We know the joy of reading these Scriptures here and there, now and then. But the insights we get from carefully studying the New Testament and its theology can really be a source of great fulfillment.

This is the first lesson in our series Kingdom and Covenant in the New Testament. In this series we'll follow a very traditional definition of theology and speak of New Testament theology as everything that the New Testament teaches about God himself and other topics in relation to God. We've entitled this first lesson "Why Study New Testament Theology?" In this lesson, we want to see why it's important to go beyond a casual familiarity with the New Testament and devote ourselves to the careful, in-depth study of New Testament theology.

In 2 Timothy 2:15, the apostle Paul referred to the fact that understanding New Testament theology often requires hard work. Listen to what Paul told Timothy:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Of course, many dimensions of New Testament theology are quite simple. But Paul made it clear that understanding Scripture is not always easy. Timothy was to be "a worker … who correctly handles the word of truth." The Greek term translated "worker" is "ergates," a term that often referred to physical laborers. Paul's metaphor indicated that grasping the theology of the New Testament often requires hard labor. But if studying New Testament theology is so difficult, why should we do it?

It's really interesting that Paul, in his letter to Timothy, just in the space of a few words, says both that the Scriptures were given by the Spirit of God — they are "God-breathed" — but then just a few sentences later Paul says to Timothy, study, work hard to show yourself approved as a workman of God, studying and rightly handling the Scriptures. The Scriptures really reflect a covenantal relationship with God, God's gracious initiative to communicate with us but also our responsibility, our response to his Word. And because he has given his Word in language that we can understand — he's accommodated himself to speak through human authors in using genre and language and forms that were familiar to the people and places of the time — we need to work hard in terms of learning that language, in terms of learning how genre works, how historical narrative works differently from poetry or differently from personal correspondence, because these different forms are used in the Scriptures. And just in terms of reading the Bible contextually, understanding how New Testament authors make use of the Old Testament in different ways that were common to the time in terms of how prior texts were used in a particular situation. So, Paul tells Timothy both, that the Scriptures are God-inspired from the Holy Spirit, but also that Timothy — and we, like Timothy — should work hard and should study to show ourselves approved and rightly handling the Scriptures. [Dr. Greg Perry]

We'll explore why we should study New Testament theology in two ways. First, we'll examine the importance of understanding the New Testament's inspiration and authority. And second, we'll consider the challenge of dealing with the continuities and discontinuities between the days of the New Testament and our day. Let's look more closely at both of these issues, beginning with the New Testament's inspiration and authority.

INSPIRATION & AUTHORITY

To investigate the inspiration and authority of the New Testament, we'll focus on the Bible's affirmations that the New Testament is both inspired and authoritative. And then, we'll offer a few clarifications for what we mean by "inspiration" and "authority." Let's begin with the biblical affirmations of these crucial Christian beliefs.

Affirmations

When followers of Christ reflect on the inspiration and authority of the New Testament, they almost always appeal to 2 Timothy 3:16 where the apostle Paul wrote:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

Here we find that Paul touched on the inspiration of the Scriptures when he said that "all Scripture is God-breathed," or as the Greek word "theopneustos" may be translated, "exhaled by God." He also referred to the authority of Scripture when he said that the Scriptures are "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." This is an important passage for understanding what followers of Christ believe about the New Testament. But now listen to 2 Timothy 3:15 where Paul told Timothy:

From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).

Strictly speaking, "the Holy Scriptures" that Paul had in mind here, and that Timothy had known "from infancy," were not the New Testament, but the Old Testament. So, why then do followers of Christ appeal to Paul's words about the Old Testament when they refer to the New Testament as being inspired and authoritative?

We'll look at three biblical affirmations that help us understand that the New Testament is inspired and authoritative. First, we'll explore Jesus' calling of twelve disciples. Second, we'll consider the foundational role of the apostles and prophets. And third, we'll affirm the inspiration and authority of the New Testament books themselves. Let's look first at how Jesus' calling of twelve disciples affirms the inspiration and authority of the New Testament.

Twelve Disciples

As Jesus began establishing a new remnant of God's people to fulfill God's purposes in Israel, he called out a special group of twelve disciples. The Gospels make it clear that Jesus set these twelve disciples apart from the others who followed him. And this distinction made them, with the exception of Judas, the ones whom he later sent into the world as his authoritative apostles.

In John 16:13 we read these words from Jesus to his twelve disciples:

When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:13).

This passage indicates that there was much Jesus' disciples had to learn. So, "the Spirit of truth" would come and "guide [them] into all truth" about "what [was] yet to come." We see here that Jesus ordained his select disciples to teach the rest of his followers through the Holy Spirit. This and similar passages confirm our belief in the inspiration of the New Testament.

