Common Terms
Amen – Literally “So Be It." This Hebrew word means firm, and hence also faithful
Apostle – A person sent by another, a messenger. It was characteristic of the apostles and necessary:
1. that they should have seen the Lord, and been able to testify of him and of his resurrection from personal experience.
2. They must have been immediately called to that office by Christ
3. It was essential that they should be infallibly inspired, and thus secured against all error and mistake in their public teaching, whether by word or by writing.
4. Another qualification was the power of working miracles. The apostles therefore could have had no successors. They are the only authoritative teachers of the Christian doctrines. The office of an apostle ceased with its first holders.
Atonement - the state of being at one or being reconciled. Our guilt is expiated by the punishment which Christ bore, and thus God is rendered propitious, i.e., it is now consistent with his justice to manifest his love to transgressors.
Baptism - The immersion or dipping of a believer in water symbolizing the complete renewal and change in the believer's life and testifying to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the way of salvation. It is one of the ordinances of the church. It does not save, but is an outward expression of what has already taken place on the inside.
Blessing – To make holy; to confer well-being or prosperity on; to endow, as with talent; or consecrate
Canon - This word is derived from a Hebrew and Greek word denoting a reed or cane. Hence it means something straight or something to keep straight; and hence also a rule or something ruled or measured. It came to be applied to the Scriptures, to denote that they contained the authoritative rule of faith and practice, the standard of doctrine and duty. A book is said to be of canonical authority when it has a right to take a place with the other books which contain a revelation of the Divine will. Such a right does not arise from any ecclesiastical authority, but from the evidence of the inspired authorship of the book. The canonical (i.e., the inspired) books of the Old and New Testaments, are a complete rule, and the only rule, of faith and practice. They contain the whole supernatural revelation of God to men.
Church - meaning simply an assembly, it can mean the whole body of the redeemed, all those whom the Father has given to Christ, at all times. It can also mean the whole body of professing Christians throughout the world. It can also mean a few Christians associated together in observing the ordinances of the gospel. It can also mean all of the Christians in a particular city, whether they assembled together in one place or in several places for religious worship
Communion (The Lord’s Supper) - The account of the institution of this ordinance is given in Matt 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19,20, and 1 Cor 11:24-26. It was designed, (1.) To commemorate the death of Christ: "This do in remembrance of me." (2.) To signify, seal, and apply to believers all the benefits of the new covenant. In this ordinance Christ ratifies his promises to his people, and they on their part solemnly consecrate themselves to him and to his entire service. (3.) To be a badge of the Christian profession. (4.) To indicate and to promote the communion of believers with Christ. (5.) To represent the mutual communion of believers with each other.
Disciples – These are followers of Christ. They are also students that are constantly being taught by the Holy Spirit in their spiritual growth and development.
Doctrine - The basic body of Christian teaching or understanding; a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative
Expiation - The act of making satisfaction or atonement for any crime or fault; the extinguishing of guilt by suffering or penalty
Faith - Trusting commitment of one person to another, particularly of a person to God. Faith is the central concept of Christianity. One may be called a Christian only if one has faith. Faith is not intellectual assent. Faith does not merely know that there is a God but places trust in that God to pay for our sin. It is a surrender of our will for His.
Fellowship -
1. With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will; agreement with his designs; mutual affection; enjoyment of his presence; conformity to his image; and participation of his happiness.
2. Of saints with one another, in duties; in ordinances; in grace, love, joy, etc.; mutual interest, spiritual and temporal; in sufferings; and in glory.
Foreknowledge – God is the only one with Foreknowledge. This is one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full import of which we cannot comprehend. In the most absolute sense his knowledge is infinite.
Free Will - The ability or discretion to choose; free choice
Gospel – literally “good news." It is the rendering of the Greek evangelion, i.e., "good message." It denotes:
1. "the welcome intelligence of salvation to man as preached by our Lord and his followers.
2. It was afterwards transitively applied to each of the four histories of our Lord's life, published by those who are therefore called 'Evangelists', writers of the history of the gospel (the evangelion).
3. The term is often used to express collectively the gospel doctrines; and 'preaching the gospel' is often used to include not only the proclaiming of the good tidings, but the teaching men how to avail themselves of the offer of salvation, the declaring of all the truths, precepts, and promises of Christianity."
