Unabridged Systematic Theology

By Lewis Sperry Chafer

[Author’s Note: The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) To set forth, even in great brevity of treatment, what the writer conceives to be a fair representation of an unabridged Systematic Theology; (2) to provide a suitable introduction to a second article to appear in the April issue presenting some of the evil effects upon ministry and church resulting from an abridged Systematic Theology; and (3) to indicate the scope of the theology to which this Quarterly is committed under its new editorial management.]

When the extensiveness of fields of research is in view, there is but one science supreme. Other sciences, however challenging to the human mind, are concerned only with things created. The science of theology, on the other hand, while properly including the contemplation of all that is created, is primarily the orderly arrangement of the knowledge of God, Creator and Lord of all. Being, as it is, so inconceivably vast in its boundlessness, this science presents in its structure many diversified elements, classified to set forth clearly all within its purview; and when all aspects of this field of research—the greatest of all branches of human investigation—are included, a transcendent science is recognized which is rightfully designated Systematic Theology. This science may be defined as the collecting, systematically arranging, comparing, exhibiting and defending of all facts concerning God and His works from any and every source.

Systematic Theology, embraced as it is in the more comprehensive Theological Encyclopedia and Methodology, is itself subject to recognized major divisions. The following is an analysis of the subject matter of this science, which analysis, it is believed, conforms to the logical order of its major divisions and represents, in brief outline, the field of truth rightfully belonging to Systematic Theology.

Bibliology

God is partially revealed in nature—“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Ps 19:9, cf. Rom 1:19, 20); but the clear and precise revelation, including the record of the revelation He has made by and through His Son (John 1:18; Heb 1:1–3), as well as that material which is disclosed to the human mind by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:12), is contained in the Scriptures of Truth. It is therefore logical that, following the usual Prolegomena, the course of study termed Bibliology which leads to the true estimation of the Bible, as well as to an understanding of its message should constitute the introduction to the study of Systematic Theology. Bibliology, however, is not so much an introduction to the Bible message—which discipline should be provided in the curriculum of study under the more extended courses known as English Bible Exposition—as it is the study of the essential facts about the Scriptures. The extensive subdivision themes of Bibliology are: Revelation, Inspiration, Vivification, Illumination, Interpretation, Preservation, and Canonicity or Authority.

Theology Proper

The Greek word for God is Theos, and theology is therefore the discourse, or reason, concerning God. The term Theology Proper indicates that portion of Systematic Theology which is restricted to the study of the facts about the Triune God—Father, Son and Spirit—apart from all their works. In gaining their present knowledge of God, men have depended upon intuition, reason, tradition and revelation. In its larger divisions, Theology Proper contemplates both Theism—the truth about the one God, and Trinitarianism—His mode of existence in three Persons. Theism is subdivided into that which is naturalistic—truth gained through other sources than the Bible, and Biblical—truth gained from the divine revelation. The naturalistic Theistic arguments are extensive, representing, as they do, the research of the greatest philosophers of past generations, and since these arguments are adapted to the capacity of the natural man, the preacher, to be effective, should know them and use them freely. On the other hand, Biblical Theism, sustained as it is by infallible revelation, presents the greatest themes with which the human mind has ever been confronted. It is a case of the finite mind attempting to comprehend Infinity. However, the finite mind is not left to strive thus unaided. God has anticipated man’s limitations and to the children of God divine illumination is granted through the indwelling Spirit. The supreme revelation of God as comprehended in Biblical Theism is approached through four lines of research, namely, the Person of God, the attributes of God, the decrees of God, and the names of God. This four-fold division of Biblical Theism, while here condensed to seventeen words, will require many weeks of classroom lectures and arduous study and research on the part of the student if no more than a general introduction to these themes be undertaken. Theism deals with abstract facts relative to the divine Essence and is concerned only with those truths which are within the very nature of Deity. Over against this, the second general division of Theology Proper—Trinitarianism—is concrete in its character, presenting to the mind the mode of God’s existence in three Persons.

Because of the extent of the divine revelation, the student of Theology must devote much time to the study of Trinitarianism. The foundation of all doctrine is secured through the right understanding of this threefold revelation concerning the Person of God the Father, the Person of God the Son, and the Person of God the Holy Spirit.

