Theology is our thinking!! Not the Lord's!!

[Karl Peters]

Theology is our understanding of God. We are all going to have our understanding of God, but it is not what we are to lean on!!
We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to do that you must believe that He is always with us, like He said..

Now the Lord once asked me, "Karl, who do you think have a better understanding of Me - Theologians or Abraham?"

I thought about it and answered the Lord that, "I think Abraham had a better understanding of You, Lord."

He answered me, "So then a relationship gives you a better understanding than study."

That does not mean we shouldn't read and study the Bible, but when it comes to really knowing the Lord our God Jesus Christ, a personal relationship is better to understand Him than you study of the Bible. This explains why the Pharisees did not know Jesus Christ when He came in the flesh, but those in relationship with God, like Simeon and Anna, did even though He was just a child when they saw Him. (Luke 2)

Therefore, our theology (our understanding of God) must be developed while walking and talking with Him personally, and even then we must understand that His thoughts are still not our thoughts!!!

Luke 24:32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

This is how it should be; that we wind up walking with Him as He explains things like the Scriptures to us, and those explanations of His to us develop our understanding (our theology). Of course, it is not the actual walking but the listening to Him (whether walking or sitting) that is important to develop the relationship. The "Walking" is simply to point out the you and Him are going together through life. Yet we should all have testimony a plenty about what He says to us! And those to help us an others to remember to actually seek Him and listen to Him, and to not lean on our own understanding, our own theology, our own religion. We are to lean on our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ!

I enjoy my walks with the Lord, and the things He tells me then. Truth be told, I do more talking that He does, but He gets a whole more said per word than I do. Let me share just a few testimonies from these many many walks we have had, that have developed my theology:

One morning the moon was seen high in the west and I was walking directly towards it when He made a comparison between my walking towards Him to my walking towards the moon. He explained that even if the moon was to stand still in the sky and if I could walk directly to it, I could still not reach it in my life time because it was too high for me to reach and get too. In the same way, He explained, I could walk towards His understanding my entire life and still not reach it. He brought up the verse about how as high as the heavens are above the earth so are His thoughts above our thoughts.

The point being that of this thread; which is that no matter how much you walk with God to understand God you are never going to understand God. What you can do though, is listen to Him and get His instructions and teaching given to you personally.

Another time He told me this little phrase, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

When I heard it I responded back to Him something like, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Because it sound pretty crazy to me.

He explains that for those going to heaven and spending eternity there, they must know Him. Yet for others they also must know what they must know to get to where they are going. There are some here pointing on this forum who have made their lives about knowing the Bible, the Christian religion, and who are seeking after theology, and there are some here who have figured out by their theology that it is all about actually knowing Jesus Christ personally. And all should know that even God understands that you need to know what you need to know to get to where you are rightfully going. People - it is not about your theology, your understanding of God, but it is about His understanding. Don't get that confused! It effects where you are going to.

This brings me to the parable of two towns, that He told me.

Once upon a time there was a town called Two because it had two people in the town. Now two miles away there was another town, called Too because it too had two people in the town. Now the two judges in the land came to Two and went to Too too because they wanted to judge whether Two or Too should be required to change their name. The judges decided to hold court at two in Too in two days.

So, in two days the two judges with the two of Two travel the two miles to Too. So at two in Too the two judges and the two of Too and the two of Two too held the hearing,

Of course it didn’t take but two minutes to decide that since neither of the two towns had the same name there was nothing that could be done. So at two after two both the two of Too and the two of Two hugged the two judges because the two of Too and the two of Two loved the names of Two and Too too.

People - there are two towns spiritually speaking that you can live in.

One is where you and the Lord personally live together walking and talking with each other. In that town you come to know Him as The Word of God because He is God the Son and He has the words of God and speaks them to you.

Then there is a town where the Bible is the Word of God to you and you and that book called the Bible live together. You study the Bible, live by the rules you perceive written in the Bible and the Bible becomes the Word of God to you. Yet you miss the fact that you are supposed to be living with Jesus Christ and listening to Him. Therefore the Bible becomes the Word of God to you and your god.

Now there are two judges around. One being the Lord and the other being Satan, and they both agree that there is no law against having the same word meaning to different things. So both Jesus Christ and the Scriptures can legally be called "The Word of God", and the people (the Christians) love that. Both those Christians who really do know Jesus Christ and spend time walking and listening to Him, and also those who really don't know Jesus Christ, so they depend on their knowing the Bible.

So again, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

 

[Arthur81]

Theology is our understanding of God. We are all going to have our understanding of God, but it is not what we are to lean on!!
We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to do that you must believe that He is always with us, like He said..

Now the Lord once asked me, "Karl, who do you think have a better understanding of Me - Theologians or Abraham?"

I thought about it and answered the Lord that, "I think Abraham had a better understanding of You, Lord."

He answered me, "So then a relationship gives you a better understanding than study."

That does not mean we shouldn't read and study the Bible, but when it comes to really knowing the Lord our God Jesus Christ, a personal relationship is better to understand Him than you study of the Bible. This explains why the Pharisees did not know Jesus Christ when He came in the flesh, but those in relationship with God, like Simeon and Anna, did even though He was just a child when they saw Him. (Luke 2)

Therefore, our theology (our understanding of God) must be developed while walking and talking with Him personally, and even then we must understand that His thoughts are still not our thoughts!!!

