The Dictionaries

There are five Bible dictionaries on this site;

WORDS / PLACES / PEOPLE / EVENTS / BOOKS of the BIBLE

Each dictionary contains articles for quick reference of around 250 words for each subject or name.  Many subjects require more explanation, but the dictionary is not intended to be all inclusive but to give a rapid guide as an aid to devotions.

Please bear in mind that these dictionaries grow with the ‘PrayerAndBibleStudy’ project, and articles are written according to the needs of the passages studied.

On each site page containing Bible studies, the first few paragraphs of each study contain links so that some words can be ‘clicked’ to obtain a dictionary reference in a pop-up window. There is also a general link to the dictionaries so that you can find whatever word you want, if there is an article for it.

Paul H Ashby 21/03/09

Abide

The word abide sounds rather ‘old English’, but it still serves a useful purpose in translating the Hebrew word ‘shakan’ which means ‘dwelling, living permanently’.  In the O.T. the word is used firstly for the dwelling of God amongst His people in the Tabernacle, and then in the ‘Holy of Holies’ of the Jerusalem Temple.  Some Bible versions translate this as ‘remain’ or ‘dwell’, but this does not convey the sense of permanence within the Hebrew.  Because of the O.T. descriptions of God’s glory coming into the Tabernacle and the Temple, people in Jesus’ day (and subsequently) referred to God’s ‘Shekinah’ glory (coming from the same Hebrew word - ‘shakan’), meaning His glory that dwells permanently with people in this world.  John explains that Jesus is this ‘Shekinah Glory’ when he reports Jesus’ word ‘Abide in me ...’ (John 15:4f.), and the idea is also found extensively in the letters of John.

Paul H Ashby - 9/07/09

Absolution

Although this is not a word to be found in the Bible, it means ‘pronouncing forgiveness of sins’.  Jesus does this for us before the Father when we place our trust in Him, and it is part of our salvation. When Jesus returned to the disciples after the Resurrection, He said ‘if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven ...’ (John 20:23), and in so saying, He gave the people of His church permission to act on His behalf, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the forgiveness of sins.  As well as commanding us to declare each other’s forgiveness upon confession and repentance, He also told His followers to live in a state of forgiveness with one another in His name, and with His authority.  A Christian is one who knows that his or her sins have been ‘absolved’ through Jesus Christ.

Paul H Ashby - 24/07/08

Address

The idea of ‘address’ is found frequently in the Bible even if the word is not used. To ‘address’ someone means to call their attention, and the means whereby this is done is different in each culture.  In the Old Testament God is addressed in various ways, most notably, through the use of different ‘names’. Most of the Psalms begin with some form of address, for example, God’s name is called, or He is praised. It was thought right to approach Almighty God by acknowledging Him in this way. In the New Testament, Paul starts his letters with a form of ‘address’. Typically, he identifies himself and the people to whom he writes, and then declares his support for them and His prayers for them (see the beginning of letters such as Philippians, Colossians, 1 Cor 1f.). In modern culture, substantial forms of address have largely slipped out of use, but they are an important feature of the Bible.

Paul H Ashby - 12/05/09

Adoption

The idea of adoption occurs within the Bible as a way of explaining our relationship with God through Christ.  Adoption means the free giving of the rights and privileges of family membership to those who are not naturally family members.  In the O.T., Moses is adopted into Pharaoh’s family, for example (Ex 2:10).  More importantly, the language of adoption is used to describe God’s choice of Israel as His people (Hos. 11:1, Ex. 4:22).  In the N.T., Jesus is God’s son by right, but by His death and resurrection He invites those who believe in Him to be the adoptive sons of God (Rom 8:15, Gal. 4:6, Eph. 1:5).  The language of adoption is therefore used by the Bible to speak about God’s desire to have a ‘family’ relationship with people, which enables them to receive the inheritance of eternal life and glory with God in haven.

Paul H Ashby - 21/07/09

Aliens (resident strangers)

The Old Testament tells us that from the earliest of times in the life of God’s people, people came to live with Israel who were not Jews by physical descent but were happy to live according to Jewish law and life, and believe in God.  They could be regarded as the first evidence of the fruitfulness of God’s people in being a ‘blessing to the nations’ (Gen 12:3).  When Moses gave the law, it contained a significant number of concessions to ‘resident aliens’ protecting their right to live alongside Israelites and enjoy the benefits of God’s protection (see Exodus 23:9f.). They were granted citizenship of Israel and were allowed to harvest and also take part in the Passover Meal (e.g. Leviticus 19:33f.). Some of these people were important characters in Old Testament stories, for example, ‘Uriah the Hittite’, the husband of Bathsheba, and Ruth the Moabitess and others.

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Angels

Angels appear in both the Old Testament and the New.  They are messengers of God who have been given certain specific tasks to represent the Lord or directly convey a Word from God.  Most stories about angels appear in Genesis, where they are recognised later as the Lord Himself (e.g. Gen 16:7f.) though sometimes they appear simply as angels (Gen 19:1).  They are mentioned later on in the Old Testament, notably in the prophecies of Daniel (Dan 3:28; 6:22).  In the New Testament they appear in the stories of the birth of Jesus (Matt 1:20f) and also in Revelation.  From all this we find a picture of angels as heavenly beings who do God’s will, however, some of them are fallen and have come under Satan’s authority as ‘demons’ and are responsible for evil. This is all assumed by Jesus, but the written evidence for it is largely in Jewish works written in Greek just before the time of Christ, that are not in the Bible itself.

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Anointing

God’s special blessing on a person or work, and sometimes on objects. Anointing was symbolic of a divine purpose. In O.T. times this was done by pouring of perfumed oil as a sign of God’s Spirit; for example, at the anointing of a king, a priest, or a prophet (Ex 30:22f., 1 Sam 10:1f.). In Hebrew, the name ‘Messiah’ means ‘the Anointed One’, and came to represent the expectation of a new King of David’s line who would lead Israel after the time of the Exile. The Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ translates into the Greek ‘Christos’; hence Jesus’ description as the ‘Christ’; He is God’s ‘Anointed One’. In the N.T. anointing is also conveyed by the laying on of hands, conferring God’s Holy Spirit for a special work (see Acts 10:38 etc.). In addition, the word ‘christos’ is closely related to the idea of washing and baptising; so baptism is thought of as an anointing into God’s new life.

Paul H Ashby - 15/08/08

Apocalyptic literature

Books of the Bible such as Daniel, parts of Zechariah and Revelation contain what is called ‘apocalyptic literature’. Such writing is characterised by anticipation of the future using visions and images, often of strange beasts and angels, and stories of heavenly events which affect human affairs; the stories are frequently about the End Times.  The word ‘apocalypse’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘secrets’, and apocalyptic literature seeks to reveal the hidden secrets or ‘mysteries’ of God. Not all the visions and images are understandable as earthly events and some should not be interpreted this way; they are heavenly visions which we do not always understand, but God will sometimes grant us spiritual understanding of them. In general, the interpretation of these books is as much about understanding the literary patterns within the text, as it is about knowing what ‘symbols’ are.

Paul H Ashby - 20/08/08

Ark of the Covenant

The Ark was a box containing the 2 tablets of stone with the 10 commandments. Instructions for making it are in Ex. 25:10f. together with the integral cover, or ‘mercy seat’ (with cherubim) that was placed over it. The Ark was kept in a tent compound (the Tabernacle) set out like a Temple, with the Ark screened off in the central tent, accessed only by priests.  The Ark and mercy seat Tabernacle were signs of God’s presence during the Exodus representing God’s ‘dwelling’ with His people. The Ark was involved in the taking of the Promised Land (Joshua 3f.) and then the early years of the monarchy (1 Samuel 3-7). The holiness of the Ark meant that it was risky to carry it (2 Samuel 6:2) but David brought it into Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:16,17) where it was eventually installed in the Temple by Solomon.   The Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587BC, but by this time nothing was known of the Ark or its whereabouts!

Paul H Ashby - 26/05/09

Asherah

The name ‘Asherah’ crops up frequently in the ancient world as an important goddess, often associated with the sea, and as the female consort of gods such as the High God ‘El’ (unfortunately used by the Bible on occasions to refer to the Lord God).  The word ‘asherah’ also describes various objects used in pagan worship; carved images and poles, and locations of pagan worship.  The relationship of Asherah with Ba’al is uncertain, but in Scripture, she is a god worshipped  alongside Ba’al.  Although Asherah had been around for centuries, Ahab’s queen, Jezebel, is blamed for introducing her and Ba’al into northern Israel around 870 BC.  It is also possible that the female god ‘astarte’ is another name for asherah, but the origins of these ancient gods is unclear in the Bible and the archaeological evidence is uncertain.

Paul H Ashby - 15/07/09

Atonement

The concept of atonement is deeply embedded within the concept of sacrifice.  A sacrifice was performed to ‘atone’ for sins, meaning that God’s wrath was ‘pacified’ or ‘put to one side’ because of the sacrifice. Most people know about the ‘Day of Atonement’, when a priest went into the ‘Holy of Holies’ to perform a ritual sacrifice for the sins of all the people of Israel (Ex 30:10f.), but it is less well known that all worship by sacrifice was a form of atonement.  It is in the New Testament alone that one sacrifice for the atonement of sins is made, being the sacrifice of Jesus’ death for the sins of all people.  The letter of Hebrews (2:17) helps us understand this concept, as does the letter of Romans (3:25). Some translations of the Bible use the word ‘propitiation’ instead of atonement, but it means the same thing. Atonement is doing away with the consequences of sin before God.

Paul H Ashby 23/05/09

Authority (God’s)

The authority of God is His right to do as He sees fit as Creator, or to act as He sees fit. The Greek word from which this word comes implies the ‘unimpeded’ power to act, possess or control something or even someone. God has granted a measure of this authority to people as part of his gift at creation (Gen 1:26f.), which includes the authority to look after creation and the authority of rulers. He has given ‘all authority’ to Jesus to achieve salvation, and to the Church to establish His Kingdom here on earth before its completion when He comes again in glory. Paul (Romans 13) calls God’s people to accept the authority of the State, though we are not expected to be obedient to earthy rulers who are in rebellion against God! This is because those who set themselves up as ‘authorities’ in place of the authority of God rebel against Him and therefore exercise an ungodly domination over others.

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Ba’al

In the Old Testament, the people of Canaan worshipped gods called ’Ba’als’.  This word means ‘Lord’, so there was plenty of scope for misunderstanding when the God of Israel (JHWH) was also called ‘Lord’ (using a different Hebrew word - Adonai).  The Ba’als were fertility gods who were worshipped to obtain good crops, and many Israelites worshipped Ba’al when there was a drought.  This was the background of Elijah’s great confrontation with the prophets of Ba’al on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18). Ba’al was a male god and he was believed to have a female consort called ‘Asherah’ (and other names), and some worship practices involved sex, which was believed to stimulate fertility in the land; hence the ‘Temple prostitutes’ mentioned in Scripture.  Hosea’s wife Gomer was a Temple prostitute.  The worship of Ba’al gods at ‘high places’ contributed to God’s judgement on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 17).

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Baptism

In the New Testament, the first person who baptises is John the Baptist (Matt 3:1f.), as a sign of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  This was based upon the ancient idea of ‘washing’ or ‘anointing’ to deal with past sin.  Jesus is also reported as baptising, though not extensively (John 3:22). When the disciples were given a commission from Jesus to baptise (Matt 28:19), and were blessed at Pentecost with ‘baptism’ of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, the practice became a sign of entry into the church, the People of God.  By baptism a person publicly identified with Jesus’ death and resurrection (Romans 5,6).  There are a large number of possible allusions to baptism in the New Testament which make it difficult to say exactly how it was practised.  Although baptism of adults by immersion is assumed, though immersion itself is not described anywhere.  The baptism of families is found in Acts 16:33.

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Birthright

In ancient times, the firstborn son would have the prior right to the family inheritance when the father of the household either died, or passed this on.  The issue is important in scripture because it is a significant factor in the life of the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Despite human assumptions about birthright, God insisted on passing on the Covenant birthright according to His choice.  For example, Esau had the birthright of inheritance from Isaac by right, but God had chosen Jacob to inherit the Covenant.  Scripture therefore explains to us how Esau lost his birthright and it was taken by Jacob. 