In the study of the truth relative to the First Person of the Godhead it is necessary to discover the facts related to the Fatherhood of God. In what sense and to what extent is He Father on the ground of Creation? How can He be Father in His relation to the Second Person of the Godhead, between which two there has been absolute equality throughout eternity? In what sense and under what relationships is the First Person the God of the Second Person? To what extent is the First Person the Father of all who believe?

In the study of the revelation concerning the Second Person of the Godhead, Christology, the greatest one theme of Theology, is in view. Because of the restricted character of Theology Proper, Christology, as a subdivision of it, is limited to the contemplation of the Person of Christ. As a Person, He is revealed as occupying seven positions—preincarnate, incarnate, dead, raised, ascended and seated, returning and reigning, and as having completed and as having surrendered His mediatorial service. Likewise, three essential facts as to the nature of His Person, with all their implications, must be investigated—the absolute and unalterable Deity of the Second Person in every position in which He is seen, and in every circumstance in which He is placed; His absolute and impeccable humanity secured through the incarnation; and the hypostatical union, or the combining of these two natures in one Theanthropic Person, in which union no aspect of Deity is surrendered and no supernatural exaltation of humanity is wrought. About these three great issues—the undiminished Deity, the unexalted humanity, and the hypostatical union—the Church, in all her generations, has borne her testimony and has waged her contentions.

When examining the truth relative to the Third Person of the Godhead, the entire text of the Scriptures is involved. The theme incorporates the fact of His Personality, His Deity, and His relationships to the Father and to the Son both eternally and dispensationally.

Angelology

As a major division of Systematic Theology, Angelology introduces the contemplation of the entire heavenly host—the angels unfallen and fallen, Principalities and Powers, Cherubim and Seraphim. In contemplating the unfallen angels, consideration should be given to their classification, their number, their abode, their ministries, their interests, and their appearances. In contemplating the fallen angels, consideration should be given to Satan, his origin, his first estate, his fall, his present estate, power and authority, his methods, his motives, his relationships, his present activities, his judgments in their varied aspects, and his final execution; also to the demons, their origin, number, abode, undertakings and doom.

Anthropology

In this major division of Systematic Theology, as the term implies, the discourse, or ology, relative to man is in view. Anthropology is a recognized subject in secular education where it is invariably treated extra-Biblically, or wholly apart from divine revelation. Academic Anthropology is a discourse on what man is—his natural history, embryo, body, form; and what man does—his culture, relationships, ability and activity.

As a major division of Systematic Theology, the treatment of Anthropology is restricted to its intra-Biblical aspects; that is, the Bible constitutes the only authoritative source of knowledge. Intra-Biblical Anthropology deals not only with the origin and general character of man, but develops other aspects of truth, such as moral and spiritual issues, which are not usually recognized by extra-Biblical Anthropology. It is needless to add that intra-Biblical Anthropology knows nothing of evolutionary theories or suppositions, all of which are foreign to the teachings of the Scriptures. The Bible is itself a final and complete authority in all anthropological problems. Here, as in other fields of theological truth, the student should be informed as to those speculations and theories which are engaging, and have engaged, the human mind in this and past generations. Great fields of research are open to the student of Biblical Anthropology—man’s origin, his state at creation, his constitution, the extent to which he is now in the “image and likeness” of God, his substance and inbreathed life; so, also, his moral and spiritual structure. Is he dichotomous (material and immaterial), or is he trichotomous (spirit, soul and body)? From whence does the immaterial part of Adam’s posterity originate?

