Baraton-university | EssayIvy.com

BARATON UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA

Reflective Questions And Papers For

1. Wisdom Literature

2. Church History (Early And Medieval)

3. Christology

Mwangi C. Moses

0126170

Presented To

Professor Kimani B.K.

May 2017.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WISDOM LITERATURE Page Number

I. Reflective Questions

i). Lessons 1 to 5 ………………………………………………………..….3

ii). Paper 1 ……………………………………………...……………........11

2. CHRISTOLOGY

i). Reflective Questions

Lessons 1 to 5…………………………………………………….……….………15

ii). Paper II…………………………………………………………….....…20

iii). List of reference…………………………………….………………….25

3. CHURCH HISTORY Early and medieval

i). Reflective Questions

Lessons 1 to 3…………………..……..……………………………………25

ii). Paper III…………………………………………..…………………….29

Part A REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS

I. Wisdom literature

Lesson 1: Introduction

a. During the time that wisdom literature was written biblical wisdom which is God

centered differed greatly with ancient wisdom which is largely humanistic and also

demonic. When we look at the plagues over Egypt we appreciate the wisdom of the

magicians but it was not used to glorify God nor serve his purpose.

Although the Old Testament acknowledges that wisdom was found in Edom and

Egypt among others places, such never emanated from the fear of God and was just

as described by James 3:15, “ Earthily sensual and devilish” wisdom that is never

centered on God, is selfishly manipulative and binds people. Wisdom that is based

on the fear of God is liberating and brings glory to God. Proverb 14:12, shows that

if any wisdom does not focus on glorying God, it will lead to destruction.

b. As stated above today as at other times people who conduct the affairs of their life

led by worldly wisdom are selfish, proud and rarely consider the fear of God in

their lives. They employ manipulative witchcraft to get wealth, health and fame

which becomes their undoing.

Cheating, lying and every form of corruption mark their lives. From marriage to

career humanistic and worldly wisdom gets the day. Jesus would warn the vast

majority in our capitalistic culture as he did in the day of Matthew 16:26, “what is

the profit of gaining the whole world at the expense of the soul”, those who are led

by the biblical wisdom are blessed. Every aspect of life for a Christian must be

aligned to the scripture as “the step of the righteous are ordered by the lord”

(psalms 37:23)

c. In my first church plant in Nyeri county, Mukurwe-ini I was faced by a challenge

concerning my elders. We had disagreed on administrative matters which made me

feel over looked and taken for granted. In a selfish carnal move, I shamefully

excommunicated the lead elder and his family. He was the chairman and two of his

daughters were in praise and worship. The wife was the women leader. Today I

regret that foolish move.

Looking back after many years and knowing how much the church suffered

because of misguided and proud move, I can appreciate the place of biblical

wisdom in ministry, marriage and every area of life

LESSON 2: THE BOOK OF JOB

1. When Christians face suffering going to God in prayer will help us to

acknowledge the sovereignty of God and in that way yield submissively to his

way regarding our lives. Prayer demonstrates our dependence on God. It is in

suffering that we revamp our relationship with God and though prayers we

mend it .This shows that we are focused on God in times of trial rather than

focusing on our challenge

2. “Why do the righteous suffer?”

This question is as old as man, the book of Job shows that the righteous suffer

from no apparent reason and God does not owe us an answer. In the face of

suffering we must acknowledge God’s sovereignty and rest hopefully in his love

that never fails. When we remember that God is our caring father we focus on his

glory rather than our temporal comfort.

Our faithfulness in the face of suffering glorifies God and encourages

others. It also strengths our dependence on God and makes us spiritually mature.

(James 1:2-4)

Suffering reminds us that we are in a fallen world and are waiting for a city

without pain or death. In this way we are able to focus on what really matters

3. We learn the character and work of God in the book of Job especially the fact that

God is sovereign and in charge of the world. Even Satan is under the control of

God. The omniscient, omnipresent nature of God is seen very Cleary in the book

of job.

