| Chapter 15. The Theologian | ||||
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and th self same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. II CORINTHIANS 12:1-11. | ||||
This sermon, and the two succeeding sermons were given with students of theology especially in mind. Most of us are students of theology, whether we teach or learn, whether we be missionaries or educators, ministers or social workers, administrators or political leaders. But in this particular community, we are theologians, persons who ask the question of our ultimate concern, the question of God and His manifestation. Whatever else we may be, we are first of all theologians. Therefore, it is most natural, although not most usual, for us to consider our existence as theologians. On what is this existence based? What makes a man a theologian? What is his relation to other forms of existence? What is the significance of our existence as a whole? Paul makes very clear what he thinks is the foundation of all theology: the Divine Spirit. And the word of wisdom and knowledge, theology, according to the witness of the whole Christian Church, is basically a gift of the Spirit. It is one of the gifts, besides othes. It is a special gift, besides other special gifts. But it is a gift of the Spirit, and not a natural capacity. The word of knowledge theology is spoken to us before we can say it to others, or even to ourselves. To be a theologian means first of all to be able to receive spiritual knowledge. But on the basis of this criterion, can we call ourselves theologians? Can we say that our theological thought is a gift of the Spirit? Are we certain that our theological existence transcends our human capacities, or that we have the word of knowledge, the word of spiritual wisdom? | ||||
Paul gives a very concrete criterion for theological existence, which is also the criterion for all spiritual existence. He says: He who cries "Cursed be Jesus" does not speak in the Spirit of God; and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. He who accepts Jesus as the Christ proves by that very acceptance that he has received the Spirit of God. For the spirit of man alone is not capable of making the statement: "I accept Jesus as the Christ. That statement is the mystery and the foundation of the Christian Church, the paradox and the stumbling-block, which produce curses against Christianity. It is the depth and the power which create a new Being in the world, in history, and in man. Therefore, he who joins in the Church's confession that Jesus is the Christ participates in the Divine Spirit. It is he who can receive the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge; it is he who can become a theologian. | ||||
Theology does not exist outside the community of those who affirm that Jesus is the Christ, outside the Church, the assembly of God. Theology is a work of the Church, precisely because it is a gift of the Divine Spirit. Theological existence is an element of the existence of the Church. It is not simply a matter of "free" thinking, of scientific research, or of general philosophical analysis. Theology expresses the faith of the Church. It restates the paradoxical statement, Jesus is the Christ, and considers all its presuppositions and implications. Theological existence indicates the existence of one who is grasped, within the Church, by the Divine Spirit, and who has received the word of wisdom and knowledge. | ||||
But we must ask another question. If that be theological existence, which one of us can call himself a theologian? Who can decide to become a theologian? And who can dare to remain a theologian? Do we really belong to the assembly of God? Can we seriously accept the paradox upon which the Church is built, the paradox that Jesus is the Christ? Are we grasped by the Divine Spirit, and have we received the word of knowledge as a gift? If somebody were to come and tell us that he certainly belongs to the Church, that he does not doubt that Jesus is the Christ any longer, that he continuously experiences the grip of the Divine Spirit and the gift of spiritual knowledge, what should be our answer to him? We certainly should tell him that he does not fulfill even the first condition of theological existence, which is the realization that one does not know whether he has experienced the Divine Spirit, or spirits which are not divine. We would not accept him as a theologian. On the other hand, if someone were to come and tell us that he is estranged from the Christian Church and its foundations, that he does not feel the presence of the power of the Spirit, that he is empty of spiritual knowledge, but that he asks again and again the theological question, the question of an ultimate concern and its manifestations in Jesus as the Christ, we would accept him as a theologian. Perhaps we would test the seriousness of his doubt, in order to see whether his emptiness and despair expressed a new and more refined vanity. But if we were convinced of his seriousness, we would consider him a theologian. | ||||
There are many amongst us who believe within themselves that they can never become good theologians, that they could do better in almost any other realm. Yet they cannot imagine that their existence could be anything other than theological existence. Even if they had to give up theology as their vocational work, they would never cease to ask the theological question. It would pursue them into every realm. They would be bound to it, actually, if not vocationally. They could not be sure that they could fulfill its demands, but they would be sure that they were in its bondage. They who believe those things in their hearts belong to the assembly of God. They are grasped by the Divine Spirit. They have received the gift of knowledge. They are theologians. | ||||