Is it a transmigration or reincarnation from one form of existence to another? Is the immaterial part of man created at the time of his birth? Or, is the immaterial part of man generated by parents, as is the human body? These three theories, known respectively as “the preexistence theory,” “the creation theory,” and “the traducion theory,” have engaged the minds of theologians throughout the ages. Biblical Anthropology likewise contemplates the origin and character of the human body. It also contemplates the capacities and faculties of the immaterial part of man, his estate at creation, his probation, the tempter, the temptation, the fall, and the effect of the fall upon Adam and likewise upon his posterity. Thus, at this point and as a feature of Anthropology, the student is introduced to one of the greatest themes of Systematic Theology, namely, the doctrine of Sin. Not only does this subject assume infinite proportions, being characterized as it is by the fact that sin is contrary to standards of infinite holiness and an outrage against the infinite God, but it is properly the background of all revelation concerning the nature of God, His saving grace and power, and the destiny of all humanity and a multitude of the angels. To slight the doctrine of Sin is to weaken the structure of all divine revelation. The student of theology should be thoroughly informed as to the precise nature of sin, why it is sinful, the infinity of evil, the four major aspects of sin, the origin of sin, the first sin in heaven, the personal and federal character of Adam’s sin and its results as set forth in the doctrines of Depravity, Death, and Perdition. Logically, the study of Biblical Anthropology is concluded with an analysis of the doctrine of Imputation in its three major aspects—the imputation of Adam’s sin to the race, the imputation of the sin of man to Christ, and the imputation of the righteousness of God to those who believe unto salvation—,which study calls for an investigation of all the theories regarding Imputation, with their implications which men have advanced, and an extended exegesis of the most comprehensive Scripture—Romans 5:12–21—bearing on Imputation.

Soteriology

Having studied the doctrine of Sin in its far-reaching aspects and effects, the mind and heart are prepared to some extent for the contemplation of the even greater theme of Soteriology, or the doctrine of Salvation. Here two major divisions are obvious: (1) The Savior, and (2) Salvation through Him. The importance of a clear and accurate knowledge of Soteriology can be measured only in the light of Christ’s commission that the Gospel be preached in all the world. Because of the transcendent character of this doctrine and its rightful demands upon the preacher for accuracy of statement, there is imposed an unrevoked anathema from God upon all who misrepresent it (Gal 1:7–9). It is reasonable to conclude that men are not prepared to preach the Gospel in its fullness and precise features who have made no extended and comprehensive study of Soteriology.

Since in Theology Proper only the Person of Christ is contemplated in the division devoted to the Second Person of the Godhead, it is reserved to Soteriology to set forth His saving work on the Cross. As a true preparation for this great division of Theology, Christ must be seen in all His varied positions and ministries, as Prophet, Priest, and King, in His sonships, and in His relationships.

The saving work of Christ in its fullness is based on His sufferings in life, His sufferings in death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension, His present session, and His return. According to the Scriptures, the great theme of Salvation is presented in three tenses: (1) past, or salvation unto eternal life and from the guilt and penalty of sin; (2) present, or salvation unto sanctification and from the reigning power of sin; and (3) future, or salvation unto eternal perfection and glory and from the presence of sin. Almost every feature of Christology is anticipated in the types, foreshadowings, and prophecies of the Old Testament; especially enriched is this portion of the Scriptures as it bears on His sufferings in life, His sufferings in death, and His resurrection. In fact, it is probable that what may be termed the central passage of the whole Bible on the sufferings and death of Christ is to be found in the first five chapters of Leviticus. The wealth of truth there revealed is not on the surface, but is disclosed only to the spiritual mind which is exercised by long and patient study. First importance must always be given to the direct, antitypical statements found in the New Testament; but these are enriched beyond estimation by the typical teachings of the Old Testament, including Abel’s lamb, Isaac, the Passover, various features of the Tabernacle, the five offerings, the two birds, the red heifer, and the day of Atonement. So, also, the student should recognize the place given in each book of the Bible to the sufferings and death of Christ. The result of such extended personal research is both imperative and priceless.