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Blasphemy

Blasphemy means speaking against God, by slander or insult.  The term is hardly used in the O.T., but blasphemy was the charge against Jesus when He was arrested. The Jews could not condemn Jesus to death by themselves or persuade the Romans to act on this charge, so they manipulated the allegations to appear like a threat to Rome in order to get Him killed. In the New Testament, blasphemy was considered a serious sin, and Paul speaks about the importance of eliminating blasphemy within the church, and of ensuring that people’s words and deeds did not cause blasphemy against God (Romans 2:24, 1 Timothy 1:20 et.). Jesus said that all manner of ‘speaking against’ was forgivable (even against Himself) but blasphemy against the ‘Holy Spirit’ was unforgivable (Matt 12:31,32).  This means the sin of declaring as sinful the work of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul H Ashby - 9/09/08

Blessing

A gift or favour of God which we may seek, but He grants according to His will. The Hebrew word is ‘barak’ and is the opposite of ‘curse’. So, for example, when the people of Israel came to the Promised Land, Moses gave instructions for blessings (of obedience and faith) to be celebrated on Mount Gerazim and curses (for disobedience) on Mount Ebal (Deut 27:11f.). In the O.T. God’s blessings were thought of in material terms, often as livestock or wealth. In the Covenant with Abraham, however, God described His intention to make His people a ‘blessing’ to all nations (Gen 12:2,3). Ultimately, this is fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus, by which all the nations are blessed through the salvation which He won for all who would respond to Him by faith. There are a number of famous texts called ‘blessings’, and they summarise God’s work to bring the benefits of peace, healing or salvation (Num 6:24f.).

Paul H Ashby - 19/08/08

Body

Some of the letters of the New Testament use the term ‘body’ to describe the connection between the person of Jesus Christ with His Church, made up of disciples.  Hebrews speaks of a ‘body’ prepared for sacrifice which removes the sins of the world (10:5f.), and this body is Christ.  In other letters, Paul uses the idea of a connected body to explain how the church works interdependently (1 Cor 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4).  In one place Christ is called the ‘head of the body’ (Col 1:18).  Elsewhere, the emphasis is on the unity of the body, made up of many separate parts and which cannot function unless every part plays it proper role.  This is a powerful description of the Church, though in reality, such visible and practical unity has rarely, if ever been fulfilled.  In addition, the Bible uses the word ‘body’ to describe not just physical reality, but the spiritual reality of the resurrection, our destiny in Christ (1 Cor 15)

Paul H Ashby - 19/08/08

Boundary stones

Boundary stones were used in ancient times as markers setting out tribal lands.  These were the subjects of agreements, sometimes called ‘covenants’.  As stones or piles of stones set in the ground, they were the outward evidence of these agreements and were formally laid with religious ceremony, invoking the wrath of the gods of the relevant parties upon anyone who might disrupt the agreement, or overstep the boundaries.  These are sometimes referred to in Genesis and other early books of the Bible (e.g. Joshua).

Paul H Ashby - 11/04/09

Chiasm

Chiasm is a form of writing common in ancient times but not today.  A typical chiastic story line or to a poem goes like this:

          Introduction

               point A

                    point B

                         centre point of story line

                    point B (reversed)

               point A (reversed)

          Conclusion

The main theme of the story line can be found at any point, but the logic is that of a ‘closed story’.  For example: I came into the room; I opened the cupboard, I took out a cup, I had a drink, I replaced the cup, I closed the cupboard, and I left the room. This simple form of writing is found throughout the Bible, and spotting this can help us interpret Scripture.

Paul H Ashby - 25/06/10

Chosen

Choice is an important theme of Scripture.  By choice, Eve and then Adam decided to give in to temptation and allow sin to enter the world God had given them.  So now, by choice, we either love God or we decide not to love Him, and God respects the choice we make, even though our rejection causes Him pain.  God has also made choices, and chose Abraham and members of his family as the means whereby He would reveal Himself to the world.  In Old Testament times, the people of Israel were called upon to be a ‘light to the nations’ (Is 42:6; 49:6), but they chose not to fulfil this role.  God therefore sent His son Jesus, one of the chosen race, to perform His will of bringing salvation to the world.  We who are Christians are ‘chosen’ in so far as we are members of the ‘body of Christ’, the Church.  We are therefore a chosen or ‘elect’ people.

Paul H Ashby - 11/04/09

Church

The Church is God’s people, gathered visibly in the world.  Whereas the Old Testament ‘people of God’ were Israelites, the ‘people of God’ in the New Testament are the Church.  The New Testament word for church is ‘ecclesia’ meaning ‘those gathered’.  The word ‘Church’ does not mean a building except in the sense of being the ‘Body of Christ’ (e.g. 1 Cor. 12) which is ‘built up’ (Eph 412f.).  Jesus knew that His disciples would become the first ‘church’ (Matt 16:18; 18:15f.), and He prayed that they would remain united (John 17) in Him.  The early New Testament Church was united in Christ because there were no divisions based on differing beliefs.  Later, after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, Rome became the centre of the Christian Church, and individual church fellowships began to create church buildings. Today, the church is divided and this has created many problems; only Christ can unite His church.

Paul H Ashby - 25/02/09

Complaint

Many of the Psalms complain to God about the problems of life, and are called ‘Psalms of Complaint’.  This is something of a misnomer, because firstly, all the Psalms in this category (except Psalm 88) turn from ‘complaint’ to praise.  Secondly, the very act of addressing God, even with a complaint, is honouring to God because it respects God for who He is.  God delight in accepting our honest ‘complaints’ if we will bring them to Him and listen to what He has to say about them. He can then help us.

Paul H Ashby 23/05/09

Commandments (the Ten)

The Ten Commandments have a prominent position in the revelation of the Law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20). They form a memorable summary of the duty of people to God (numbers 1 to 4), and also of the duty of people to each other (commandments 5 to 10). These commands are assumed to be those written on tablets of stone when Moses went up Mt. Sinai to meet God (Ex 24:18). When Moses came down the mountain, Aaron had made a golden calf for the people to worship, and smashed the stones in anger.  He had to go up the mountain again to get replacements and these were placed in a box which made up the ‘Ark of the Covenant’.  The commandments of God were far more than these ten, however, and the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy contain many more, including the famous ‘moral’ law of Leviticus 19:18; ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself.

Paul H Ashby - 3/11/08

Communion

The word ‘communion’ refers to the eating of bread and wine in remembrance of the Lord, as described in 1 Cor 11 and called there, the ‘Lord’s Supper’.  Over the course of time, churches have used different words for services which includes this meal, ‘Mass’, ‘Eucharist’, and ‘Communion’.  It is a meal shared in memory of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but the evidence is that when the first Christians ‘ate bread’ and ‘drank wine’ in this way, it was done as part of a substantial meal (as in 1 Cor 11:17-22).  The idea that only a small portion of bread was shared follows from the idea of sharing one loaf amongst many people (1 Cor 11:23f.), but most modern practice has been developed since Biblical times. A number of texts refer to ‘bread and wine, but one significant O.T. passage is Genesis 14:18, where the priest Melchizedek brings bread and wine to give thanks to God after Abraham’s victories in Canaan.

Paul H Ashby  - 16/02/09

Confession

Confession means to ‘agree with’ someone about something.  We are used to using this word to speak about our sins; we speak about ‘confessing ours sins’ to God. However, if we bear in mind what this word means, then we will understand that it is also right that we ‘confess our faith’ to God.  In each case, we agree with God about the essential features of our relationship with Him; our faith and our sin. If we remember that confessing our sins is only agreeing with God about the problem, then it is obvious that confessing itself does not solve anything.  Sin is resolved by Jesus’ death on the Cross, not our desire to confess. In the Letter of James, it says ‘confess your sins to one another, so that you may be healed’ (James 5:16).  Speaking out in this way helps to remedy situations and brings healing (there is little in the Bible about ‘keeping quiet’)

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Covenant

The word Covenant comes from the O.T. and means ‘formal agreement’. God’s Covenant relationship with people began after the Flood, when God made a Covenant agreement with Noah that he would never again kill people because of their sin; but seek their salvation (Gen 9).  The Covenant was extended when God established a personal Covenant with Abraham in which God promised to bless His chosen people in response to their obedience and their faith (Gen 15,17).  The first Covenant with the people of Israel was established at the foot of Mount Sinai when Moses called on Israel to accept the Law of God (Exodus 24); a covenant sealed with the blood of sacrifice.  David was granted a covenant to lead God’s people (2 Sam 7) but the prophets saw that this needed renewal (Jer 31:31-34) because of Israel’s failure.  This was renewed by Jesus Christ, in His death and resurrection (Heb 8,9)

Paul H Ashby - 21/05/09

Covet

To ‘covet’ something means to have a desire to have it.  On the one hand it may seem innocuous enough to want something, but the Bible stresses that covetousness is one of the primary forms of temptation experienced by men and women, hence its inclusion in the Ten Commandments; ‘you shall not covet your neighbour’s house ...’ (Ex 20:17).  In each place where the Ten Commandments are quoted in Scripture examples of covetousness are given, but it is clear that the command is a ‘catch-all’ command that tells people not to allow the desire for things to rule our thoughts, feelings and actions.  It does not take too much thought to realise that covetousness lies at the root of many a sin. Much of Jesus’ teaching about attitudes towards wealth and possessions could be said to expand on what is meant by covetousness (see the rich young ruler - Matt 19:16f.

Paul H Ashby - 26/06/09

Cross

The Cross was a sign of scandal in the days of Christ, but it has now become a sign for all Christians.  It was basically a piece of wood on which Roman soldiers pinned or tied their victims for execution.  One beam was slotted into the ground and the other held the arms of the victims apart; and soldiers in different parts of the Empire used different methods of constructing the Crosses and of attaching people to them.  We only know that nails were used on Jesus because of Paul’s indirect comment in Colossians 2:14, ‘nailing them to the Cross’, and the implication of Jesus’ words to Thomas (John 20:27) concerning holes in His hands.  The Cross only became the sign of the Church after the Emperor Constantine saw it in a vision at his ‘conversion’ in 312 AD, an event that changed the world, heralding the political ascendancy of Christian faith in Western Europe for centuries.

Paul H Ashby 23/05/09

Crucifixion

Crucifixion was an unpleasant form of death devised by the Romans to intimidate their subjects in the states they had conquered.  For them, the crucifixion of Jesus was a matter of torturing and killing a man who claimed to have kingly authority which really belonged to the Emperor of Rome; and ultimately, despite his qualms, this is probably how Pilate saw things and why he sentenced him to death. Jesus was different from other people however, and His crucifixion became the manner of death from which He rose again.  The word ‘crucifixion’ is nevertheless a highly emotive word because of the barbaric nature of what was done to Jesus.  For some, the ‘crucifix’, an image or representation of the crucifixion of Jesus, is a more powerful sign of their faith than the Cross. It is perhaps unwise to let the Cross and the Crucifix be regarded as alternatives.

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Curse

The Bible demonstrates to us that words have power, and this is something we like to forget today.  Its general  teaching is that our words either bless or curse; in other words, their effect is either good or bad, and it is rare that our words are ‘neutral’ because they always effect people.  We know this ourselves because of how we react to what is said to us.  For this reason, the Christian must recognise that words spoken against people are like a curse that have real spiritual power to harm, and words spoken to bless have spiritual power to help. Our calling is to become a blessing to the people of the world for the sake of the Kingdom.  Our task is to bless, and we should therefore be very careful about our use of words, as scripture constantly teaches.

Paul H Ashby - 23/05/09

Deliverance

‘Deliverance’ is one way to translate the Hebrew ‘jeshua`’, more often translated as  ‘salvation’.  The Hebrew word has a wide range of meanings from ’welfare’ to ‘victory’, and because of this, deliverance is part of the wide range of things we mean by salvation.  In particular, the word deliverance is used to reflect freedom from evil, death or in the New Testament, from the bondage of demons or Satan (or the devil).  To use the word deliverance reflects that part of God’s saving work by which we are enabled to overcome these things.  Within the Christian life we are never wholly free from the influence of these things because we live in a fallen world, and until the Lord comes in glory, any attack by the enemy must be repelled.  Christians have traditionally used the word ‘deliverance’ to describe the ministry by which we help each other apply the saving grace of Jesus to dismiss the powers of evil.