Grace – Favor, kindness, friendship. God’s forgiving mercy. It is the act of bestowing that which a person has not earned.
Hell (Gehenna) - the place of final judgment. It is the abode of the dead especially as a place of eternal punishment for unbelievers. It was created by God for the devil and his angels.
Holy – Separated or set apart
Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) - The third Person of the Trinity through whom God acts, reveals His will, empowers individuals, and discloses His personal presence in the Old and New Testament.
Inerrant – It means literally without error. Completely without miscalculation, contradiction, or falsehood.
Intercession – The act of mediation, or to act as an advocate. We pray through intercession for others. Christ is our intercessor before God. Christ’s advocacy with the Father for His people rests on the basis of His own all-perfect sacrifice. Thus He pleads for and obtains the fulfillment of all the promises of the everlasting covenant. He can be “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” and is both a merciful and faithful high priest.
Justification – The judicial act of God whereby He declares the sinner righteous (Just as if I had never sinned…Just as if I am Christ) It is a forensic term, opposed to condemnation. In addition to the pardon of sin, justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied in respect of the justified. It is the act of a judge. The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law
Legalism – adding works to faith as a means of obtaining grace
Mercy - compassion for the miserable. Its object is misery. By the atoning sacrifice of Christ a way is open for the exercise of mercy towards the sons of men, in harmony with the demands of truth and righteousness.
Messiah - Transliteration of Hebrew word meaning, “anointed one” that was translated into Greek as Christos. Since apostolic times the name Christ has become the proper name of Jesus, the Person whom Christians recognize as the God-given Redeemer of Israel and the church's Lord. “Christ” or Messiah is therefore a name admirably suited to express both the church's link with Israel through the Old Testament and the faith that sees in Jesus Christ the worldwide scope of the salvation in Him.
New Testament – The second major division of the Christian Bible with twenty-seven separate works (called “books”) attributed to at least eight different writers. It is literally the "New Covenant," in contrast to the old covenant of works, which is superseded. "The covenant of grace is called new; it succeeds to the old broken covenant of works. It is ever fresh, flourishing, and excellent; and under the gospel it is dispensed in a more clear, spiritual, extensive, and powerful manner than of old" (Brown of Haddington). Hence is derived the name given to the latter portion of the Bible.
Obedience - compliance with that which is required by authority; subjection to rightful restraint or control; dutiful or submissive behavior
Old Testament - The first part of the Christian Bible, taken over from Israel. It tells the history of the nation Israel and God's dealings with them to the return from Exile in Babylon. For Jews it is the complete Bible, sometimes called Tanak for its three parts (Torah or Law, Nebiim or Prophets, Kethubim or Writings). Christians see its complement in the New Testament, which reveals Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament has three major divisions: Law, Prophets (Former and Latter), and Writings.
Omnipotent – One having unlimited power or authority.
Omnipresent - Present everywhere simultaneously.
Omniscient - Having total knowledge; knowing everything.
Ordinance – A ritual or ceremony that has been ordered or commanded by the Lord. It is sometimes linked with the word sacrament. It is primarily a rite or ceremony that is an outward expression of an inward work that has already been done.
Paradise – This term is given as “Abraham’s Bosom." It refers to the abode of the righteous dead.
Prayer – It is communication between God and man. Dialogue is what is essential to prayer. Prayer makes a difference in what happens. Our understanding of prayer will correspond to our understanding of God. When God is seen as desiring to bless and sovereignly free to respond to persons, then prayer will be seen as dialogue with God. God will respond when we faithfully pursue this dialogue. Prayer will lead to a greater communion with God and a greater understanding of His will. It is not given to impress others; it is not long-winded attempts that try to manipulate God.
Propitiation - The act of appeasing the wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious.
Reconciliation – The payment of our sin on the cross. It means to bring back into a right relationship with. This is effected by his justice being satisfied, so that he can, in consistency with his own nature, be favorable toward sinners. Justice demands the punishment of sinners. The death of Christ satisfies justice, and so reconciles God to us. This reconciliation makes God our friend, and enables him to pardon and save us.