Salvation, as wrought by God in grace, incorporates at least twelve important subdivisions or doctrines, namely, Redemption, Reconciliation, Propitiation, Conviction, Repentance, Faith, Regeneration, Forgiveness, Justification, Sanctification, Preservation, and Glorification. The extent of this field of truth is obvious. Added to this, the student should be familiar with the multiplied details which enter into the divine objectives in the death of Christ, including the following: He became a substitute for sinners, presenting His own merit in their behalf and bearing the condemnation due them because of demerit; He became the end of the law for all those that believe; He dealt finally and perfectly with all pre-Cross sins; He became a redemption toward sin, a reconciliation toward man, and a propitiation toward God; He spoiled Principalities and Powers; He provided the ground for the cleansing and forgiving of the Christian who has sinned; and on the ground of His sacrifice God will yet take away Israel’s sins and purge both earth and heaven. A worthy knowledge of Soteriology includes the theories, both true and false, as to the extent of the value of Christ’s sufferings and death. Was it a limited, or was it a universal, redemption? What are the distinctive features of, and relationships between, the doctrines of Election, Foreordination, Predestination, and Foreknowledge? While the preacher may not be called upon to present all aspects of Soteriology to his hearers, he should know the weakness of those rationalistic systems of theology which place divine foreknowledge before and as conditioning predestination, and determine what is the Scriptural order of the elective, divine decrees, recognizing the hidden errors which follow as a result of each and every disarrangement of this order. As the eternal God is the center of Theology Proper, so His eternal purpose in the salvation of the lost is the center of Soteriology. Until he has carefully considered the extended arguments which the great theologians have presented on each side of the question, one is not prepared to speak with commendable certainty as to whether Christ died for the elect only, or whether He died for the whole world.

The first division of Soteriology will be incomplete if it does not include and make a large place for the six-fold ministry of Christ in relation to His ascension and His present session in Heaven. This study involves a recognition of the typical aspects of the Day of Atonement and the Wave Sheaf in their relation to the Ascension, the Headship of Christ over the Church, and the present High-Priestly service of Christ for the redeemed.

The second main division of Soteriology is an analysis of the plan of salvation and the various divine undertakings which together comprise it. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9) is a Scripture which is both accurate and full of meaning. What the individual may do for God is an important field of study and is properly a feature of Ecclesiology; however, Salvation, from its first contemplation in the divine mind to its consummation in eternal glory, is ever and only a work of God for the individual. The worthy preacher or teacher will preserve this crucial distinction between the work of God for man and the work of man for God, and be able to pursue each of these lines of truth to their last ramification without complication.

While Salvation had its origin in the before-time covenant of the Triune God, the first step in its realization is the finished work of Christ through His incarnation, sufferings, and death. Because of the satisfaction to divine justice and outraged holiness which is provided in the vicarious sufferings and substitutionary death of Christ, infinite love is now free to lavish its blessings upon the sinner. All subsequent divine undertakings in man’s salvation are rendered righteously possible only on the ground of the finished work of Christ. Without condemnation, or judgment, without money and without price, the meritless sinner may be transformed into the image of Christ and placed eternally in the highest Heaven. The Cross alone does not save men; it rather renders them savable. Salvation is the present exercise of the saving power of God toward those who believe. This power is manifested in certain divine undertakings, as follows: (1) The convicting work of the Spirit, by which the individual is enlightened and enabled to understand the way of salvation by grace and thus is made capable of an intelligent acceptance of Christ as Savior. (2) the saving work of God, which division of truth includes the stupendous transforming miracles which are wrought of God in and for the individual at the moment he exercises saving faith in Christ. There are no less than thirty-three of these transformations and the knowledge of them is essential if the saving work of God is to be comprehended or presented in its fullness. (3) The keeping work of God, which doctrine incorporates the Biblical reasons as to why the one once saved continues saved forever. There are at least twelve of these Biblical reasons; but the preacher or teacher should know the extended arguments against the safe-keeping of the child of God which have been advanced by rationalistic systems of thought, the refuting of which demands the most scholarly and unprejudiced exegesis of very much Scripture. (4) The delivering and empowering work of the Spirit, which two-fold undertaking is distinctly an aspect of salvation in the present tense, namely, salvation from the reigning power of sin and from the limitations of human weakness and failure into the overcoming victory by the Spirit of God. (5) The presenting work, when the saved one is presented faultless before the presence of His Glory.

No true and worthy analysis of Salvation will be comprehensive which does not enter fully into the various aspects of the saving work of the Father, the saving work of the Son, and the saving work of the Spirit.

Ecclesiology

This, the sixth major division of Systematic Theology, contemplates the New Testament doctrine of the Church. The theme is naturally divided into three subdivisions: (1) the Pauline revelation of a new order or class of humanity, namely, a redeemed company taken from both Jews and Gentiles, and, together with the resurrected Christ, forming a New Creation which is His body and His bride; (2) the outward or visible church, the assembly of those in any place who gather in the name of Christ; and (3) the walk and service of those who are saved.

