Theology and Godly Living
2:5-11 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In the Bible we are given a lot of information about God, about what He’s like and what He’s done. This is what we call theology. God wants us to love Him with our all our mind as well as our heart, soul and strength. Part of loving Him with all our mind is learning about Him from what He has told us. So theology is a duty of every Christian. It is a part of loving God.
But there are some who merely gain intellectual stimulation from the study of theology much like the stimulation that can be gained from the study of other interesting fields of knowledge. We must remember that the goal of theology must always be worship and obedience, not the satisfaction of curiosity.
The Pharisees knew a lot about the Bible and, on one level, about God. But it wasn’t knowledge that led to worship or true obedience. It was knowledge that led to pride. Knowledge in and of itself, knowledge for the sake of knowledge, is not the Christian’s goal. In fact, when it is without love and worship, knowledge is actually destructive. "Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies." (1Cor.8:1)
In today’s passage, Paul teaches us a lot of theology. But this passage is a good illustration of the purpose of knowledge. Paul isn’t giving us this information about Christ to satisfy our intellectual curiosity. He’s giving us this information to move us to godly living. And if that isn’t the effect that theology has upon us, then we’ve gotten off track.
The Bible is a fascinating book. It is so marvelous that we must resist the temptation to study it for the wrong reason. For first and foremost, the Bible is a book given to move us to worship God and live godly lives before Him.
2Tim.3:16-17 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
O Lord, how grateful I am for the work You have done in my heart. For years I pursued Your Word more for the wrong reasons than for the right ones. Help my brethren who are still caught up in this wrong-headed pursuit. Help us to devote ourselves to the eager study of Your Word for the right reasons: in order that our hearts would be melted in worship and our lives would be directed and fueled for Your service. Forgive our sins and give us grace that our souls might always feast upon every luscious Word that comes from Your mouth. Make me a godly man by means of Your holy Word, dear Father.