We get a revelation of the orderliness and divine design in creation. The creation

shows the majesty, power and creativity of God who “makes all things beautiful

in his time”. (Ecc.3:11) .We sees God being involved in every detail of nature.

The fact that we can see God’s hand in nature and sense his presence is very

therapeutic.

Lesson 3: The book of psalms

A study of psalms chapter 1

(5-step method)

I. Initial reading

This is a poem full of wisdom as it contrasts the righteous and the wicked.

The writer of this poem must have looked and seen the prosperity of the

wicked and out of experience wrote this down to warn anyone who might envy

the way of the unrighteous (psalms 73)

II. Structural analysis

Contrast is seen in Psalms 1 with verse 1-3 pointing to the righteous and verse

4-5 pointing to the wicked. The last Verses is a summary or the end result of

both the righteous and the wicked.

The contrast and the end result of every lifestyle one chooses is so clear such

that the one being instructed to walk in righteousness has no excuse to do other

wise.

III. Poetic analysis

In Psalms we have:-

(a) Parallelism

The thought of righteous and wicked in contrast is repeated throughout the

psalms where the result of both kinds of lives is seen at the end of this psalm

(b) Repetition

The wicked is termed 3times

The righteous 2times

Righteous are like a tree by the water

Wicked are like chaff in the wind

(D) Metonymy

Stand in vs.1 and sits in vs.1 mean more than we linguistically know. This

means to agree and be a contributor and partaker of whatever the wicked and

sinner are bent to carrying out .Also way in vs. 6 and know in verse 6

(e) Paronomasia

The second time we find the word “stands” used in these psalms is in verse 5,

whereby we sense a play of words. In this case it means to stay, not continue or

abide in this case not being allowed to join the righteous one at the end.

IV. Putting the psalm in its biblical context

This psalm passes the same message as other books of the bible. Throughout

proverbs, we see this message sounded especially

Proverb 4:14 and 18 “don’t do as the wicked don’t follow their path the

righteous shine brighter but the wicked in the darkness will not know what

stumbles them”.

Again in Jeremiah we find the prophet preferring to sit alone rather than join

other in merry feasts spotted with carnality (Jeremiah 15:17). Paul warns the

Corinthians about “bad company which corrupts good morals”) (1Corinthians

15:33)

V. Applying the psalms principles

We learn the following lesson from psalm 1

1. We should be very careful about the company we keep

2. For our lives to be meaningful, we must study Gods word diligently

3. If we don’t obey God’s word, we shall fall into judgment

Lesson 4: the book of proverb

“Proverb can be used as a moral code of ethics in any society”

The book of proverb is a compilation of ancient saying from around the world and

Solomon’s wisdom which was a direct gift from God.Of the three books he wrote,

Solomon wrote the books of proverbs when his intellectual power were at their peak

As a poetic book there is need to interpret and translate it correctly due to Trans

cultural factor in every society. However the book provides ethical guidelines that are

unsurpassed by any others and suitable in every generation every culture, every

professional and every age group.

The book of proverbs has themes that instruct human beings no matter their status. We

learn about God and how to revere him. We learn about Applying wisdom in life

rather than go the way of the fool.

We have instruction about words and the tongue. The family from wife and husband

to children and parents for stability of the nation is given enough attention.

From the very lowly in life to the noble matters. From the servant the poor and the

rich, instructions on how to conduct our affairs in life are given. Work ethic and

encouragement to follow righteousness rather than live wickedly are also themes that

follow in this book. This principle is transferable to any society in every generation.

Lesson 5: Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon

a.) The book Song of Solomon can be used in premarital counseling and in

marriage celebrating God’s gift of love. The writer celebrated the passion and

the excitement of being in love. He describes both the physical attraction and

sexual pleasure where we learn how to enjoy sex within the precincts of

marriage.

The repetition of the word “bride” and then sister in chapter 4: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and

5:1,gives us the idea of betrothal to only one person and remaining faithful to them

till marriage is seen.