The first main division of Ecclesiology presents a body of truth of surpassing importance. Apart from the right understanding of this subject there will be no conception of the heavenly purpose of God in and through the Church in contrast to His earthly purpose in Israel, no conception of the divine purpose in the present age, no basis for a true evaluation of all those new realities and relationships which were made possible and established through the death and resurrection of Christ, no worthy comprehension of the present ministries of the Spirit of God, and no sufficient basis of appeal for the God-honoring life and service of the believer.

The true Church sustains a relation to the First Person of the Godhead which is, that He is Father, with all that this implies; a relation to the Second Person of the Godhead set forth in the following seven figures: the Shepherd and the sheep, the Vine and the branches, the Corner stone and the stones of the building, the High Priest and the kingdom of priests, the Last Adam and the New Creation, the Head and the body, the Bridegroom and the bride; and a four-fold relation to the Third Person of the Godhead, namely, they are born of the Spirit, indwelt of the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, and sealed by the Spirit. The extent of the body of truth related to the true Church may be indicated in the fact that the entire doctrine of the Resurrection of Christ is properly introduced at this point and that its entire scope of achievement is only a feature of one of the relationships which exists between Christ and the Church—the Last Adam and the New Creation—,and that a major part of the doctrinal portions of the New Testament bear directly, or indirectly, upon the limitless theme of the New Creation in Christ Jesus. In addition to the relationships which the Church sustains to the Triune God, there are other important relations to be considered, including her relation to the Kingdom of God, to the Kingdom of Heaven, to the angels, to the world, to saints of other dispensations, to the nation Israel, to service, and to judgment.

The second division of Ecclesiology is concerned with its outward, organized or recognized assembly which, though one in the divine reckoning, has been divided and subdivided into many sectarian groups. The New Testament presents plain instructions relative to the visible church as to her organization, with specific mention of those who are to exercise authority, as to her ordinances, her order, her gifts, and her ministries.

The third main division of Ecclesiology contemplates the daily life and service of those who are saved. In ascertaining by what rule the Christian should walk, recognition must be given to the three independent and complete governing systems presented in the Bible which are designed each in turn to regulate human conduct. The first, given by Moses and addressed to Israel; the second, composed of the teachings of grace and addressed to the Church; the third, incorporating the rule of life which will obtain in the yet future Messianic Kingdom on the earth. Not only is the believer of this age saved from the legal, meritorious responsibility which characterizes the first and third of these three systems, but he has been saved, likewise, from the burden of inherent law, which is none other than the normal, meritorious obligation which rests on every moral creature to be like his Creator. Christ, having provided the saved one with every merit that infinite holiness can demand, no other obligation remains upon the saved one than to walk worthy of so high a calling. The perfect standing of the believer is assumed in all the hortatory portions of the New Testament epistles and these injunctions are addressed only to the children of God under grace. A clear comprehension of this grace system, which alone directs Christian conduct, is most essential if the child of God is to be intelligent in his life and service for God. At this point the whole provision of God for a supernatural manner of life is introduced, being indicated as it is by the fact that these injunctions are, in the main, supernatural in their character.

This section of Ecclesiology concludes with the recognition of the believer’s positions and possessions in Christ, his associations, his life, his contacts and deeds, his warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil, his contests, and his witness.