Luke 24:32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

This is how it should be; that we wind up walking with Him as He explains things like the Scriptures to us, and those explanations of His to us develop our understanding (our theology). Of course, it is not the actual walking but the listening to Him (whether walking or sitting) that is important to develop the relationship. The "Walking" is simply to point out the you and Him are going together through life. Yet we should all have testimony a plenty about what He says to us! And those to help us an others to remember to actually seek Him and listen to Him, and to not lean on our own understanding, our own theology, our own religion. We are to lean on our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ!

I enjoy my walks with the Lord, and the things He tells me then. Truth be told, I do more talking that He does, but He gets a whole more said per word than I do. Let me share just a few testimonies from these many many walks we have had, that have developed my theology:

One morning the moon was seen high in the west and I was walking directly towards it when He made a comparison between my walking towards Him to my walking towards the moon. He explained that even if the moon was to stand still in the sky and if I could walk directly to it, I could still not reach it in my life time because it was too high for me to reach and get too. In the same way, He explained, I could walk towards His understanding my entire life and still not reach it. He brought up the verse about how as high as the heavens are above the earth so are His thoughts above our thoughts.

The point being that of this thread; which is that no matter how much you walk with God to understand God you are never going to understand God. What you can do though, is listen to Him and get His instructions and teaching given to you personally.

Another time He told me this little phrase, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

When I heard it I responded back to Him something like, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Because it sound pretty crazy to me.

He explains that for those going to heaven and spending eternity there, they must know Him. Yet for others they also must know what they must know to get to where they are going. There are some here pointing on this forum who have made their lives about knowing the Bible, the Christian religion, and who are seeking after theology, and there are some here who have figured out by their theology that it is all about actually knowing Jesus Christ personally. And all should know that even God understands that you need to know what you need to know to get to where you are rightfully going. People - it is not about your theology, your understanding of God, but it is about His understanding. Don't get that confused! It effects where you are going to.

This brings me to the parable of two towns, that He told me.

Once upon a time there was a town called Two because it had two people in the town. Now two miles away there was another town, called Too because it too had two people in the town. Now the two judges in the land came to Two and went to Too too because they wanted to judge whether Two or Too should be required to change their name. The judges decided to hold court at two in Too in two days.

So, in two days the two judges with the two of Two travel the two miles to Too. So at two in Too the two judges and the two of Too and the two of Two too held the hearing,

Of course it didn’t take but two minutes to decide that since neither of the two towns had the same name there was nothing that could be done. So at two after two both the two of Too and the two of Two hugged the two judges because the two of Too and the two of Two loved the names of Two and Too too.

People - there are two towns spiritually speaking that you can live in.

One is where you and the Lord personally live together walking and talking with each other. In that town you come to know Him as The Word of God because He is God the Son and He has the words of God and speaks them to you.

Then there is a town where the Bible is the Word of God to you and you and that book called the Bible live together. You study the Bible, live by the rules you perceive written in the Bible and the Bible becomes the Word of God to you. Yet you miss the fact that you are supposed to be living with Jesus Christ and listening to Him. Therefore the Bible becomes the Word of God to you and your god.

Now there are two judges around. One being the Lord and the other being Satan, and they both agree that there is no law against having the same word meaning to different things. So both Jesus Christ and the Scriptures can legally be called "The Word of God", and the people (the Christians) love that. Both those Christians who really do know Jesus Christ and spend time walking and listening to Him, and also those who really don't know Jesus Christ, so they depend on their knowing the Bible.

So again, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

Karl Peters, you have posted demonic nonsense!!

You begin "Theology is our understanding of God. We are all going to have our understanding of God, but it is not what we are to lean on!!" Then you continue to explain -

"We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to do that you must believe that He is always with us, like He said.." You quote from Mt 4:4 , that which is written for us. You then write -

"Now the Lord once asked me, 'Karl, who do you think have a better understanding of Me - Theologians or Abraham?'" So the Lord speaks to you personally, from his mouth to your ear? ... because I do not find that question of God to you in the scriptures.

It is clearly stated in Matthew 4 that the devil in v3 refers to the words from heaven that were heard at Jesus' baptism that he is the "Son of God" and challenges Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus, who is the Son of God did not say "My father says to me..." NO, Jesus says "It is Written" and quotes Dt. 8:3. Next the devil misuses Psa. 91:11-12 in challenging Jesus to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, to which Jesus responds, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.", which is Dt. 6:16. Jesus did not say, "but my Father tells me..."... He quoted the scripture, what was written. Then the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and makes a promise that only God Almighty can give... saying if Jesus will worship him, he'll give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. The response by Jesus -

"Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” (Matt 4:10, NRSV) Jesus quoted Dt 6:13; 10:20

Jesus, being the Son of God, the Almighty Incarnate had every right in truth to respond, 'I am the Son of God and I say"... or "My heavenly Father tells me..." NO! Jesus, as our example, appealed to the written scriptures, the word of God to, refute the devil's temptations.

