obedience

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 ...

The Greek term palingenesia consists of two components. Palin means “again, back,” and genesis, denotes “to become, come about, birth.” The word thus signifies a rebirth or a renewal. The actual wo...

There are three kindred words in the Greek N.T. that represent the idea of “propitiation.” Two are nouns — hilasmos (1 Jn. 2:2; 4:10) and hilasterion (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:5), and the third is the ve...

“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 hori...

The Greek word eirene (“peace”) may derive from an original term meaning, “to weave together.” This is a very significant Bible word. (a) There is a peace to be sought with God. Sin has separated m...

A “mediator” is a “go-between” (from mesos, “middle” and eimi “to go”). Ideally, the role of a mediator is to work for the reconciliation of parties that have become estranged. (a) Moses was a medi...

A significant portion of the Old Testament record embodies the law of Moses. Some basic facts relative to that system must be understood. (a) It was given by God, and ordained by angels; it came th...

The imagery of a “lamb” is taken from the Old Testament to convey certain thoughts about the Messiah.

John the Baptizer introduced Jesus as the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (...

Knowledge refers to a body of factual data that is received and understood by a rational human being. The acquisition of spiritual knowledge is fundamental to Christianity. The prophets foretold th...

Kindness (chrestos) may be defined as that which is characterized by honesty, friendliness, goodness, generosity, compassion, etc. The term is used in the N.T. in two main senses. (a) Kindness desc...

Justification may be defined as the divine process by which God acquits the sinner and reckons him as righteous. The noun dikaiosis (“justification”) is used but twice in the N.T. (Rom. 4:25; 5:18)...

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 Isr...

The Bible is filled with affirmations of our Creator’s generosity. Every good and perfect gift is from him (Jas. 1:17). Surely our gratitude must be lavishly expressed for his graciousness. 

God h...

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, flowi...

Faith is the willingness to trust and obey God without ever having seen him.

It is not a gullible “leap in the dark,” as existential “faith” postulates. Instead, it rests on evidence that allows u...

The concept of eternal life is outlined in an abbreviated form in the Old Testament (cf. Dan. 12:2). However, it comes into full bloom in the New Testament revelation. Life and immortality are brou...

The English “elect” derives from a compound Greek term, eklektos (ek — “out of,” and lego — “to gather”). It suggests the idea of being selected or chosen. 

The New Testament uses the term in va...

“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 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 m...

The English word “atonement” derives from an Anglo-Saxon term that practically signifies “a making at one.” Though the English term “atonement” is common to the Old Testament, it is found only once...