Eschatology

Eschatology is the last major division of Systematic Theology and treats of things to come. Although included in practically every existing system of theology, it is by these systems limited to a recognition of a coming general resurrection, a general judgment, a slight reference to Christ’s second coming, to heaven, and to hell, Eschatology should include all in the Bible which was prediction at the time it was written. Fully one-fifth of the text of the Scriptures is thus classified as predictive prophecy. Like other divisions of Systematic Theology, Eschatology introduces the student to a field of research which is limitless. Certain simple, clarifying distinctions are fundamental to the right understanding of this great theme. (1) Prophecy is rightly divided at this or any given time into that which is fulfilled and that which is unfulfilled. (2) It is divided, also, into that found in the Old Testament and that found in the New Testament. At least seven major themes of prophecy are presented in the Old Testament, namely, prophecy concerning the Gentiles, including the predicted divine judgments on the nations surrounding Israel; concerning Israel’s early history; concerning the nation itself; concerning Israel’s last dispersion and regathering; the Advent of Messiah, including His tribe, His Davidic lineage, His virgin birth, His death, His resurrection, and all those events which the New Testament has classed as having been fulfilled in the first Advent of Christ; the Great Tribulation; Messiah’s Kingdom and the Day of the Lord. Likewise, at least nine major themes of prophecy are indicated in the New Testament. These are: prophecy concerning the present, hitherto unannounced age; the new divine purpose in the out-calling of the Church from both Jews and Gentiles, and her rapture; the nation Israel; the Gentiles; the Great Tribulation; Satan and the forces of evil; the second coming of Christ; the Messianic Kingdom; and the eternal state. (3) Prophecy as definitely within, and related to, periods of time—Adam to Abraham; Abraham to Moses; Moses to Daniel; Daniel to Christ; from Christ’s first Advent to His second Advent; from the beginning to the end of the Messianic Kingdom; and the eternal state in both the new heavens and the new earth. (4) Ten major highways of prophecy are to be traced through the Bible which, it will be seen, are like great trunk lines, and which end in the terminal book of the Bible. Naturally, no clear understanding of the book of Revelation will be gained apart from the recognition of it as the consummation of all predictive prophecy, nor will predictive prophecy be complete apart from an understanding of its consummation in the Apocalypse. These highways are: that of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the subdivisions wherein He is anticipated as Prophet, Priest, King, Messiah and Seed; that of the Church; that of the resurrection and translation of the saints; that of the Great Tribulation; that of Satan and Evil; that of the Man of Sin; that of the course and end of Apostate Christendom; that of the beginning, course, and end of Gentile times; that of the second coming of Christ with all its associated events and relationships; and that of Israel’s covenants and their realization, incorporating, as they do, five eternal facts and features, namely, a national entity, a land, a throne, a King and an earthly kingdom. (5) Upwards of forty-five major events, which are the outstanding features of all prediction and which together form the prophetic story, should be enumerated in their chronological order, citing the Scripture bearing on each. (6) Eight judgments are to be recognized, though not all of them are subjects of predictive prophecy. These are: the judgment of all sin in the Cross; chastisement from the Father; the believer’s judgment of himself by the confession of sin; the judgment of the nation Israel preceding her entrance into her kingdom glory; the judgment of the believer’s works before the judgment seat of Christ; the judgment of the nations; the judgment of the fallen angels; and the Great White Throne judgment. (7) Eschatology is properly concluded with the contemplation of the future estate of angels and men, of the fact of the new heavens and the new earth. False theories of the future estate of man must be exposed, including annihilation, transmigration, soul-sleeping, restorationism, the Roman Catholic theory of purgatory, and all suppositions relative to a so-called “second chance.” Most essential to the faithful preaching of the Gospel is the extended research into all that is included in the doctrine of the future estate of the unsaved. So, in like manner, the extended knowledge of the revealed facts regarding the future estate of the saved is an invaluable preparation for that ministry which will encourage and strengthen the saints, proffer the divinely ordained consolation to the bereaved, the suffering, and the dying.

Conclusion

Since there are many independent or isolated doctrines found in the Bible which do not readily find an appropriate place in Systematic Theology, there is always need for additional courses of discipline for the pursuance of these important themes. Some of these subjects are: Abiding in Christ, Adoption, Assurance, Authority, Babylon, Baptism, Blasphemy, Blindness, Blood, Carnality, Chastisement, Cleansing, Confession, Conversion, Conscience, Conviction, Creeds, Days, Darkness, Evangelists, Faith, Flesh, Genealogy, Gospel, Government, Healing, Heart, Holiness, Hope, Humility, Infant Salvation, Inheritance, Intercession, Jerusalem, Judaism, Life, Lord’s Day, Lord’s Supper, Marriage, Ministry, Miracle, Mystery, Names, Numbers, Obedience, Ordination, Ordinance, Peace, Perfection, Power, Praise, Prayer, Preaching, Rewards, Sabbath, Sacrifice, Saint, Sanctification, Separation, Standing and State, Stewardship, Suffering, Tabernacle and Temple, Temptation, Throne, Tithing, Tongues, Transfiguration, Types, Woman, World, Zion.

Lewis Sperry Chafer