Sample Questions on Biblical Doctrine Nyack College Manhattan Center Prepared by Jintae Kim, on Oct 7, 2002

Introduction

Greeting in our Lord Christ;

Let me make a couple of comments concerning these sample questions. These questions are prepared to help you study Biblical doctrine in a manner more relevant for your life. As long as you are able to answer these questions properly, you will receive a decent grade from Doctrine course I teach. So, use these questions as a guideline for your study and if possible, be prepared before the semester starts. I have prepared these questions in bilingual format so that both Korean and non-Korean students may be benefited from them. For most of questions, I have provided their answers, which, however, are only for your reference and in some cases, do not always match the questions. Thus, you are encouraged to find answers from the textbooks. Try to condense the answers in two or three sentences.

Part I: The Doctrine of the Scripture

1. 계시()와 영감(Inspiration ) 과 조명(Illumination) 올 정의하고 그 차이점을 말하라 (Define Revelation, Inspiration, and Illumination and compare and contrast them).

1) Revelation: It refers both to the process by which discloses the divine nature and the mystery of the divine will and purpose to human beings, and to the corpus of truth disclosed.

General revelation maintains that God's existence and particular attributes can be ascertained through an innate sense of God's reality and conscience as well as through observation of the universe and history. Special revelation refers to the more specific divine self-disclosure to and through certain persons that brings about human salvation.

2) Inspiration: A term used by many theologians to designate the work of the in enabling the human authors of the to record what God desired to have written in the Scriptures.

Theories explaining how God superintended the process of Scripture formation vary from dictation to ecstatic writing. Most evangelical theories of inspiration maintain that the Holy Spirit divinely guided the writing of Scripture, while at the same time allowing elements of the authors' culture and historical context to come through, at least in matters of style, grammar and choice of words.

3) Illumination: The ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian person and community in assisting believers to interpret, understand and obey the Scriptures.

Illumination is a matter of faith as well as intellectual assent - the Spirit's goal in illumination moves beyond mere intellectual assent to propositions of Scripture to the moving of the human will to trust Christ and obey him.

2. 성경의 무오설 (Inerrancy)에 대한 당신의 이해는 무엇인가? (What is your understanding concerning the inerrancy of the Holy Scripture?)

1) C&MA Doctrinal Statements a. The OT and NT were inerrant as originally given: Fully truthful in all of its teachings (John 10:35; Matt 5:18). b. God spoke to the prophets and the writers of the Bible who, in turn, spoke and wrote under supervision of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:20-21; 2 Tim 3:16; Acts 1:16). c. The Bible is the only and final standard by which we believe and live (Rev 22:18-19). 2) Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy (A Short Statement) (http://www.reformed.org/documents/)

a. God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord, Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God's witness to Himself. b. Holy Scripture, being God's own Word, written by men prepared and superintended by His Spirit, is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches: it is to be believed, as God's instruction, in all that it affirms, obeyed, as God's command, in all that it requires; embraced, as God's pledge, in all that it promises. c. The Holy Spirit, Scripture's divine Author, both authenticates it to us by His inward witness and opens our minds to understand its meaning. d. Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God's acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God's saving grace in individual lives. e. The authority of Scripture is inescapably impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in any way limited or disregarded, or made relative to a view of truth contrary to the Bible's own; and such lapses bring serious loss to both the individual and the Church.

3. 정경(Canon)이란 무엇이여, 어떠한 책들이 성서의 정경에 속하는가? (Define the Canon and tell us the names of the books belonging to the Canon).

1) Dictionary definition

Literally meaning "standard" or "rule," the term is most closely associated with the collection of books that the church has recognized as the written Word of God (Scripture) and that functions as the rule or standard of faith and practice in the church.

Although the various traditions are not in full agreement as to which books should comprise the collection of Scripture, at the very least all agree that the sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible are canonical and therefore authoritative.

2) Westminster Confession of Faith Chap. 1 Article 2 and 3 of the Holy Scripture (http://www.reformed.org/documents/)

Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testament, which are these: Of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Of the New Testament: The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, The Acts of the Apostles, Paul's Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians I, Corinthians II, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians I , Thessalonians II , To Timothy I , To Timothy II, To Titus, To Philemon, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The Epistle of James, The first and second Epistles of Peter, The first, second, and third Epistles of John, The Epistle of Jude, The Revelation of John. All which are given by inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life.