This is in line with instruction in the New Testament like “marriage is to be honored

by all, and the marriage bed undefiled, but whole mongers and adulterers God will

judge” (Hebrew 13:4)

Chapter 7 and 8Consummation

The systematic and gentle way a couple should explore each others body after

wedding showing that there is no shame in exploring each others naked body just as it

was in the beginning (Genesis 2:25) we find the woman initiating the sexual encounter

two times which show that in marriage there should be no shame whatsoever.

Solomon talks about how strong love is and so it must “not be aroused before time”

(55.2:7) since romance can easily overpower reason young people must patiently wait

for feeling of love and commitment to develop together since love feelings are not

enough to support a lasting relationship.

b).When people become suicidal due to the sinking feelings of a meaningless life, the

book of Ecclesiastes offers a very clear perspective in life since its major theme

focuses on the way life is worth living. If we find the true meaning of our lives on

earth we develop a desire to live to fulfill that purpose.

Although the preacher laments that life is hard and finally we all die, He draws a

conclusion that is worth considering in spite of all circumstances “fear God and keep

his commandment for this is the whole duty of man”.(Ecclesiastes 12:13)

When we look at the many things God has given us in creation to enjoy we understand

his concern and love for us. We also understand the sovereignty of God and that death

is not the end of life. We cannot get to understand why things happen the way they do

but we can trust God who is the best over of wisdom. When we obey him and seek to

glorify him, then our lives will find meaning.

PART B PAPER 1

WISDOM FOR EXTRA ORDINARY LIFE

The five book of wisdom literature gives us instructions that can enable us to live our

daily lives with satisfaction. A number of vital life question are explored which gives

us practical tips in our ordinary living. Wisdom literature touches every aspect of

human livelihood including love and marriage work and play, parenting, aging and

death.

There is sufficient wisdom for kings and subjects the poor and wealthy the children

and the parents, employer and employee, husband and wife etc. Generally the major

theme touches the area of wisdom, the wisdom of the Lord and the practical affairs of

life. We also find God revealing Himself to man and interaction with His creation.

Overarching purpose of job is to show that God is sovereign over everything that

happens including the sufferings of faithful people like Job. In Job we get the answer

to questions of life “why do the innocent suffer while the wicked so often have

comfortable lives? This is a theme explored also in Psalms 73.

The trouble of this life and suffering we experience will remain a mystery to us but we

must trust God and know that he knows what He is doing. In Job 38 and 39 we get to

appreciate that God is the creator and we are his creation.

He is sovereign and owes us no explanation. The truth is supported in the New

Testament like in Roman 9:19.

We find a warning in Job for those who seek to offer advice not to speak as though

they possess more knowledge than they do. Speaking authoritatively without grounds

to do so could lead into sin and is also neighboring blasphemy. We are encouraged

never to give up in face of trial because God is in control.

The book of Ecclesiasts is largely from a cynical viewpoint. The cynical question is

strewed throughout the twelve chapters and the wise answer left to a few verses which

majority misses. The 11 chapter drives home the point that life apart from God is

totally meaningless but when we organize our lives around God we find that all is in

fact full of meaning.

Towards the close of chapter twelve we learn that only God gives meaning to life and

that everything we do matters because we shall all face our creator on the Day of

Judgment.

The book of proverb is a collection of sayings that give advice and general knowledge

on how God’s people should act and speak. We find guidelines on family life,

business social life, political and spiritual life, though proverbs touches on almost all

subjects they don’t give all the truth there is on a particular subject

The book describes what generally happens but they are not promises of what will

always happen. This is not an encouragement to name it and claim it but we must find

the main principal of the proverb and apply it in a way that makes sense in our time.

The book has a lot to say on the family where advice is given to parents and children

in order to make a happy family.(Chapter 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 28,

29, 3 0 and 31)

On finances, hard work and wealth, much thought is given to ensure social and

spiritual well being of God’s people ( chapter 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,. 15, 19, 21, 22, 23,

24, 26, 28, and 30)for spiritual conduct we advised to fear God and walk in wisdom

(chapters 3, 11, 16, 29)

The Song of songs is generally speaking about the beauty of marriage done in the

right way. It can be used to prepare young people for marriage by encouraging them to

stay pure for each other until the marriage. We see this in use of terms like “bride” and

“sister” in (chapter 4, 9, 10, 11, and 5:14).

