Further Study

Review Questions

These questions are designed to help you review important material covered in the lecture.

1. Explain what is meant by the term diachronic.
2. Why do we use the term development instead of simply speaking of diachronic changes? How does this development involve God’s divine purposes and divine providence?
3. Give at least one biblical example of authors or characters in the Bible treating the Scriptures diachronically.
4. Describe the universal covenants, the national covenants, and the New Covenant. Explain how these various covenants divide the history of the Old Testament into major theological periods.
5. Explain how the covenant epochs of Old Testament history were unified as administrations of God’s kingdom.
6. Describe how the authority of earlier covenants extended to later covenants, and explain why care must be taken when applying lessons learned from earlier covenants to later situations.
7. Describe three aspects of the relationships between different covenant ages.
8. What are the most common topics of traditional systematic theology and how do biblical theologians approach these topics?
9. What is biblical typology and why is it important to the study of biblical theology? Give examples.
10. What are five important features of typologies in Scripture, and how do we identify typologies in the Old Testament?

Application Questions

Application questions are appropriate for written assignments or as topics for group discussions. For written assignments, it is recommended that answers not exceed one page in length.

1. What makes understanding how the Bible’s theology developed over time so important for us as we seek to apply the Old Testament to our own lives or teach it to others?
2. What are some ways that we might misinterpret and/or misapply the Bible if we fail to understand how biblical theology developed over time?
3. How can Jesus’ description of the diachronic development of marriage be an example for us as we seek to do biblical theology today?
4. In what ways should we apply the Scriptures concerning aspects of Old Testament worship (sacrifice, temple, Passover meal) in church services today under the New Covenant?
5. In what ways might Christians today be tempted to live as if we were in an earlier age of redemptive history, before the coming of Christ?
6. In what ways might Christians today be tempted to forget the wisdom that God had taught in earlier ages?
7. What is the importance of understanding the Scriptures’ use of typology for the study of the Bible?
8. In what ways can typology point us forward to the realities that we will experience when Christ returns, and how can this give us hope in the present time?
9. What is the most significant insight you have learned from this study?
10. What areas of study do you believe you need to pursue further after this lesson?

Discussion Video

Additional information concerning the lesson topic is provided in a video presentation of a question and answer session. If you are struggling to understand any portion of the lesson or if you would simply like to deepen your understanding of the subject, this video will be helpful.