Thinking Theology Karl Deenick

How can God be one and three? How can Jesus be God and yet not another God? And what about the Spirit, where does he fit in?
In the last episode of Thinking Theology, we saw that God promised in the Old Testament that a day would arrive when he would come in person to save his people and be with them. But astonishingly, that happened in the coming of the man Jesus. Jesus did all the things that only God himself does like creating the world, miracles and forgiving sins. Jesus showed himself to be God, distinct from the Father. But how does that work?
That’s what we’re thinking about in this episode of Thinking Theology. We’re thinking about the Trinity—one God in three persons.

Who is Jesus? The identity of Jesus lies at the very heart of Christianity. But what is it about Jesus that’s so important?
In the last episode we looked at the problem of sin. God made the world good. He made a world without death and decay. He made a world in which humanity could dwell with him in love and fellowship, ruling over and developing God’s world under him. But the world is not like that anymore. It’s broken. And the reason it’s broken is because human beings have sought to rule themselves and God’s world without God. We’ve tried to get rid of God.
The result is judgement, which is seen immediately in death and decay, and in a world groaning under the wrath of God. But ultimately, the result is eternal separation from God.
So what’s the solution? The solution, quite simply, is Jesus. And not just what Jesus has done, but who he is.
But who is Jesus?
That’s what we’re beginning to think about this episode of Thinking Theology.

What is sin? Where did it come from? How has it affected us as human beings? How has it effected the world in which we live?
In the last episodes of Thinking Theology we saw that God created human beings. He created human beings to reflect him, to rule over the world under him. He made us to relate to him. But things are no longer as they were created to be. Our world is broken and we are broken.
But what happened to get us from there to here?
That’s what we’re thinking about in this episode of Thinking Theology.

In the last episode of Thinking Theology we thought about what it means to be human. Who has God made us to be?
 
In this bonus episode  I sit down with Rob Smith, one of my colleagues at SMBC. Rob teaches theology, ethics as well as music ministry. Rob has just completed his PhD on what the Bible has to say about gender. He's written a short book on that topic too.
 
But in this episode I'm talking with Rob about what it means to be embodied. What does that Bible have to say about human bodies.

What does it mean to be human? Are we different or special? Or are we just another animal? And what do we do with ourselves? Do we have a purpose?
In the last episodes of Thinking Theology we saw that God created the world, that he upholds the world every moment, that he is in control of everything that happens, but in such a way that our actions are still meaningful.
Now we’re moving on to think in more detail about who God has created us to be as human beings. 

If God is in control of everything that happens in the universe, where does that leave us as human beings? Do we have a say? Do we have any meaningful choice? Are we just robots? And if we make meaningful choices, where does that leave God and his sovereignty over the world?
In the last episode of Thinking Theology we saw how God upholds the world at every moment. God is in control of everything. He’s in control of the natural world, human events, individual life, human decisions, including faith and salvation. He’s even sovereign in some way over sin.
But where does that leave us as human beings? How do we fit into God’s sovereignty?
That’s what we’re thinking about in this episode of Thinking Theology.