Paul H Ashby - 26/05/09

Demons

Demons are mentioned in the N.T., as angelic beings who fell from grace along with Satan and are therefore used by Him for evil purposes within the world.  As agents of Satan or the devil, they appeared before Jesus in the form of the various sicknesses and bondages with which they held people; Jesus dismissed demons and cast them out usually by means of a word of authority.  Sometimes, the demons objected to leaving and created a disturbance, something we call a ‘manifestation’; i.e. foaming at the mouth, cursing or feigned violence. Jesus was never impressed by such things and he always remained patient until the demons obeyed Him; He couold do this because His authority was higher than that of Satan. Christians need never fear the power or manifestation of a demon because in Christ, they have total authority over them.  God will deal with all demons by destroying them in the End Times.

Paul H Ashby - 8/08/08

Devil

The devil is a word used 36 times (in the New Testament only) to describe the one who is either in charge of the demonic hoards, or personally represents them as the focus of all evil.  In many ways, the term ‘devil’ is equivalent to the word ‘Satan’.  It is interesting that the majority of references to the devil are found in the temptations of Jesus, where he is addressed by Jesus as ‘Satan’.  In Jesus’ day there was much dispute about the name and identity of the source of all evil, but whereas today the debate is largely to do with whether we should use a personal name for evil such as ‘devil’ or ‘satan’, in those days, the debate was which name was the right one!  For this reason you will find that evil is described in a variety of ways; and Jesus uses them all.  The devil is associated particularly with death, and is stated as the one destroyed along with death at the end in a ‘lake of fire’ (Rev 20:10).

Paul H Ashby - 8/08/08

Discernment

Discernment is a gift of the Spirit, and it is mentioned a significant number of times in the Bible, but the Hebrew and Greek words for ‘discernment’ are sometimes translated as ‘judgement’ or ‘knowledge’, thus losing the unique sense of the word and the gift.  Discernment is the ability to perceive what is right and wrong, and make Godly moral choices between what is good and evil.  It has its roots in the Old Testament idea of ‘wisdom’ which was something both given by God but also developed and learned.  Discernment is therefore not just a matter of gifting, but of Christian maturity, experience and learning, and it is a very important gift for leadership.  Where the gift is mentioned in 1 Cor 12:10, it is associated with knowledge about ‘good and evil’ spirits, so it is an essential tool for counselling. However, discernment is basically a tool of moral judgement and applies to all life,

Paul H Ashby - 26/05/09

Discipleship

Christian discipleship is following the spiritual pattern of life given by Jesus.  He showed this first to his disciples, and it is clear from this that it is a journey of faith, not a personal quality.  From the story of the disciples, the N.T. shows that discipleship means leaving everything behind, giving ourselves to Jesus, being guided by Him, and following His teaching both practically and morally.  To do this includes accepting His call to be concerned for the poor and be a servant of others.  It also means being obedient to the charge Jesus gave His disciples to preach the Good News and Baptise.  In addition to this, Christians have discovered through the experience of life that certain spiritual disciplines assist our discipleship, principally, Bible study and prayer.  This seems huge, and it is, but we do not do this ourselves. The Holy Spirit is given to help us, and so with His help, discipleship becomes a joy not a burden.

Paul H Ashby - 25/05/09

Divorce

Divorce is only mentioned briefly in the O.T.  In Deut. 24:1-4 Moses mentions that a man hands a notice to a woman; however, this passage is really about what happens after a divorce, not the divorce itself, and is easily misunderstood. The O.T. is insistent from Genesis onwards that God’s purpose for a man and a woman is that they should be ‘one’.  Jesus speaks about divorce in Matthew 19:3f. and in 5:31f.  He says that a man and woman joined in marriage reflect the image of God and issues what is tantamount to a curse against any who would separate a marriage.  It is worth noting that he does not speak of blame or offer a curse to those who are divorced.  It is wise to continue to resist divorce, and everything and everyone that causes it; but to apply the Gospel message of God’s love to all who suffer it, under whatever circumstances. This is the only practical way to apply all relevant Biblical teaching 

Paul H Ashby - 25/05/09

Earth

The term ‘the earth’ (Hebrew ‘eretz’, Greek ‘ge’) is used in the Bible as it is in English.  On the one hand, alongside ‘heavens’ to refer to the known universe, and on the other, referring to the ground underneath our feet!  This is echoed in Genesis 1 & 2.  Gen. 1 describes the earth as separated from the heavens on the second day of Creation, with the heavens like a fixed dome over the earth containing the sun, moon and the stars.  Gen. 2 contains the other use of the term ‘earth’, in which it is the soil of the ground from which people are made (Hebrew ‘adamah’, hence the name of ‘Adam’).  Later on, the earth is cursed because of Adam’s sin (Gen 3), reflecting the sinful nature of the people who live on it.  It is no wonder then, that the prophets begin to speak of God’s recreation of the earth on His day of ‘Judgement’.  The New Testament confirms that it is God’s intention to renew the earth when Christ comes again (Rev 21).

Paul H Ashby - 25/05/09

Enemy

Throughout the Bible we find references to ‘an enemy’.  Mostly, the word means the same as we would assume, just referring to people who are actively opposing others; the opposition can of course take many different forms, from spiritual opposition to violence.  In the Old Testament, David is often poursued by ‘an enemy’, and the psalms that feature this suggest puirsuit by spiritual as well as physical enemies.  Also, God Himself became an ‘enemy’ of Israel in order to punish her for her sins.  The term is most interesting however, when Jesus used it to speak of opposition to Him and God.  He calls this enemy ‘the Devil’, or ‘Satan’, and sometimes ‘Beelzebul’.  The term’enemy’ is a more abstract way of speaking about evil and Satan, and it suits some contexts better than others.  When Jesus says of weeds planted amongst seeds ‘an enemy has done this’, we know He is speaking of Satan.

Paul H Ashby - 21/06/11

Ephod

Not much is known about what an ‘ephod’ really was in ancient times. Moses gave elaborate instructions for an ephod to be made as one of the vestments worn by Aaron to signify his office as the ‘High Priest’ of Israel (Exodus 28). However, there are indications that the term ‘ephod’ was used for an object used for divining, or ‘maintaining contact with gods’. The ephod referred to in Judges 18:14f. appears to be something like an idol, something that would not have been allowed in Israel.  The ephod is referred to in 1 Sam 2:18,22:18, 2 Sam 6:14 as something worn not by a priest, but king David. Despite this, it is most likely that the ephod was normally a priestly garment associated with high priestly office. Exodus describes it as having stones on which were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, so that the high priest bore them ‘before the Lord’ in His presence.

Paul H Ashby - 21/08/08

Eternal

The word ‘eternal’ appears frequently in the Bible.  The Hebrew word it translates is ‘olam’, which means ‘everlasting’. In the N.T., the Greek word used is ‘aionios’, and this means ‘without end’, as we would expect today.  The intriguing things about the use of both words in the Bible is the fact that this word can refer to things in the past as well as the future.  For example, when Jeremiah says ‘look for the ancient paths ...’ (as traditionally translated), the Hebrew word ‘olam’ is used meaning paths that are both ancient and also everlasting.  From the point of view of the Bible, the two are the same.  Neverthless, most of the uses of this word in the New Testament refer to the everlasting future of God’s reign, His ’eternal’ Kingdom, and the ‘eternal life’ to be found within (1 John 1:2).  Of course, all time is in God’s hands, from beginning to end, and this is what is best thought of as  ‘eternity’.

Paul H Ashby - 9/06/11

Evangelism

The Bible does not speak about ‘evangelism’ as we do now.  Rather, it talks about the sharing of the ‘euangelion’ (Greek) meaning ‘the Good News’.  This is done variously in the New Testament by personal testimony (see Philip in Acts 8) and also by proclaiming the Gospel in the manner of one like Paul (e.g. Acts 17:16), and the faithful work of many helpers (e.g. Rom. 16).  This evangelistic effort was the clear response of both the apostles and early disciples to Jesus’ command after the resurrection ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them ... ’ (Matt 28:19).  The activity of evangelism is also linked with Jesus’ teaching about ‘sowing’ and ‘reaping’ in the New Testament; sometimes it is one, and sometimes the other!  Nevertheless, all evangelistic effort is about spreading of the Good News of Jesus and the the salvation which we may find through Him that brings peace with God.

Paul H Ashby - 26/05/09

Evil

Evil is a characteristic of the world in which we live. Genesis 3 describes its nature, and the way it works through persuasion, confrontation and temptation; and it describes both the evil that comes from within us and also the evil that afflicts us from outside of ourselves.  It is this last form of evil which the New Testament describes as the work of ‘Satan’, or the ‘devil’.  We have a choice; we either try to deal with evil ourselves and will ultimately fail, or place out trust in Jesus who has overcome all evil, sin and death on the Cross for us. He is able to help us deal with all sin and evil in life; His Gospel ministers this grace. The Psalms speak extensively about evil and demonstrate the power of God to overcome it. Job describes God’s eventual victory over evil, and Jesus demonstrates triumph over evil in His life and death. Finally, John’s Revelation tells us that God will execute His final victory when He comes again in Glory.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Faith

In general, faith means ‘what people believe’; but the faith of a Christian means much more.  We believe in God as Creator  and in His Son Jesus, who has saved us from sin.  This is rooted in the Biblical and historical evidence of the love of Jesus which saves us, and His active presence by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the O.T. ‘faith’ means ‘belief’ in general, but Abraham responds to God with faith (Gen 15:6), enabling him and his descendants, the people of Israel, to have a ‘righteous’  relationship with God.  In the New Testament, Jesus looks for faith amongst those who seek His ministry or wish to follow Him; and Peter is the first to confess faith in Him as the ‘Son of the living God’ (Matt. 16:16).  Paul defines ‘faith’ as the response to Jesus through which people have a right relationship with God (Rom. 3:21-26 etc.). He adds love, hope, trust, security and more to what we mean by ‘Faith’.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Faithful love

Faithful love is an expression used largely in the O.T. to translate the Hebrew word ‘cheseth’ which is closely related to the idea of God’s Covenant with His people.  The original Hebrew word expresses the quality of permanent and long lasting love, telling us that God’s Covenant with His people will never end. ‘Faithful love’ is often translated ‘steadfast love’ or ‘loving kindness’, and this is complemented by the other Hebrew word for love, ‘Ahavah’, which means undeserved love.  Many Psalms have references to the ‘faithful love’ or ‘steadfast love’, which evoke both the passion of God for His people and His Covenant relationship with them. This word appears throughout the O.T. where God is revealed, and this enables us to say with confidence that ‘faithful love’ is an essential characteristic of God the Father.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Faithfulness

This English word is used to translated either the Hebrew ‘cheseth’ (see ‘faithful love’) or ‘emet’ meaning ‘trustworthy’ or ‘true’.  This word is often used when describing God, who is constant and therefore reliable; it also implies truthfulness.  This is the closest the Hebrew gets to the English word ‘honest’, which can be said to combine these characteristics.  God is faithful and He asks His people to show faithfulness in their dealings with Him and with others.  The Bible shows God as constantly faithful in His dealings with His people, but His people as being faithless and wayward.  For this reason, Jesus looks for ‘faith’ amongst those who seek Him.  In this sense, faith is linked not just with the idea of belief, but also truthfulness and honesty.

Paul H Ashby - 14/12/09

Fasting

The practice of fasting in Jesus’ day was regarded as a religious duty which showed a devout heart.  It is mentioned in the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 9:5, Neh 1:4) and many Psalms (e.g. 35:13; 69:10).  Abstention from food for a period of time together with prayer, was a religious duty demonstrating commitment to the remembrance of God in the course of everyday life.  In Jesus’ day, regular fasting was normal for everyone, but Jesus and his disciples did not follow normal practice, and consequently drew criticisms on themselves. Jesus taught that making a show of fasting did not indicate serious religious intent (Matt 6:16f.).  However, Jesus fasted himself whilst in the desert for 40 days, when He was ‘tempted by the devil’ (Matt 4:1f.). Today,  fasting is best done by following Jesus’ principle that it is an act of devotion to God by which we focus our prayers on the heart and mind on God.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Fellowship

The word ‘fellowship’ occurs infrequently in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament. Some Bibles use ‘fellowship’ to refer to the sacrificial offerings to God in the O.T. that were shared by people (Leviticus 4f.). In Acts 2:42, fellowship is one of the first things Christians enjoyed after they were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  The Greek word for fellowship is ‘koinonia’, which means ‘sharing or participation’, meaning the sharing of God’s people as His church. Today, the word fellowship is often used as a substitute for ‘church’, because people do not like the way this word is used. However, both words have an important place in our understanding of what it means to be God’s people.  We are ‘gathered’ as His church, and we are a people who ‘share’ in fellowship.  All these terms are different way of describing what it means for Christians to ‘love one another’ (see John 15:12,17 - see also 1 John).

