Doing Theology in the Church

Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley

While opposing the world, the theologian does not do his work in isolation, but as a member of the body of Christ. The apostle Paul does not sharply distinguish theological training from teaching the church, but says, “The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men” (2 Tim. 2:2). Malachi tells us that in a proud and irreverent generation, “they that feared the Lord spake often one to another” (Mal. 3:16). Perseverance in sound doctrine and holy living requires relationships of mutual encouragement (Heb. 3:13; 10:23–25).

Trinitarian theology must emulate the Trinity. As we discussed earlier, our theology is image theology, grounded upon God’s statement, “Let us make man in our image” (Gen. 1:26). The “us” and “our” remind us that God is his own community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, as people created in God’s image and redeemed in Christ, we must do theology in God’s image by developing friendships and working partnerships with others in the oneness of our fellowship in Christ.

In his great prayer to the Father, the Son of God wove together the revelation of God’s name (theology), the preservation and sanctification of believers in this world (spiritual growth), effective missions in the world, and the growing unity of God’s people (John 17). He implied that none of these concerns can be separated from the others. Therefore, in our practice of theology, we must hear and respond to the will of the Father and the Son, who prayed that “they may be one, as we are.… They all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.… I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one” (vv. 11, 21, 23). The study of theology apart from a deepening oneness with Christ’s church is contrary to God’s will.¹

1. Beeke, Joel R., and Paul M. Smalley. 2019. Reformed Systematic Theology: Revelation and God. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.