Theology You Can Count On: Experiencing What the Bible Says About... God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Angels, Salvation...

© 2008 by

ANTHONY T. EVANS

This work is a condensation of eight books in the Understanding God series: The Battle Is the Lord’s, The Best Is Yet to Come, God’s Glorious Church, Our God Is Awesome, The Promise, Totally Saved, The Transforming Word, and Who Is This King of Glory?

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright ©1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.(www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NEB are taken from The New English Bible. Copyright © 1961 by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Used by permission.

Editors: Phil Rawley, Jim Vincent

Personal and Group Study Material: Dana Gould

Interior and Cover Design: Smartt Guys design

Cover Photo: Roberto A. Sanchez, iStock

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Evans, Tony.

Theology you can count on: experiencing what the Bible says about God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, angels, salvation, the church, the Bible, the last things / Tony Evans.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8024-6653-2

ISBN-10: 0-8024-6653-2

1. Theology, Doctrinal—Popular works. I. Title.

BT77.E79 2008

230—dc22

2008009402

We hope you enjoy this book from Moody Publishers. Our goal is to provide high-quality, thought-provoking books and products that connect truth to your real needs and challenges. For more information on other books and products written and produced from a biblical perspective, go to www.moodypublishers.com or write to:

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Printed in the United States of America

This book is gratefully dedicated to

my good friend and editor,

Philip Rawley

who has steadfastly worked with me

in the completion of the entire

applied theology series, of

which this book is a summary

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1: THEOLOGY PROPER

The Doctrine of God the Father

Section I: The Subject of God

1. The Study of God

2. The Nature of God

Section II: The Attributes of God

3. The Sufficiency of God

4. The Holiness of God

5. The Sovereignty of God

6. The Glory of God

7. The Omniscience of God

8. The Omnipresence of God

9. The Omnipotence of God

10. The Wisdom of God

11. The Goodness of God

12. The Wrath of God

13. The Love of God

14. The Grace of God

Part 2: CHRISTOLOGY

TheDoctrine of God the Son

Section I: The Uniqueness of Christ

15. The Uniqueness of the Person of Christ

16. The Uniqueness of Christ in Prophecy and Typology

17. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Humiliation

18. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Death

19. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Resurrection

20. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Ascension and Present Ministry