This truth is also supported in Hebrews 13:4, “where marriage must be honored by all

and bed kept pure”. Guidelines are given on how to enjoy sexual pressure within the

precincts of marriage.

The idea of betrothal to only one person which would go further to ensure sexual

purity. A call to balance romance and commitment for a fulfilling and successful

marriage is made in chapter2:7. On a spiritual note, this is a type of God’s love for his

people. First Israel is the bride and God the bridegroom .Isaiah 54:5-6,Jer.2;2,Ezek.

16;8 and Hosea 2;16-20.Secondly the church being the Bride of Christ.(Eph.5;23-

25,2Cor.11;1-2,Rev.19;7-9,21;9).finally the Believer, who is the object of Christ love.

Caution must be exercised to treat this poem as a general analogy not a detailed

allegory, because of the highly sensuous and suggestive imagery.

Psalms is a book five of guidance in praise and worship most of the psalms were

meant to be sung and read. Much of the language is figurative, hyperbolic and

emotional not literal e.g. “every night I make my bed swim with tears”(Psalms 6:6)

this book deals with several spiritual doctrines which need be looked at in light of the

New Testament. We see Christ’s incarnation, suffering and creation in (2, 8, 10, 11,

22, 31, 40, 47, 67, 72, 96, 100, 110, and 117)

We learn wisdom of a God to relate with others and living with integrity.

In applying the nuggets of wisdom from the wisdom books in our lives, careful

interpretation and translation must be carried out to avoid being too universal or too

literal.

Proper hermeneutical principles must be used to bridge the cultural, geographical

literal, supernatural and time gap to enable us get God’s message for our times

For nuggets for living a life of wisdom, literature is unparalleled

II CHRISTOLOGY

LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTOLOGY

1. It is important for every Christian to study Christology for the following

reasons

 Christology is the center of Christian theology

 It helps us to avoid heresies about Jesus Christ

 We get to appreciate the mystery of salvation as the plan ,process and product

of salvation is Cleary unveiled.

 We get to know on what is going on in the current generation

 It becomes easer to understand other doctrines

 We must be able to defend Jesus Christ as the messiah to our generation

2. In formatting our Christology we must adopt these two approaches

a. Christology from above this emphasizes faith as the prime means of

understanding Christ

Paul and John are preferred in the agreement that faith in Christ is not based on

history or rational proof.

b. Christology from below. This digs into the historical Jesus and historical basis

of belief in Christ. Both will give better understanding of the truth since our

faith must be informed by the truth we learn

2. This study affirms my understanding of Christ and makes my understanding

better.

3. To make Christ known to others, I will be teaching the meaning of Jesus Christ

and significance in every aspect of Christian life and family

LESSON 2: CHRIST IN BIBLE

1. I prefer to use the two Titles of Christ as follows:

a. Jesus Christ –it reminds me of his mediatory function between God and

man.

b. The lord-it reminds me of salvation and my need to obey him daily.

2. Paul’s approach to understanding of Christ is different from the gospel in that

while the gospel focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, Paul focus

rather on the salvation of Christ. The gospels formulate their Christology from

below but Paul from above.

3. We should embrace all the approaches for better understanding of Christ and

ministry.

LESSON 3 CHRIST IN HISTORY

1) The truth that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man in one person and will

be forever is misunderstood by many even in our generation. There are several

Christological errors today.

2) These error are propagated by cult including Islam Jehovah witness new age

movement and oneness Pentecostal assembly.

3) Some of these heresies are:

 Jesus did not die on the cross but a substitute died on his behalf.

 Jesus was not God for God cannot die.

 Jesus and the Father and Holy spirit are just one being with different title.

 There are many emanations between God and man and Jesus was one.

LESSON 4 WHO IS JESUS CHRIST

The implication of the deity and humanity of Christ for life, ministry and

relationships today.