The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture, and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings.

4. 우리가 갖고 있는 성경은 원작자의 사본을 잘못 번역한 것이며 본래의 사본이 아니라 하여 성경의 영감설과 무관하다는 주장에 대해 당신은 어떻게 반응할 것인가? (Some assert that the present Bible translation is an imperfect version of the original autograph and therefore it has nothing to do with inerrancy. How will you respond to this assertion?)

1) Inerrancy a. C&MA Manual A1. 3. Third. d The OT and NT were inerrant as originally given: Fully truthful in all of its teachings (John 10:35; Matt 5:18). God spoke to the prophets and the writers of the Bible who, in turn, spoke and wrote under supervision of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:20-21; 2 Tim 3:16; Acts 1:16). The Bible is the only and final standard by which we believe and live (Rev 22:18-19). b. Chicago Statement on inerrancy article X. (http://www.reformed.org/documents/)

We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.

We deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs. We further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant.

2) Textual Problems (ref. Westminster Confession) A. Overwhelming agreement a. Variety of texts Reliability of the text b. Textual divergence: Minor factor Meaning intact Minor variants: Spelling & grammar. B. Doctrine of Inerrancy and preservation: by His singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages a. Substantial conformity in its essential form. b. Textual variants do not impinge upon the message: a) No major tenet of theology or is negatively or adversely affected by an alternate reading. b) Integrity of the original revelation is not in any way challenged or threatened. c. Inerrancy in (and preservation of) the Scripture does not imply a constant in transmission. d. Inferior text is also the word of God: Ancients view of Scripture: 2 versions of Jeremiah were both regarded as Scripture. C. Sufficient accuracy: Used by Jesus and Apostles LXX D. Autograph: a. No necessity to find one. Loss of original does not entail loss of its authority. We can recover it with substantial accuracy. b. Talmon & Tov: One autograph (Lagardian)

Part II: Doctrine of God

5. 삼위일체 교리의 근거가 되는 성구를 몇 개 제시하면서 왜 이 교리가 중요하다고 생각하는 것을 말하라. (Give a few foundational Bible verses for the doctrine of Trinity and tell us why this doctrine is so important). (http://www.bible.org/docs/theology/overview/overview-04.htm)

1) Biblical proof The doctrine of the trinity is the affirmation based on the evidence of scripture that there is one God who exists eternally in three distinguishable persons, i.e., the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A specific way of speaking about this phenomenon is: one in essence/substance (homoousios), three in subsistence.

The prominent contribution of the OT to trinitarianism, while providing what some consider to be evidence of the divinity of the Son and the Spirit, is to repeatedly affirm the unity of God, both numerically and qualitatively.

This unity is developed in the NT, however, in light of the coming and teaching of Christ, and shown to be more complex than had hitherto been known or understood. In the NT all three (i.e., the Father, Son and Spirit) are said to be divine, to do the works of God, and to be worshipped as God. The Father is clearly divine in the NT. The Son is deity (John 1:1; Titus 2:13), yet constantly distinguishes himself from the Father and the Spirit. And the Spirit is said to be God (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 5:3-5) and to be distinguished from the Father and the Son. Thus there is no room in the Biblical portrait for three (tritheism) or one God who manifests himself in three different modes (modalism).

2) Why is it important? a. The Bible says so. B. God cannot die, but Christ died on the cross. C. Unless we clarify their relationship correctly, there is always a danger of heresy.

6. 성경 구절을 사용하여 하나님의 속성에 대하여 세 가지를 기술하고 이 새 가지가 삼위일체의 각 위에 따라 어떻게 명백한가를 제시해 보라. (Give the three attributes of God using the proof texts and tell us how the three attributes are evident in relation to the three persons of the Trinity).

7. 삼위의 하나님은 창조와 계시와 구원과 교회에 어떠한 관계를 갖고 있는가? (How are the persons of the Trinity related to Creation, revelation, and church?)