Redemption - the purchase back of something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom. The debt against us is not viewed as simply cancelled, but is fully paid. Christ's blood or life, which he surrendered for them, is the "ransom" by which the deliverance of his people from the servitude of sin and from its penal consequences is secured.
Repent – Not just a feeling of regret but as it applies to man, a turning from sin to God. It is a reorientation of the sinner to God.
Righteousness - The actions and positive results of a sound relationship within a local community or between God and a person or His people. It is comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law.
Sacrament – It is a formal religious act conferring a specific grace on those who receive it. An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, though many evangelical Christians shy away from the word sacrament in favor of “ordinances.” It usually refers to a religious ritual which is believed to carry a special healing or saving power. There is strong biblical support for the theological idea of an outward sign carrying an inward spiritual power. It is not, however, an automatic or mechanical transmission of divine grace. It depends upon the inward faith and spiritual response of the believer.
Salvation - The acutely dynamic act of snatching others by force from serious peril. In its most basic sense, salvation is the saving of a life from death or harm. Scripture, particularly the New Testament, extends salvation to include deliverance from the penalty and power of sin.
Sanctification - involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man.
Sin - Actions by which humans rebel against God, miss His purpose for their life, and surrender to the power of evil rather than to God. It is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God", in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission. It is our nature to transgress the law of God and thus separate us from the love of God. It is because of this separation that Christ died for us and paid that price, so that we can enjoy a right relationship with God again.
Soul - The vital existence of a human being. It is the spiritual nature of humans, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state.
Sovereign - of God, his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure
Stewardship - Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation. Often, stewardship is thought of only in terms of finances, but the Bible teaches that stewardship is a far greater concept, involving how we respond with all of our life to Him who is the giver and sustainer of life?
The Trinity - a word not found in Scripture, but used to express the doctrine of the unity of God as subsisting in three distinct Persons. The propositions involved in the doctrine are these: 1. that God is one and that there is but one God. 2. That the Father is a distinct divine Person, distinct from the Son and the Holy Spirit. 3. That Jesus Christ was truly God, and yet was a Person distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. 4. That the Holy Spirit is also a distinct divine Person. In each of the persons of the trinity rest the completeness of the Godhead fully. It is a theological term used to define God as an undivided unity expressed in the threefold nature of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As a distinctive Christian doctrine, the Trinity is considered as a divine mystery beyond human comprehension to be reflected upon only through scriptural revelation.
“Got Saved” – To accept that you are sinner and that because of that sin you are separated from God. To also believe that because of that separation Christ died for you and paid the penalty by dying on the cross so that you may stand blameless before God.
“In Jesus’ Name” – This is usually spoken at the end of a prayer. It is used to signify that God’s will be done in this prayer and that the prayer was spoken under the authority of Jesus.
“Inspired by God” – This is written in 2 Timothy 3:16. The word Inspiration in Greek means God-Breathed. The idea is that God has actually breathed Himself into the writers who wrote the Bible in the same way that a musician breathes into an instrument in order to produce a note. It is not used to describe the ability of an athlete’s ability to play above their ability, a person’s unique insight. These are all men’s doings. The inspiration of the Bible is unique and cannot be duplicated by man.
“Keeping the Sabbath” – This refers to keeping one day a week separated to reflect on God. The Sabbath was created for man not man for the Sabbath. In Jewish thought the Sabbath refers to our Saturday. Sunday is the first day of the week. We celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday because that is the day on which Christ rose from the dead.
“Lost People” – These are people who have not put their faith in God to pay the penalty for their sin, so that they may go to Heaven. They are “lost” in the sense that they have not “found” Jesus.
“The Great Commission” – The scripture in Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus commands us to go into all the world and make disciples.
“To be Born Again” - To accept that you are sinner and that because of that sin you are separated from God. To also believe that because of that separation Christ died for you and paid the penalty by dying on the cross so that you may stand blameless before God. This phrase comes from John chapter 3, in which Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus and tells him that in order to enter into Heaven he must be “born again." This refers to a spiritual birth not a physical birth, because through Adam and original sin we are all spiritually dead.
(Several definitions taken from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.) Also from (Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc), (The American Heritage® Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.), and (Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.)