Jesus Christ had to be born as a human being because it is man who sinned

against to be holy and therefore Jesus come and lived a sinless life to be a prefect

sacrifice for our sins.

The seed of God, which is free from sin had to find a surrogate womb to

introduce or give a human body to the seed of God because only God could have

the capacity to withstand the wrath of God on the cross and that is why Jesus had

to be fully God and fully man to be a perfect sacrifice for sin.

In life therefore:

Jesus Christ makes our redemption valid and our justification contain efficacious

since the wrath of God was satisfied on the cross.

We have a faithful intercessor/high priest at the right hand of God.

We are challenged to be objective and purposeful as we live our lives for God not

for ourselves.

In ministry:

Although Jesus never sinned he humbled to die for our sins out of love. We need

to love our fellow human beings and propagate the gospel everywhere

We must be willing to pay the price to reach others as we depend on Christ to

empower us.

Since Christ suffered on our behalf we need to look for programmes of

alleviating human suffering in our community.

In relationship

 We are to love all people and live at peace with them and always ready to

forgive

 Our relationship must be geared toward the glory of God and acknowledge his

presence always. He is God with us

 As we form relationship with non believers care must be taken so that we don’t

compromise on spirituality.

LESSON 5: OTHER ISSUES RELATED TO CHRISTOLOGY

1. The issue of virgin birth incarnation and sinlessness of Christ are central in

understanding of Christology since these are doctrines that form the foundation

of the coming of Christ and if not handled properly our faith cannot stand.

2. Resurrection and ascension are keys in the Christological debate since

resurrection validated Christ’s words and deeds. It guarantees our resurrection

showing approval of Christ sacrifice and there by validated Christianity. The

ascension marked the reinstatement of Jesus and his glorification to a position

of authority and power. It also marks the start of Christ priestly role in God’s

presences as our eternal intercessor

3. I have gained new insight and move biblical foundation of much faith. I am a

better apologist of Christian faith and more bold now to teach these very crucial

doctrines of our faith.

PAPER II

JESUS WAS 100% MAN AND 100% GOD

a) Jesus Christ is fully man

The humanity of Christ is a historical fact which is recorded by reliable eye

witness from his conception gestation, birth, growth, ministry, crucification, death,

resurrection to ascention.Harold 2005, asserts that “the Gospels are accepted as

reliable to historical and accurate account of Jesus character , teaching, death and

resurrection where we are given sufficient basis for our historical faith” (21).

As already discussed the validity of the work of Christ on the cross depends on the

humanity of Christ. The biblical evidence for the humanity of Christ is;-

1) Jesus had human a genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17, Romans 1:39:5, Galatians 3:16

and 2Timothy 2:8).

2) Jesus had a human gestation and birth (Matthew 1:18-21, Galatians 4:4).

3) Jesus had a human body of fresh, blood, and bone (Luke 22:44, romans 1:3,

3:8:3, colosian2:9, Hebrew 2:14).

4) Jesus identified himself as a man (John 8:40,) and was recognized as a man by

others. (Matthew 8; 9,-27, 12:23, 13:54, 56. Roman 5:15, 1corinthians 15:21,

Ephesians 5:2).

5) Jesus experienced all normal human bodily experiences, he grew (Luke 2;40,

52) he was hungry, thirty and ate and drunk (Matthew 4:2, 21:18, 27;48)

He was tired and slept Matthew 8:24, mark 15:21) he suffered (Matthew 20:17-

19, john 4;6 , 18:22, 19:1-3,Hebrew 5;8) and died and his body was buried

(Matthew 27:50, 57:66, Acts 25:19,1Corinthians 15;3-4, Hebrew 2:14).since he

died out of his side come blood and water(John 19:34, 19:34).

6) Jesus had normal human emotion and he expressed them. He felt compassion

(Mat.9.36), love (Mark1:121), anger (Mat. 21:12-13), sorrow (Mat.26:38),joy

(Luke 10:21),grief, agony and distress( Mat.26:37-38, John

11:33,38,12:27,13:21)and we knew that he wept (luke19:41).