Now, the apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, was not one of the original twelve. But the Bible is clear that Paul was an authoritative apostle, and he met the requirements equal to those established for the twelve in Acts 1:21-22. This is one reason why Luke reported Paul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus three times: first in Acts 9:1-19, then in 22:6-11 and once more in 26:9-18. And Galatians 1:11–2:10 conveys that Paul spent three years with Christ in the desert of Arabia. This same passage also reports that the apostles in Jerusalem confirmed Paul's apostolic authority.

As Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 15:8-9, after Jesus had appeared to more than 500 believers:

[Jesus] appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (1 Corinthians 15:8-9).

As an apostle, Paul called himself "one abnormally born" and "the least of the apostles." He was the only authoritative apostle who had not been with Jesus during his earthly ministry. But Paul was a witness to the resurrection of Jesus and approved as such by the original apostles in Jerusalem.

With the affirmations related to Jesus' calling of his twelve disciples in mind, we should also mention the inspiration and foundational authority of Christ's first century apostles and prophets.

Apostles and Prophets

Listen to the way Paul, in Ephesians 3:4-5, referred to the fact that not only he but all of Christ's apostles and prophets were the recipients of God's special revelation:

My insight into the mystery of Christ … has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets (Ephesians 3:4-5).

Here Paul referred to distinctively Christian teachings that had been kept secret, or a "mystery," until they were "revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets." It's not surprising, then, that in Ephesians 2:20-21 Paul also referred to the first century apostles and prophets in this way:

[The church was] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:20-21).

As this passage tells us, God is building the church into "a holy temple in the Lord," and Christ Jesus is "the chief cornerstone." But notice also that Paul identified "the apostles and prophets" as part of "the foundation" of the church. This indicates that God established the church of Christ on the authoritative teachings of the apostles and prophets. And as we saw in our earlier verse, the apostolic and prophetic teachings were authoritative because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

In addition to the Bible's affirmations of Jesus' twelve disciples and the foundational authority of Christ's apostles and prophets, we should also note that the apostles themselves considered the New Testament books equal to the Old Testament Scriptures. This point of view appears in a number of places in the New Testament, but we'll look at just two examples.

New Testament Books

To begin, in 1 Timothy 5:18, Paul wrote:

For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages" (1 Timothy 5:18).

This verse may seem odd to us at first, but it's important for our discussion because Paul began with, "For the Scripture says." He then quoted two different passages. The first quotation, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," is a reference to Deuteronomy 25:4 in the Old Testament. But the second quotation, "The worker deserves his wages," is from Luke 10:7 in the New Testament. This correlation between Old and New Testament authority shows that the apostle Paul considered the writings of Christ's apostles and prophets equal to the Old Testament Scriptures.

We see something similar in 2 Peter 3:15-16 where the apostle Peter stated:

Paul … wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him… His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-16).

In this passage, Peter acknowledged that Paul wrote "with the wisdom that God gave him." In other words, Paul's books bore the authority of God himself. But notice also how Peter pointed out that opponents of the Christian faith distorted Paul's letters "as they [did] the other Scriptures." In the larger context of Peter's epistles, the "other Scriptures" are the Scriptures of the Old Testament. So, we see here that Peter also treated the New Testament writings as having the same inspiration and authority as the Old Testament.

The Bible affirms the New Testament as God's inspired and authoritative word for his church. Jesus himself promised that the Spirit would teach his apostles. And he established his apostles and prophets as the foundational authorities of his church. In addition, just as God's people received the Old Testament Scriptures as the inspired and authoritative Word of God, the church was called to receive the writings of Christ's apostles and prophets as inspired and authoritative.

Having seen how our belief in the inspiration and authority of the New Testament is supported by numerous affirmations in the Bible, we should now offer some clarifications for what we mean by these terms.

Clarifications

Christians often misunderstand the terms "inspiration" and "authority" when it comes to the New Testament. So, as important as it is to affirm that these concepts are true, we also need to be sure that we understand them correctly.

We'll look at clarifications for these two characteristics of the New Testament separately. First, we'll clarify what we mean by the inspiration of the New Testament, and then we'll consider the New Testament's authority. Let's first examine the New Testament's inspiration.

Inspiration

Throughout history, people claiming to be followers of Christ have had different understandings of what it means to say that the New Testament was inspired or "breathed out" by God. It helps to think of these points of view as falling along a continuum or spectrum.

