Bible dictionary — the words of the Bible explained plainly

Abba

Aramaic for father — the intimate word a child used at home, not the formal one. That Paul keeps it untranslated tells you how startling it was that Christians addressed God this way.

Romans 8:15

Advocate

One who stands beside you and speaks for you, as a defence counsel does. Used of Jesus before the Father, and of the Holy Spirit alongside you.

1 John 2:1

Almighty

God as the one whose power has no limit and no rival. In the Old Testament often El Shaddai — God all-sufficient.

Genesis 17:1

Amen

Hebrew for 'surely, truly, let it be so'. Not a full stop at the end of a prayer but an agreement with what was just said.

2 Corinthians 1:20

Angel

A messenger — a created spiritual being sent by God. Not a dead human, and never to be worshipped.

Hebrews 1:14

Anoint

To pour oil on someone, marking them as chosen and set apart for a task — a king, a priest, a prophet. 'Christ' and 'Messiah' both mean 'the anointed one'.

1 Samuel 16:13

Antichrist

One who opposes Christ or sets himself up in His place. John says many such had already appeared in his own day.

1 John 2:18

Apostle

One sent out with authority to represent the sender. Used of the twelve and of Paul, and in a wider sense of others sent by the churches.

Ephesians 2:20

Ark

Two different things: the boat Noah built, and the gold-covered chest holding the covenant, over which God met with Israel.

Exodus 25:22

Atonement

The covering and removal of sin so that God and a sinner can be at one. In the Old Testament by sacrifice; fulfilled once for all at the cross.

Hebrews 9:26

Backslide

To turn back from following God after having followed Him. Scripture treats it seriously and treats the way back as open.

Jeremiah 3:22

Baptism

Immersion or washing in water as the public sign of union with Christ in His death and resurrection.

Romans 6:4

Begotten

Of the Son, describing an eternal relationship to the Father rather than a moment of origin. 'Only begotten' means unique, one of a kind.

John 1:14

Blasphemy

Speech that insults or dishonours God, or a creature claiming what belongs to God alone.

Mark 3:29

Blessed

In the Beatitudes, not 'lucky' or 'happy' as feelings but 'rightly to be congratulated' — well off in God's reckoning whatever the circumstances say.

Matthew 5:3

Born again

A new birth from above, worked by the Spirit, making a person spiritually alive. Not reform of the old life but the beginning of a new one.

John 3:3

Brethren

Fellow believers, male and female. The New Testament's ordinary word for the church as a family rather than an audience.

1 John 3:14

Called

Summoned by God — both the general invitation of the gospel and God's effective drawing of a person to Himself.

Romans 8:30

Canon

The list of books recognised as Scripture. From a word meaning a measuring rod — the standard by which everything else is judged.

2 Timothy 3:16

Charity

In the King James Version, the word for love — specifically self-giving love that seeks another's good. Not almsgiving.

1 Corinthians 13:1

Cherubim

An order of angelic beings associated with God's throne and holiness. Plural of cherub. Nothing like the plump infants of later art.

Ezekiel 10:1

Christ

Not a surname. Greek for Messiah — the anointed King promised throughout the Old Testament.

Matthew 16:16

Church

Greek ekklesia — an assembly called out. In Scripture it is people, never a building.

Matthew 16:18

Circumcision

The physical sign of God's covenant with Abraham's family. The New Testament shifts the weight to circumcision of the heart.

Romans 2:29

Communion

Sharing in common. Used of the Lord's Supper, and of fellowship with God and with one another.

1 Corinthians 10:16

Concupiscence

An old word for strong wrong desire — appetite that has slipped its bounds.

Colossians 3:5

Confess

To say the same thing as God says — about your sin when you repent, and about Christ when you believe.

1 John 1:9

Conscience

The inner faculty that accuses or excuses. Real but not infallible; it must be trained by Scripture.

Romans 2:15

Consecrate

To set apart for God's use exclusively. Applied to people, places, days and things.