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Festivals

Israel’s was centred around three festival occasions, each deriving from an agricultural festivity and relating to the events of the Exodus.  The first is feast of ‘Unleavened Bread’, which combines the year’s first harvest (barley) with remembrance of the Exodus (23:15).  This is now known as the ‘Passover’ (Jesus was killed on the Cross at Passover).  The second harvest feast was the offering of ‘first fruits’, which happened fifty days later and celebrated the later grain harvest (mainly wheat) which was later associated with entry into the Promised Land.  It is now called ‘Pentecost’.  The third feast celebrates the final harvest of the  ‘in-gathering’ of grape and olive crops, which was associated with the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. These festivities anchor worship within the everyday life of God’s people, and although we do not have the same round of agriculture today, we can learn from this about how to make worship around the real life of people.

Paul H Ashby - 10/05/10

Forgiveness

The N.T. contains a great deal of teaching about forgiveness because it lies at the heart of the Gospel, and God’s love for us.  The Gospel proclaims that our ‘sins are forgiven’, so that we may have a right relationship with God.  The Lord’s Prayer also teaches us to ask for forgiveness from God, and also to forgive others. So, forgiveness of others is not an option, and this is the point of Jesus’ famous parable of the talents (Matt 18:21f.).  Forgiveness is hard, and most people find it difficult to forgive those who have hurt them. People dislike forgiving those who have sinned against them because this feels like condoning sin; but to believe this is not the response of one who has themselves been forgiven by God.  How do we forgive?  We do this by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. When the risen Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on the disciples, He said ‘if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven ...’ (John 20:23)

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Fruit

The first fruit mentioned in the Bible is the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2,3).  Mostly, however, ‘fruit’ is used metaphorically in the Bible to indicate a number of positive things about the consequences of living according to God’s purposes.  For example, the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ (Gal 5:22), or the ’fruits of the Gospel’ (Rom 1:13, Col 1:6).  Jesus spoke about fruit in His parables of the Kingdom of God; the Sower (Matt 13:23), and taught about God’s people as a tree that bears ‘good fruit’ (Luke 6:43f.). He frequently spoke of the ‘harvest’ of God, which implies the gathering of ‘fruit’. Fruitfulness is best thought of as a general expression in the New Testament which explains what God wants and expects of His people (Colossians 1:10), and links with the idea of the church as a ‘vine’ which ‘bears much fruit’ (John 15).

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Gifts of the Spirit

This term is used for the spiritual gifts described by Paul (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:8-11,28; Eph 4:11,12).  Some add the Messianic gifts identified by Isaiah (11:2).  They are the outward manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit within a believer or the church.  All of them have a purpose within God’s will for His people, as described in Paul’s letters. Many of the gifts are similar to ordinary aspects of Christian life, such as faith; but these gifts are given for special purposes and for God to bless His people.  Other gifts appear extraordinary, but they are either demonstrated in Jesus life (such as miracles, or healing), in His work (evangelism, teaching) or they are a special gifts for worship (such as the gift of various ‘tongues’ or ‘words of knowledge).  All are tokens of God’s love when we are ‘born again of the Spirit’ (John 3:5-10); they are part of our assurance that what God has done in us is real and true.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Glory

The word glory is found throughout the Bible.  In the O.T. the word for glory is ‘cavath’ which means ‘heavy’ or ‘weighed down’. The ancients thought of God as ‘heavy’, or weighed down with everything good and right. This idea is changed radically by the dwelling of God’s ‘glory’ with His people on Mount Sinai and in the ‘Taberbnacle’ (see Exodus). In the N.T the word for glory is ‘doxa’, meaning ‘splendour, praise, pride, fullness, or power’.  God’s glory reflects His authority as Creator, His splendour and power, and His abiding presence with His people.  The word also conveys a sense of mystery because we can never know everything about God or the full extent of His glory until we see Him face to face.  His glory is related to His holiness, which is so great we can only enter His presence by the grace of Christ. One day we will see His glory in all its fulness, when Jesus comes to reign on earth.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Gospel

The word ‘Gospel’ translates a Greek word meaning ‘Good News’. We use it as a shorthand to describe the news that Jesus Christ has died so that all may have a relationship with God the Father through faith in Him, and consequently have eternal life. The Gospel is therefore the good news of our ‘salvation’, and its roots are always in personal testimony. It is not something that can be caught or passed down from one generation to another; it must be accepted individually so that each Christian can testify to their own salvation through Jesus.  Because of this, Paul argues that the work of proclaiming the Gospel is continuous (Romans 10:14-21), something we call ‘evangelism’, which happens to come from the Greek word which means the same as ‘Gospel’!  The word ‘Gospel’ is also used to describe each of the four ‘statements of faith’ in Jesus found in the Bible; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Grace

Grace is a word that covers a large range of God’s loving work to save the people He has made and the world in which they live. Grace is related to the idea of ‘favour’; the Hebrew for this is ‘hen’, which is closely related to ‘cheseth’, meaning ‘faithful love’.  Grace describes the fact that God has constantly sought to bless the world, initially through His people, the people of Israel. The failure of Israel to fulfil this call (see Isaiah 42:6, 49:6) meant that God sent His Son, Jesus, to show His grace to all. This was demonstrated by Jesus’ love and forgiveness, even on the Cross. For this reason, Paul says ‘by grace you have been saved’ (Eph 2:4). The N.T. shows that grace in shown in repentance (Mark 6:12), results in fearless courage (Acts 4:33 etc.), and results in ‘peace with God (Rom 5:1).  Paul speaks of the faith as being the human response to the divine grace or favour of God.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Greek (empire and culture)

The Greek Empire was the largest in the world under Alexander the Great in the 330’s BC.  His military invasion of the known world was relatively benign and Greek culture and language spread rapidly around the Mediterranean and beyond.  There is little mention of Greek people in the Bible, but the influence of Greek culture is everywhere.  In particular, Greek was the common language of the Roman Empire, and the language of the New Testament (whereas Latin was the language of Rome itself); this was because the Roman Empire was built upon the previous Greek Empire.  The word ‘Greek’ was a common name for ‘nations’ or ‘pagans’, because Israelites objected strongly to Greek culture; past rulers had placed the ‘abomination’ of images of Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple.  Paul sought to break down this barrier to make the Gospel available to ‘Greeks and Jews alike’ (Rom 1:16f.)

Paul H Ashby - 18/7/08

Greek (language)

Greek is the language in which the New Testament is written.  At the time of Jesus, it was the ‘common language’ of the Roman Empire, where Latin was the language of the city of Rome itself.  This was because the Roman Empire was built upon the previous Greek Empire, which spread Greek culture and the Greek language throughout vast areas of the world we now know as the Mediterranean lands and also the Middle East, even as far as northern India.  Greek has contributed many words to the English language, but it is written in a text (the actual letters) which is quite different, being written in capital letters and without punctuation.  The New Testament writers used this ‘common Greek’ because it meant that their writing could be read throughout the known world of that time. The main difficulty with Greek is that it does not always convey well the language of Aramaic, in which Jesus would have spoken.

Paul H Ashby - 14/06/09

Harvest

Harvest was a time of great rejoicing for all ancient peoples, because it represented life for the coming year. The Israelites had three different harvests for the barley, wheat and vineyard harvests, all linked with festivals celebrating the great events of the nation’s past - such as the Passover (see Exodus 23:14f. etc.). The prophets began to speak of God’s final reckoning or judgement as a day of harvest (e.g. Isaiah 17:9-11, Joel 3:13), but they also continued to use the word to represent the ‘effectiveness’ of God’s people in doing His will. So, in the New Testament, Jesus talked about ‘harvests’ in various parables, sometimes describing the work of the Kingdom in the present (Matt 13:1-9) and sometimes the reckoning of God’s final harvest (Matt 25:14-30). The picture of the harvest in scripture therefore represents both the ongoing work of the Gospel and also God’s final Judgement.

Paul H Ashby - 17/09/08

Healing

Healing occurs natural, as part of the way God has made the body.  However, healing also refers to the God given ministry by which people are healed through prayer, the laying on of hands, and deliverance from demons.  Healing is found in the O.T., and ministered by the prophets (2 Kings 4,5), normally for a reason and with a message for those healed and the People of God.  In the N.T, healing is one of the four great ministries of Jesus; preaching, teaching, healing and deliverance.  All of Jesus’ healing miracles were unique and personal; they used different techniques, sometimes requiring evidence of faith, and sometimes not.  All of them demonstrate God’s love for people, and appeal for faith in Jesus.  Healing is about every aspect of human life, body, soul and spirit; it includes mental and spiritual health. Healing is about ‘wholeness’ that points towards the greater healing of our eternal salvation.

Paul H Ashby  -16/06/09

Heart

The word ‘heart’ as used in scripture is often misunderstood. This is because today, people commonly think of the heart as the seat of the emotions, and we refer to the heart to speak about how we feel.  This is not how the Bible uses the word in its original Hebrew or Greek.  In the N.T., the word ‘heart’ means roughly the same as what it  means in O.T. Hebrew.  It is a word which means something like ‘all of me’, as a conscious and active human being; as in ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart ...’.  It becomes clearer in the New Testament that the ‘heart’ is the seat not of human emotions but of the human ‘will’.  Think of it like this; in the heart we weigh up thoughts (information) and emotions (feelings) to decide what to do.  So when Paul speaks of a ‘love which come from a pure heart’ (1 Tim 1:5), he means the inner quality of love that will show itself in godly words and deeds.

Paul H Ashby - 1/08/08

Heaven

The term ‘heaven’ applies to the sky as we know it and also the dwelling place of God, which the ancient believed was beyond the perceivable sky.  So we will see both uses of this in the Old and the New Testaments; sometimes the word simply refers to the sky, and sometimes to the ethereal dwelling place of God.  In addition, we must remember that ancient people believed that the heavens were like a dome placed above the earth and with the stars and sun and moon all placed or ‘set’ in their places.  They believed that the heavens (or, sky) had windows in it which let through the waters that were believed to lie beyond the dome; this accounts for rain.  God’s dwelling place is not defined further in the Bible, but lies in the expanse beyond this structure of the known world.  Just as today, they thought of the heavens as something mystical and unreachable, accessible only to God.

Paul H Ashby - 30/07/10

Hebrew

Hebrew is language of the O.T.  This ancient language uses characters quite different from ours today.  It uses consonants only, with no vowels, punctuation, or ‘upper’ & ‘lower’ case letters.  Vowels and punctuation were added to the script in the 12th century AD by Jews who wanted to ensure that Christians did not misquoting their sacred texts.  Hebrew is also written from right to left; that is, backwards!  There is therefore ample opportunity for error when translating the Old Testament; and from a linguistic point of view, around one half of the actual words used in the text cannot be verified from any source outside the Bible.  To translate it well, we therefore rely heavily on traditional translations, the most ancient being the ‘Septuagint’, a Greek translation from before Christ. There remain many uncertainties in the text, as can be seen from the notes found at the foot of most O.T. pages in a Bible.

Paul H Ashby - 27/07/08

Holiness

Holiness is the ‘noun’ which conveys the idea of being ‘holy’ (see below).  It is a quality given by God by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God at work amongst us.  God alone will make us holy through our faith in Jesus and our obedience to His call, but it is only complete in His presence. Holiness is one way of describing the path of discipleship of one who believes; having been made holy by Christ through faith and baptism, we walk towards the complete Holiness of our destiny in Him. Holiness is therefore both an objective and yet something we can know in part now, and what we know of it  points to more to come.  We tend to see holiness in other people, rather than claim it for ourselves, because it is better to observe holiness at work and aspire to live by it rather than treat it as an achievable standard.  Unfortunately, many people equate ‘holiness’ with the idea of ‘perfection’, which is not helpful.

