The World Is Gods Classroom

Article by J.A. Medders

Theology is all around you, ripe for the picking. Take, eat: Taste and
see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8).
Having a right and rotund theology of God is vital to our discipleship
with Jesus Christ. Theology isnt meant to be quarantined to books on
shelves, or chained to the grounds of a seminarys campus. Theology is
for everyday Christianity, for us ordinary Christians, for all of life, in
all of life, for the glory of God. Theology is always relevant because God
is omni-relevant.
Theology is everywhere because God is everywhere. His omnipresence
provides a fresh lens for the present. Its easy to take cheap shots at
theology as being a mere mind-filler, but thanks be to God it is more.
We must see that, yes, theology is for the mind, but it is for loving God
with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our
neighbors as ourselves. To belittle theology is to belittle our God who
architected the universe to be an animated systematic theology. God
loves theology. Gods world is a free seminary course for every saint
under the sun.

The World Is a Seminary

God tells us in the Psalms that he is theologizing teaching, training,
informing us about himself. The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). Again,
The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his
glory (Psalm 97:6).
Paul co-signs the Psalms, His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the
creation of the world, in the things that have been made (Romans
1:20). In this seminary, God is the professor, God is the subject, and
our required textbooks are his word and his world.
Think about how often God tells us to look at his creation and our
surroundings to learn about him and our faith.

Solomon tells us to look at ants (Proverbs 6:6), angry

mama bears (Proverbs 17:12), and strong rope so we can
learn how to live wisely under the sun (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Jesus tells us to consider the birds in order to help

squash our worries and fears as we trust our gracious Father
(Matthew 6:26).

God tells Abram to look at the stars (Genesis 15:5).

The psalmist compares the sweetness of Gods word with

delicious high-fructose honey (Psalms 119:103).

Jesus tells us to think of trees and their fruit as we think

about our discipleship with him (John 15:45).

Paul tells us to think about athletes, soldiers, and

farmers as we think about endurance and steadfastness in the
Christian life (2 Timothy 2:46).

Peter tells us to look at newborn babies who crave their

milk to show us how we need the word of God if weve
tasted his goodness (1 Peter 2:23).
Do we have ears to hear, eyes to see, buds to taste? Does the expanse of
the universe give us insight to the eternality of God? Do the redwoods
of California teach us about the majesty of God? Does a mother hen
gathering her chicks remind us of Gods heart to gather sinners unto
himself? Does Steph Curry and his work ethic echo the value of
pursuing godliness? Does the aroma of filet mignon on a charcoal grill
remind us to walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for
us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2)?
Far from belittling theology, God provides unending object lessons for
us. His world is filled with purposeful echoes of him. We didnt luck out
that the world helps us grasp the contours of God and his ways. God
designed it this way. God embedded lines of code into the universe,
revealing his attributes, teaching us how to think, feel, respond, love,
taste, and behold how to live for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Our textbooks are his world, his word, and the Word made flesh.

Jesus Is Our Theology

Jesus is our master, our teacher, our friend, our Lord. He is our
theology with ten fingers and ten toes. He is our theologian supreme.
Without him, we cannot understand theology. He, the Logos, makes
God, the Theos, known (John 1:18). Our theology must be centered
on this glorious gospel of God, for without it without him we do
not have Christian theology. If God is not our center, weve lost what it
means to be Christian. The gospel is our theology, and from it the rest
of Christian theology flows.
The apostle Paul told the Corinthians, I decided to know nothing
among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians
2:2). This doesnt mean Paul taught the Corinthians nothing but the
gospel; rather, he taught them everything in relation to the gospel of
the crucified and resurrected Nazarene. We cannot experience, or
know, any doctrine until weve experienced the gospel. When the cross
becomes more than a borrowed and blood-encrusted log to becoming
your life and your all, the meaning of theology opens up to you the
world opens up to you. As Charles Spurgeon says,
As for theology, Christ is the true theology the incarnate
Word of God; and if you can comprehend him you have
grasped all truth. He is made unto us wisdom; getting him you
have the wisdom of the Scriptures. The quintessence of the
word of God is Christ. Distill the book and reach its
essential quality, and you have discovered Jesus of Nazareth,

the Son of God, and the King of the Jews. He is the Alpha and
Omega of holy Scripture. (Pulpit Sermons, 711712)
Jesus, the God-man, is the center of all true theology, of all doctrine, of
the Bible itself (John 5:39; 1 Corinthians 15:34). Further, he is the
bulls-eye of the universe (Ephesians 1:10). All things exist for Jesus
(Colossians 1:1617) including our theology.
Calvinism exists for the fame of God. Systematic and biblical theology
exist for the name of God. The resurrected God-man is the lifeblood of
all Christian theology. He makes knowing theology possible, and he
makes theology enjoyable. Without the regenerating and illuminating
power of the Spirit of Christ, we wouldnt be able to acknowledge, agree
with, and adore the doctrine of the Trinity, the inspiration and
inerrancy of Scripture, substitutionary atonement, the resurrection to
come, and the new earth.
Once we have been born again, the blinders are ripped from our eyes,
and we begin to behold what ants, volcanoes, Scripture, preachers, and
books have been proclaiming: the glory of God. And we all, with
unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed
into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2
Corinthians 3:18).
From a Galilean hill to a neighborhood coffee shop, and in the
sweetness of a pineapple to the rising of the sun, class is in session.
Bibles open. We are all theologians in Gods seminary. Welcome.