Exodus 29:44

Conversion

The turning itself — away from sin and toward God. The human side of what regeneration works.

Acts 3:19

Covenant

A binding relationship established by God on His own terms, with promises and obligations. The Bible is organised around covenants, not around eras.

Jeremiah 31:33

Covet

To desire what belongs to another. The tenth commandment, and the only one entirely about the inside of a person.

Exodus 20:17

Cross

A Roman instrument of public execution reserved for slaves and rebels. That Christians made it their symbol is one of history's great reversals.

Galatians 6:14

Deacon

A servant. An office in the church concerned with practical care, established so that the apostles could give themselves to prayer and the word.

Acts 6:3

Disciple

A learner and apprentice — one who follows a teacher in order to become like him. The New Testament's usual word for a Christian.

Luke 14:27

Dispensation

A stewardship or administration — an arrangement God entrusts to people for a season.

Ephesians 3:2

Doctrine

Teaching. Not an optional extra for scholars — Scripture treats sound doctrine as the health of the church.

Titus 2:1

Edify

To build up. Used of what Christians are meant to do to each other with their words and gifts.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Elder

A mature, appointed overseer of a local church. The qualifications in Scripture are almost entirely about character.

1 Timothy 3:2

Election

God's choosing. Scripture affirms both that God chooses and that people genuinely must respond; it never resolves the tension for us.

Ephesians 1:4

Epistle

A letter. Twenty-one books of the New Testament are letters written to real churches and people about real situations.

Colossians 4:16

Eternal life

Not only life that never ends but a quality of life — knowing God — which begins now.

John 17:3

Evangelist

One who announces good news. A gift given to the church, and a task laid on every believer in some measure.

2 Timothy 4:5

Exhort

To urge, encourage and call alongside. Firmer than 'suggest', warmer than 'command'.

Hebrews 3:13

Faith

Trust in a person, not a feeling about a proposition. It is what a rope is to a climber — worth exactly as much as what it is tied to.

Hebrews 11:1

Fast

To go without food, or something else, for a set time in order to seek God. A discipline, not a hunger strike aimed at God.

Matthew 6:16

Fear of the Lord

Not cringing dread but awe that reorders everything else. Called the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 9:10

Fellowship

Greek koinonia — shared life, not shared coffee. Having things genuinely in common with God and His people.

1 John 1:7

Firstfruits

The first and best of a harvest, given to God as an acknowledgement that the rest is coming and is His. Used of Christ's resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20

Flesh

Often not the body but fallen human nature operating apart from God. Paul contrasts it with the Spirit, not with the soul.

Galatians 5:17

Forgiveness

The cancelling of a debt — the wronged party absorbing the cost rather than collecting it.

Ephesians 4:32

Glory

The weight and radiance of who God is, made visible. In us, the honour that comes from reflecting Him.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Gospel

Good news — originally a royal announcement of victory. Not advice about what to do but news about what has been done.

1 Corinthians 15:3

Grace

Undeserved favour. Not God overlooking sin but God paying for it Himself and giving freely what could never be earned.

Ephesians 2:8

Hallowed

Treated as holy, set apart, honoured as sacred. The first request in the Lord's Prayer is about God's name being treated this way.

Matthew 6:9

Heart

In Scripture, the whole inner person — mind, will and affections together — not the seat of feelings as opposed to thinking.

Proverbs 4:23

Heresy

A self-chosen teaching that divides the church from the apostolic faith. From a word meaning 'to choose for oneself'.

2 Peter 2:1

Holy

Set apart, other, not common. Of God it means His utter distinctness; of us, being set apart for Him.

1 Peter 1:16

Hosanna

'Save now!' — a cry for rescue that had become a shout of praise by the time of the triumphal entry.

Matthew 21:9

Humility

Not thinking less of yourself but seeing yourself accurately in relation to God. It is realism, not self-hatred.

Philippians 2:3

Idolatry

Giving to anything the trust, love or obedience that belongs to God. An idol need not be carved.