Paul H Ashby 12/09/08

Holy

God is holy. The word ‘holy’ means ‘set apart’ in the sense that God is different or ‘set apart’ from His created and mortal world. So the word holy carries with it a sense of the awesomeness of God as Creator, and in the O.T., God grants that people, objects or things are holy according to His graciousness and purpose. Therefore, the Temple is holy, and the religious events and worship that takes place there are all holy. In the New Testament, when Jesus has done His work of Salvation, He opens up the possibility of contact between God who is holy and His people, so that people may be made ‘holy’ through His work on the Cross.  This is signified by the tearing of the Temple curtain at the moment of Jesus’ death (Matt 27:51). God is present with us now by means of His Holy Spirit, and because the Spirit is holy, He can make us holy insofar as we  co-operate with Him in the doing of God’s will.

Paul H Ashby - 12/09/08

Hope

Hope, for a Christian, is a ‘sure thing’.  The word ‘hope’ is used in general to express the idea of anticipation, whether realistic or not.  However, through Christ, the Christian believes that salvation is proved; it is certainty, but the completion of it is yet to come.  In addition, the hope is real because it is guaranteed by God’s gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:1-5).  Many Christian people have lost sight of the assurance of our salvation represented by this hope, because of people’s uncertainty about the nature of the Holy Spirit and His presence within us. The primary gift of the Holy Spirit is the certainty of hope in faith, rather than mere anticipation that God might save.  The presence of the Holy Spirit enables Christians to be confident in their faith, and therefore free to live a creative and fulfilled life. The sure hope of a Christian is that Christ will come again and bring us into His heavenly Kingdom.

Paul H Ashby - 9/04/10

Hospitality

Hospitality is not easily understood today, because we think of it as meaning ‘entertainment’. However, hospitality was more like the process of making a friend out of a stranger, and in ancient times, one was obliged to treat a stranger as someone out of whom one should find a friend, before assuming them to be an enemy. Ancient practices of hospitality are reflected in the stories of the forefathers, for example, when Abraham offers hospitality to the angels who come to announce Sarah’s pregnancy (Gen 18:1-8). They are also reflected in Jesus instructions to His disciples concerning mission (Matt 10:1-15). Then, the ritual of footwashing was a sacred ritual of hospitality before Jesus transformed it into a sign of servanthood (John 13:1-11). The Christian church was urged to practice hospitality so that communities of Christians could be joined together in fellowship, and the Gospel shared (see the letter of James).

Paul H Ashby - 20/08/08

House

The Hebrew word for ‘house’ is ‘beth’, and it crops up in many place names, such as ‘Bethlehem’ (which means ‘house of bread’). This word house is used in a similar way to the word  ‘house’ in English, and it has the same range of meaning.  It means a place to live in (from a small dwelling to a palace) and it also means a family line or dynasty, as when we speak about the royal ‘house of Windsor’.  So, in the Old Testament, we find many references to the ‘house of David’, but this can mean either the place where he lives, his hope of building a house for the Lord (a Temple), or his family line or dynasty.  God famously plays on this in 2 Samuel 7), where David asks to build God a house (beth), but God says no, He will build a house (beth) out of David, meaning a dynasty to rule Israel.  There are many word plays on ‘beth’ in the Old Testament, for example in Amos 3:15, but the same word play is not found in the N.T.

Paul H Ashby - 9/04/10

the ‘Image of God’

This expression is used in a number of places in scripture to refer to humanity as made by God (see Genesis 1:27).  To be made in the image of God means that we are made spiritual beings, and this is the point made in Genesis 2:7, which describes people as made from the dust of the ground and ‘god-breathed’ by the Spirit. These texts in Genesis are important because they tell us about our origins in the heart of God, and they help us to see that equally, our destiny is to return to the God in whose image we are made.  In addition, Genesis tells us that men and women are made both together as the ‘image of God’, and this means there is something sacred about the union of marriage, as Jesus points out in Matthew 19:5,6. It is a reflection of God’s general purpose for both man and woman, though it does not mean that this is God’s will for every individual.

Paul H Ashby - 9/04/10

Inheritance

In the Old Testament, the blessings of God given to His chosen people were inherited from parents to children.  This inheritance was the Covenant of God’s blessing first given to Abraham, and passed down through his children to the people of Israel.  God intended that this inheritance would one day pass to all people, via His chosen people.  Because this did not happen in the Old Testament, God sent Jesus to complete the work. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection work created a new people of God with the inheritance of a New Covenant for the salvation of all the world, according to God’s original purpose.  It is passed on through families and through evangelism in the broadest sense, but it is an inheritance that cannot be presumed, it needs to be openly acknowledged and accepted, or by default, it is rejected.

Paul H Ashby 9/04/10

Interpretation

The spiritual gift of interpretation accompanies the gift of speaking in tongues.  In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, Paul speaks as if the gift of interpretation added to the gift of tongues was the same as the gift of prophecy.  It appears from what he says in 1 Corinthians 14 that although he asks those who speak in tongues in public to seek to offer an interpretation themselves, others may do this.  However, he suggests that for reasons of church order, tongues should not be used in church worship unless interpretations are given.  The gift of interpretation is not a matter of linguistics, but a matter of spiritual sensitivity, and an interpretation does not require the same ‘equivalence’ in speech as a normal translation process. A long word in tongues may require only a short few words of interpretation, and vice-versa.

Paul H Ashby - 10/03/09

Judgment

Judgment is found throughout the Bible because of the moral nature of God. He separates right from wrong and good from evil in ‘judgment’. The Hebrew and Greek words for judgment connect the ideas of ‘justice’ and ‘righteousness’.  God’s judgment is not neutral and it involves emotions.  For example, the ‘wrath’ of God is His anger in judgment because of the rebellion against Him by those He loves.  Salvation is only possible if we are placed in a right relationship with God and are not ‘judged’ as sinners before Him, and Jesus takes away the burden of our sin so that we may be judged righteous and have this relationship with God. For this reason, there is no salvation without judgment. Equally, the time will come when life ends and each of us will come before our Maker, either when we die or in His time. We will face a ‘Final Judgment’. But whatever the judgment, Christ is our Saviour.

Paul H Ashby - 30/08/08

Justice

Justice is part of the very nature of God and derives from His morality and faithfulness.  God has made the world according to a moral plan, and ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are embedded within it.  We do not always understand this, so we need God Himself to show us what is right and ‘just’ by His faithful and consistent deeds.  People tend to think of justice as a legal matter, and when reading the Bible they can make the mistake of thinking that God’s justice is tied up with the Old Testament law.  Some suggest that the Gospel replaces God’s ‘justice’ with ‘mercy’, because we are saved by His love, not by the law.  In reality, God is consistent, and although He is merciful in salvation, He does not stand back from being just.  The world God has created continues to reflect ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, and God will judge all according to His justice (Romans 1:17f.).  The world comes to an end with a display of God’s complete justice.

Paul H Ashby - 9/04/11

Kingdom of God / Kingdom of Heaven

The ‘Kingdom’ is an expression used throughout the New Testament; either the ‘Kingdom of God’, or the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, or simply the ‘Kingdom’.  The Kingdom is where God’s rule has been established in this world through the saving work of Jesus Christ.  Some people prefer to equate this with the Church, but we should be careful not to assume that the limited and finite Church structures of this world are somehow a true expression of God’s Kingdom.  It is better to think of the Kingdom existing where God’s people live in true spiritual fellowship and where Christ is honoured as King.  Jesus taught a great deal about the ‘Kingdom’, and most of His parables describe it.  It is clear from Jesus’ teaching that the Kingdom we experience now is a foretaste of the spiritual ‘New Heaven and New Earth’ which is God’s ultimate rule in Heaven when all things have come to their end.

Paul H Ashby - 30/08/08

Lampstand

The construction of the Lampstand for the Tabernacle is described in Exodus 25.  This is the design for the classic Jewish seven-stick  ‘Menorah’.  Although the size of the Lampstand is not given, it would probably have been of considerable size, and high enough to provide light for the Tabernacle room in front of the ‘Holy of Holies’.  The Lampstand itself was placed on the south side of the Tabernacle room, opposite the Table of the Bread of the Presence.  The lamps were to be lit ‘from evening to morning’, and could probably have been seen outside the Tabernacle. Little is known of any special meaning attached to light in Israelites worship, though by the time of Jesus, there was a festival of lights celebrated in Jerusalem (see John 8:12f.).

Paul H Ashby 27/05/09

Laws of Moses

When Israel came out of Egypt they were a large nation with no other common factor than their belief in the God of their forefathers; and the leadership of Moses.  To establish the nation as His by Covenant, God gave Moses the Law.  This was first revealed in the Ten Commandments, spoken directly by God (Exodus 20).  Then came laws for the judicial governance of the nation (Exodus 21-23).  Later, God gave Moses instructions for worship, the Ark, the Tabernacle and the priesthood (the rest of Exodus) and various laws concerning worship, lifestyle and social responsibility (in Leviticus).  These were extended throughout the generations by aural tradition, and by the time of Christ, they were regarded as the proper ’Law’.  Jesus said that God’s Law was in scripture alone, and the prophets interpreted it by the Spirit. He showed that the life of Faith was based on love and grace, not law.

Paul H Ashby - 26/05/09

Light

Light is a powerful symbol within the Bible.  It is spoken into being on the first day of Creation (Genesis 1:3f.) and becomes a basic life-giving feature of God’s created order.  It is a sign of God’s favour and presence for the people of Israel (Exodus 26, 35:3f.), and it eventually signifies God’s work of salvation (‘You have turned ny darkness into light’ - Psalm 18:28).  In the New Testament, ‘light’ also refers to what is ‘right’ as opposed to what is ‘wrong’, indeed what is ‘good’ as opposed to what is ‘evil’ (John 3:19f. 2 Cor 6:14).  In John’s Gospel, we reach what is probably the most significant use of ‘light’, where Jesus is called the ‘Light of the World’ (John 8:12).  He reflects the light of His Father’s holiness; morally, ethically and spiritually.  As a cponsequence, those who respond to Jesus are caled ‘children of the light’ (Ephesians 5:8).  At the end of time, God’s re-created universe is bathed in  His ‘light’ (Rev 21:5)

Paul H Ashby - 31/06/11

Liturgy

A liturgy is an agreed form of words or actions which people use in religious worship; e.g. the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ is a form of liturgy.  Many churches often have liturgies set for weddings and funerals; many them for communion, and some have them for almost every aspect of worship.  They include instructions for how things are done as well as words to be said.  Some churches make their liturgies obligatory, and some do not.  Now, in the Bible, we can often find passages (e.g. Psalm 24), reflecting the liturgies of worship used in ancient Israel.  Far more texts were used for formal worship than we imagine.  Nevertheless, it can help our studies to understand this.  Liturgy can of course become a substitute for worship, but this is true of all ‘methods’ used for worship, including the singing of songs.  It is better to regard liturgy as a normal healthy part of worship life, which needs to be subjected to God.

Paul H Ashby - 25/06/10

Love

The love of God is the driving force behind all creation, and love is God’s essential characteristic. All that we experience of love is a reflection of God’s love. Love is a complex emotion, not a simple one, for passionate love becomes wrathful when it is rejected or abused, but is also capable of the highest good.  So the world is made by God in love, but it is afflicted by evil and sin, and so incurs God’s wrath. The historic drama of salvation is the story of how God’s love overcomes the barriers of human rebellion and sin.  So God’s love is shown supremely in Jesus, who loved even to the point of death.  In the New Testament, a special Greek word is used for love (‘agape’), which encompasses the important idea of the undeserved and unlimited nature of God’s love with the fact that the love of God is ‘faithful’ for all eternity.  In Paul’s famous poem about love (1 Cor 13), he finds love to be eternal, out passing faith and hope.

