Russ Hopkinson’s Theology

In my Theology, it is most beneficial to go in order of the seven categories involved:

Theology, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and
Eschatology. In the past semester, I have been able to pull these categories together to make a
concise and agreeable theology, which I believe in at this point. You will find that interwoven
throughout my theology is the Trinity, which is God.
Theology
To begin, we must start with God. He is, of course, the foundation of all theology, and all
that progresses is based on who we believe God is. He is the Trinity, of Father, of Son, and of
the Holy Spirit, and the union of these three “essences” completes God. We begin by looking at
God the Father, who is the head of the Trinity. He is fully divine, and he represents the Will of
the Trinity. Both the Son and the Spirit act according to the Father’s will, and thus there is a
hierarchy within the Trinity. God the Father has full authority, and it is through His will that
anything has been created or done. God the Father has been forever, and He is outside of time.
He is omniscient, in that he knows all that has, is, and will happen. He is sovereign over all
things, and all events are guided by Him to lead to the completion of His will.
Christology
Christ is the Son of God, and submits to Him as such. He was begotten by the Father
before time began, as the Son was present in Creation. He is the Word of God, and everything is
created through Him. The Word was made flesh, and he was born of the virginMary, who
became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. The Son is fully divine, as well as fully human. While
on the earth, the omniscience of God was hidden from Him, so that he could live a human life.
However, the Son had clear communication with the Father, and knew the Father’s revealed will
because of Christ’s full divinity. He lived a completely sinless life on Earth, died, was raised up
by the Father, and ascended into Heaven. In doing so, Christ was able to account for all sin that
has been or will be committed, and can substitute for every man’s death. Christ is the physical
form of the grace of God, as no one can experience that grace except through the Son. Christ
will come back again, but now sits at the right hand of the Father.
Pneumatology
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, as He is referenced in Scripture
both as “The Spirit of the Father” and as “TheSpirit of Christ.” He is the Ambassador of God the
Father to this Earth, and does nothing except for what the Father wills to be done. He was
present at the creation of the world, and through Him life was given to man. The Holy Spirit is
God with us, and He is able to transform spirits of men and interact with nature and with people.
He is fully God, and should be regarded as such. He is worthy of worship. He is the Agent
through whom God communes with men. As Christ ascended into Heaven, the Spirit descended
to the earth. He is omnipresent, and the earthis full of Him. He is the source of Love, and
represents the Love between the Father and the Son. He is obedient both to the Father and the
Son, as we see both sending the Spirit out. Thus concludes the hierarchy of the Trinity, from the
Father to the Son to the Holy Spirit.
Anthropology
Man was created by God through the Holy Spirit, was made in God’s image, and
originally had community with God. At the fall, man broke this bond, and was doomed to die as
a result. Man still bears semblance of God’s image, and each man has his own spirit. Man
consists of two parts, body and spirit, and the body acts according to his spirit. However, man is
completely depraved and incapable of loving or doing good without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Every man is born into a sinful state, and so it is not his actions, but his state of being which
condemns him. Man cannot initiate his own salvation, and is completely dependent on the grace
of God to avoid eternal damnation. Without the Son of God, the grace of God would never have
come to man, but because of His death, there can be a substitution for man’s own death. It is
God’s will that man worship Him, and thus it will take place. Everything that happens leads
toward that purpose, and soon “every knee will bow” to God, and will worship Him for who He
is.
Soteriology
Since the fall, it is clear that the wages of man’s sin is death. Since then, sacrifice has had
to take place for man to atone for his sin, as an act of the grace of the Father. When Christ was
sent by the Father to the earth, he lived the perfect life and was the only unblemished Sacrifice.
Because of this, Christ could not only account for man’s action of sinning, but also for man’s
state of being sinful. For this reason, Christ’s single death is enough for all men forever, and it is
only through acknowledgement of Christ as Lord that any man may receive salvation. Man
cannot come to know Christ upon his own initiation, because man is depraved. The Holy Spirit
plays a crucial role in salvation of men, as He takes the first step, and enacts the call of the Father
toward men. The Holy Spirit speaks to the spirits of men, and leads them before the Son, and
without the Holy Spirit no man could know the saving grace of God. Man’s salvation relies on
the Trinity as a whole, and no single essence plays a more critical role than another.
Ecclesiology
The Church is the Body of Christ. It unites in accordance with the Holy Spirit, who
guides the Church and each person involved. The Holy Spirit is central to the Church, and
shapes the spirits of men to be more like Christ. This is the purpose of the Church: to become
like Christ and to spread the Gospel throughout the earth, so that everyone may know of God’s
saving grace, and may worship him accordingly. The Holy Spirit distributes “spiritual gifts”
throughout the Church, which are used for the glory of the Father and the Son. The Church
started with Peter at Pentecost, when the Spirit came upon him and he preached in tongues. God
the Father has given all authority on Earth to Christ, and since the church is His body, all
authority is given to the Church through Christ. In other words, the Father has raised the Church
above the world through the Son.
Eschatology
The end times have been ushered in through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Currently we are in the era of the Church. We will soon enter the time of the Tribulation, where
Satan will have full dominion over the earth, and there will be evil throughout the earth. All
Christians will be persecuted, and they will clearly be presented with the choice to either follow
Christ or follow Satan. After this period, Christ will return and raiseup those who have died in
Him. All those who are in Christ will reign over the earthfor 1,000 years. After this point, Christ
will raise the unbelievers as well, and will initiate the Judgment of all men. If a man believed in
Christ to be his Lord, he will ascend to Heaven and remain for all eternity. If he did not, he will
be sent to Hell, because the grace of God was not given to him. After Judgment, God will create
a new Heaven and a new Earth, and will restore its original beauty and lack of sin. Those who
are sent to Hell will live the rest of their days in burning and alone, until they are consumed and
live no longer.

Completely central to my theology is the Trinity. Nothing is more foundational to

theology as the Trinity, and everything that happens on Earth involves ALL of the Trinity. It is
not possible to focus on any other area of theology without taking into account all that each
member of the Godhead has done, for each one has played an equally important role in the
creation, salvation, regeneration, and judgment of man.