1 John 5:21

Immanuel

'God with us' — the name given in Isaiah's prophecy and applied to Jesus at His birth.

Matthew 1:23

Imputation

To credit something to another's account. Our sin credited to Christ; His righteousness credited to us.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Incarnation

God the Son taking on real human nature — not appearing human, but becoming so, without ceasing to be God.

John 1:14

Intercession

Praying on behalf of somebody else. Both Christ and the Spirit are said to do it for us continually.

Romans 8:26

Iniquity

Crookedness or moral twistedness — sin considered as a bent in the nature rather than a single act.

Psalm 51:2

Jehovah

An English rendering of the Hebrew divine name, rendered LORD in small capitals in most English Bibles.

Exodus 6:3

Justification

God's legal declaration that a guilty person is righteous, on the basis of Christ's work, received by faith. A verdict, not a process.

Romans 5:1

Kingdom of God

God's reign — already broken into the world in Jesus and not yet fully arrived. Almost everything Jesus taught is about this.

Mark 1:15

Lamb of God

Jesus, identified as the sacrifice the Passover lamb pointed toward.

John 1:29

Law

God's revealed standard. It shows what righteousness looks like and exposes that we do not have it; it was never a way to earn acceptance.

Galatians 3:24

Longsuffering

Patience with people, specifically — being slow to anger under provocation. A fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22

Lord

Master, owner, the one with rightful authority. Used in the Greek Old Testament for the divine name, and applied to Jesus.

Romans 10:9

Mammon

Wealth personified as a rival master. Jesus does not call money evil — He calls it a competitor for your allegiance.

Matthew 6:24

Manna

The bread God gave daily in the wilderness. It could not be stockpiled, which was the point.

Exodus 16:15

Meek

Strength under control — power restrained by love. Moses is called meek, and he confronted a Pharaoh.

Matthew 5:5

Mercy

Not receiving the punishment you do deserve. Grace is receiving the good you do not deserve; the two are different.

Titus 3:5

Messiah

Hebrew for 'anointed one'; Christ in Greek. The promised King from David's line.

John 4:25

Ministry

Service. In the New Testament it belongs to the whole church, not to a professional class.

Ephesians 4:12

Omnipotent

All-powerful — able to do all that power can do, consistent with His own nature.

Revelation 19:6

Omnipresent

Present everywhere at once, fully, not spread thin.

Psalm 139:7

Omniscient

Knowing all things actual and possible, including your thoughts before you think them.

Psalm 147:5

Ordinance

A practice commanded by Christ for the church — baptism and the Lord's Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:2

Parable

A story laid alongside a truth to reveal it to those who want it and conceal it from those who do not.

Matthew 13:13

Passover

The night God's judgement passed over the houses marked with blood, and the feast that commemorates it. The frame of the Last Supper.

Exodus 12:13

Pentecost

The Jewish feast fifty days after Passover, and the day the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church.

Acts 2:1

Perseverance

Continuing in faith to the end — presented in Scripture both as God's keeping and as our responsibility.

Hebrews 3:14

Pharisee

A member of a strict Jewish party devoted to the law. Jesus' sharpest words went to religious people who were sure they were fine.

Luke 18:11

Predestination

God's determining beforehand. Scripture connects it to His love and purpose, not to fatalism.

Ephesians 1:5

Priest

One who represents people before God and God before people. In the New Testament every believer is one, and Christ is the great high priest.

1 Peter 2:9

Prophecy

Speaking God's message. Sometimes foretelling the future; far more often forth-telling the truth into the present.

2 Peter 1:21

Propitiation

A sacrifice that turns away righteous wrath. Not a bribe offered to God, but God Himself providing what justice required.

1 John 4:10

Rapture

The catching up of believers to meet the Lord. Christians who agree on the fact disagree about the timing; treat confident charts with care.

1 Thessalonians 4:17

Reconciliation

The ending of hostility and restoration of relationship. God does the reconciling; we receive it.

2 Corinthians 5:18

Redemption

Buying back. A market word — a price paid to free a slave or recover lost property.