"First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (2Pet 1:20-21, RSV)

"The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, 'See, your son is alive.' So the woman said to Elijah, 'Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.'” (1Kgs 17:22-24, NRSV)

When a mere mortal claims to hear the words of God, he better perform a miracle like raising the dead to prove it!

"And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it." (Mark 16:20, NRSV)

"...how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will." (Heb 2:3-4, NRSV)

As a traditional translation reads -

"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isa 8:20, KJV)

 

[Behold]

Theology is our understanding of God. We are all going to have our understanding of God, but it is not what we are to lean on!!
We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to do that you must believe that He is always with us, like He said..

Yes

 

[Bob Estey]

Theology is our understanding of God. We are all going to have our understanding of God, but it is not what we are to lean on!!
We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to do that you must believe that He is always with us, like He said..

Now the Lord once asked me, "Karl, who do you think have a better understanding of Me - Theologians or Abraham?"

I thought about it and answered the Lord that, "I think Abraham had a better understanding of You, Lord."

He answered me, "So then a relationship gives you a better understanding than study."

That does not mean we shouldn't read and study the Bible, but when it comes to really knowing the Lord our God Jesus Christ, a personal relationship is better to understand Him than you study of the Bible. This explains why the Pharisees did not know Jesus Christ when He came in the flesh, but those in relationship with God, like Simeon and Anna, did even though He was just a child when they saw Him. (Luke 2)

Therefore, our theology (our understanding of God) must be developed while walking and talking with Him personally, and even then we must understand that His thoughts are still not our thoughts!!!

Luke 24:32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

This is how it should be; that we wind up walking with Him as He explains things like the Scriptures to us, and those explanations of His to us develop our understanding (our theology). Of course, it is not the actual walking but the listening to Him (whether walking or sitting) that is important to develop the relationship. The "Walking" is simply to point out the you and Him are going together through life. Yet we should all have testimony a plenty about what He says to us! And those to help us an others to remember to actually seek Him and listen to Him, and to not lean on our own understanding, our own theology, our own religion. We are to lean on our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ!

I enjoy my walks with the Lord, and the things He tells me then. Truth be told, I do more talking that He does, but He gets a whole more said per word than I do. Let me share just a few testimonies from these many many walks we have had, that have developed my theology:

One morning the moon was seen high in the west and I was walking directly towards it when He made a comparison between my walking towards Him to my walking towards the moon. He explained that even if the moon was to stand still in the sky and if I could walk directly to it, I could still not reach it in my life time because it was too high for me to reach and get too. In the same way, He explained, I could walk towards His understanding my entire life and still not reach it. He brought up the verse about how as high as the heavens are above the earth so are His thoughts above our thoughts.

The point being that of this thread; which is that no matter how much you walk with God to understand God you are never going to understand God. What you can do though, is listen to Him and get His instructions and teaching given to you personally.

Another time He told me this little phrase, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

When I heard it I responded back to Him something like, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Because it sound pretty crazy to me.

He explains that for those going to heaven and spending eternity there, they must know Him. Yet for others they also must know what they must know to get to where they are going. There are some here pointing on this forum who have made their lives about knowing the Bible, the Christian religion, and who are seeking after theology, and there are some here who have figured out by their theology that it is all about actually knowing Jesus Christ personally. And all should know that even God understands that you need to know what you need to know to get to where you are rightfully going. People - it is not about your theology, your understanding of God, but it is about His understanding. Don't get that confused! It effects where you are going to.

This brings me to the parable of two towns, that He told me.

Once upon a time there was a town called Two because it had two people in the town. Now two miles away there was another town, called Too because it too had two people in the town. Now the two judges in the land came to Two and went to Too too because they wanted to judge whether Two or Too should be required to change their name. The judges decided to hold court at two in Too in two days.

So, in two days the two judges with the two of Two travel the two miles to Too. So at two in Too the two judges and the two of Too and the two of Two too held the hearing,

Of course it didn’t take but two minutes to decide that since neither of the two towns had the same name there was nothing that could be done. So at two after two both the two of Too and the two of Two hugged the two judges because the two of Too and the two of Two loved the names of Two and Too too.

People - there are two towns spiritually speaking that you can live in.

One is where you and the Lord personally live together walking and talking with each other. In that town you come to know Him as The Word of God because He is God the Son and He has the words of God and speaks them to you.

Then there is a town where the Bible is the Word of God to you and you and that book called the Bible live together. You study the Bible, live by the rules you perceive written in the Bible and the Bible becomes the Word of God to you. Yet you miss the fact that you are supposed to be living with Jesus Christ and listening to Him. Therefore the Bible becomes the Word of God to you and your god.

Now there are two judges around. One being the Lord and the other being Satan, and they both agree that there is no law against having the same word meaning to different things. So both Jesus Christ and the Scriptures can legally be called "The Word of God", and the people (the Christians) love that. Both those Christians who really do know Jesus Christ and spend time walking and listening to Him, and also those who really don't know Jesus Christ, so they depend on their knowing the Bible.

So again, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

It depends on how you define "theology," doesn't it?

 

[Karl Peters]

It depends on how you define "theology," doesn't it?

Are you not just wanting arguing about semantics?

In anticipation of someone like that I defined the word "Theology" for the purpose of this thread in the OP.