On one extreme, some theologians hold a romantic view of inspiration. They believe that the Holy Spirit inspired biblical writers in the same way that secular poets or musicians might be moved to write. As a result, they think the New Testament consists only of the personal reflections and opinions of its human authors. They admit that these writers may have been wise, and may have had access to information that can be helpful to us. But they deny that the New Testament is a fully reliable record of what God wants us to believe, feel, and do.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, other theologians believe in what can be called mechanical inspiration. According to this outlook, biblical writers were relatively passive as they wrote Scripture. The Holy Spirit essentially dictated the Bible, and human writers passively recorded what he said. This view affirms the truth and authority of the New Testament, but denies that its human writers were an important part of the writing process.

Finally, most evangelical Christians believe in what has been called organic inspiration. This description indicates that it's impossible to separate the work of God's Spirit and the work of the human authors of Scripture. According to this view, the Holy Spirit moved human authors to write and supervised and directed their words. As a result, the words of Scripture are the words of God. At the same time, the Holy Spirit used the personalities, experiences, outlooks, and intentions of human authors as he guided their writing. So, the words of Scripture are also very much the words of its human authors. This third view best reflects Scripture's own testimony about the nature of inspiration.

Now, by "organic inspiration" what we really mean is that Scripture isn't been dropped from heaven into our laps or that the writers were some kind of automatons… But men wrote as the Holy Spirit carried them along. And what we mean by that is that, although it is God's message, it is through the medium of actual people in real situations and real circumstances. Now, people may feel a little nervous about that. Maybe they want more of a direct connection between God and man. But the reality is knowing that is much more helpful for us, because when I read Scripture, I know it's God's message. And there's dual nature to it. It's God's message but it's a human being who understands my experience, who is going through something similar to me with their personality coming to the text. And so, in reality, what we have is an inspired word that understands fully the human experience. It's not dictated. It's not some message that has no connection to the struggles of the human experience. And so, when we mean "organic inspiration," that's what we mean, that it came through actual personalities, in real situations. And so when they write, they're writing the message of God but with the knowledge and experience and passion of life lived. [Rev. Ric Rodeheaver]

For example, listen again to what the apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:15-16:

Paul … wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him… His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-16).

As we mentioned earlier, Peter acknowledged that God's Spirit inspired Paul's letters. But notice how Peter also indicated that this inspiration was organic. When Peter wrote, "His letters contain some things that are hard to understand," he acknowledged Paul's background, personality and writing style. This statement reflected Paul's high rabbinical education. And Paul's theological sophistication challenged Peter who was himself a relatively uneducated fisherman from Galilee.

Peter's outlooks provide us with an example we should follow as we approach the theology of the New Testament. We must always keep in mind that the Bible's theological outlooks are God-breathed. They are true and reliable because they come from God himself. Yet, it's also important for us to put forth the effort required to learn about the human authors and their intentions as we explore the theology of the New Testament.

In fact, one of the most significant implications of organic inspiration is what it means to our study of New Testament theology. If we rely on a purely romantic or mechanical view of inspiration, we'll either disregard the authority of the text or ignore the author's contribution. But organic inspiration forces us to explore the theology of the New Testament on at least three levels.

The main and most obvious level is that of the text itself. These explicit assertions can teach us a great deal about New Testament theology.

On a level beneath the text, we have to be ready to explore the many implicit, or unwritten, theological presuppositions of New Testament authors. We have to study the authors' backgrounds and theological beliefs. And we should do our best to discover how their backgrounds and beliefs influenced what they wrote.

On a third level, above the text, we also need to reflect on the authors' implicit purposes. In other words, what did biblical authors intend for their audiences? At times, New Testament authors were rather specific in the kinds of impacts they hoped to have on their audiences. But more often than not, they expected their audiences to infer the implications of their texts.

Now, as you can imagine, keeping the explicit assertions, theological presuppositions and the implicit purposes in view as we explore the New Testament is not always easy. It often requires a great deal of careful study. But the nature of organic inspiration makes it necessary for us to explore all three levels of New Testament theology.

We've just seen some clarifications for the organic inspiration of the New Testament. Now let's clarify what is meant by the authority of the New Testament Scriptures and how we should respond to that authority today.

Authority

All Evangelicals rightly believe that the New Testament has authority over our lives. But we need to be careful to understand the nature of this authority. Sadly, many well-meaning Christians fail to keep in mind that the New Testament was not written directly to them. To put it another way, the New Testament was written for us, but not directly to us. We all know that the New Testament was written thousands of years ago and given to other people living in those days. But this fact often has little impact on the ways we acknowledge the New Testament's authority. All of this is to say something very important about the authority of the New Testament: New Testament theology has full, but indirect authority over the lives of Christ's followers today. And this fact means that we must always be ready to learn as much as possible about what New Testament texts meant for their original audiences.

