Literally, this term has to do with the implantation of seed by which a child is conceived. The word is used in Scripture figuratively to illustrate the spiritual agency, namely the word of God, by...

"Belief" is the noun form of the verb "believe." True belief embraces several important elements.  Despite God's invisibility and inaudibility, our belief in him is not rooted in superstition. Beli...

The English word "bible" means "scroll" or "book" and refers to the sixty-six documents that comprise the book of Scripture -- thirty-nine Old Testament documents and twenty-seven New Testament boo...

This is one of the titles of a church official who oversees a local congregation of Christ's church in the company of fellow bishops (always a plurality of men). "Bishop" translates the Greek ter...

This word comes directly from the Greek blasphemeo, which is believed to derive from blapto (to injure) and pheme (speech), hence injurious speech. Scripture speaks of those who blaspheme God (Ro...

Blood is a prominent theme in the Bible. Because blood is the life stream of a person (Lev. 17:11), it becomes the biblical representation of life. Because of sin, man has forfeited the right to ...

The term "body" is used in Scripture in both literal and figurative sense. Literal user of the body In a literal sense, the term "body" in Scripture refers to the physical "tabernacle" in which t...

The idea of being born in sin or inheriting ancestral sin at birth is not a biblical concept. The most commonly misapplied passage relating to the notion that children are "born in sin" is Psalm 51...

On the night before his death, during the Passover celebration, Jesus instituted the communion supper for his disciples (Mt. 26:26ff; Mk. 14:22ff; Lk. 22:19ff; cf. 1 Cor. 11:23ff). The Lord's Suppe...

The term "brother" is from the Greek adelphos. It technically signifies "from the same womb." The word is used in different senses in the New Testament.  • It is employed literally to identify sibl...

The Christian commitment is biblically designated as a "calling." The divine calling (Eph. 4:1) is not a direct communication from God or his Holy Spirit, as some today allege. No one on earth know...

The term Catholic originates with a Greek word, katholikos, which means "general" or "universal." The expression is not found in the Scriptures but has been employed in various senses in church his...

This word derives from a Latin term meaning "unmarried." In the divine scheme of things, the ideal is for human beings to marry (Gen. 2:18; 1 Tim. 5:14). Sometimes, however, it is not advisable t...

The title "Christ" was applied to Jesus of Nazareth because he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah.  The prophets previewed Jesus as the Messiah (Psa. 2:1ff; Dan. 9:25-27)....

"Christian" is the name given to the disciples of Christ in Antioch of Syria following the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 11:26). The verb chrematizo ("called") in this passa...

This book aims to re-acquaint the Jews who had been released from Babylonian captivity with the history of David's administration, which lasted about forty years. The book focuses on the temple and...

This book surveys some 424 years, from the beginning of Solomon's reign to the edict from the Persian king, Cyrus, to free the Jews.  Cyrus commissioned the Jews to return from the Babylonian capt...

Biblical chronology has to do with the relationship of the events recorded in Scripture to specific dates. Some events are a bit ambiguous in terms of date. Others are more precise.  While the Bib...

The English word "church" is derived from the Greek kurikon, meaning "belonging to the Lord." The actual word in the Greek text, which stands behind the modern rendition, "church," is ekklesia, "...

Citizenship is the legal relationship that one sustains to a city, state, or country. Paul was a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 21:39), and he enjoyed the privileges of "citizenship" in the Rom...