Ephesians 1:7

Regeneration

Being made spiritually alive by the Holy Spirit. God's work; the new birth from His side.

Titus 3:5

Remnant

The faithful few God preserves when the many turn away. A recurring pattern from Noah to Elijah to Paul.

Romans 11:5

Repentance

A change of mind that becomes a change of direction. Not feeling sorry — turning.

Acts 26:20

Righteousness

Being right with God and doing what is right. In the gospel it is first a gift received, then a life lived.

Romans 3:22

Sabbath

The seventh day, commanded as rest. Rooted in creation, and Jesus insisted it was made for people, not people for it.

Mark 2:27

Sacrifice

An offering given up to God. In the Old Testament, animals; in the New, Christ once for all, and then our lives in response.

Romans 12:1

Saint

Not an exceptional Christian. The New Testament's word for every believer — a holy one, set apart.

1 Corinthians 1:2

Salvation

Rescue — from sin's penalty, its power, and one day its presence. Past, present and future together.

Ephesians 2:8

Sanctification

Being made actually holy over time. Justification changes your standing at once; sanctification changes you slowly.

1 Thessalonians 4:3

Satan

The adversary. A created being, real, limited, already defeated at the cross and awaiting sentence.

1 Peter 5:8

Scripture

The writings — God-breathed, and therefore the final authority for what Christians believe and how they live.

2 Timothy 3:16

Selah

A musical or liturgical direction in the Psalms whose exact meaning is uncertain. Often read as: pause here, and weigh it.

Psalm 3:2

Septuagint

The Greek translation of the Old Testament made before Christ, and the version most often quoted in the New Testament.

Acts 8:32

Shepherd

The Bible's controlling picture of leadership — feeding, guiding, defending and going after the one that strayed.

John 10:11

Sin

Missing the mark — falling short of God's glory. Both the acts and the condition underneath them.

Romans 3:23

Son of Man

Jesus' own most frequent title for Himself, drawn from Daniel 7, where the figure comes with the clouds and receives an everlasting kingdom.

Daniel 7:13

Sovereignty

God's rightful and effective rule over all things. Not that everything is good, but that nothing is outside His government.

Daniel 4:35

Stewardship

Managing what belongs to someone else. In Scripture it applies to money, time, gifts, and the gospel itself.

1 Peter 4:10

Synagogue

A local Jewish assembly and meeting place for reading and teaching Scripture. Where Jesus and Paul both regularly began.

Luke 4:16

Temptation

A pull toward evil. Being tempted is not sin — Jesus was tempted. Consenting to it is.

James 1:14

Testament

Covenant. 'Old' and 'New' Testament means old and new covenant, not old and new God.

Hebrews 9:15

Tithe

A tenth. An Old Testament practice of returning the first tenth to God; the New Testament emphasises proportion, cheerfulness and generosity.

Malachi 3:10

Transgression

Crossing a known line. Sin considered as deliberate boundary-breaking.

Psalm 32:1

Tribulation

Pressure, affliction, trouble. Promised to believers as normal, not exceptional.

John 16:33

Trinity

One God eternally existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit — three persons, one being. The word is not in the Bible; the teaching is throughout it.

Matthew 28:19

Vain

Empty, without substance. To take God's name in vain is to attach it to emptiness, not merely to swear.

Exodus 20:7

Vindication

Being publicly cleared. Often what the Psalms are asking for when they ask God to judge.

Isaiah 54:17

Wisdom

Skill in living — knowing what to do with what you know. In Proverbs it is personified and it begins with the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 4:7

Witness

One who testifies to what they have seen. The Greek word is martus, from which we get martyr.

Acts 1:8

Word

Greek logos. Both Scripture and, in John's Gospel, the eternal Son through whom God speaks and creates.

John 1:1

Works

What we do. Never the ground of acceptance with God, always the evidence of it.

James 2:17

Worship

Ascribing worth. Far wider than singing — Scripture makes ordinary obedience a form of it.