Pan-African Journal of Theology

Systematic Theology: God as Trinity.

Hopewell Mandina — 2024-12-08

No abstract.

Moses’ leadership model as an impetus for spiritual growth in the mission field

Emmanuel G.M. Kollie — 2024-12-08

There is potential for spiritual growth and expansion in the Seventh-day Adventists’ mission field for pastors. However, one identified challenge is that most Church members are easily discouraged and quick to relinquish their Christian zeal due to the strife of African pastoral leadership authority. This study affirms that the inability to apply the best biblical principles and application in the election of pastoral leaders leads to all kinds of unbiblical manipulations. The misguided steps for leadership authority are not for the Gospel Commission’s success but for self-aggrandized realities and other vices. This paper proposes the Mosaic Leadership Model as a case study for applying best practices for appointing pastoral leaders in Africa. The Mosaic leadership par excellence focuses, among others, on the leadership traits of humility, empathy, power sharing, vision, tenacity, heroism, self-reflection, patience, charisma, wisdom, compassion, and perseverance.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s repentance compared to the Ninevites’ Repentance

James Mutua — 2024-12-08

King Nebuchadnezzar reached the terminus of his exile in the wild with animals and birds. The monarch gained human conscience and gazed up to heaven, acknowledging God as the ruler of human kingdom. The term, “end,” in Daniel 4:34 is used in connection with time, marking the end of seven years of the king’s deportation. Nineveh, a great wicked city, was the capital city of the Assyrian empire; and the Lord sent the prophet Jonah to prophesy against it for its wickedness. When the Ninevites heard of a looming destruction within a time limit of forty days, they repented and God spared them. There is a parallel between the repentance of King Nebuchadnezzar recorded in Daniel 4:34-37 and the Ninevites in Jonah 3:3-10. This article submits that the repentances of both King Nebuchadnezzar and the Ninevites, including their king bear a close resemblance. The method used in this research is inductive. An exegetical study of Daniel 4:34-37 (Heb 4:31-34) and Jonah 3:3-10 will be carried out to explore the nature of repentance in both passages. A conclusion will be drawn based on the exegesis and theology of the passages.

Did Jesus ride two donkeys? An exegetical study of Matthew 21:2

Isaac Chiyokoma — 2024-12-08

There has been a challenge regarding the number of donkeys ridden by Jesus during the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This is exacerbated by the notion that Matthew was unaware of Hebrew poetic parallelism in his allusion to Zechariah’s prophecy and portrayed Jesus as riding two donkeys. Matthew’s gospel contrasts the other three evangelists, who report only one donkey in their accounts. In this article, an exegetical analysis of Matthew 21:2 reveals grammatical and lexical considerations that clarify Matthew’s apparent divergence. It has been established that Jesus mounted a young male donkey that had never been ridden before. The final personal plural pronoun αὐτωv in Matthew 21:7, read together with the final coordinating conjunction καὶ, has been shown that it relates to the garments upon which Jesus sat, not on the two donkeys. The study also shows that when the final καί in Matthew 21:5 is read epexegetically as an adverb or ascensive conjunction and translated as “even,” the allusion to Zechariah’s prophecy proves that Matthew was aware of Hebraic poetic parallelism. The same holds for the Hebrew text in Zechariah 9:9, where the waw conjunction is considered epexegetical.

The use, meaning and theological significance of the preposition ἐν, in ἐν τῇ γυναικὶ in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16.

Mayboy Muchabwe — 2024-12-08

There are divergent views on ἐν τῇ γυναικί as reflected in many Bible versions. However, the study thesis is that it expresses personal relationships; hence, the meaning “to unite to his wife” is the probable rendition. The syntactical relationship between the phrase and ἡγίασται suggests the use of an indirect middle voice rather than a passive one. For this reason, the study concludes that taking the phrase in its historical, literary, semantic, and syntactic context, the verse’s probable meaning should be: because the unbelieving husband has devoted (in his own self-interest) to (unite to/belong to) his wife and the unbelieving wife has devoted (in her own self-interest) to (unite to/belong to) her husband: otherwise, then your children were illegitimate (impure), but now they are pure (legitimate).