When followers of Christ first begin to read the New Testament they're usually drawn to its relatively basic teachings. They read things like, "Jesus is Lord," "Repent and believe the gospel," "Love one another," and a host of other essential teachings. They don't have to consider much about the historical circumstances, personalities and purposes of New Testament authors. For all practical purposes, they can treat these basic teachings as if they're simply timeless truths. And they seldom deal much with the implications of submitting to the authority of the New Testament. But as we learn more about New Testament theology, it becomes more and more evident that we have to look carefully at the original settings of New Testament texts in order to acknowledge their authority properly today. We have to learn about the authors' backgrounds, circumstances, and intentions. Only then can we submit appropriately to the New Testament's authority over our lives.

One of the questions that comes up is, how can we consider the New Testament, which was written to other people, authoritative for us? Now, first of all, it's authoritative in the sense that it has the right or power to compel assent. And the link between the original recipients of the canonical writings and ourselves are two, the links are two. First of all, the author, the divine author of this text is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's the one with whom we too must deal. And secondly, as followers of Jesus Christ, we belong to the covenant people of God, and those things that were said specifically to some of our members centuries ago were meant to include us as well because we belong with them in the embrace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [Dr. Glen G. Scorgie]

Perhaps an analogy will help to clarify what we have in mind. Parents who have more than one child know very well how they exercise full, but often indirect, authority over their children. Imagine a parent who scolds his or her son for misbehavior and says to him, "Go sit down and think about what you've done." Of course, his sister is happy to keep playing. After all, the parent wasn't speaking to her. But if the sister disobeys the parent a few moments later, the parent may very well say, "Didn't you see what just happened to your brother?" In situations like this, parents expect all of their children to learn from the way they dealt with one child. This indirect authority teaches all of the children how they should behave, even if they weren't the initial recipients of the discipline.

This is what we mean when we say that organic inspiration leads to the full but indirect authority of the New Testament for modern followers of Christ. New Testament texts spoke directly with full authority to the original audiences. And we must remember that they also speak with full authority today. For faithful followers of Christ, it's never a question of if we are to submit to a teaching of the New Testament. It's only a question of how we are to submit to its authority. So, to determine how we should respond to this authority, we must be ready to look back to the original purpose and circumstances of when a particular text was written.

One of the questions students often ask about God's Word is, how can a message given to people 2,000 years ago be applicable to us? How can this be God's word to us or for us? And I think there's the key right there, is, though these texts are not God's word to us, they are ultimately God's word for us. And the one thing that every book in the Bible, every genre, every situation has in common is that every book in the Bible reveals the nature of God, who God is. It reveals who we are in relationship to him. And it reveals God's purpose for us in the world, how we're to respond to him and how to respond to one another. So, ultimately, what we learn in Scripture is we learn the heart of God. We learn the nature and purpose of God. And we can learn that even if it's written to different people in different contexts, even if the direct commands given to them don't apply to us directly, we still learn about God's nature, about God's purpose, about who we are and how we ought to live in relationship to God. So, ultimately, I would say the Bible teaches us the heart of God and the purpose of God, and so it then guides us into how to live in relationship to him and in relationship to one another. [Dr. Mark L. Strauss]

For example, in Matthew 19:21, Jesus gave this specific instruction to a rich young ruler:

If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me (Matthew 19:21).

How are we to apply this passage to our lives? Are all of us, in every circumstance, to "sell [our] possessions and give to the poor"? The only way we can answer this question responsibly is to grasp who this rich young ruler was and why Jesus addressed him in this way.

This man's title and interaction with Jesus would suggest that he was of Jewish background and had a good deal of financial influence in his community. It also appears that he cared deeply about upholding Jewish customs. Earlier in the chapter he asked Jesus, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Jesus replied, "Obey the commandments." The young man proudly declared that he had done this. So, Jesus addressed what seemed to be the man's chief concern, mainly wealth and influence.

Scripture repeatedly shows us that owning possessions is not, in and of itself, evil. Nor does it prevent us from true discipleship under Christ. However, as Jesus' followers, our hearts should always be prepared to forsake our own desires in order to serve God.

Another example of this occurs in Acts 5:1-11 where Ananias and Sapphira pretend to give all their money to the church, but secretly keep some for themselves. The sin wasn't that they did not give all they had — they weren't asked to — but rather that they lied about their generosity to receive popular approval.

Jesus' response to the rich young ruler to sell his possessions didn't deal specifically with money, but rather with the man's concern for what he must sacrifice. Jesus cut to the heart of the matter by addressing the one thing this man was unwilling to forsake, his wealth.

