A Concise Dictionary of Theological Terms

Introduction to A Concise Dictionary of Theological Terms

Bill grew up in a Christian home and trusted Christ at a young age. He attends a Christian college and plans to major in Christian studies. He hopes school will help him be a better husband and father, and maybe a pastor. The Old and New Testament Survey courses have shown him how little he knows about the Bible’s teaching. He wants help, especially with theological words and important figures in church history.

Maria came to know Christ five years ago, all but devoured her Bible, and has grown steadily as a Christian. Recently she was asked to join the women’s leadership team at her church. The plan is for her to learn to lead Bible studies. She is excited about preparing to teach women but feels inadequate. Maria says, When I read books to learn more, I am overwhelmed by terms I do not know.

Can you identify with Bill or Maria? If so, then this book is for you.

What is the burden behind this book? By God’s grace we are passionate about theology (what the Bible teaches) and the church. We are eager for believers to understand their faith so they can disciple others and reach the lost with the gospel.

What is the story behind it? We wrote a book summarizing the Bible’s teachings—Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith. At the end of each chapter we put key terms. Giving full definitions of those terms within it would have made the theology book clumsy. So, we wrote a separate dictionary.

What exactly is it? It is a companion to the theology book. It includes definitions for the terms at the end of the theology book’s chapters and much more. We envision it as a sort of GPS to help students find their way when studying theology.

What is its audience? We wrote for any believer (in school or church) serious about understanding what the Bible teaches about God, Christ, salvation, last things, and so on. It is not a book that you read from cover to cover, but a reference book. When hearing a lecture or sermon, reading a book or a blog, or listening to a podcast, you as this book’s reader would use it to look up words you don’t fully understand.

What does it cover? We included entries from many sources: the Bible, theology, church history (people, movements, councils, and documents), philosophy, church practice, and more.

What is its style? We tried to make it user-friendly, clear, and easy to understand. It follows an alphabetical format including entries from Abrahamic covenant to Zwinglian view of the Lord’s Supper.

How do I use it? You use it to look up unfamiliar terms, such as Bonhoeffer, Eastern Orthodoxy, mysticism, new heavens and new earth, prevenient grace, signs of the times, and "sola scriptura. We’ve included cross-references for easier use. At the end of many entries you’ll find see also followed by related entries. Throughout the dictionary you’ll also find see references with topics that point you to entries that treat those topics. For example, there appears postmillennialism—See millennium," because that is where postmillennialism is treated.

Does it include common words too? Yes, because often we know something about a topic but want to know more. Examples include hope, assurance of salvation, evangelicalism, Trinity, last days, relativism, Roman Catholicism, and spiritual disciplines.

Where are the authors coming from? We are evangelical Christians who love the Lord and theology, and we want to help readers love him and it more too.

What are the dictionary’s unique features? First, the dictionary is tied to Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith. This volume thus covers all the key terms from that book and many more. Second, we combine words in one entry instead of separating them throughout the dictionary. This is because bringing related terms together promotes understanding. For example, instead of making seven entries for various views of the Bible’s inspiration, we put them together in one longer entry, inspiration, views, to present them in relation to one another. Third, and most important, there is another reason some entries are substantial. We wanted to show how theology is drawn from Scripture. Examples include entries on church, pictures, Christ’s saving work, heaven, hell, and Holy Spirit’s works.

Does it use abbreviations? Yes, one is c. before a date, meaning about. For example, the church father Tertullian’s dates are c. 160–220 because we don’t know exactly the year he was born. Another common abbreviation is e.g., which means for example.

Allen is coleader of his church’s youth group. Preparing to take his turn leading Bible studies has helped him grow in his faith. He wants to go deeper into the Bible and theology but is intimidated by the books his pastor has recommended. He would prefer that someone explain in layman’s terms the Bible’s teachings on topics on which he will teach—topics such as adoption, assurance of salvation, and the sovereignty of God and free will. This dictionary is written to help people like Allen serve the Lord better. It is our prayer that God will use it to help many.

Aa

Abrahamic covenant—See covenant(s); new covenant.

accountability—See free will; Last Judgment.

active obedience of Christ—See Christ’s obedience; Christ’s saving work, biblical images.