Paul H Ashby 24/06/10

Marriage

The purposes of God for Christian marriage are that one man and one woman should be joined together in a permanent relationship which is exclusive in sex, committed to God and submissive to Him for the upbringing of children.  Jesus quotes the famous text from Genesis 2:4 ‘a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ (Matt 19:5).  It is worth noting that it is a man and a woman who together represent the ‘image of God’ in Genesis 1:27, so there is something fundamentally godly about the institution of marriage.  The Bible is astonishingly egalitarian about marriage roles, given that the history it reflects is almost exclusively that of a male dominated society.  Hence Paul’s words ‘submit to one another’ (Ep. 5:21) and his comments about respect and love within marriage (Ep. 5:22f.).

Paul H Ashby - 31/05/11

Mandrake

The mandrake is a Mediterranean plant that was prized for its aphrodisiac qualities.  The Goddess Aphrodite, goddess of sex and love was called ‘the Lady of the Mandrake’.  Mandrakes were found by the young Reuben and given to his mother Leah, who traded them to Rachel for access to Jacob’s bed (Gen 30:14f.).  It is an important part of sexual ‘intrigues’ by which Jacob’s wives and two ‘concubines’ gave birth to his twelve sons, who become the twelve tribes of Israel.

Paul H Ashby 26/05/09

Mercy

Mercy is a word that means a great deal to Christians because of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, by which we are saved.  However, it is not easy to define as it come from a number of Hebrew or Greek word in the Scriptures.  The word mercy refers to a range of loving characteristics of God; in the O.T., God is described as ‘faithful’ (in the sense of never failing) and ‘gracious’ (that is, showing favour) and ‘compassionate’ (showing feeling), and the separate Hebrew words for these are sometimes translated ‘mercy’.  In the N.T., mercy comes from one of two words, ‘charis’ (meaning grace) and ‘eleos’ (meaning compassion to one in need). The second is the one usually translated ‘mercy’, describing God’s compassion for sinful people and their need of salvation.  This is strongly tinged with all the other words used in the Bible; our ‘merciful’ God is faithful, gracious, and compassionate to His people.

Paul H Ashby 26/05/09

Mercy Seat

The mercy seat is a covering for the Ark of the Covenant.  It is a slab of gold the same size as the Ark, but with two Cherubs, one at each end, hammered out of one piece of gold with the slab. The Hebrew word for this covering is used mostly in the Old Testament to refer to covering for sins, or what is called ‘propitiation’ for sins or ‘atonement’.  Most Christians prefer the word ‘mercy’ rather than these other more theological words because it is easier to understand ‘mercy’.  Exodus 25:22 says that God must be regarded as speaking from above the mercy seat and between the two cherubim firstly to Moses and later to the High Priests who were allowed access to the Ark in the ‘Holy of Holies’.  The mercy seat is best thought of as integral to the ‘Ark’ both in its original design and manufacture (in Exodus 25 and 37) and in the Temple (1 Kings 6), though little is said of it outside these texts.

Paul H Ashby - 26/05/09

Ministry

The word ‘ministry’ is largely used in the New Testament to convey the idea of work done in service of others. The Greek word is ‘diakonos’ and is listed in Paul’s list of ‘ministry’ gifts in Romans 12:7f.  Other references in Ephesians and Timothy indicate the possibility of the word meaning some kind of official role of ‘helping’ within the church. Today we talk of the role of a ‘deacon’ which is a ministry of service, but we have tended to use the word ministry (which in fact comes from the Latin word for diakonos) as referring to any kind of work ‘for the Lord’ in the church.  In reality, it would be wrong to say that the N.T. supports any systematic structure of ministry gifts and graces, so we must be careful when reading the word ‘ministry’ in the Bible, to ensure that we do not make assumptions which are incorrect.

Paul H Ashby - 19/08/08

Mishnah

The Mishnah is an important Jewish work of the late third century BC. It is a collection of rabbinic laws which develop from principles in the Old Testament books of the Law. They were designed to cover the normal range of human life and experience at the time. The Mishnah is arranged into 63 tractates and 6 orders which cover everything from agricultural matters including tithes, public feasts, marriage, sacrifices and ritual purity; and many more. The leading light behind the project was the rabbi Judah the Prince.  In following years the Mishnah underwent modification and the ‘Talmuds’ originating in Babylon and Palestine are major Jewish documents which interpret the Mishnah and extend its scope.

Paul H Ashby - 3/09/08

Mission

The word ‘mission’ is really a Latin word which means ‘to go’ or ‘to be sent’.   Hence a missionary is someone who has been sent by God to do a special task; normally of declaring the Gospel.  In this sense the disciples were given a mission when Jesus called them to ‘go into all the world’ (Matt 28:19) to preach the Gospel and baptise.  The word (or the Greek equivalent of the word) occurs once in the New Testament in Acts 12:25, with reference to the first mission of Paul and Barnabas. Occasional use of the word is found in the Old Testament with reference to some special task requested (1 Sam 15:18, Jdges 18:5). In the early church, there is plenty of evidence from outside scripture that this word began to be used frequently to describe the on-going work of the proclamation of the Gospel, as it is to this day.

Paul H Ashby - 19/08/08

Obedience

The idea of obedience is presented strongly in the Old Testament.  God required obedience from Abraham (Gen. 12:1f.) prior to His acceptance of Abraham’s faith (Gen 15:6), and He continued to demand obedience from His people, in particular, obedience to the Law.  In the New Testament it is fashionable to talk about faith more than obedience because of the importance of faith in Jesus Christ as the means of our salvation rather than obedience to the Law.  However, we would be wrong to abandon the idea of obedience, because God is a moral God who, as Paul frequently reminds us, demands that we aim for the highest moral standards in obedience to His call to righteousness and holy living.  It may be best to say that obedience to God is something which can only begin to make sense for someone who has faith in Christ.

Paul H Ashby - 31/05/11

Offering

The idea of offering in the Bible comes from early forms of worship, and it usually means giving things to God.  When Cain and Able brought their offerings to God in Genesis 4, this was the earliest form of worship found in the Bible.  Later generations of God’s people worshipped the Lord by bring a variety of ‘offerings’, from sacrifices of animals (see Leviticus 1-4) to tithes of produce (see Deuteronomy 18).  Later, as the kingdoms of Israel become corrupted, the prophets speak of God requiring the offering not so much of physical produce or sacrifices, but of w ‘pure heart’ (see Psalm 73:1, Jeremiah 20:12f.).  In the New Testament, the word ‘offering’ is mentioned only in the context of worship (e.g. the offering of your faith (Philippians 2:17), or the special ‘offerings’ Paul gathered for the relief of the poor in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:16). Giving gifts remains an important part of Christian worship.

Paul H Ashby - 14/12/09

Ordain

In the O.T., the words ‘ordain’ and ‘ordination’ refer to the appointing of priests (Exodus 29:29, Leviticus 16:32).  This term is used only of priests; by contrast, prophets are ‘called’ and kings are ‘anointed’.  In the N.T., the term is not used because Jesus Christ is our appointed High Priest, thus bringing the priestly line to an end.  Different words are used when there are appointments to special tasks, for example, Matthias is ‘enrolled’ as the twelfth disciple (Acts 1:26), and when officers of the early church are selected, they are appointed with the laying on of hands (Acts 6:6).  Paul therefore decribes Timothy’s setting aside as by the laying on of hands (1 Tim 4:14).  In church practice today, church leaders are traditionally ‘ordained’, but this is perhaps inappropriate given the Biblical evidence, and it would be better to avoid the term and its unique association with OT priesthood.

Paul H Ashby - 31/05/11

Parable

The parables are a distinctive method of teaching used by Jesus, but also by others as well.  A parable is a short story which is more than a moral tale, is more than an allegory or story with hidden meanings.  It is a story which makes a point by way of an illustration from everyday life.  Jesus used stories of life to illustrate the nature of the Kingdom of God, for example in the parable of the sower, or the owner of a vineyard.  The genius of the method was that it was highly adaptable to ‘open air preaching’ and because the ‘point’ of the story was not always obvious until the end, it could hold an audience and also prove to be a topic for discussion.  There are other parables in the Bible apart from those told by Jesus; for example Nathan’s parable of the ‘ewe-lamb’ which he used to teach King David an important lesson (2 Sam 12:1-4). 

Paul H Ashby - 24/07/08

Passover

The Passover is a Jewish festival which is central to the Old Testament and to our understanding of the saving works of God.  The details of it are found in Exodus 12 and 13, where it is celebrated as the first day of the week long feast of ‘Unleavened Bread’. The name comes from the way the angel of death ‘passed over’ the Israelites on the night they left Egypt, slaying Egyptian firstborn and allowing the Israelites to go free.  In the New Testament, Jesus died during the feast of the Passover, and in the letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is described  as the equivalent to the lamb sacrificed at the Jewish Passover festival, whose blood marked the door posts of Israelites to ward off the angel of death.  Jesus was sacrificed for us so that we might be set free just as the people of Israel were set free at the time of the Exodus. The equivalent ‘meal’ to the Passover, for Christians, is the remembrance of the last supper.

Paul H Ashby - 9/04/10

Peace

The word peace is used to translate the Hebrew ‘shalom’, which means peace in the sense of ‘well-being’ and ‘wholeness’ as well as the absence of difficult or bad things.  In the Old Testament, peace is described as the result of trusting in God, and it is described very much as a gift of God to those who trust Him.  The word ‘shalom’ was used in Old and New Testament times as a Jewish greeting, which corresponded to the Greek greeting ‘grace’.  Hence Paul’s famous all-embracing greeting ‘grace and peace to you ...’.  In the New Testament, peace with God is given to us as a result of Jesus’ work on the Cross (Romans 5:1), and peace is also used throughout the Bible to describe God’s new creation in which all evil and death is destroyed.  This is particularly noticeable in Isaiah and Revelations.

Paul H Ashby 24/06/10

Pentecost

Pentecost means ‘fiftieth’, and refers to the 50 days counted after the feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread before the date of the traditional Pentecost in the Jewish Calendar.  It was originally a harvest festival service (wheat) called the festival of ‘weeks’, and was also regarded as the festival at which the giving of the Law was celebrated.  It is against this background that the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples on the first ‘Pentecost’, at which the early church was founded.  The impact of that event was phenomenal and from that time onwards, God has liberally given His Holy Spirit to all those who call on His name, repent and accept Christ as Lord.  The festival of Pentecost is also highly symbolic, being linked to the death of Jesus at Passover by 50 days, and suggesting that the giving of the Holy Spirit was a new ‘law-giving’ by God.

Paul H Ashby - 11/11/08

Persecution

Jesus taught His disciples from the earliest of times that they would face persecution.  Persecution happens because there is opposition to God’s love and work within the world.  It was religious persecution which drove Jesus to the Cross, and false religion remains one of the main sources of persecution both of Christian people and all that is good in the world, today.  People sometimes ask why it is that God does not promise people a better life once they have begun to follow Him.  Discipleship is a matter of being faithful to Christ in a world which is cruel and oppressive, but the ultimate objective is peace with God for ever.  This hope will help us now but it will not stop persecution!  Sometimes persecution is the result of bad people making bad decisions, and sometimes the work of evil in the world prompted by Satan.

Paul H Ashby 24/06/10

Poor

The Bible mentions the poor frequently, beginning in the O.T. Law (Gen, Ex, Lev, Num, Deut).  God’s people must ensure that the poor are treated fairly and not trodden down, but neither are they to receive favouritism (Ex 23).  The ‘poor’ are those who are needy, downtrodden or ‘brought low’ through no fault of their own, implying misfortune, not laziness.  The Bible does not speak of the ‘undeserved poor’, as some do today, for all are made in the image of God.  Many psalms (e.g. 9,10) emphasise that God watches over and cares for the poor, and in the N.T. Jesus reflects this by focussing on the poor, even being poor Himself (see Matt. 5:1f.).  Jesus was born in poverty and died in poverty.  James (the brother of Jesus) writes strongly about the injustices that arise when the poor are treated as second class citizens, and Revelations affirms that the Gospel is equally available for ‘rich and poor’ (Rev 13:16).

Paul H Ashby 10/05/10

Power

The power by which God works in the world is expressed by means of the ‘Holy Spirit’; so when God worked in power to make the world He did so by means of His Spirit (in Hebrew, His ‘breath’ - Gen 1:2). God also did works of power by means of the Spirit through the prophets of the Old Testament (such as Elisha’s raising of the widow’s son).  So when God did His work of salvation through Jesus Christ, the power by which this was accomplished was His Spirit (John 13).  Indeed, it is best to think of God’s active work in this world as done through His Spirit, and by definition, all God’s work is ‘powerful’.  When the Holy Spirit came on the disciples at Pentecost, they were given God’s ‘power’ to preach the Gospel and work miracles; things which were essential to the beginnings of the church and its subsequent growth.  Through the gift of the Spirit, God’s power is made available to us.