This example helps us understand that if we are to submit to the authority of Scripture, we need to consider the context and original purpose of a passage. Only then will we be able to assess how we are to observe what Jesus has commanded.

The New Testament, as the Old Testament, is not a philosophy; it doesn't consist of philosophical formulation, formulated in a manner that perhaps could be transported across cultures very easily. The New Testament is specific; it is historical. The reason for that is pretty obvious. God revealed himself both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, and when God reveals himself, he reveals himself to specific people. He doesn't reveal himself in generalities that then, at the end of the day, would probably not be relevant for anyone because they would be so general. So, God revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, to Isaiah, to Jeremiah and then, through Jesus, to the disciples, to Peter, to Paul. And so, we have specific people in specific circumstances. And this is so by necessity. God is the Creator and creation exists in time and space, and so when God reveals himself, he does need to reveal himself in time and space. [Dr. Eckhard J. Schnabel]

So far in our lesson on "Why study New Testament Theology?," we've seen that the New Testament's inspiration and authority require us to learn as much as we can about the ancient historical setting of a New Testament book. Now we're ready to address the continuities and discontinuities between our day and the days of the New Testament.

CONTINUITIES & DISCONTINUITIES

Imagine that you picked up a book written 500 years ago. The language would be at least somewhat different from what you speak today. The concepts would be explained in ways that may seem a bit odd. The customs and traditions mentioned in the book would appear old fashioned. But at the same time, if you work at it, you might see how that book relates to your life today. Even a book written a long time ago wouldn't be entirely different from the world in which you live. It wouldn't be so foreign that you couldn't make some sense of it. It may take some effort, but eventually you could grasp much of what this ancient book says. This is what we face when we deal with the New Testament. It was written nearly 2,000 years ago. And for this reason, its language, concepts, customs and traditions are different from what we experience in our modern world. But at the same time, if we give ourselves to the study of these matters we can see that the New Testament still connects to our world in many ways.

The fact that the Bible was written 2,000 years ago is relevant and important because it was written in a culture at a particular time. But the fact that it's God's Word is what makes it relevant to us today, because God chose to speak by his grace and his mercy to us. And Hebrews tells us that the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. And actually, that word is like as a little tiny surgical knife. And so, God's Word cuts us open and it stands above us as our authority, dictating and making demands of us, and making commands of what we should obey, and even telling us that we should love it, not just to obey it, but to actually love it and to memorize it. And so it's important to us now because it's God's word. [Dr. Jason Oakes]

To see how careful study can help us with the continuities and discontinuities between ourselves and the New Testament, we'll focus on three main considerations: epochal considerations, cultural considerations and personal considerations. These three subjects are interrelated, but it's still helpful to deal with them individually. Let's look first at some important epochal considerations.

Epochal

When we speak of an epoch of biblical history we have in mind a period of time established by divine revelation that distinguishes it from other periods of time. Of course, there are many ways to divide history, and no period of time is completely distinct from what comes before and after it. Yet, we most often divide biblical history into the New Testament age and the ages of the Old Testament. We identify the New Testament period as the time of the new covenant. This epoch began with the first advent of Christ and will continue until his return. The new covenant age is unique in that it's messianic. It's the time when Jesus, the great Son of David, reigns on God's behalf.

To understand why epochal considerations make studying New Testament theology necessary, we'll look at the epochal continuities that unify the new covenant age. And then, we'll deal with the epochal discontinuities that exist. Let's look first at the continuities.

Continuities

There are many epochal continuities between our day and the days of the New Testament. One of the best ways to see these connections is to realize that Christians today serve the same God that Christ's followers did in the first century. Traditional systematic theologians often point out how the Scriptures teach that God is immutable, or unchangeable. They focus on his unalterable attributes, his eternal plan and his covenant oaths in passages like Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 46:10, and James 1:17. And because we serve the same immutable God, we should expect there to be many similarities in what God expected from his people in the New Testament and what he expects from us today. Listen to Hebrews 13:7-8:

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:7-8).

Here the author of Hebrews insisted that his audience, "consider the outcome of their leaders' way of life and imitate their faith." He supported this exhortation by reminding them of the immutability of God when he said, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." His audience could be confident that if they imitated the faith of their leaders from the past, they would see similar outcomes in their own day because Jesus is immutable.

Just like the original audiences of the New Testament, we live after Christ's death has made the final atonement for sin. We've been raised with Christ in his resurrection, just like first century believers. We live in the age when God's Spirit is poured out far beyond what had occurred in the Old Testament. We're part of the same body of Christ with the same mission of spreading everything Jesus taught to the ends of the earth. Despite the historical distance that separates us from the days of the New Testament, the immutable Creator has established these kinds of epochal continuities so that we can apply the New Testament to our day.

