Have you ever wondered how we’re supposed to read the Bible, not just study individual verses, but understand it as a whole? That’s the job of biblical theology, and it’s a discipline I didn’t fully appreciate until I read Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum’s God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants.
Gentry and Wellum define biblical theology as “the hermeneutical discipline that seeks to do justice to what Scripture claims to be and what it actually is.”¹ That definition reframes the whole task: it’s not about picking apart isolated doctrines, it’s about reading Scripture the way it was meant to be read, as both fully human and fully divine.
Before diving into the covenants themselves, I wanted to sit with this idea first, because how we approach the Bible shapes everything we conclude from it.
Why the Covenants Matter
Throughout Scripture, God’s covenants serve as the thread that ties the story together, from creation and the fall to the cross and the coming kingdom. They reveal His faithfulness, His character, and His plan to redeem humanity.
Gentry and Wellum emphasize that a right understanding of the covenants “is central to grasping the Bible’s story, drawing correct theological conclusions, and rightly applying Scripture to our daily lives.”²
That’s why studying biblical covenants goes hand in hand with studying the background of the Bible, its history, culture, and language. The covenants were given in specific historical contexts, but their impact extends across time. Knowing when and why they were made helps us interpret the Bible accurately and live in light of God’s promises today.
Theology, History, and Presuppositions
One section that stood out was the discussion of how theology developed through history. Especially the shift from systematic to biblical theology during and after the Enlightenment. The authors note how certain thinkers took “an illegitimate path tied to Enlightenment presuppositions.”³
That word, presuppositions, struck me. Everyone approaches Scripture with them. Whether it’s a misunderstanding, hurt from the Church, or something we heard on social media, our presuppositions can distort how we read the Bible and, ultimately, how we view God.
The Enlightenment emphasized reason over revelation, which caused many to interpret Scripture apart from faith in its divine origin. We still see this today when people view the Bible as merely literature instead of the living Word of God.
Defining Biblical Theology
One of the most helpful takeaways was seeing how tightly biblical theology holds together two truths that are easy to separate: Scripture’s divine origin and its human authorship. It doesn’t ask us to choose between the Bible as God’s Word and the Bible as a book written by real people, in real places, at real moments in history. It insists on both.
That’s a harder balance to strike than it sounds. Lean too far one way, and Scripture becomes untethered from history. It’s treated like a spiritual text floating above the details of when and why it was written. Lean too far the other way, and it gets reduced to just another ancient document. Sure, it’s interesting, maybe wise, but no different from any other human writing.
Biblical theology holds the tension. It reads Scripture as fully inspired and fully historical at once, letting each shape how we understand the other.
Theology isn’t about abstract ideas, it’s about rightly knowing and worshiping God as He has revealed Himself.
A Question for the Author
As I finished the chapter, one question stuck with me. How do we have conversations about this with people who don’t already believe the Bible’s claims?
Knowing the truth of Scripture is one thing. Communicating it, especially to someone shaped by skeptical or distorted presuppositions, is another. I find myself both fascinated and overwhelmed by the challenge.
How do we help someone see the beauty and coherence of God’s covenants when they view Scripture as outdated or unreliable? How do we invite them to see what we see, the grand story of God’s redemption written from Genesis to Revelation?
That’s a question I hope to keep wrestling with as I continue studying and sharing biblical theology.
Footnotes
- Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 23.
- Ibid., 18.
- Ibid., 21.
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