Paul H Ashby 24/06/10

Praise

Praise is a defining theme of the whole Bible and it is a basic theme for understanding the relationship of people to God.  God is the Creator, and people are His creatures.  When people accept that God exists and address Him as God, their actions constitute elementary praise because in so doing they honour Him as God.  The Psalms are entitled in the Hebrew ‘Praises’, and whether they are ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ psalms they are all a form of praise to God which express a person’s respect and love of God, even when times are hard.  Praise becomes renewed in the New Testament because God’s people are able to praise Him because of what Jesus has done by saving them. This essentially ‘happy’ praise is an important part of what praise means today, but we should not forget that praise can be quiet and subdued as well as joyful, providing it is honouring to God.

Paul H Ashby - 11/11/08

Prayer

Prayer is speaking to God; our conversation with the Creator and Redeemer.  The O.T. speaks about prayer as a natural reaction to the blessings of God, as a child is born (1 Samuel 2), or the Temple is dedicated (1 Kings 8), which it is highly spontaneous; but it also indicates a religious structure of festival worship with prayers and worship, many of the prayers being recorded in scripture in the form of Psalms (see Psalm 23, or 51, or 117 etc.)  It is not surprising therefore that Jesus talks to the Father during His life by praying.  He also taught the disciples how to pray, creating a form of words (liturgy) which is valued highly by all Christians. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9f).is a tightly structured and highly theological prayer which worships God, makes requests and cries out to God for deliverance.  Other excellent examples of prayer are to be found in the letter of Paul, often at the beginning.

Paul H Ashby - 12/09/08

Preaching

Preaching is an activity first ascribed to John the Baptist and Jesus, and it is directly developed from the prophetic ministry of the Old Testament prophets.  The prophets said what God would do, and John and Jesus declared that God was now at work and appealed for people to respond to Him through repentance.  All preaching is therefore a form of appeal to respond to God which arises from a prophetic heart which is in touch with God’s Word.  The New Testament has no concept of a sermon as some kind of set ‘talk’, even in the context of worship; you will find reference to it as the ‘exposition of the Word’, however.  All preaching is connected to the fundamental task of all Christians and all churches to build up the Kingdom of God and enable it to grow in God’s strength.  In this sense, all preaching is necessarily ‘evangelistic’, and asks those to hear to respond.

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Promise

The word ‘promise’ crops us a great deal in the story of Isaac’s birth and is strongly related to the fulfilment of God’s Covenant promise to Abraham to make Him a great nation and to give his people ‘Promised Land’.  Trust in this promise is what God reckoned to Abraham as ‘righteousness’ (Gen 15:6) the famous text used by Paul (see Romans 4:1f., Gal 3:6f.) to explain the importance of faith to our justification and salvation before God.  The Temple was regarded as a place of ‘promise’, because it was there that God promised to be present with His people (2 Chron 6:4f.).  In the New Testament, Jesus specifically promised that after He had been killed, He would send the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of God’s promise to be with His people personally (John 14:15f.).  In addition, it speaks of the ‘promise’ of Eternal life (1 John 2:25) given to all who have faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul H Ashby - 19/08/08

Prophecy

Prophecy is God’s Word communicated through people.  Prophecy is not just about predicting the future, but this may be  a natural result of the Lord’s warning about the consequences of our actions.  God warned people in Old Testament times that He would come on the ‘Day of the Lord’ to judge what was right and wrong, for example.  The Old Testament prophets spoke to Israel about God’s judgement on their life and witness, and foretold the coming of the Messiah.  Joel prophesied that ‘all’ would receive the Spirit and prophesy (Joel 2:28), this was fulfilled at Pentecost.  In the New Testament, prophecy is a spiritual gift highlighted by Paul (1 Cor 12:10,28) to  build up the church.  Prophecy is a primary means of communication between God and His people, it was highly valued by the early church.  Many were expected to exercise prophetic gifts (1 Cor 14:1f.), and preaching is one form of prophecy used today.

Paul H Ashby - 10/03/09

Proverbs

A proverb is a wise saying, and they are found throughout scripture, usually in the form of a pair of sentences in Hebrew poetry, connected by means of a theme.  The subject of the proverb is illustrated by way of comparison between one sentence and the other, or the addition of meaning, or by way of emphasis.  The Book of Proverbs is largely a teaching aid for young people which illustrates wisdom in behaviour attitude and religious observance, and its aim is the maturity of the individual.  The first few chapters of the Book of Proverbs extolls the virtues of wisdom who is compared to a good woman who would make a good wife.  By comparison, evil is a ‘loose’ woman’ who will make an unfaithful wife.  Many proverbs contain a contrast between the actions of the ‘wise’ and the ‘foolish’, and are thought to have originated in the court of King Solomon.

Paul H Ashby - 24/07/08

Psalms

The Book of Psalms contains 150 poems of praise to God.  The words ‘Psalms’ comes from the Latin word for the Hebrew ‘tehillim’ which means ‘praises’.  But why are they called ‘praises’ when many complain to God (see Ps. 13).  In Hebrew, to praise God meant to accept and honour the authority of God as Lord of All and address Him as such, even if the words said were honest and frank in expressing feelings and experience.  In most Psalms, the writer begins with bringing a problem to God but ends with confidence that the Lord will help.  The Psalms are split into 5 ‘books’ or collections, and some of the Psalms are described as being ‘of’ David, which could mean they were written by him; but not all were (see Psalms 44-50, for example).  The Psalms are and indispensable testimony of people’s experience of God, and most were born in songs sung in praise of the Lord.

Paul H Ashby - 27/07/08

Rebellion

The sin of rebellion is one of the most heinous in the Bible.  Many types of sin are described at different places in the Bible, ranging from guilt to deeds of wickedness.  The sin of rebellion is different because it is characterised by a knowing rejection of God’s ways.  Rebellion, therefore, can only truly happen when people know what God’s law is in the first place, and for this reason, the word is used in the Old Testament to describe Israel’s persistent rejection of her God.  Rebellion  usually takes the form of some kind of idolatry, and often includes the practice of other religious beliefs within Israel herself; perhaps even necromancy or witchcraft.  The word ‘rebellion’ often appears in Paul’s lists of sins to be avoided, or ‘works of the flesh’ (e.g. Romans 1:30) incompatible with faith.  Hebrews (3:8f.) urges God’s people not to be ‘rebellious’ as former generations and be ‘hardhearted’ in matters of faith.

Paul H Ashby 6/11/08

Redemption

Redemption is an ancient word which carries the idea of ‘buying back’.  For example, if someone has given some goods away for money, then if they wish to have them back they would have to ‘buy them back’ - by redemption.  Ex 6:6 is one of the first examples of the use of this word in the Bible and talks of God ‘buying back’ His people from Egypt.  Galatians 3:13 talks of God’s work to ‘redeem’ his people through the death of Jesus Christ.  The word is not as common as ‘salvation’; with which it is sometimes mistaken, but it is used to illustrate what God does to restore a relationship with people. Redemption is one part of what we mean by ‘salvation’, and the idea of redemption helps us understand that there is a cost to what God does for us in Jesus Christ.

Paul H Ashby - 12/04/09

Rejection

Rejection is one of the consequences of evil in the world, and can be the direct result of someone’s actions, for example, through bullying, or it can be felt more strongly than is intended, as when someone feels rejected because of something someone said which was entirely unintentional.  At other times, rejection is intended and is the more painful because of this.  Jesus was rejected by his own people, and this was the root of the evil which took Him to the Cross.  Now, Jesus did not respond to rejection by throwing rejection back at others (as people generally tend to do), instead, He forgave those who crucified Him.  Be refusing to reject those who rejected Him, Jesus showed us that forgiveness is the key to dealing with rejection.  It may be painful for us to forgive when we do not feel that those who have sinned against us deserve this, but it is what Jesus did for us.

Paul H Ashby - 12/04/09

Religion

The word ‘religion’ has a bad press today because it is equated with formality and what is more correctly called ‘religiosity’.  Technically, ‘religion’ consist of things people to do express their beliefs.  All Christians are ‘religious’ whether they like it or not, for unless they seek to express their faith through some outwards acts of worship or deeds of godliness, it could be argued (as the letter of James does) that no faith exists.  What people so object to today is that religious systems appear to have taken over what many regard as ‘true faith’, and a degree of idolatry can be associated with structures, forms, deeds, buildings etc. when Christ is forgotten, but Christianity is nominally continued.  The answer to the conundrum is to make sure that Christ is at the centre of all you do, whether in church or not.

Paul H Ashby - 12/09/08

Repentance

Jesus’ first sermon was ‘Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!’  Repentance is therefore an important theme.  In the O.T. repentance (Hebrew ‘shub’) means changing one’s mind and / or altering a course of action.  The prophets observed that there was no truth in repentance unless it came from the heart (see Micah 6:6-8), and this led them to the idea that true repentance of the heart could lead to God’s forgiveness (see Isaiah 1:18-19).  In the N.T. the Greek word used for repentance is ‘metanoia’ which adds the idea that with repentance comes a complete change of direction - a new way of thinking.  Hence the close connection between repentance and conversion, leading to God’s forgiveness.  John connects the idea of repentance with baptism, and this completes the range of ideas that make up what we now think of as repentance.  It is a turning away from all sin towards the love of God.

Paul H Ashby - 26/07/08

Resurrection

The resurrection lies at the heart of the New Testament as the evidence of God’s victory over the powers of evil which first dragged humanity down in the ‘Fall’ described in Genesis 3.  It is the proof of God’s command over death, and together with  the crucifixion constitutes the redeeming and saving work of God through Jesus Christ.  There are a few places in the Old Testament where writers break through the traditional Jewish understanding of death (separation from God in Sheol) and speak of God as redeeming beyond the grave (e,g, Job 19:25), and the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel imply am resurrection theology.  However, when the resurrection of Christ occurred, it broke through the conventions and understanding of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day.  He spoke about it but they did not understand it.  The resurrection remains at the heart of Christian doctrine and is the proof of God’s love for us.

Paul H Ashby - 25/10/08

Revelation

Revelation means ‘something seen’.  In a world created by God and separate from heaven, revelation links heaven and earth.  So when God does something in the world, He does it by revelation.  He revealed His Son Jesus Christ, for example, and He also revealed His will by the prophets.  For this reason the word ‘revelation’ is closely linked to the work of the prophets, and also the work of Jesus Christ.  Now that Jesus Christ has ascended, God reveals things to us by His Holy Spirit.  God continues to reveal Himself to people on an on-going basis to show them His true love and compassion for humanity.  In the Bible, the ‘Revelation of John’, is a book in  which God has revealed secrets to the Apostle in the form of visions and prophetic statements.  Although we do not yet understand all these visions, they are God’s ‘revelation’ of Himself and His plans for our world.

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Righteous

The word ‘righteous appears frequently in the Old Testament and the New.  Genesis describes people of ancient times either as sinners before God or as ‘righteous’, meaning people who did what was right before God.  Noah was one such righteous person, as was Abraham.  After the giving of the law, it was assumed that people could be ‘righteous’ by keeping the commandments, and later generations believed the same about the accumulated laws of the Jews built up over centuries.  Psalms and proverbs say a great deal about the ‘righteous’, meaning people who are a delight to Him because they keep close to His ways.  In the N.T. Matthew and Luke often refer to the ‘righteous, frequently meaning the good people of the past who did God’s law.  However, Paul argues in Romans that being righteous is not about doing things, but about God’s approval, which is only found through faith in Christ.

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Righteousness

Righteousness is the property of being made right with God.  The word can be found in the Old Testament, mainly in the Psalms and in Isaiah.  Here it is used simply to denote the property of being righteous.  However, the word takes on new meaning in the New Testament, but not in the Gospel, rather in the letters of Paul.  In his argument about the nature of Christian faith, Paul says in Romans that being ‘righteous’ according to the Old Testament definition is not enough.  A true ‘right relationship with God’ is granted only through faith in Christ (Romans 1:16,17, 3:21-36).  Righteousness is therefore a gift of God, given to those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. People are made ‘right’ with God through their faith in Jesus Christ and through all that He has done for people.  This is the basis of the Christian doctrine of salvation.