 

[Bob Estey]

Are you not just wanting arguing about semantics?

In anticipation of someone like that I defined the word "Theology" for the purpose of this thread in the OP.

I'm pointing out that to some, "theology" means trying to understand God's will. To others, maybe it means something else.

 

[Karl Peters]

It is clearly stated in Matthew 4 that the devil in v3 refers to the words from heaven that were heard at Jesus' baptism that he is the "Son of God" and challenges Jesus to turn stones into bread

Do you even understand what the devil was referring to by saying, "to stones into bread"??? What stones was the devil referring to???

To understand the Bible you must seek the Lord Jesus Christ and talk to Him, because it is not by leaning on your own understanding of the stones written on in the desert that Moses brought down the mountain that give you understanding!!

Have you not read:

Prov 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

So it is not those stones that Moses (The Ten Commandment) which Moses brought down the mountain in the desert that give you understanding, but rather we live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth (not book, nor stones, nor what is written, but rather was is spoken out of His mouth to you personally) that give you knowledge and understanding!!! And this is why the Pharisees did not understand who was standing in front of them. It is even why Satan, who had no reason to not know understand, even caused himself to be blind to the facts and failed to understand. Are you not like those who Jesus spoke to saying:

Jn 8 :43,44 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

"Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! for it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” (Matt 4:10, NRSV) Jesus quoted Dt 6:13; 10:20

And do you not even understand what it means to actually serve the Lord?? It means you hear His voice and do what He is personally asking you to do!! It does not mean that you read the Bible and choose what you want to do!!

Luke 8:21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

So both understanding and instructions come from Him actually speaking to us and us hearing His words He speaks to us personally!
If you don't understand that then how are you going to understand what the Bible means when we read:

Jn 10:3,4 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Jesus, being the Son of God, the Almighty Incarnate had every right in truth to respond, 'I am the Son of God and I say"... or "My heavenly Father tells me..."

Because you have failed to understand about hearing Him, you mis-wrote the above! Only slightly, but it explains the problem! You wrote above :

"Jesus, being the Son of God, the Almighty Incarnate had every right in truth to respond..." - You should have written"

"Jesus, being the Son of God, the Almighty Incarnate has every right in truth to respond..."

It looks almost the same except that the first misses the fact that He is still Today The Son of God and even the Word of God who is standing there trying to get people to listen to Him!! You miss that fact over and over and over - just like the Pharisees and Religious Jews at that time did also!!

Which is why He told them and still does, "You are of your father the devil,"

and why He had to explain to them:

Jn 8:49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

When a mere mortal claims to hear the words of God, he better perform a miracle like raising the dead to prove it!

Those same religious leaders always wanted a sign, but it was not given to them!!

Mat 12:39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;

And this is why you wrote "When a mere mortal claims to hear the words of God, he better perform a miracle like raising the dead to prove it!"

You are craving a sign, but it has not been given to you - except the sign of the Jonah.

Now as for those who indeed hear His voice, to them they are given signs and testimonies a plenty. As for me I have seen more signs from God than I can possibly tell you. Indeed, He had me work in a Christian healing ministry for five years and I listened to Him every time I worked in the ministry. And I can tell you that I did not do a single miracle, but as I listened and did what He asked I saw miracle after miracle, after miracle!! I have seen legs grow out in front of me, I remember the time when a lady was going in for heart surgery the next day and we prayed. The presence of God filled the room where it caused my heart to burn. And the next day the lady went in and was then sent home because her had had been healed by the Lord so she didn't need the surgery. A wheel chair was left and a being used to come in was carried out. He would many times tell me about the person in front of me have a problem and being in pain, when they had not even mentioned it to us. So I would ask and they would confirm that it was true. So we pray and they left pain-free.

Yet you are soooooooooooooo very wrong to think what you think, that hearing the words of God mean you perform the miracles!!

That is not so. When you hear Him you do what He askes and He performs the miracles!!!!! You have it all wrong, sir!!

Have you not even read:

Mar 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the LORD WORKED WITH THEM, AND CONFIRMED THE WORD BY THE SIGNS that followed. And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.

What get's missed is that He the Lord our God is always with us!!! So we study the Bible but we ask Him about it while we study.

 

[Karl Peters]

I'm pointing out that to some, "theology" means trying to understand God's will. To others, maybe it means something else.

No - you are trying to wrangle about words!!

2 Tim 2:14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

Again, I provided a definition for the purpose of this thread in the OP. That was:

Theology is our understanding of God

You might find something like"
"The study of God and your religious belief" in a dictionary, but your studying God and your religious belief is still 'YOUR UNDERSTANDING', and thus still comes under the provided definition of; "Theology is our understanding of God"

So then our Theology, our study of God or our belief about God is still not God's understanding of Himself.

Therefore even the little quick comments you make, based on your understanding, are wrong!! Not just yours, but ours. Therefore we are not to lean on our own understanding, but rather seek the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, for what we are to do. Something you don't do, otherwise your advice to others would be the advice to yourself; which would be to seek the Lord our God Jesus Christ.

He once told me, "Karl, understanding is understanding that I Am Understanding."