Now, that we've looked at some epochal considerations and the continuities that exist between our day and New Testament times, let's view some discontinuities within the new covenant epoch that require us to devote ourselves to careful study of New Testament theology.

Discontinuities

To be sure, the epochal discontinuities between New Testament days and our day are not as substantial as the epochal discontinuities between the Old Testament and our day. Yet, there are some significant differences that we must keep in mind whenever we study the New Testament.

In Ephesians 2:20, the apostle Paul referred to one of the most substantial epochal discontinuities when he said:

[The church was] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).

Here, Paul made a distinction between the church's foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself, and the church throughout history.

As we said earlier in this lesson, for nearly 2,000 years the church has recognized the foundational authority that Christ and his apostles and prophets have over us. But we must also realize that they are no longer physically present with us. This reality creates a number of discontinuities between New Testament times and our lives today.

First, the New Testament contains many examples of authenticating miracles performed by Jesus and his apostles and prophets. The ability to perform such miracles set Jesus and his apostles apart as authorities and foundational leaders of the church. God continues to work supernaturally in the church today, but we don't look for miracles as a way of discerning the authority of new church leaders. Instead, authority in the church today is established by the standard of the New Testament. And for this reason, we must be sure to study very carefully how this standard applies to our day.

Second, in New Testament times it was possible to make direct appeals to Jesus' apostles and prophets. Christians could appeal to the apostles and prophets for guidance and answers to questions. We see this, for example, in the ways Paul responded to the appeals of Christ's followers in books like 1 and 2 Corinthians and Philemon. Moreover, in New Testament days, church-wide issues could be decided by the interactions of the church's foundational leaders, as in the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. But in our day, we don't have these foundational authorities living among us. So, we have to lean on our study of the New Testament and consider how it applies in our day.

Third, as we study New Testament theology we often have to face the fact that New Testament authors had theological emphases that were particularly important for the foundational period of the church, but that may not concern us today.

The New Testament was written during the time when God's people were transitioning between Old and New Testament faith. For this reason, many of the issues addressed in the New Testament deal with how followers of Christ were to relate to Old Testament practices and Jewish traditions. Did Christian men need to be circumcised? Did they have to observe Jewish dietary laws? How were Christians to understand the continuation of animal sacrifices at the temple after Christ's final atonement? How were Jewish ceremonies and festivals to be incorporated into the life of the church? Of course, many of these foundational theological issues were settled long ago. And once the foundational period of the new covenant ended, the Christian church moved on to other challenges.

When we read the New Testament, it can be difficult to overcome the epochal discontinuities. But, if we want to apply the New Testament's answers to these ancient theological controversies today, we often must work hard and study these texts very carefully.

When one reads the Bible, one has to always put it in its original context. When we do that, sometimes we don't realize some of the issues that they're struggling with because they're so unlike the issues that we wrestle with today. So, for example, in the Old Testament, all of the covenantal issues that are tied to Israel — living under the old covenant, and then as you have the coming of Christ, the fulfillment of that — are main theological issues that the church has to wrestle with. What's the relationship of old covenant demands? How is it brought to fulfillment in the church? What's the relationship between Jew and Gentile? And even in saying it like that, we don't often think in those kind of categories so that we have to do a good job first of going back to the Scripture, understanding it on its own terms, in its own context, in its own presentation, understanding how the covenants work, how they're brought to fulfillment in Christ, and then begin to think through how does this now apply to us. [Dr. Stephen T. Wellum]

Having looked at the continuities and discontinuities within epochal considerations, we should now explore a few cultural considerations.

Cultural

When we speak of culture, we have in mind the patterns of human communities that develop out of shared concepts, behaviors and emotions. Culture is expressed in things like art, fashion, technology, political structures, and other conventions of daily human interaction. And when we deal with New Testament theology, we have to give attention to these cultural dimensions of life in both the first century and in our own day.

Whenever we pay attention to cultural considerations, we have to look at both cultural continuities and also discontinuities. At times, this is not an easy task. So, we have to be ready to devote ourselves to careful reflection. Let's see how this is true first with cultural continuities.

Continuities

We all know that every culture is different, and those differences grow larger with temporal and geographical distance. But as much as we recognize these differences, every human culture exists in the same world. This fact creates many cultural continuities even across time and geography. Every culture on earth is shaped by the nature of human beings and the physical, natural environment. And in so far as these factors are similar, the patterns of culture are similar as well. As Ecclesiastes 1:9 puts it:

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

In this light, it shouldn't surprise us that when we look beneath superficial differences, we find many similar features of culture between our times and New Testament times. We still wear clothes, enjoy art, have families, establish governments, and punish crimes, much like people did in New Testament times. For this reason, it's often very easy to see similarities between cultures in the first century and our own day.