The pathways to communal peace in Colossians 3:5-12 and their relevance to national peacebuilding

Honor Sewapo — 2024-12-08

Communal peace, which has over the years encountered natural disasters and, in particular, flouting of secular and sacred rules by humans, experiences estrangement and communal disorder in the human community, including Colossae. However, the pathways to communal peace are provided in Colossians. Previous studies on communal peace have focused on sustainable reconciliation in a divided society, cosmic reconciliation, and Paul’s proclamation of reconciliation, with little attention paid to the relevance of its pathways. This paper, therefore, examines the pathways (νεκρόω “put to death,” ἀποτίθημι “put away or put off,” and ἐνδύω “put on”) to communal peace in Colossians 3:5-12, with a view to determining their relevance to national peacebuilding. While Ralph Martin’s Grammatico-historical approach is adopted, the interpretive design is used. Data are subjected to exegetical analysis. The findings of this study will have implications for healthy relationships either between God and humans or among humans.

The trinity and Ecclesiological Foundations: An Exegetical Theological Assessment of Ephesians 2:19-22

Brian Sinyangwe — 2024-12-08

The doctrine of God seems to be the lynchpin of the entire theological system. The very beginning of the Bible suggests the centrality of God to all other discussions that unfold in the rest of Scripture (Gen. 1:1). It goes to affirm that this centrality of the doctrine of God affects the entire understanding of how God operates and relates to creation, and especially to humanity in the post-sin context. Concerning this, is the redemptive act of God through the agency of Christ, which has been bequeathed on the Church. Important questions arise as a result: How does one understand the concept of biblical theism? What does it mean that God is one, yet three persons? What is the biblical affirmation of the doctrine of God? How does the doctrine of God relate to the doctrine of the Church? What are the implications of the relationship between the doctrines of God and the Church? In response to these questions, the article demonstrates this unique association from the context of Ephesians 2:19-22, which seems to affirm a bond between the two doctrines.

Rest for a restless world: The holiness of the Sabbath and its implications for Christians today

Gabriel Masfa — 2024-12-08

This paper examines the meaning and significance of the terms “holiness of the Sabbath” in theology and their implications for contemporary Christian life. It builds upon a critical interpretation of the term “holiness” in theology to draw practical insights for Christians today. The paper argues that three major approaches define the concept of holiness in the Bible: holiness as consecration; holiness as relational; and divine presence and divine glory - a manifestation of holiness. These approaches explain the dimensions of the holiness of the Sabbath as developed in this paper.

The Ecumenical Movement and the challenge of Roman Catholicism

Peter Obeng Manu — 2024-12-08

This paper which employed the historical-theological methodology, intended to investigate the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Movement, and the role Roman Catholicism has played in the Ecumenical Movement since its inception. It was observed in the study that the Roman Catholic Church’s relationship and role to the Ecumenical Movement has been determined by two-time epochs: Before Vatican II (1962-1965), and after Vatican II. Before Vatican II, Roman Catholicism was critical of the Ecumenical Movement and sought to distance itself from it. However, after Vatican II (1962-1965), Roman Catholicism changed her strategy in relating to the Ecumenical Movement, and not her position. She redefines ecumenism as a return of the separated churches to her, and goes a step further to amalgamate all world religions. This actually poses a threat to the Ecumenical Movement since it can lead to Roman Catholic supremacy and dominance of the movement. It also has the potential of threatening religious freedom leading to theological compromises.

A comparative study of the Roman Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist Churches Doctrine of the Trinity: Implications for the Anti-Trinitarian Views with Adventism

Tony Ogouma — 2024-12-08

In recent years the question of the Trinity has been of important interest within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Many have disputed the current Trinitarian position of the Church. Therefore, many Adventists are calling for a rejection of the Trinity because of an alleged idea that the current Adventist position on the subject of the Trinity is coming from the Roman Catholic Church. However, a comparative and contrasting study between the Roman Catholic Church and the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s statement of belief in the Trinity shows that the Adventist statement is different from the Catholic view. Therefore, the two theologies of the Trinity differ from one another. Even though the two denominations agree on the importance of the concept of the Trinity in their theology, they differ in their understanding of the major aspects of the three persons of the Trinity.