If you did hear Him, you would understand that He is Understanding. You would not " wrangle about words, but you would point people to Jesus Christ as the Word of God, so that they might hear from Understanding! BTW - you would also have some understanding about the Kingdom of God, because He would He would show you some of His Kingdom. He would send those angels you were asking about i the other thread to minister to you.

So you wrangle about words, as about angels, and all because you fail to realize that Jesus Christ is Understanding. Which of course is just another way to say that our Theology (our understanding of Him) is not His understanding. Which is the same thing as saying that our thoughts are not His thoughts, and our ways are not His ways. Which really is the same thing as saying that we need to seek Him and listen to Him. Which is the same thing as saying "Hear, O Israel". Which is the same thing as saying: "call understanding your intimate friend"

Prov 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;

Now He is asking me to take a walk with Him, which is a common thing for Him to asked me to do at this time in the morning, but He has asked me to respond on the forum first. It should be easy to just explain that we need to seek Jesus Christ and not lean on our own understanding, but if you don't seek Jesus Christ and actually listen to Him, it takes a lot of explaining and even then it is doubtful you will consider Him who is always with you.

Prov 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

Heb 5:11,12 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

It is sad that He asks me to post on the "elementary principles of the oracles of God" - which is nothing more than just explaining that we need to listen to the Lord. Yet God's people have a tradition of saying, "Let not God speak to us", thus with their ears they barely hear. And I guess with that said I had better get to walking with the Lord.

 

[Bob Estey]

Are you not just wanting arguing about semantics?

In anticipation of someone like that I defined the word "Theology" for the purpose of this thread in the OP.

I'm pointing out that to some, "theology" means trying to understand God's will. To others, maybe it means something else.

It's like the word "religion." To some, it means trying to do God's will.

No - you are trying to wrangle about words!!

2 Tim 2:14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

Again, I provided a definition for the purpose of this thread in the OP. That was:



You might find something like"
"The study of God and your religious belief" in a dictionary, but your studying God and your religious belief is still 'YOUR UNDERSTANDING', and thus still comes under the provided definition of; "Theology is our understanding of God"

So then our Theology, our study of God or our belief about God is still not God's understanding of Himself.

Therefore even the little quick comments you make, based on your understanding, are wrong!! Not just yours, but ours. Therefore we are not to lean on our own understanding, but rather seek the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, for what we are to do. Something you don't do, otherwise your advice to others would be the advice to yourself; which would be to seek the Lord our God Jesus Christ.

He once told me, "Karl, understanding is understanding that I Am Understanding."

If you did hear Him, you would understand that He is Understanding. You would not " wrangle about words, but you would point people to Jesus Christ as the Word of God, so that they might hear from Understanding! BTW - you would also have some understanding about the Kingdom of God, because He would He would show you some of His Kingdom. He would send those angels you were asking about i the other thread to minister to you.

So you wrangle about words, as about angels, and all because you fail to realize that Jesus Christ is Understanding. Which of course is just another way to say that our Theology (our understanding of Him) is not His understanding. Which is the same thing as saying that our thoughts are not His thoughts, and our ways are not His ways. Which really is the same thing as saying that we need to seek Him and listen to Him. Which is the same thing as saying "Hear, O Israel". Which is the same thing as saying: "call understanding your intimate friend"

Prov 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;

Now He is asking me to take a walk with Him, which is a common thing for Him to asked me to do at this time in the morning, but He has asked me to respond on the forum first. It should be easy to just explain that we need to seek Jesus Christ and not lean on our own understanding, but if you don't seek Jesus Christ and actually listen to Him, it takes a lot of explaining and even then it is doubtful you will consider Him who is always with you.

Prov 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

Heb 5:11,12 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

It is sad that He asks me to post on the "elementary principles of the oracles of God" - which is nothing more than just explaining that we need to listen to the Lord. Yet God's people have a tradition of saying, "Let not God speak to us", thus with their ears they barely hear. And I guess with that said I had better get to walking with the Lord.

No, I am not. To me, theology is a good think, just like religion is a good thing. But some people attach different definitions to these words and consider them bad things.

 

[dev553344]

Theology is our understanding of God. We are all going to have our understanding of God, but it is not what we are to lean on!!
We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to do that you must believe that He is always with us, like He said..

Now the Lord once asked me, "Karl, who do you think have a better understanding of Me - Theologians or Abraham?"

I thought about it and answered the Lord that, "I think Abraham had a better understanding of You, Lord."

He answered me, "So then a relationship gives you a better understanding than study."

That does not mean we shouldn't read and study the Bible, but when it comes to really knowing the Lord our God Jesus Christ, a personal relationship is better to understand Him than you study of the Bible. This explains why the Pharisees did not know Jesus Christ when He came in the flesh, but those in relationship with God, like Simeon and Anna, did even though He was just a child when they saw Him. (Luke 2)

Therefore, our theology (our understanding of God) must be developed while walking and talking with Him personally, and even then we must understand that His thoughts are still not our thoughts!!!