Take for instance, the scene in John 4:6-7 that introduces Jesus' conversation with a Samaritan woman.

It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" (John 4:6-7).

Many of us have heard explanations of the cultural dimensions of this scene. Jesus met and talked with a Samaritan woman, even though Jews in Jesus' day considered Samaritans "unclean" and refused to associate with them.

Now, as modern readers we don't have feelings one way or the other about Samaritans. And we don't even think about whether or not people are ceremonially clean. But still, it isn't difficult to see significant parallels between this biblical scene and social prejudices in our own day. Unfortunately, people today are not very different from people in the first century in this regard. And because we live in the same world as people in the days of the New Testament, we're often able to draw parallels to our modern cultural experiences with ease, despite the differences.

While it's important to realize that cultural considerations include cultural continuities between ourselves and the New Testament, we must also be aware of the impact of cultural discontinuities on our understanding of New Testament theology.

Discontinuities

Our understanding of Scripture is that it is the Word of God, and the ultimate author of Scripture is the Holy Spirit. We oftentimes will speak about Scripture in those exalted terms, and so the question sometimes arises, well, why do we need anything beyond the Scriptures? Why do we need to study the culture and the backgrounds and the languages? If we have the Scriptures themselves and they are the Word of God, are they not sufficient? We understand that the Holy Spirit is the ultimate author, but the Holy Spirit also worked through human authors and gave us the Scriptures in historical context. We don't have Scripture before us that is just a list of propositional truths. We don't have Scripture that is a legal codebook that just has law upon law, do's and don'ts in a list. We don't have Scripture that is just wisdom sayings — one maxim, one aphorism, one proverb one after the other — and we somehow compile truth from that. Although those elements are in the Scriptures, the Scriptures are a revelation of God, a revelation of God and God's acts in history. We sometimes summarize our understanding of Scripture by saying it is the word of God in the words of human authors given in history. And it's that "in history" part that is so important to us. If we don't understand the cultural context in which the Scriptures were written, if we don't understand the language, the Scriptures can be easily misconstrued. [Dr. Edward M. Keazirian]

In reality, many of the cultural outlooks in our day and in New Testament times are vastly different. And we have to work very hard to overcome the obstacles they present to interpreting and applying New Testament theology.

One of the most obvious examples of this kind of cultural discontinuity is the language that was used to write the New Testament. Relatively few followers of Christ today can read the New Testament in its original Greek.

Beyond this, we have to consider first century literary conventions and the influence of the Hebrew and Greek versions of the Old Testament used by New Testament authors. We must also overcome our ignorance of the political, economic and broader social practices of the day. Only as we devote ourselves to these tasks will we be able to deal with the many cultural discontinuities between the New Testament and our day.

There's a wonderful saying in London: It's called, "Mind the gap." You hear that when you step off the underground subway and onto the platform, and there's a gap in between, and there's this warning that's constantly given: "Mind the gap. Mind the gap." And that is an important idea to consider of why the importance of understanding the cultural context of the New Testament, when we're interpreting and teaching and preaching the New Testament, is that we need to "mind the gap." There's a gap between then and now. There's a gap in the language that was used. There's a gap in how the social identities were created. There's a gap in how kinship was understood. There's a gap in almost every aspect of life 2,000 years ago and life today. And if we don't mind the gap, we will inevitably fill the gap with our own culture, with our own understanding of things. Instead of listening to the text to see how the text now applies to our life, we actually do the reverse. We make our life the manner for understanding the text. We speak into the text instead of the text speaking to us. And so we will miss some things… If we believe that the original message was inspired, then we want to endeavor to mind the gap so we can listen to the Word of God, not so that we can impose our own social consideration. [Dr. Mark A. Jennings]

With the continuities and discontinuities of these epochal considerations and cultural considerations in mind, let's look at why personal considerations also require us to study New Testament theology carefully.

Personal

We all know from common experience that people aren't exactly the same. Even people who live in the same culture are different. Often, when we meet people from distant places or read about people from the past, we realize that the psychological, emotional, and spiritual differences can be enormous. We all have different experiences, strengths, fears, talents, spiritual propensities; the list of differences among people is very long. So, when we study New Testament theology we must give due attention to the similarities and differences between people in our day and in the days of the New Testament.

We'll look at personal considerations along the same lines as our previous discussions. First, what are the personal continuities between modern and New Testament people? And second, what are the discontinuities between them? Let's start with the continuities.