1) Creation: Primarily by Father 2) Revelation: Special revelation concerning Jesus Christ 3) Salvation: Through the Son - Objective aspect; through the Spirit - Subjective appropriation. 4) Church: The role of the Holy Spirit after ascension of Christ.

8. 325 A.D에 있었던 Nicea 공회와 381 A.D.에 있었던 Constantinople 공회에서 삼위일체에 대해 어떠한 역사적 입장을 취하게 되었는가? (Tell us the historical positions taken at the Nicea Council and Constantinople Council concerning the doctrine of Trinity).

1) Nicea: Origen's eternal regeneration of the Son. Arius. The unity of God: the Son is the true God from true God (not made) though the Son is begotten. One substance with the Father. 2) Chalecedon: Hypostatic union. The doctrine of the hypostatic union, first set forth officially in the definition of faith produced by the Council of Chalcedon (451), concerns the union of the two natures of deity and humanity in the one hypostasis or person of Jesus Christ. In the incarnation of the Son of God, a human nature was inseparably united forever with the divine nature in the one person of Jesus Christ, yet with the two natures remaining distinct, wholly, and unchanged, without mixture or confusion so that the one person, Jesus Christ, is truly God and truly man.

9. 전통적인 삼위일체 교리에서 빗나간 근대 이교도들의 예를 들어 보라. (Give us the examples of the heterodoxy in the other religions against the doctrine of Trinity).

1) Anti-Nicene Heresies Ebionism: Monotheistic idea from Judaism. Jesus is just a man on whom the Spirit came at His baptism.

Gnosticism: Generally rejected the OT and Judaism and denied humanity of Christ. His body was an illusion.

Manichaeism: Similar as Gnosticism. Mani (215-277 AD) taught that Christ’s body was illusory.

2) Major 19’th century American Cults {Walton 1986: #62}

Mormons: Polythesism – God was once a man and man becomes God. God has a body.

Christian Science: Panthesim – All is God. Matter does not exist. Distinguish between Jesus (a man) and Christ (a divine idea). Christ was the great example of a scientific healing practitioner.

Jehovah’s Witnesses: Monotheism – Doctrine of Trinity is denied. Arian – Christ is unique but not divine, identified with the Archangel, the first created being.

10. 사도신경에 나타난 하나님에 대한 정의를 내려라. (Define the person of God according to the Apostles' Creed)

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. 1) The Father: His relationship with Christ in Godhead. Trinitarian concept implied. 2) Almighty: His divine nature assumed. 3) Creator: His relationship with the creation. Creator-creature distinction assumed.

11. 하나님의 속성들을 말해 보라. (What are the attributes of God? Define and explain). (http://www.bible.org/docs/theology/overview/overview-04.htm)

The attributes of God refer to those qualities or properties that set him apart as God and by which we recognize him as such. Theologians have tended to distinguish his attributes in terms of those that he alone possesses and those which he shares in a derivative and finite sense with his creation. Thus they refer to “Absolute and Relative,” “Immanent and Transitive,” and the most popular division among Reformed theologians, “Incommunicable and Communicable” attributes. Generally listed in the Incommunicable list are: Self -existence, immutability, infinity, and unity. Attributes listed under the heading of communicable include: spirituality, intellectual, and moral attributes, as well as attributes of sovereignty and power.

12. 하나님을 말할 때 하나님은 "거룩"하시다고 한다. 거룩이란 무엇인가? 하나님의 특성에 있어 왜 이것이 특히 중요한가? (We call God holy. What does it mean to be holy? Define what is holy. Why is the holiness especially important in the character of God?)

1) Definition

“This is a general term for the moral excellence of God (1 Sam 2:2; Ps 99:9; 111:9; Hab 1:13; Rev 15:4). Holiness, on the one hand, implies entire freedom from moral evil; and, upon the other, absolute moral perfection” {Hodge 1981: 1:413}.

“Holiness is self-affirming purity. In virtue of this attribute of His nature, God eternally wills and maintains His own moral excellence. In this definition are contained three elements: first, purity; secondly, purity willing; thirdly, purity willing itself” (Strong); “Holiness is fullness of the glorious goodness of God, consistently held as the principle of His own action, and the standard for His creature” (Clark) (both quoted in Pardington 79-80).

2) Prerequisite to be the perfect judge of the universe.