The highest blessing in the world to come is the restoration of our “face to face” relationship with God through which will flow the restoration of all our other relationships that God ordains for human flourishing – including our relationships with ourselves, others, and our work.

We are summarizing the theology of the Bible in three categories, faith, hope, and love. These have been called “theological virtues,” and in 1 Cor. 13:13, the Apostle Paul describes them as the things that “remain,” when our childhood ignorance passes into complete, godly knowledge. 

In the Applied Theology series of courses, you’ll learn a Trinitarian theology of faith, hope, and love by understanding and applying to your life what the Bible teaches about: 1) Faith found in the Apostles’ Creed, 2) Hope found in the Lord’s Prayer, and 3) Love found in the Ten Commandments. You’ll learn from God’s Word that: A mind that is renewed by faith and a heart that is aflame with hope results in a life that honors God by loving him and others deeply and well.

The historic Nicene Creed ends with the statement, “We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life in the world to come.” It’s easy to affirm these words with our mouths, but it’s often hard to experience the reality of these words in our hearts. Most Christians today don’t seem to be looking forward to their resurrection and the life to come described in Scripture.

Everything in theology is ultimately about the revelation of the person and work of the Triune God in Scripture as Creator, Redeemer, and Restorer. So, instead of studying the doctrine of the Trinity as only one of several topics in theology, all other Christian doctrines should be studied in light of the Trinity.

To know God means to know who God is and what God does as Triune Lord – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the last chapter our focus was on knowing God the Father as Lord in his work of creation. In this chapter our focus is on knowing God the Son as Lord in his work of redemption. The second and largest section of the Creed presents the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Having examined the Son’s work of humiliation as our Redeemer in his birth, life, and death, we turn now to consider his work of exaltation in his resurrection, ascension, and return. When describing Jesus’ resurrection, the Creed says, The third day he rose again from the dead. Luke writes: On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared…

To know God means to know who God is and what God does as Triune Lord – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here we learn the biblical teaching on the person and work of the Holy Spirit as Restorer.

Christians believe that there is a new world coming when Jesus returns, in the power of his Holy Spirit, to restore fallen humanity and creation by establishing God’s kingdom on earth forever. The Apostles’ Creed affirms three biblical beliefs regarding the age to come when Christ returns: 1) the resurrection of the dead, 2) the judgment of the living and the dead, and 3) the life everlasting in the world to come.

I believe in God are the first words of the Apostles’ Creed. Do you believe in God? It seems like a simple question that requests a simple yes or no answer. Yet generation after generation, the ancient question of humanity’s transcendent belief surfaces, and the answers depend on what people mean by saying they believe in God.

To know God means to know who God is and what God does as Triune Lord – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This requires us to know God’s attributes and acts. In this chapter our focus is on knowing God the Father as Lord of Creation. The Apostles’ Creed is divided into three major sections representing the person and work of the three members of the Trinity.

Theology is, as we’ve said, the application of Scripture by persons to all areas of life. On this definition, theology is Scriptural, practical, and personal. But on this understanding, theology is universal in scope, and therefore a huge task. Are there any directions as to how we may divide up the task into smaller units?

The Applied Theology series follows the ancient Greek and Christian tradition of Augustine’s Enchiridion. The word enchiridion is derived from the Greek word (ἐγχειρίδιον) that conveys the concept of a book that is “fitting in (en) the hand (kheir)” or “ready to hand” as in ready to hand someone.

Having seen how the essence of our faith is expressed in the Apostles’ Creed, we now look at how our hope is found in the Lord’s Prayer. In doing this, we continue following the example of Augustine’s succinct summary of biblical Christianity in his Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love.

Having seen how our faith should be rooted in the biblical truths of the Apostles’ Creed, and our hope should be stirred up by the Lord’s Prayer, we’ll look now at how our love for God and others should be a demonstration of God’s will for us revealed in the Ten Commandments.

The highest virtue of love looks like someone who obeys the Ten Commandments out of a sincere love for God and others. But because of sin, no one can fully obey these commands. So why did God give them to us? What is the relationship between God’s law, which demands our obedience, and the gospel, which promises us forgiveness?

We seek a theology that encourages faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love for God and others (1 Cor 13:13). In Applied Theology we’re seeking to recapture for today the biblical, historical, and practical theology of faith, hope, and love, championed by the great theologians of the past.

On Easter we’re reminded of the good news of God’s love for us displayed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Drs. John Frame and Steve Childers help us better understand our resurrection from the dead and life in the new world to come in this brief excerpt from their upcoming book and course, "Theology of Faith."

On Good Friday we’re reminded of the good news of God’s love for us displayed in the death of his Son Jesus Christ on the cross. Drs. John Frame and Steve Childers help us deepen our understanding of the death of Jesus in this brief excerpt from their upcoming book and course, “Gospel in Theology.”