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This is Paul's first letter to his convert, Timothy, who was from the city of Lystra (Acts 16:1). It appears to have been written after Paul's release from his initial Roman imprisonment (Acts 28). Timothy was a frequent traveling companion of Paul. The apostle warns the young evangelist about fa...
Jesus once prayed that God's will might be done on earth, just as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Jehovah's will is what is best for humanity and what he requires us to implement in our lives. The Lord has the right to exert his will because of who he is (deity), and he can impose it in any way c...
Discipline is actually a process of training that begins at the point of one's conversion and continues throughout one's life. It includes teaching, example, exhortation, admonition, etc. (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The most extreme and ultimate form of church discipline, however, is the withdrawal of f...
Mary was a Hebrew maiden who was chosen to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Her miraculous conception was prophesied in the O.T. (Isa. 7:14). Mary was certainly worthy of honor as a godly Jewish woman (see Mt. 1:16ff; Lk. 1:27ff; Jn. 19:25ff), but the cult-like superstition that has evolved regardi...
In the Old Testament, anointing with oil was used ceremonially to set apart special roles, especially those of prophets (1 Kgs. 19:16), priests (Ex. 28:41), and kings (1 Sam. 9:16). The most common Hebrew word for "anoint" is mashah, from which will come the term Messiah. The Greek word for "anoi...
The Greek word psallo is found five times in the N.T. It is rendered by the English terms "sing" (Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 14:15; Jas. 5:13), and "make melody" (Eph. 5:19). In the era of classical Greek (cir. 900 to 330 B.C.), the word was used in the sense of "to touch" or "to twang," as with a carpent...
The "Ten Commandments" constituted the core element of the law of Moses (see Ex. 19:16-20:17). They were written by God himself on the two tables of stone (Ex. 31:18; 32:15-16; 34:1, 28; Dt. 10:4). Moses shattered the first set when he learned of Israel's worship of the golden calf (Ex. 32:19). E...
The term "heaven" is used in different ways in the Bible. The expression may refer to the atmospheric region just above the earth where the birds fly, the rain forms, and the wind blows (Gen. 1:10; 7:11; Dan. 8:8). The outer space region that houses the stars, the sun, and the planets is also des...
The doctrine of hereditary total depravity is also known as "original sin" in Roman Catholicism. This concept asserts that all children come into the world with both the effects and guilt of Adam's original sin. By "heredity," therefore, they are totally (completely) depraved (evil). Proponents o...
References to "worship" are common in both the O.T. and the N.T. The Hebrew term shachah (about 100 times) refers to "bowing" before an object of religious devotion. Similarly, proskuneo (59 times) in the N.T. means to prostrate oneself, do obeisance. Worship can be offered to the true God (Gen. ...
While the term "unity" is rare in the English Bible (Psa. 133:1; Eph. 4:3; 4:13), the idea prevails profusely in a variety of contexts. (a) Unity is that oneness that obtains perfectly among the members of the divine Godhead -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These holy Persons are "one" (Dt. 6:4; ...
This is an expression used frequently in the Old Testament to describe those who forsook their loyalty to God and began to serve Satan again. No fewer than thirteen times, the prophet Jeremiah rebuked ancient Israel for her backsliding ways (Jer. 2:19; 3:6; cf. Hos. 4:16 KJV; 11:7). It is useless...
"Communion" is a term applied to the Lord's Supper because of its usage in 1 Corinthians 10:16. This act of worship emphasizes the fellowship (koinonia — sharing, participation) we enjoy with Christ when we partake of the sacred elements (cf. "with you" in Mt. 26:29). The communion involves two e...
The most common Greek word representing this idea is apollumi. The term can suggest the idea of an object that is estranged from its owner. A shepherd loses his sheep, a woman loses a coin, a Father loses a son (Lk. 15:4, 9, 32). When men, by their sins, wander away from their Creator, they are "...
This book, authored by the Lord's half-brother (Galatians 1:19), is directed to the "twelve tribes scattered abroad." This is either Jewish Christians or a figurative designation for "spiritual Israel" (Galatians 6:16), the church generally. The narrative is sometimes characterized as the "gospel...
The Bible affirms God's omniscience (i.e., that he knows everything—past, present, and future; cf. 1 Sam. 16:7; Psa. 139; Is. 40:13ff; Acts 1:24; Heb. 4:13). One aspect of divine omniscience is "foreknowledge" (prognosis -- knowing beforehand). This divine attribute is affirmed of God in Acts 2:2...
The noun "baptism" and the corresponding verb "baptize" come directly from Greek into English with only slight spelling changes. The word literally denotes to immerse, dip, or submerge. When used metaphorically, it suggests being overwhelmed. It takes several senses in the New Testament, dependin...
"Predestination" is the idea that God determined something beforehand. The noun itself does not appear in the Bible, but the verb behind it does. The Greek term is proorizo (pro — "before" and horizo — "to mark out, to set a boundary"). It is found six times in the New Testament (Acts 4:28; Roman...
The most common word in the Greek New Testament that conveys the idea of "forgiveness" is aphesis, a compound term meaning "to send away from." Forgiveness is a divine response to human sin, flowing from the loving and merciful disposition of God (Jn. 3:16; Eph. 2:4). Forgiveness is possible beca...
This word is derived from a Greek term meaning "separated." (a) "Saint" refers to an ordinary member of Christ's church who has submitted to gospel obedience (Phil. 1:1; 4:21; 2 Thes. 1:10). (b) A saint (hagios) is one who has gone through the process of sanctification (hagiasmos). See SANCTIFIED...