7) Jesus had a normal human mind (Mark 13:32, Heb.5,8-9).

8) Jesus had a normal human will (Mat.26:39).

9) Jesus experienced human temptation but he never sinned. (Heb2:18, 4:15,

Mat.4:1-10).

10) Jesus experienced a normal spiritual life. He was circumcised, (Luke 2:21),

was baptized, (mat3:13-17),he prayed and fasted (Mat26:36-44 and Mat 4:2),.

Kept the Jewish religious festivals and worshipped at the temple and synagogue

(Mark1:39. John 2:23).He observed the Sabbath and keep the law (Mat 5:17:17,

24-27).Healso received the fullness of the Spirit (Mat .3:16). About the

humanity of Christ, Jonathan 2016 observes that “Jesus became human being so

that humans could have an understanding of the infinite God and become a

bridge between the huge gap between God and humankind. For us to know God

, God had to step down to us because no human being could have bridged that

gigantic gulf”(135).

a. Since humanity sinned against God, they had to suffer the consequences of

death which made it necessary for God to put on a human body and die on the

cross. (Col.1:15; 2:9).Towards this end Richardson, 1964, says that we can

“conceive of how God may be incarnate in human form by interpenetrating

human selves in the person of human Jesus ,whose personality was thus

completely at one, the personality of his father . God and man may thus be

brought together in the person of Jesus Christ”. (64).

The applicability and validity of the work done by Christ on the cross depends

on humanity of Christ for the following reasons as listed by Wayne, 1994.

“Christ had to be human for representative obedience to be asufficientsacrifice,

mediator ,high priest, example and pattern in life to fulfill God’s original

purpose for man to rule over creation”(540)

b. Jesus Christ is fully God. Erickson, 1998 is right to say that, “the deity of Christ

has real value to the believer concerning the knowledge of God and the ability

to worship Christ for who he is.” (699). The following Biblical evidence proves

this statement to be true in that :-

1) Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holly spirit and born of a virgin (Mat

1:18-25).

2) Jesus had miraculous powers to heal people (Mat14:22-23), cast demons(Mat

8:28-34),raise the dead(Mat 14:22-23), power over nature (Mat 8:23-27)and

miraculously fed thousands of people. (Mat 14:13-21,John 6:1-13).

3) The same names, titles and other attributes of God in Old Testament and New

Testament are applied to Jesus. Some times a passage that is applied to God in

Old Testament is alluded to or directly quoted as applying to Jesus e.g. Alpha

and Omega in (Rev 1:8 and Rev.22:13, in Exd. 3:13-14 and John 8:24,28,58).

4) Jesus had attributes of God.

5) Jesus equated himself with God and identified himself as God.

6) Jesus proved that he was God by rising from the dead, a appeared to many

people and ascended to heaven in presence of many witnesses.

In conclusion we see that the efficacy of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross depends

on the genuineness of his deity. The Bible affirms the deity of Christ as condensed in

these two verses “In him dwells all the fullness of God bodily (Col.1:19). Menn, 2016,

sheds more light in this crucial doctrine.

A mediator is to identify with both parties. Because he is God, Christ identifies with

God the father. Because he is man Christ identifies with us. Because he did not sin, he

did not have to atone for his own sins. Instead Christ could take our sin upon himself,

pay the price for our sin that we should have paid and also impute on us his

righteousness so that we could stand before God. He alone can reconcile us to God

(col 1:1-19-20).

LIST OF REFERENCE

1. Erikson, Millard J. 1998. Christian Theology, Baker Publishing.

2. Menn Jonathan. 2016. Biblical Theology, Equipping Church leaders East

Africa. 3701N.Gillet SI Appleton, WL 54914.

3. Richardson Allan .1964 Creeds in making .SCM press limited Bloomsbury,

London.

4. Wayne Grudem. 1994. Systematic Theology .An introduction to Biblical

Doctrine. Zondervan publishing house: lnter varsity press. Grand Rapids

Michigan.

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."