21. The Uniqueness of Christ in His Return and Millennial Rule

Section II: The Authority of Christ

22. The Authority of Christ over Nature

23. The Authority of Christ over Satan and the Demons

24. The Authority of Christ over Disease

25. The Authority of Christ over Sin

26. The Authority of Christ over Circumstances

27. The Authority of Christ over Trials

28. The Authority of Christ over Death

Part 3: PNEUMATOLOGY

The Doctrine of God the Holy Spirit

Section I: The Presence of the Holy Spirit

29. The Holy Spirit’s Promise

30. The Holy Spirit’s Baptism

31. The Holy Spirit’s Security

32. The Holy Spirit’s Filling

33. The Holy Spirit’s Freedom

34. The Holy Spirit’s Illumination

Section II: The Purpose of the Holy Spirit

35. The Holy Spirit’s Conviction

36. The Holy Spirit’s Power

37. The Holy Spirit’s Authority

38. The Holy Spirit’s Fellowship

39. The Holy Spirit’s Restraint

Section III: The Provision of the Holy Spirit

40. The Holy Spirit’s Fruit

41. The Holy Spirit’s Intercession

42. The Holy Spirit’s Guidance

43. The Holy Spirit’s Gifts

PART 4: ANGELOLOGY

The Doctrine of Angels

Section I: The Holy Angels

44. The Existence of Angels

45. The Ministry of Angels

46. The Operation and Enlisting of Angels

Section II: The Evil Angels

47. The Character of Satan and the Demons

48. The Strategy of Satan

49. The Defeat of Satan

Section III: The Reality of Spiritual Warfare

50. The Nature of the Battle

51. The Origin of the Battle

52. The Expansion of the Battle

53. The Scope of the Battle

Section IV: The Authority for Spiritual Warfare

54. The Purchase of Authority

55. The Agency of Authority

56. The Weapons of Authority

57. The Access to Authority

Part 5: SOTERIOLOGY

The Doctrine of Salvation

Section I: Our Great Salvation

58. Sin: The Need for Salvation

59. Justification: The Verdict of Salvation

60. Redemption: The Payment for Salvation

61. Propitiation: The Requirement for Salvation

62. Reconciliation: The Relationship of Salvation

63. Regeneration: The Miracle of Salvation

64. Grace: The Gift of Salvation

65. Sanctification: The Progress of Salvation

Section II: The Assurance of Salvation

66. The Foundation of Assurance

67. The Demands of Assurance

68. The Blessings of Assurance

Section III: Our Eternal Security in Christ

69. The Importance of Eternal Security

70. The Process of Eternal Security

71. The Protection of Eternal Security

72. The Privileges of Eternal Security

Part 6: ECCLESIOLOGY

The Doctrine of the Church

Section I: The Nature of the Church

73. The Importance of the Church

74. The Purpose of the Church

75. The Mission and Distinctives of the Church

76. The Power of the Church

Section II: The Ministry of the Church

77. The Worship of the Church

78. The Fellowship of the Church

79. The Proclamation of the Church

80. The Witness of the Church

Section III: The Function of the Church

81. The Leadership of the Church

82. The Unity of the Church

83. The Service of the Church

84. The Accountability of the Church

85. The Ordinances of the Church

86. The Orientation of the Church

Part 7: BIBLIOLOGY

The Doctrine of the Bible

Section I: The Nature of the Bible

87. The Bible Is Unique

88. The Bible Is Truth

89. The Bible Is Authoritative

90. The Bible Is Powerful

91. The Bible Is Sufficient

Section II: The Communication of the Bible

92. The Revelation of the Bible

93. The Inspiration of the Bible

94. The Illumination of the Bible

95. The Interpretation of the Bible

96. The Canonicity of the Bible

Section III: The Benefits of the Bible

97. The Bible Produces Spiritual Life

98. The Bible Provides Spiritual Direction

99. The Bible Brings Spiritual Blessings

100. The Bible Brings Spiritual Freedom

101. The Bible Gives Spiritual Victory

Part 8: ESCHATOLOGY

The Doctrine of the Last Things

Section I: The History of Fulfilled Prophecy

102. The Importance of Prophecy

103. The Key to Prophecy

104. Prophecy and Human History

105. Prophecy and the Covenants

106. Prophecy and the Times of the Gentiles

107. Prophecy and Israel’s Timetable

Section II: End Times Prophecy

108. Prophecy and the Church,

109. Prophecy and the Rapture

110. Prophecy and the Judgment Seat of Christ

Section III: The Return of Christ

111. Prophecy and the Antichrist

112. Prophecy and the Tribulation

113. Prophecy, the Battle of Armageddon, and Christ’s Second Coming

114. Prophecy and the Millennial Kingdom

115. Prophecy and the Great White Throne

116. The Eternal State

Subject Index

Scripture Index

No work of this magnitude can be achieved by one person alone. I want to acknowledge the people who have played a strategic role in bringing this book to fruition. They include the team at Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers: vice-president Greg Thornton, who was instrumental in the conception and execution of this project, editor Jim Vincent, and many other people at Moody who helped in the production of this book.

I also want to thank Mr. Dana Gould, who contributed his skills and insights to the For Group Study sections that follow each chapter in this theology, as well as most of the Personal Application for Life in the chapters in Parts 2-8, a tremendous amount of work. A final word of thanks goes to my friend and editor, Phil Rawley—who also drew on the assistance of his two children and coworkers, Philip and Bethany Rawley. God bless you all!

Theology may be defined as learning, organizing, and communicating the truths about God as revealed in His Word. For many people the word theology suggests seminary-educated scholars who sit in ivory towers, isolated from the real world, studying the Bible. Such study is often viewed as esoteric and unrelated to the world where men and women live, work, play, raise families, and struggle with the realities of day-to-day life.

Theology need not be that remote, however, and that is not God’s intent in the Scriptures. Instead, the Bible is written to real people living in a real world, facing real problems, and needing a real, practical word from God. That’s one reason the Scriptures are not given to us in a systematized way. Rather, the truths about God are presented in the context of the realities of life where different authors communicated to different groups over different periods of time with contemporary messages from God. It is in this context of biblical theology that we discover in Scripture the truths that God wants us to know about Himself.

The challenge then is to organize those truths in a way that communicates a clear understanding of the Bible’s teaching on any subject it addresses. This organizing process is called systematic theology. Since readers of the holy Scriptures cannot go just to one verse, one passage, or even one book to discover the full biblical revelation on any subject, the various teachings on a particular truth must be brought together and harmonized in an orderly way.