Luke 24:32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

This is how it should be; that we wind up walking with Him as He explains things like the Scriptures to us, and those explanations of His to us develop our understanding (our theology). Of course, it is not the actual walking but the listening to Him (whether walking or sitting) that is important to develop the relationship. The "Walking" is simply to point out the you and Him are going together through life. Yet we should all have testimony a plenty about what He says to us! And those to help us an others to remember to actually seek Him and listen to Him, and to not lean on our own understanding, our own theology, our own religion. We are to lean on our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ!

I enjoy my walks with the Lord, and the things He tells me then. Truth be told, I do more talking that He does, but He gets a whole more said per word than I do. Let me share just a few testimonies from these many many walks we have had, that have developed my theology:

One morning the moon was seen high in the west and I was walking directly towards it when He made a comparison between my walking towards Him to my walking towards the moon. He explained that even if the moon was to stand still in the sky and if I could walk directly to it, I could still not reach it in my life time because it was too high for me to reach and get too. In the same way, He explained, I could walk towards His understanding my entire life and still not reach it. He brought up the verse about how as high as the heavens are above the earth so are His thoughts above our thoughts.

The point being that of this thread; which is that no matter how much you walk with God to understand God you are never going to understand God. What you can do though, is listen to Him and get His instructions and teaching given to you personally.

Another time He told me this little phrase, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

When I heard it I responded back to Him something like, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Because it sound pretty crazy to me.

He explains that for those going to heaven and spending eternity there, they must know Him. Yet for others they also must know what they must know to get to where they are going. There are some here pointing on this forum who have made their lives about knowing the Bible, the Christian religion, and who are seeking after theology, and there are some here who have figured out by their theology that it is all about actually knowing Jesus Christ personally. And all should know that even God understands that you need to know what you need to know to get to where you are rightfully going. People - it is not about your theology, your understanding of God, but it is about His understanding. Don't get that confused! It effects where you are going to.

This brings me to the parable of two towns, that He told me.

Once upon a time there was a town called Two because it had two people in the town. Now two miles away there was another town, called Too because it too had two people in the town. Now the two judges in the land came to Two and went to Too too because they wanted to judge whether Two or Too should be required to change their name. The judges decided to hold court at two in Too in two days.

So, in two days the two judges with the two of Two travel the two miles to Too. So at two in Too the two judges and the two of Too and the two of Two too held the hearing,

Of course it didn’t take but two minutes to decide that since neither of the two towns had the same name there was nothing that could be done. So at two after two both the two of Too and the two of Two hugged the two judges because the two of Too and the two of Two loved the names of Two and Too too.

People - there are two towns spiritually speaking that you can live in.

One is where you and the Lord personally live together walking and talking with each other. In that town you come to know Him as The Word of God because He is God the Son and He has the words of God and speaks them to you.

Then there is a town where the Bible is the Word of God to you and you and that book called the Bible live together. You study the Bible, live by the rules you perceive written in the Bible and the Bible becomes the Word of God to you. Yet you miss the fact that you are supposed to be living with Jesus Christ and listening to Him. Therefore the Bible becomes the Word of God to you and your god.

Now there are two judges around. One being the Lord and the other being Satan, and they both agree that there is no law against having the same word meaning to different things. So both Jesus Christ and the Scriptures can legally be called "The Word of God", and the people (the Christians) love that. Both those Christians who really do know Jesus Christ and spend time walking and listening to Him, and also those who really don't know Jesus Christ, so they depend on their knowing the Bible.

So again, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

Theology definition: the study of the nature of God and religious belief.

I have to say Karl, I'm not a fan of the lengthy posts you make, there are some people that do that. I really don't have the time to read your threads. A bit of advice: Try to converse with people. That will require you to address a single point in a short sentence. Honestly.

 

[Karl Peters]

Theology definition: the study of the nature of God and religious belief.

I have to say Karl, I'm not a fan of the lengthy posts you make, there are some people that do that. I really don't have the time to read your threads. A bit of advice: Try to converse with people. That will require you to address a single point in a short sentence. Honestly.

You and others hear and actually listening to our Lord Jesus Christ!!

Your "Theology" - study of the nature of God and religious belief. - is not going to get you to know God!!!

If you choose to "actually listening to our Lord Jesus Christ! You will know Him, personally!

Rom 10: 2-3 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

Your study and your believes about God is not the same thing as believing in Jesus Christ and actually getting to know Him! Is that short enough for you?

 

[dev553344]

You and others hear and actually listening to our Lord Jesus Christ!!

Your "Theology" - study of the nature of God and religious belief. - is not going to get you to know God!!!

If you choose to "actually listening to our Lord Jesus Christ! You will know Him, personally!

Rom 10: 2-3 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

Your study and your believes about God is not the same thing as believing in Jesus Christ and actually getting to know Him! Is that short enough for you?

That's not correct. We can and many do learn a lot about God from reading the scriptures. I would be willing to guess that many have been steered in the wrong direction by false prophets trying to listen to God and hearing someone else. And yes I think some hear God. But I've noticed that some are steered wrong so they can't be listening to God.

 

[L.A.M.B.]

Theology ........FYI

The study of the nature of God and religious belief. "A theology degree", is based on religious beliefs, traditions & theory Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities...

www.christianityboard.com

This is a good article on the explanation of the word " theology" given by a poster here.

