The importance of Biblical Theology to the church ministry is both direct and indirect. Biblical Theology directly helps us do church ministry by enabling us to preach the Biblical theology themes of Scripture and show the unity of the Bible. Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett make this point in their discussion of the history of redemption: “the major themes and overarching structural ideas (e.g., covenant, a kingdom, and promise and fulfillment).” Our preaching on these great themes also shows our people how to study the Bible.[1] Klink and Lockett call this the “Chicago School” approach of D.A. Carson and his “whole-Bible Biblical Theology.” But the Biblical Theology of the “Dallas School” can aid the preacher’s ministry of preaching through books. The “Dallas School” approach is described by Darrell L. Bock: “Biblical theology is an attempt to study individual contributions of a given writer or a given period to the canons’ message.”[2] This is different from the “whole-Bible Biblical Theology” of D. A. Carson and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. “The Dallas School” approach is found in two Biblical theologies produced by the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary: A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament and A Biblical Theology of the New Testament. The second volume includes “A Theology of Matthew”, “A Theology of Mark”, as well as Luke-Acts, John’s Writings, etc. This approach would greatly help to preach a series through one of these books. And, again, this kind of Biblical Theology preaching demonstrates to our people how to study a book of the Bible.
Not only does Biblical Theology directly affect ministry but indirectly helps us do church ministry by being the “bridge” between exegesis and systematic theology,
D. A. Carson highlights the importance of these three disciplines: “Ideally, therefore, biblical theology stands as a kind of bridge discipline between responsible exegesis and responsible systematic theology (even though each of these inevitably influences the other two).” Carson, however, adds a corrective to our thinking: “This is not to suggest that legitimate influence runs only one way, from exegesis to biblical theology to systematic theology.”
Carson sees these three disciplines as inexorably intertwined and serving as a check and balance on each other. He gives this example: “For instance, insofar as systematic theology accurately summarizes some important things that the Bible as a whole actually does say, it may serve as a helpful grid that disciplines the task of the interpretation of, say, narrative. Narrative stripped from its context and thrown open to an active imagination is patient of far more uncontrolled interpretations than narrative safely embedded in its literary, historical, and canonical context.” Carson then shows the check and balance of systematic theology: “Competent systematic theology usefully curbs such excesses.
Carson also notes that BT provides the bridge for ST to be more culturally engaging which is an aid to the ministry of the local church. Carson writes: “Biblical theology, though it cannot escape cultural influences, aims to be first and foremost inductive and descriptive ... systematic theology tends to be a little further removed from the biblical text than does biblical theology, but a little closer to cultural engagement.”[3] Biblical Theology both directly and indirectly helps the ministry.
[1] Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett. A Comparison of Theory and Practice: Understanding Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan) 2012, 23.
[2] Darrell L. Bock, Roy B. Zuck. A Biblical Theology of the New Testament (Chicago: Moody) 1994, 13.
[3] D. A. Carson, B. S. Rosner, T. D. Allexander, G. Goldsworthy. eds., New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (:Downers Grove: IVP Academic) 2000, 89-104.