This volume, like all systematic theologies, has been written to present the major categories of theology. However, the particular distinctive of this work is to put theology on the lower shelf, where it can be accessed and understood by all. That is where the organized truths of God are communicated in a simple and practical way. The goal of this volume is not only to make theology easily understood, but also to show how it applies to the lives of those who learn its truths. This is why you will find points of illustration and application within each of the eight parts. It is also why each chapter ends with a section for personal application as well as questions for group discussion. I encourage you to use this book as part of a discussion and study in a Sunday morning class or in a small group setting.

Theology, when properly understood, ought to be challenging, inspiring, transforming, and even fun. To have the privilege of learning truth about God and seeing that truth transform our lives is the greatest pursuit in life. The goal of learning sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:9) is to lead us into holy living (Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-10). It is my hope that this book will assist you in achieving this goal, whether you are a pastor, student, scholar, or layperson.

It’s hard to know where to begin when your subject is God Himself, a subject more important than anything else we could ever study. Nothing can fully express the subject, especially since God is more than the sum total of His attributes. King David said, Such knowledge [of God] is too wonderful for me (Psalm 139:6). But God invites us to know Him. He wants us to contemplate all that He is, because nothing else matters without Him.

I like what the great English preacher Charles Spurgeon told his church one Sunday (and J. I. Packer cites in his book Knowing God):

I believe … that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.

No study of God can be said to be comprehensive for three reasons. The first has to do with the sheer limitation of the human mind. A finite mind cannot fully grasp an infinite being. Second is the moral problem. The presence of sin, even in our converted state, has limited our capacity for understanding spiritual truth. Third, we have a resource problem. God has simply not told us everything about Himself. What He has told us we can know, but He has not revealed everything.

Because of the greatness of our subject, I will be taking you to many portions of Scripture. But due to the limitations of space and my own finiteness, we will neither exhaust the subject nor be able to give equal attention to all of these Scriptures.

THE STUDY OF GOD

My thesis in this introductory chapter can be stated simply: The study of the knowledge of God is the most important pursuit in life.

Of all the things that matter in our lives, to know God through a purposeful study of His nature, His character, and His perfections should be our driving force. Only then will we be able to define everything else accurately. But let me make three clarifications right now before we get into the heart of this chapter and the book.

More than Awareness

First of all, when I talk about the study of the knowledge of God, I am not referring to an awareness of God. Simply to say there is a God doesn’t say a whole lot about Him, because it would be hard to miss Him entirely when you understand that He is an all-encompassing Being. So when I talk about knowing God, I mean more than that you are aware He exists.

More than Information

Second, when I talk about knowing God, I mean more than that you have information about God; that is, knowing that He is the Creator or powerful or big or grand or majestic.

More than Religion

Knowing God also means more than having a religious experience with God or saying that we feel Him. It is valid to have an emotional and religious experience with God, but to know Him involves more than that.

To know God is to have Him rub off on you, to enter into relationship with God so that who He is influences who you are. One of the great tragedies today is that you can go to church and be aware of God; you can go to church and have information about God; and if your church has a great choir, you can even go to church and feel God; but you can leave church with Him never having rubbed off on you.

LIFE’S MOST MEANINGFUL PURSUIT

The study of God is the most meaningful pursuit in life. Jeremiah 9:23-24 expresses the importance of knowing God better than I ever could:

Thus says the Lord, Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me.

The Right Kind of Bragging

It’s amazing how many things we brag about. Some of us can brag about our educational achievements. We’ve gone through school and we’ve done well. We’ve got a bachelor’s degree. We’ve earned a master’s degree. Perhaps we even graduated magna cum laude.

Perhaps you started on the bottom rung of the ladder at your company. You’ve grown up through the company and now you’ve become a supervisor; you’ve graduated to become a manager. You own your own business, your own success. Now extra money is in the account. The home looks nice. The cars are modern. The suits are authentic.

But God says, If you are going to brag, if you really want something to shout about, can you brag that you know Me? Because if you can’t talk about that, you don’t have much to brag about.

Hitting the Right Target

A man once went to visit a farmer and noticed something very odd. On the side of the farmer’s barn were a number of targets with holes dead center in each bull’s-eye. The visitor said, My goodness! Every single hole is right in the center of every single bull’s-eye! I didn’t know you were that good. His farmer friend said, I’m really not.

Wait a minute. I see a hole in the center of every single bull’s-eye. How could you not be that good and shoot that well?

The farmer replied, It’s like this. I shoot the hole into the barn first, then I draw me a bull’s-eye.