Continuities

From a biblical perspective, there are enough similarities among people for us to be confident that we can learn and apply New Testament theology as we ought. In effect, the Scriptures teach that all human beings in New Testament times and today are the same kinds of people. The authors, audiences and other human figures in the New Testament were the image of God, just like we are today. They were rational and reasoned, like us. They reacted with joy and sadness, much like we do today. And like us, they were fallen images of God who needed redemption in Christ. They struggled with sin, and endured pain and hardship in this fallen world. And those who believed in Christ in New Testament days experienced the grace of God's forgiveness and the blessing of the Holy Spirit in their personal lives, just as we do today. Because of these and many other personal continuities, when we read the New Testament we are often able to connect easily with the people of that time.

For example, in Romans 9:2-4, Paul expressed his deep feelings for his fellow Jews in this way:

I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel (Romans 9:2-4).

These verses reveal Paul's very personal, emotional experience. And human personality has not changed so much from Paul's day to our own that we cannot empathize with his feelings. Personal continuities like these often make it relatively easy for us to grasp what New Testament authors, audiences and characters experienced. And we can apply their experiences to our own day.

At the same time, while personal considerations in the New Testament contain a number of personal continuities, there are also many personal discontinuities that make it difficult for us to understand and apply New Testament theology.

Discontinuities

The New Testament often addresses particular kinds of people that are so different from what we know today that we sometimes struggle to draw the proper connections. Personal, emotional tendencies, even issues like age and gender can present obstacles that must be overcome through careful study.

God cares about people in all of our different kinds of settings, all of our different kinds of backgrounds. We can see that by how many different kinds of backgrounds and how many different cultures, actually, were addressed throughout the Bible, in different parts of the Bible. And in the same way, once we understand how God was speaking to those people in their settings, we can learn from them as examples, and we're going to have to reapply those in our own different settings today. God gave it in concrete ways for particular settings, and he expects it to be applied in concrete ways and particular settings. But it's important that we get the right principles that are there in the text so we can reapply them in the right ways. [Dr. Craig S. Keener]

For example, in Ephesians 6:5, 9 Paul instructed two particular kinds of people. He said:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ… And masters, treat your slaves in the same way (Ephesians 6:5, 9).

When most of us read these words, we gain a superficial awareness of what Paul said to the slaves and masters in the church at Ephesus. But our awareness of the struggles these brothers and sisters in Christ faced is severely limited because the vast majority of us have never been slaves or masters.

These were very different kinds of people than we are today. And for this reason, we should work vigorously to learn what these people experienced in the first century in places like Ephesus. Only then can we begin to draw the appropriate parallels for our own day and understand Paul's theological perspectives offered in this passage.

Anytime we try to understand how to apply the New Testament, the key word that has to come out all the time is "context." As much as we might like to have the application of Scripture be very cut and dried, almost wooden, that wasn't the case even in New Testament times. I've always been fascinated by the fact that Paul in one case says, "Yes, Timothy, you must be circumcised for the sake of the gospel." And in another case he says to another one of his companions, "No, you must not be circumcised, for the sake of the gospel." So, the same act was right or wrong depending on the cultural setting, if you will. In one case it was, "Timothy, you must be circumcised so we can reach the Jews." That's for the sake of the gospel. In the other setting it was, I believe it was Titus, "You must not be circumcised because the people who want you to be circumcised think that's what's required for salvation, and that would be opposed to the gospel." So, we need to really understand what our current cultural situation is and how the biblical principles apply to that. And that means we need to really understand the culture as much as we understand Scripture. [Dr. Dan Lacich]

The healthy and the sick, the disabled, the strong, the weak, the rich, the poor, young and old, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers in the days of the New Testament had to embrace New Testament theology in ways that were appropriate for who they were in their day. To one degree or another, these and similar personal factors will always affect how we apply New Testament theology to our day as well. And these personal considerations press us all to study the New Testament with diligence.

CONCLUSION

In this lesson, we've explored why followers of Christ should study New Testament theology. We've looked at the New Testament's inspiration and authority and seen that we should give ourselves to study because the New Testament is breathed out by God. We also considered how the epochal, cultural and personal continuities and discontinuities between New Testament times and ours require us to devote ourselves to understanding and applying New Testament theology.

The New Testament is the kind of book that deserves much more than a casual glance. As God's Word for his church, we must be ready to do whatever it takes to understand it as well as we possibly can. We'll focus on several important ways to pursue this goal in the lessons that follow. And as we do, we'll see many of the benefits that come from careful reflection on this part of the Bible. And we'll see, time and again, why we should give ourselves to the study New Testament theology.