What is biblical theology?

Biblical theology (BT) is the exegetical and theological discipline that studies the Bible in accordance with its own internal literary principles and conceptual categories in order to understand all that God intended to reveal through the human authors whom He inspired. The discipline is broad and can include a number of methods and approaches. However, at the most fundamental level, biblical theologians are biblical interpreters; as such, the focus of study in BT is always the meaning of the canonical text on its own terms.

CEBT believes Evangelical biblical theology must be…

Exegetical: we believe evangelical BT is rooted in and directed towards the interpretation of the biblical texts with a view to their intended meaning. While we understand and treasure the dual authorship of Scripture, we do not pit the divine and human authors against one another; instead, we believe that the divine author has expressed his intentions through the communicative intents of the human authors whom he inspired. As such, we believe the intentions of the human authors of Scripture are inextricably bound to the meaning of the Bible, and we believe that the task of biblical theology involves the explication of the Bible’s intended meaning.

Descriptive and Normative: we believe evangelical biblical theologians should seek to faithfully interpret the meaning of the biblical texts according to the intentions of their original authors and in the light of the Bible’s overarching, canonical context precisely so that the one true and living God might be rightly believed, obeyed, and worshipped by his people. Far from being a merely academic exercise, we believe the practice of BT is meant to shape God’s people through fostering a true understanding of God’s word so that we might be able to live lives of ever-increasing obedience to God.

Inductive: we believe the Bible should be allowed to set the agenda concerning the subjects and concepts that biblical theologians seek to explore. This does not mean that extra-biblical terms cannot be employed in the study of the biblical texts; however, BT seeks to avoid (1) studying concepts that are foreign to the expressed interests of the biblical authors and (2) using extra-biblical concepts as frameworks for reading the biblical texts. Moreover, evangelical BT also seeks to attend to the Bible’s own organizational and structural principles in its pursuit of the Bible’s meaning.

Canonical: we believe that evangelical biblical theologians must attend to the unique witness of every particular biblical text while also remaining cognizant of the fact that all the biblical materials function together to form a unified canon. We believe that the canon provides the proper literary and theological context for interpretation. Moreover, we believe that the canon as a whole has an intended meaning that ought to be pursued.

Inner-biblical: we believe that evangelical BT must pay attention to how later biblical authors interpret, quote, allude to, or otherwise make use of earlier biblical texts. This is a function of the exegetical, inductive, and canonical aspects of the discipline.

Intermediate: we believe evangelical BT serves as a bridge-discipline between exegesis and systematic theology (ST). On the one hand, we believe BT must proceed from the careful exegesis of biblical texts; on the other hand, we believe the discipline of BT serves to provide the necessary foundation for faithful, evangelical ST. While BT is closely related to both exegesis and ST, we believe BT is also properly distinguished from both by its scope and its concerns.

Confessional: we believe evangelical BT operates on the basis of fundamental, biblical convictions that bind all evangelicals together; these convictions are derived from the Scriptures, and they include a certain set of beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, and the Scriptures themselves.

God-centered: we believe evangelical BT seeks as its ultimate goal the knowledge of God through the word of God for the glory of God. Moreover, we view this goal as being in keeping with the fundamental intentions of the biblical authors as expressed in the Scriptures.

CEBT’s Confessional Commitments

All partners of CEBT subscribe to the three historic Christian creeds (the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Chalcedonian Creed) and to World Evangelical Alliance’s statement of faith. We subscribe to these documents because we believe that they give faithful expression to the teachings of the Scriptures.