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Theological Foundations I Essentials of Christian Doctrine • Theological Foundations I Essentials of Christian Doctrine • instructor’s guide • Theological Foundations I Essentials of Christian Doctrine instructor’s guide Bethlehem College & Seminary 720 13th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415 612.455.3420 | 612.338.6901 (fax) [email protected] | bcsmn.edu Copyright © 2016 by Bethlehem College & Seminary All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, modified, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. • Theological Foundations I Essentials of Christian Doctrine instructor’s guide Table of Contents Instructor’s Introduction Course Syllabus 1 Lesson 1 Introduction to Systematic Theology 5 Lesson 2 Scripture, the Word of God Written (1) 17 Lesson 3 Scripture, the Word of God Written (2) 35 Lesson 4 The Trinity, One God as Three Persons 55 Lesson 5 God’s Eternal Purpose and Election (1) 77 Lesson 6 God’s Eternal Purpose and Election (2) 103 Lesson 7 God’s Creation of the Universe and Man (1) 127 Lesson 8 God’s Creation of the Universe and Man (2) 147 Lesson 9 Man’s Sin and Fall from Fellowship with God 167 Lesson 10 Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God (1) 191 Lesson 11 Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God (2) 211 Lesson 12 The Saving Work of Christ 235 Appendix A: Bethlehem College & Seminary Affirmation of Faith Instructor’s Introduction It is our hope and prayer that God would be pleased to use this curriculum for his glory. Thus, the intention of this curriculum is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ by equipping men, women, and young adults to serve as family, business and community leaders, full-time Christian workers, missionaries, pastors, and teachers. This curriculum is guided by the vision and values of Bethlehem College & Seminary, which are more fully explained at www.bcsmn.org. On our website, you will find the God-centered philosophy that undergirds and motivates everything we do. May God be glorified in us as we are satisfied in him alone! • Course Description The Theological Foundations I course is an attempt to systematically present what the Apostle Paul called “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Students will study biblical topics by examining par-ticular biblical passages, reading through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, and inspecting Bethlehem’s Affirmation of Faith. The student’s learning will be solidified through class discussion and various homework assignments. This course is the first of two semesters, progressing through roughly the first half of a systematic theology, including the doctrines of Scripture, the Trinity, God’s sovereignty, election, creation, sin, Christology and soteriology. Instructor’s Introduction TN • Objectives This course is designed to accomplish specific objectives. A student successfully completing this course should be able ▷ To magnify the worth of God in a more meaningful and personal way by treasuring him in their heart above all else. We recognize that this, the ultimate objective of the course, is impossible apart from the grace of God in the working of the Holy Spirit, who exalts the risen Lord, Jesus Christ. ▷ To understand the Scriptures more fully as a result of searching them diligently throughout the course. Every lesson will compel the student to read and meditate on the Word. Our desire is to encourage students to be Bereans (cf. Acts 17:11). ▷ To comprehend and thoughtfully interact with Bethlehem’s Affirmation of Faith and Grudem’s Systematic Theology. To this end the student will answer comprehension questions and formulate their own questions. ▷ To discuss and apply the biblical truth that is presented in the curriculum. ▷ To synthesize and summarize what they have learned through the course. This last objective will be accomplished by the completion of the course’s final project. • Implementation As the instructor of this course, it is imperative that you are completely familiar with the curriculum. We therefore recommend that you read this entire section carefully and then skim through the rest of what is contained in this binder. This course is designed to be taught in 12 lessons, ideally in 2 hours of in- class instruction and with approximately 2.5 hours of homework each week. To achieve the kind of undistracted focus and academic rigor that maximizes learning, we recommend that this course be taught as a weeknight class. We anticipate, however, that this curriculum might be adapted for a Sunday school, small group, or discipleship setting. If this is necessary or most appropriate, we urge you to establish an expectation among your students that this course will require more concentration and commitment than a typical Sunday school class would. A tone of serious and earnest study should be set by the instructor before the course even begins. TN Theological Foundations I Before the first class session, you will need to decide when and where this course First Lesson will be offered. Record this information on the syllabus in the box labeled: “Course Information.” You may also want to include your contact information in this box. The schedule incorporated in the syllabus does not have assigned dates. Please write the intended dates for each lesson. Once you have completed filling out the syllabus, photocopy it so that you may distribute one copy to each student enrolled in the course. The Student Workbook does not include a syllabus, so your students will not have a syllabus until you distribute one. Photocopying the syllabus is the only photocopying that is required of you by this curriculum. During the first lesson, we recommend the following outline to structure your time: ▷ Welcome / Prayer (5 min): Greet the students as they arrive. Open the lesson by exalting God in prayer. ▷ Personal Introductions (10 min): Ask each student in the room to introduce themselves briefly by answering the following questions (and answer these questions yourself): What is your name? Can you tell the class a little about yourself? Why are you enrolled in this course and what are you hoping to gain from it? ▷ Syllabus Review (10 min): Distribute your customized course syllabus and then guide the class through it, reading each item and answering any questions that the students might have. ▷ Break (5 min) ▷ Introduction to Systematic Theology (50 min): Guide the class through Lesson 1. After allowing a few minutes for the students to answer each question, pause to discuss their answers. Lesson 1 is the only lesson you will take your students through without their prior preparation. For all subsequent lessons, students will work through the lesson on their own before coming to class. To prepare yourself for this lesson, you should attempt to answer the questions yourself before consulting the suggested answers in the Instructor’s Guide. Reading the first chapter of Grudem’s Systematic Theology and skimming Bethlehem’s Affirmation of Faith would also be beneficial preparation. Instructor’s introduction TN ▷ Overview the Next Lesson / Closing (5 min): Encourage the students to purchase the required textbooks if they don’t have them already. Ensure that they understand what is required of them in preparation for the next class session. Then thank them for coming to the class and dismiss in prayer. The lesson outline for Lesson 1, included in the Teaching Notes, is our suggestion for how the class time should be structured. Although it is not necessary to follow this outline rigidly, nevertheless you should allow adequate time for each component of the lesson. Review the first lesson and its outline thoroughly before you attempt to teach it. Subsequent Lessons As the instructor, you will be expected to do all the preparation for each lesson that is required of the students and more. We strongly recommend that you obtain a Student’s Workbook and attempt to complete the homework on your own before consulting this Instructor’s Guide. The Instructor’s Guide provides our suggested answers. Some questions in this curriculum are open-ended and could be answered in different ways. You may find that the answers contained in this manual may not be the clearest or most accurate answers possible. Therefore, we encourage you to improve upon our answers if you can. It is essential to understand that this Instructor’s Guide is meant to be a resource; the real authority is God’s Word. Furthermore, we have deliberately omitted lesson outlines for Lessons 2-12. Our recommendation is to open the class in prayer and then immediately start to discuss the work the students have done. The discussion could then proceed through each day’s study. We consider it unnecessary to lecture through the material the students will have read in Grudem’s Systematic Theology— discussing student questions on the reading should adequately cover the material. You will notice that the material in each lesson should provide you with much more material than you can cover in two hours of thoughtful interaction. This is not a mistake in design and you should not feel obligated to provide the students with answers for every question. Rather, as the instructor, your responsibility should be to focus on areas where students have questions or interest. You will also notice that the Instructor’s Guide has material that is not included in the Student’s Workbook in the form of Teaching Notes. Consult these notes in your preparations after thoroughly reviewing the lesson. TN Theological Foundations I It is our conviction that the best teachers foster an environment in the classroom Teaching Style which engages students.
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