Adonai—See God, names of.

adoption—God the Father’s placing of believers in Christ into his family by grace. God accepts us and adopts us as his children. Before adoption we were slaves to sin and did Satan’s will (Gal 4:3; 1 John 3:10). God’s eternal love is the source of adoption (Eph 1:3­–6), and because of his vast love, he calls us his children (1 John 3:1). The basis of adoption is Christ’s death as a redemption that frees us from sin’s bondage (Gal 3:13; 4:4–5). We receive adoption by faith in Christ (John 1:12; Gal 3:26). The Holy Spirit empowers us to believe that the Father has adopted us (Rom 8:15). Adoption brings wonderful results. The Spirit not only enables us to call God Father but also testifies to his love in our hearts (v. 16). We share a family resemblance to our heavenly Father (v. 14). He disciplines us because he loves us (Heb 12:6). Adoption is present and future, for God has made us his heirs, awaiting our inheritance of the redemption of our bodies and renewed creation (Rom 8:18–23). See also application of salvation.

adoptionism—See Christ’s deity, denials; Trinity.

age to come—See two ages.

ages, the two—See two ages.

agnosticism—uncertainty as to the existence of God. See also apatheism; atheism; skepticism.

alien righteousness—See justification.

Alpha and Omega—See Christ’s names and titles.

already and not yet—distinction between elements of predictions of last things that are already fulfilled and those elements that have not yet seen the greater fulfillment to come at the end of the age. For example, God’s kingdom is present and future; he reigns in the present age (Eph 1:20–21) and will reign more fully in the age to come (Rev 19:6). Antichrists have already appeared: It is the last hour. . . . Even now many antichrists have come (1 John 2:18). But the man of lawlessness has not yet come, the one who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god (2 Thess 2:3–4). Jesus’s coming is already, for he said that if anyone loves and obeys him, his Father and he will come and make their home with him (John 14:23). But Jesus’s return is also not yet, for he told believers, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also (John 14:3). Salvation and condemnation are realities now (John 3:17–18). But they are still future, for Jesus told what the unsaved and saved, respectively, will experience at his return: They will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt 25:46). The resurrection of the dead also exhibits both features. Jesus says that the resurrection has already come spiritually in the new birth (John 5:24–25) but also that it awaits fulfillment in the resurrection of the body (vv. 28–29). We live in the tension between the already and the not yet. The great events of Christ’s death and resurrection have occurred. Their effects have begun, but their full effects await his return. See also antichrist(s); eschatology; kingdom of God.

amillennialism—See millennium.

Anabaptists—the most important groups of the Radical Reformation. Notable leaders included Menno Simons and Jacob Hutter. In general, Anabaptists embraced believer’s baptism and rejected infant baptism. They held to the Lord’s Supper as a memorial for the baptized, free will, and an early form of separation of church and state. Later, separatist forms of Anabaptism included Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites. See also Calvin, John; Luther, Martin; Radical Reformation; Reformation.

analytic philosophy—an approach to philosophy that focuses on the study of language and the logical analysis of concepts instead of traditional issues. Also called linguistic philosophy, analytic philosophy has been dominant in the Western world from early in the twentieth century. Key figures include Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and G. E. Moore. See also epistemology; existentialism; truth; truthfulness of God.

angels—spiritual beings created holy by God in large numbers. The unfallen or elect angels have remained holy. Although angels sometimes appear in human form, they do not have physical bodies, marry, procreate, or die. In ancient times, some good angels, including Satan and demons, rebelled. These are thus the fallen angels. Angels have great but limited intelligence and strength. As creatures, angels are not to be worshipped. Good angels are God’s servants who occupy four key roles. They adore God, serve as his messengers, bring God’s judgment on evil human beings, and serve believers, especially by preserving them (Job 1:6; Ps 148:1–5; Isa 6:3; Col 1:16; Heb 1:6, 14; Rev 4:8). See also Satan and demons.

Anglicans—Protestant Christians who belong to the worldwide Church of England or Anglican Church. The Anglican Communion is an inter­national association of churches consisting of the Church of England and churches in full communion with it. It is the third-largest church in the world, after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The archbishop of Canterbury is its spiritual leader but has no binding authority outside of his own province. The Anglican Church is viewed as representing a middle ground between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The Book of Common Prayer, first compiled in 1549 and revised several times until 1662, is pivotal to Anglican worship around the globe. See also church, government; Eastern Orthodoxy; Episcopalians; evangelicalism; Roman Catholicism.

annihilationism—the view that lost people in hell will be destroyed after they pay the penalty for their sins. Also called conditional immortality (or conditionalism), it’s the idea that God gives immortality only to those he regenerates. The lost, then, never receive the gift of immortality and cease to exist. Annihilationism is a serious error that Scripture opposes (Dan 12:2; Matt 25:41, 46; Mark 9:43–48; 2 Thess 1:9–10). Annihilationism does not fit the biblical story because, at the end of the story, the unsaved do not cease to exist but, in line with the church’s historic position, endure never-ending torment in the lake of fire and are shut out forever from the new Jerusalem, the joyous dwelling place of God and his people (Rev 20:10, 14–15; 21:8; 22:14–15). See also hell.

Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033/4–1109)—Benedictine monk, abbot, and theologian who originated the ontological argument for God’s existence. His approach was faith seeking understanding, using the mind to understand theology already believed. His most famous work, Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became a Man), was a response for requests to discuss the incarnation. This work argues that God had to become a man to make atonement for humanity because the Savior had to be both fully divine and fully human. See also Christ’s deity; Christ’s humanity; Christ’s saving work; Christ’s saving work, historical views.

anthropology—in Christian theology, the study of the doctrine of human beings as created in the image of God.

anthropomorphism—the attributing of human attributes or actions to God. God is a spirit and does not have a body, but God speaks to us in human terms to help us understand him. Thus, for example, the psalmist speaks of God’s power in this way: You have a mighty arm; your hand is powerful (Ps 89:13). David tells of God’s attention to humans by ascribing to him human action: The LORD looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God (Ps 14:2). See also anthropopathism; impassibility of God; spirituality of God.

anthropopathism—the attributing of human emotions or passions to God. Scripture speaks of God as if he had human feelings to help us understand him. This attributing of emotions to God can be observed with jealousy (Exod 20:5), anger (Num 25:3), regret (1 Sam 15:35), grief (Gen 6:6), compassion (Jer 31:20), love (Jer 31:3), and hatred (Amos 5:21). Importantly, God has divine emotions rather than human ones. Thus, God’s emotions are free from the sins that frequently taint human emotions. The tension comes in acknowledging with Scripture that God is both transcendent and personal, which includes his having emotions. The occurrence of anthropopathism in Scripture does not take away from God, the holy One, who is without sin. See also anthropomorphism; impassibility of God; spirituality of God.

antichrist(s)/Antichrist—(1) lowercased: people who oppose Jesus and his incarnation and (2) capitalized: a final false-Christ figure. The predictions of the Antichrist, like other major features of last things, are already fulfilled in part but also will have a greater fulfillment in the future. John noted the appearance of antichrists in the first century and drew an important conclusion: Even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour (1 John 2:18). These antichrists (pl.) are people who deny that Jesus is God’s Messiah and thereby deny the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22–23). They seek to deceive others with their false teaching (2 John v. 7). The Antichrist (sg.) is the final pseudo-messiah, who will oppose Christ and is still to come. He is the man of lawlessness . . . the man doomed to destruction who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship (2 Thess 2:3–4). See also already and not yet; signs of the times.

antinomianism—opposition to law, especially as a rule for the Christian life. Antinomians pit grace against law and claim to be governed by the former and free from the latter. In keeping with the Old Testament (Exod 20:5–6; Ps 119:98), however, Jesus and his apostles taught that although salvation is by grace and not law keeping, believers are obligated to obey the law (John 14:15, 21; 15:10; Rom 6:14–16; Gal 5:13–14; Jas 2:8, 12). Because of his emphasis on grace, Paul’s opponents accused him of antinomianism, a charge he vehemently denied (Rom 3:8). Believers are saved and kept by God’s grace, which should lead to obeying God in gratitude for his grace. God’s law reflects his will; therefore, his law is good, and keeping it brings wisdom and happiness. The law condemns and drives sinners to the cross, but it also is part of God’s wisdom for living according to his will—for his glory and believers’ good. See also law, uses; legalism; sanctification; Ten Commandments.

apatheism—the view that belief in God is insignificant or irrelevant. This term was coined by Jonathan Rauch to describe a lack of interest or relaxed attitude to one’s beliefs or that of others. This view entails an attitude of apathy toward any kind of question about God’s existence or nonexistence or what one might believe. See also agnosticism; atheism; skepticism.

apocalyptic—a biblical literary genre that reveals God’s hidden plans for the future in heaven and on earth. God rarely speaks in apocalyptic literature but communicates through angels and heavenly figures. Apocalyptic themes include visions and symbols of God’s rule over a chaotic world, his protection of believers, and his kingdom’s final victory over evil powers. Apocalyptic writing occurs in Ezekiel 1–3; Zechariah 1–6; Matthew 24; and especially in Daniel 7–12 and Revelation. See also hermeneutics; prophecy.

Apocrypha—books written in the intertestamental period included in the Old Testament by Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy but never accepted by the Jews. These include 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Rest of Esther, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Additions to Daniel, Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. See also