Cohort Details
DATES & TIMES
6 Weekly Sessions (90-minutes each)
Fridays, September 6-October 11
3:00-4:30 P.M. EST
Cohort Description
In Biblical Theology 101, leading scholars in the field of biblical theology, Benjamin Gladd and G. K. Beale, will introduce lay people, students, teachers, and pastors to the beautiful storyline that runs through the Scriptures. Participants will learn how to identify the major themes of the Bible and how to present them to God’s people in a way that opens their eyes to seeing the Bible in a whole new way.
This course will define what biblical theology is and how it works, as the instructors walk students through the storylines that shape the Bible. We will learn how Genesis 1-3 functions as the bedrock of biblical theology. We will trace the people of God as they began in the garden of Eden and will continue into the new heavens and earth. God created the cosmos to be his sanctuary, wherein he commissioned Adam and Eve to fill it with his glory by populating it with God-fearing offspring. The first couple failed, so God raised up Noah, Abraham, and eventually the nation of Israel to accomplish the original mandate. They, too, failed, so God sent his Son, the last Adam and true Israel, to achieve what all those before him failed to accomplish. Their disobedience anticipated his success. But Jesus not only achieved perfect righteousness; he suffered for their unrighteousness. And all those who trust in Jesus receive forgiveness of sin, and the Spirit joins them to the risen Christ, thus inheriting his righteousness in the presence of God. The church now functions the way God originally intended—living in his presence and spreading his glory to the ends of the earth.
The registration fee includes these textbooks
- Beale, G. K., The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (NSBT 17; Downers Grove: IVP, 2004)
- Carson, D. A., The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).
- Gladd, Benjamin L. From Adam and Israel to the Church: A Biblical Theology of the People of God (Downers Grove: IVP, 2019).
Recommended reading
- Essential Studies in Biblical Theology edited by Benjamin L. Gladd
- New Studies in Biblical Theology edited by D. A. Carson and Benjamin L. Gladd Short
- Studies in Biblical Theology edited by Dane Ortlund and Miles Van Pelt.
*Refunds are not available, but you can transfer your registration to a friend prior to September 18.
* Registration closes on August 30, 2024
Email [email protected] for last minute registration instructions to registration up until Thursday, September 5 at 11:55pm EDT.
Learn to read the Bible as a single story
Understand Christ’s work as the culmination of the Scriptures
Recognize that our lives are the continuation of the drama of redemption
G. K. Beale (PhD, Cambridge) is a professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. He has been married to Dorinda for 44 years and has three children (Stephen, Nancy, and Hannah). He’s an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC).
Content Summary
Week One
Defining Biblical Theology and Creation as a Cosmic Temple
The course will begin with an explanation of what biblical theology is and is not. We will then transition to Genesis 1-2, where we will learn about the creation account and the construction of a cosmic temple. The rest of Scripture never loses sight of God’s original intention to dwell with his people.
Instructor: Benjamin Gladd
Week Two
Adam as a Priest-King and the Garden of Eden as a Temple: Part 1
The opening chapters of Genesis reveal that God fashioned Adam and Eve as priest-kings in his “image.” We will also discover that the garden of Eden is the first sanctuary of God.
Instructor: G. K. Beale
Week Three
Adam as a Priest-King and the Garden of Eden as a Temple: Part 2
The third lesson delves deeper into Adam bearing the divine image and why the divine commission to be “fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it” lies at the heart of biblical theology. God tasked Adam and his offspring to fill the earth with his glorious presence.
Instructor: G. K. Beale
Week Four
Israel as a Corporate Adam
The fourth week probes Israel’s identity in light of Genesis 1-3. Here we will discover how Israel functions as a corporate Adam. Like Adam, God commands Israel to spread God’s glory to the ends of the earth. But like Adam, Israel sins by committing idolatry.
Instructor: Benjamin Gladd
Week Five
Jesus as the Last Adam and True Israel
Adam and Israel’s failure sets the stage for the success of Jesus. As the last Adam and true Israel, Jesus obeys the divine commission and begins to extend God’s glory to the ends of the earth. He has also begun the process of renewing humanity and creation, so that God may dwell with his people.
Instructor: Benjamin Gladd
Week Six
The Church as the Last Adam and True Israel
The final lesson will focus on how the church, on account of its union with Christ, functions as the last Adam and true Israel. God empowers his people to bring the nations into his glorious presence.
Instructor: Benjamin Gladd