We are doing biblical theology when we attentively read and understand a biblical passage or theme in light of the progressive revelation, redemptive-historical trajectory, and canonical context of Holy Scripture. Each of these phrases could be unpacked and defended, but that description will suffice for our purposes. In a cyclical way, keeping the Big Story in mind will help us study and understand Scripture’s many parts, and studying these individual parts will help us discern how they serve the overall message and theological contours of Scripture.

Biblical theology—what is it, and what are people doing who claim to practice it? Answering these questions is important not only for the purposes of this substack (after all, it’s called Biblical Theology) but for Christian interpreters in general, for we should care about reading Scripture well.

But definitions differ. One way to define biblical theology is by borrowing from the expression itself. “Biblical theology is theology of the Bible.” That definition is rather vague, but it’s getting us in the right direction. Biblical theology derives from the Text itself. Let’s build on that.

The Bible contains the writings of human authors, so biblical theology is based on attentively reading those writings so that we can understand what those authors meant. We pay attention to intention. Let’s go a bit further.

The writings of the biblical authors are inspired, and the Spirit’s inspiration establishes a coherent and united corpus of texts. The canon of Scripture is the result of the progressive composition and collection of the Spirit-inspired writings. The biblical interpreter, then, is reading Spirit-inspired texts written over a long period of time. Since God does not contradict himself, the inspiration of biblical texts ensures that later biblical authors have rightly understood, interpreted, and expounded upon earlier biblical authors.

The coherent and progressive nature of biblical revelation will enable readers to trace biblical themes and teachings, to notice development of earlier texts and concepts, and to situate the passage in question within the redemptive-historical arc of Scripture.

Given the previous sentences and assertions, we can say the following: we are doing biblical theology when we attentively read and understand a biblical passage or theme in light of the progressive revelation, redemptive-historical trajectory, and canonical context of Holy Scripture. Each of these phrases could be unpacked and defended, but that description will suffice for our purposes.

In a cyclical way, keeping the Big Story in mind will help us study and understand Scripture’s many parts, and studying these individual parts will help us discern how they serve the overall message and theological contours of Scripture.

Consider some other descriptions of what biblical theology is. These are from some of my favorite biblical theologians, in alphabetical order.

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