However the word states
2 Timothy 2:15
15 STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Read full chapter

How can we know the character of God?
* It is not just by claiming to know God, then walking in that claim.
As stated, Jesus told the Pharisees to look to the scriptures for that is where he may be found !
Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the WORD OF GOD ! Romans 10.

 

[Karl Peters]

People have not changed and neither has the Lord. If you want to know about Him, talk to Him!!

Now the first words He told me were "Read Your Bible", because as the Teacher He is going to discuss the text book. Yet to even know a Teacher, you have to listen to Him. We don't get to know anyone by just reading a book about them!! Try reading a book about someone and then showing up for dinner at their house claiming to be their friend or son.

Amazingly, many are going to try and get by with that!

Mat 7: 22-24“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

That's not correct. We can and many do learn a lot about God from reading the scriptures. I would be willing to guess that many have been steered in the wrong direction by false prophets trying to listen to God and hearing someone else. And yes I think some hear God. But I've noticed that some are steered wrong so they can't be listening to God.

The Lord once told me, "Karl, people want to tell others all about Me instead of about Me."

And that is the problem with your conclusion. You think you can know about the Lord without even hearing what He has to say. So you study the Bible, lean on your own understanding, and think you are now qualified to tell others all about Him. That shows even by your writing " But I've noticed that some are steered wrong so they can't be listening to God."

That conclusion requires you leaning on your own understanding of what is right and wrong - meaning you are leaning on your own understanding. King Saul thought he was right, by not trusting the Lord so that he didn't go out to meet Goliath. Therefore David got it right by trusting in the Lord. And the Pharisee Saul got it wrong by leaning on his own understanding and going off on the road to Damascus to put real Christians in jail, and Saul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, according to is own testimony. He was well studied in the Scriptures and traditions of God, and got it all wrong! And the Scriptures are full of stories of people leaning on their own understanding of what is right and wrong and not seeking the Lord our God Jesus Christ and listening to Him!

Indeed, if you were listening to Him much you would have come to know clearly that His thoughts are not your thoughts and His ways are not your ways. That not only applies when reading the Bible, but also when actually listening to Him. He will tell you something and you will think it mean one thing, but you will find out that it means what He said, but usually not what you think it means. So you learn to keep talking to Him about what He tells you even after you hear from Him. And from learning that you will lean that He does that so that you keep turning back to Him.

So you will learn that you are never going to know the depths of God, so you finally figure out more and more that it is just about seeking Him and listening to Him, and so telling others to do the same. Therefore your message changes!

Another time He told me, "Listen to me! Listen to me! Karl, why do they say 'listen to me'? Isn't it because they don't listen to Me?"

That is exactly right. Those who say, "Listen to Me", do so because they don't listen to Him! If they did listen to Him like they should they would be saying, "Listen to Him, Jesus Christ our Lord."

That is why you write things like, "I would be willing to guess", and " I think some hear God", and " I've noticed that some" - Do you not see that all that "I would", "I think", and "I've noticed" clearly show that you are leaning on your own understanding instead of seek the voice of the Lord??? Therefore your message is, "Listen to me! Listen to me!" as opposed to listen to Him!!

Indeed, you don't have to guess that there are many who are steered in the wrong direction by false prophets - yet they are not those actually seek our Lord Jesus Christ! Have you not read, seek and your will find? Or perhaps your read this verse:

Luke 10:10,11 “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. “Now [suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?

It is not those seeking the Lord and His voice but those saying "I would", "I think", and "I've noticed" who are not seeking the Lord and are winding up hearing from the wrong spirits! In other words it is those saying, "Listen to me, listen to me", who are being lead astray from the Lord!

2 Cor 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

Prov 3:5,7 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

I am telling you truly - the more you listen to Him they more you will understand that you need to listen to Him - and also the more you will realize how bad you are at not listening to Him. Therefore you your message will change from "I think" to "seek His voice and His thinking." And that is what this thread is about!

 

[Davy]

Theology is our understanding of God. We are all going to have our understanding of God, but it is not what we are to lean on!!
We are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and to do that you must believe that He is always with us, like He said..

Now the Lord once asked me, "Karl, who do you think have a better understanding of Me - Theologians or Abraham?"

I thought about it and answered the Lord that, "I think Abraham had a better understanding of You, Lord."

He answered me, "So then a relationship gives you a better understanding than study."

That does not mean we shouldn't read and study the Bible, but when it comes to really knowing the Lord our God Jesus Christ, a personal relationship is better to understand Him than you study of the Bible. This explains why the Pharisees did not know Jesus Christ when He came in the flesh, but those in relationship with God, like Simeon and Anna, did even though He was just a child when they saw Him. (Luke 2)

Therefore, our theology (our understanding of God) must be developed while walking and talking with Him personally, and even then we must understand that His thoughts are still not our thoughts!!!

Luke 24:32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

This is how it should be; that we wind up walking with Him as He explains things like the Scriptures to us, and those explanations of His to us develop our understanding (our theology). Of course, it is not the actual walking but the listening to Him (whether walking or sitting) that is important to develop the relationship. The "Walking" is simply to point out the you and Him are going together through life. Yet we should all have testimony a plenty about what He says to us! And those to help us an others to remember to actually seek Him and listen to Him, and to not lean on our own understanding, our own theology, our own religion. We are to lean on our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ!

I enjoy my walks with the Lord, and the things He tells me then. Truth be told, I do more talking that He does, but He gets a whole more said per word than I do. Let me share just a few testimonies from these many many walks we have had, that have developed my theology:

One morning the moon was seen high in the west and I was walking directly towards it when He made a comparison between my walking towards Him to my walking towards the moon. He explained that even if the moon was to stand still in the sky and if I could walk directly to it, I could still not reach it in my life time because it was too high for me to reach and get too. In the same way, He explained, I could walk towards His understanding my entire life and still not reach it. He brought up the verse about how as high as the heavens are above the earth so are His thoughts above our thoughts.

The point being that of this thread; which is that no matter how much you walk with God to understand God you are never going to understand God. What you can do though, is listen to Him and get His instructions and teaching given to you personally.

Another time He told me this little phrase, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

When I heard it I responded back to Him something like, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Because it sound pretty crazy to me.

He explains that for those going to heaven and spending eternity there, they must know Him. Yet for others they also must know what they must know to get to where they are going. There are some here pointing on this forum who have made their lives about knowing the Bible, the Christian religion, and who are seeking after theology, and there are some here who have figured out by their theology that it is all about actually knowing Jesus Christ personally. And all should know that even God understands that you need to know what you need to know to get to where you are rightfully going. People - it is not about your theology, your understanding of God, but it is about His understanding. Don't get that confused! It effects where you are going to.

This brings me to the parable of two towns, that He told me.

Once upon a time there was a town called Two because it had two people in the town. Now two miles away there was another town, called Too because it too had two people in the town. Now the two judges in the land came to Two and went to Too too because they wanted to judge whether Two or Too should be required to change their name. The judges decided to hold court at two in Too in two days.

So, in two days the two judges with the two of Two travel the two miles to Too. So at two in Too the two judges and the two of Too and the two of Two too held the hearing,

Of course it didn’t take but two minutes to decide that since neither of the two towns had the same name there was nothing that could be done. So at two after two both the two of Too and the two of Two hugged the two judges because the two of Too and the two of Two loved the names of Two and Too too.

People - there are two towns spiritually speaking that you can live in.

One is where you and the Lord personally live together walking and talking with each other. In that town you come to know Him as The Word of God because He is God the Son and He has the words of God and speaks them to you.

Then there is a town where the Bible is the Word of God to you and you and that book called the Bible live together. You study the Bible, live by the rules you perceive written in the Bible and the Bible becomes the Word of God to you. Yet you miss the fact that you are supposed to be living with Jesus Christ and listening to Him. Therefore the Bible becomes the Word of God to you and your god.

Now there are two judges around. One being the Lord and the other being Satan, and they both agree that there is no law against having the same word meaning to different things. So both Jesus Christ and the Scriptures can legally be called "The Word of God", and the people (the Christians) love that. Both those Christians who really do know Jesus Christ and spend time walking and listening to Him, and also those who really don't know Jesus Christ, so they depend on their knowing the Bible.

So again, "One must know what one must know to get to where they are going!"

That word 'theology' is kind like the word 'science.'

Just like there is true science that will always agree with God's Word, there also exists pseudo-science which are false theories by men like Darwin's evolution of species.

True theology from God's Word will always agree with God's written Word. But there is much pseudo-theology that exists also, only based on men's doctrines, and that is mostly what is taught by academia.

 

[mailmandan]

It's like the word "religion." To some, it means trying to do God's will.

James 1:26 - If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. This man's religion is vain, empty, devoid of power, lacking in content, nonproductive, dead and of no eternal value.

James 1:27 - Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

There is nothing wrong with "pure and undefiled religion" but there is certainly something wrong with impure and defiled religion.

 

[Episkopos]

Theology ...as the OP states...is in the realm of men. It is based on ideology and religious opinions.

I wrote a book that was put under the heading of "theology." But be that as it may, I teach doctrine, not theology. That and testimony. For me faith is about reality, not my beliefs about things.

 

[mailmandan]

Theology definition: the study of the nature of God and religious belief.

One may have good theology or bad theology, just as one may have a true religious belief or a false religious belief. Christianity is not simply just another religion but is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (which is an intimate, experiential knowledge, found only in a relationship). The term "know" implies intimate, experiential knowledge, through a relationship with Him and not merely theoretical knowledge.

 

[Bob Estey]

James 1:26 - If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. This man's religion is vain, empty, devoid of power, lacking in content, nonproductive, dead and of no eternal value.

James 1:27 - Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

There is nothing wrong with "pure and undefiled religion" but there is certainly something wrong with impure and defiled religion.

To some, "religion" is an honest effort to do God's will. To others, "religion" is rules set in place by self-serving church "leaders." But to me, "religion" would be a person's honest efforts to do God's will.

 

[ChristisGod]

Theology ...as the OP states...is in the realm of men. It is based on ideology and religious opinions.

I wrote a book that was put under the heading of "theology." But be that as it may, I teach doctrine, not theology. That and testimony. For me faith is about reality, not my beliefs about things.

Wrong theology is the study of God where we get our sound doctrine which is taught by Jesus and the Apostles.