Paul H Ashby - 18/06/09

Sabbath

The Sabbath is a key principle for the People of Israel. It connected them with their understanding of a God who made the world and instigated the Sabbath rest at that time (Genesis 2:1-3). We do not read much about the observance of the Sabbath in the Old Testament, except its inclusion in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1f.).  All the O.T. references assume a strict observance of the Sabbath from earliest times. In the New Testament, Jesus discovers that the rigourous rules about the Sabbath created by subsequent generations and espoused by the Pharisees had become a hindrance to the worship of God rather than a blessing. A number of his disputes with the Pharisees focussed on the Sabbath laws (see Matthew 12). It is worth remembering that the Sabbath is a commandment to honour God by resting; in other words, the worship of the Sabbath is a worship of rest!

Paul H Ashby - 3/09/08

Sacrifice

The oldest forms of worship described in the Bible are sacrifices. Noah offered a sacrifice to God by slaughtering some animals which had survived the flood, for example.  The idea of sacrifice means giving away to God something which is special and as near perfect as possible; however, the sacrificial system of the worship of God given by Moses in Leviticus is much more extensive. Sacrifices were given of pure worship to God (whole burnt offerings), sacrifices for ‘fellowship offerings’ which were little more than a means of killing animals in a ‘clean’ way so that people could eat meat, and also sacrifices to atone for sins committed, that is, if someone repented and sought forgiveness (Leviticus 1-6).  When we talk about Jesus Christ as ‘sacrifice’ for our sins (for example, in Hebrews), He becomes an offering to God, the source of our true fellowship and the forgiveness of sins.

Paul H Ashby - 12/04/09

Salvation

The whole Bible is the story of God’s salvation, as found and seen in history.  Salivation is necessary because there is a gap between God and the people He has made, as described in the story of the ‘Fall’ in Genesis 3. This is not simply an ‘event’, but the condition of humanity in general, as Paul makes clear in his writings and descriptions of the ‘sin’ from which people need salvation in God’s moral world (Gal 5:17-26).  From the Fall onwards, God’s actions in the world were designed to bring about the rescue of humanity from sin and all its consequences, and this is what we mean by ‘salvation’.  The task to bear this message was given to the people of Israel, but they failed in their task.  Jesus completed the task by dying on the Cross; this great act of love brought reconciliation between God and people and removed the barrier of sin.  Because of this, Christians have faith in Jesus for their salvation.

Paul H Ashby - 12/04/09

Satan

The name ‘satan’ comes from a Hebrew word meaning ‘accuser’.  Jesus describes Satan in the N.T. as the personified enemy of God (e.g. Matt. 12:22f.).  Satan is only mentioned in three places in the O.T.; in the famous first chapter of Job (where he appears precisely as an accuser), in 1 Chron 21:1, and in Zechariah 3:1,2 (as the enemy of God).  The lack of other O.T. references means that it is likely that God’s people only came to understand who Satan was late on in O.T. times.  Nevertheless, Jesus clearly understood the nature of Satan and how evil works.  He described evil in a number of different ways, and referred to Satan as active through people (e.g. Luke 22:31).  Paul said Satan was disguised as an ‘angel of light’ (Lucifer - 2 Cor. 11:14), and in Revelation, the names Satan and the devil are used together to represent the evil destroyed when Jesus’ Kingdom comes in power (Rev 20:2f.).

Paul H Ashby - 15/07/09

Scripture

The word ‘scripture’ means ‘writings’, but it has come to be used about holy writings and in particular the Bible. It is a useful word to use when talking about the Bible because it highlights the sacred nature of the text.  Christians can fall into the mistake of reading and studying the text as if it is like any other written material, but it is different.  We can of course use every literary means to analyse the text of Scripture, but  for a Christian it remains an essentially special and holy text.  This is because over the years, God’s people have come to accept the  contents of the Bible as passed down to us as holy and sacred. The process by which early Christians decided the contents of Scripture is not clear and precise, but historically, it is marked by the quest for truth about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and the truth about His work in the world.  God’s hand has guided humanity towards accepting these books as His own.

Paul H Ashby - 20/10/08

Seed

The idea of seed is used firstly in scripture to describe the generations of Abraham and his descendants, as in ‘Abraham and his seed forever.’ (Luke 1:55). Physical descent ceases to be the defining factor of a relationship with God in the New Testament, where this is ‘faith’, and it interesting that Jesus describes faith as like a ‘mustard seed’, and gives a number of illustrations in which faith grows from a seed to a bigger plant. Seed is therefore still an important symbol of the continuance of life.  Seed is always a proportion of a harvest taken for sowing a new crop the next year, in agricultural terms, and most people of Jesus’ day would have understood this. Spiritually, seed is therefore like the tithe of our time and effort spent working for the growth of the Kingdom in evangelism and mission.  Peter says; ‘you have been born ... not of perishable but of imperishable seed.’ (1 Peter 1:23)

Paul H Ashby - 16/09/08

Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of Jesus’ teachings delivered to the disciples at the beginning of his ministry, according to Matthew’s Gospel.  The sermon takes up three chapters (5,6,7) and less than half of the teaching is found elsewhere in the other Gospels.  The sermon begins with the famous ‘Beatitudes’ and goes on to teach that the those who follow Jesus must have a ‘righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees’.  Jesus teaches a new morality that is deeper and more exacting than the Ten Commandments (ch5), and He goes on to teach about religious practice including prayer, and the nature of faith that trust in God (ch6).  The last part of the sermon contains teaching about the Christian life, advice about hypocrisy and about recognising the ‘good fruit’ of God’s Kingdom.  It finishes with encouragement to learn from the teaching and follow God’s ways (ch7)

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Servant

From the beginning, God has sought  those who are humble in His service and the service of others.  Both Abraham and Moses, for example, are described as God’s ‘servants’, and Joseph and David both learned the lessons of greatness through long years of service.  The idea of servanthood reaches a climax in the O.T. through Isaiah’s prophecies.  From chapter 40 onwards, Isaiah describes the Lord’s ‘servant’ in a series of poems culminating in the sacrifice of the ‘suffering servant’ in Isaiah 53; a prophecy closely linked with Christ.  In the N.T. Jesus is revealed by the four Gospels as a King (Matt.), as God (John), as a man (Luke) and as a servant (Mark).  The theme of service is strongest in Mark, which shows Jesus acting as the servant of humanity to bring God’s salvation.  In John’s Gospel, Jesus is portrayed as both God and servant (John 13). Jesus urges His followers to be servants of God and others.

Paul H Ashby - 2/09/08

Signs and wonders

There are many miraculous events recorded throughout the Bible, and these may be called ‘signs and wonders’.  The first miraculous ‘sign’ is the Flood, and the next, the plagues in Egypt.  Various miraculous signs in the O.T. speak of God’s authority to intervene in the world, so that His will is done at critical moments for His plan of salvation (e.g. when He wiped out the Assyrian army outside the gates of Jerusalem - see Is. 37:36f.).  Jesus performed ‘signs and wonders’, all of them demonstrate God’s power at work through Him.  The greatest sign of all is the Resurrection, and this is the proof of God’s love for His Son, the proof of His love for us, and the proof of our salvation.  God continues to break into our world to perform signs and wonders today.  However, as in all scripture, all genuine signs and wonders point to Christ and the glorious work of God in salvation.

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Sin

The word ‘sin’ is of vital importance to our understanding of God’s Word.  Sin is what separates people from God; dividing creation from its Creator.  Genesis 3 describes the foundations of sin in the story of Adam and Eve, and  identifies temptation both from within and from external sources as the key to sin.  Sin is complex, and the O.T. has many words to describe it; rebellion, transgression, wickedness, waywardness, or guilt, for example.  A detailed analysis of each of these words gives a good understanding of what the Bible means by ‘sin’, and this is far more than ‘doing wrong things’, as we assume.  The New Testament uses fewer words for sin, but separates the idea of sin as an essential feature of our mortal nature, and sin as deliberate acts of rebellion or transgression against God.  Christ saves us from the consequences of both forms of sin, but the second continues to temp us in this life

Paul H Ashby - 12/09/08

Slavery

The Old and the New Testaments are full of references to slaves, which is disconcerting for Christians who justly feel that the banning of slavery has been a major achievement of Christianity.  The Old Testament has complex laws protecting slaves (Exodus 21:1-11), and Paul speaks protectively about slaves, especially in Colossians, where he is sensitive to the plight of Onesimus.  Slavery in ancient times was a mixture of the worst that we can imagine by that term, and also something little more exacting than what we call domestic service.  The one word covers all these, and so where the Bible appears to accept slavery, it does so largely because it is commenting on religious principles rather than social status.  In addition, Paul makes the argument that it is often (though perhaps not always) wise to accept the social ‘status quo’ so that the Gospel can be proclaimed in a peaceful environment.

Paul H Ashby - 13/05/09

Soul

The ‘soul’ as described in the Bible is not the same as the spirit (as many people presume). The starting place for our understanding of the ‘soul’ comes in Genesis 2:7 where we are told that humanity was made when God took ‘earth’ (otherwise called ‘flesh’) and breathed His Spirit into it and it became a ‘living being’ otherwise translated as ‘soul’ (Hebrew ‘nephesh’). The word ‘soul’ therefore describes all of what it means to be a human being; we are ‘body, soul and spirit’. It is perhaps best to think of the human soul as a ‘god-breathed’ being; with all the facets of what it means to be truly human. There are relatively few uses of the word ‘soul’ in the New Testament, but they all mean ‘all of a person’ in the eyes of God. As an individual being or ‘soul’ created by God, I expect that after death, and a judgement for which I trust Jesus, I will be totally remade as a spiritual body and soul, for Eternity!

Paul H Ashby - 19/08/08

Spirit (human)

The human spirit is ‘breathed’ by God into human flesh to make a living being.  This is the doctrine of the creation of humanity as found in Genesis 2:7.  The human spirit therefore has its origins in the Spirit of God, and seeks to return there.  This explains why people look for God quite naturally.  The basic teaching of the Bible is that our bodies are ‘Godbreathed’ with God’s spirit in order to make us ‘living beings’ (souls).  However, the human spirit becomes damaged and broken in the same way that our mortal bodies can become damaged and broken. It is therefore part of our salvation for God to heal our broken spirits.  When Christ comes in glory, He will remake us into a new ‘spiritual body’ (1 Cor 15:44) so that we who have been saved will find ourselves remade for the glories of the New Heaven and the New Earth (Rev 21:1f.)

Paul H Ashby - 15/04/09

Subjection

This word is used in a number of different ways . Firstly, God brings all things into subjection to Himself (1 Cor 15:27f. Heb. 2:8) when the Kingdom of God comes, and Jesus rules over all things. It is also used of slaves who are ‘subject’ to masters (1 Peter 2:18f.) or wives ‘subject’ to husbands (1 Peter 3:1f. and Ephesians 5:22f.), or Christians being ‘subject’ to the governing authorities (Romans 13:1).  All these instances are controversial, but we cannot avoid the conclusion that in each case, the Bible describes this subjection as a social necessity which opens up the possibility of preaching the Gospel - something of the greatest importance.  Indeed, Peter describes true subjection as suffering like that of Christ on the Cross (1 Peter 2:18f.)!  Until all things are subject to Christ in heaven, subjection is part of the fabric of the broken world in which the Gospel must be preached.

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Suffering

Suffering is a theme found throughout the Bible, and the ancients concluded that suffering was an inescapable part of life (see Genesis 3).  But why should people suffer when God is good?  This question arises frequently in the life of Israel, from slavery in Egypt to exile in Babylon, and the main answer given consistently in scripture is this.  God can and does work through suffering to bring about the redemption of people and to bring change. Ultimately, the suffering of Jesus Christ as the Messiah brings about our eternal salvation.  Jesus teaches that those who suffer in His name will ‘inherit the Kingdom’ (Matt 5:11,12), and he predicts that all His disciples will suffer when they do His will.  Out of this suffering, the church is built and the Kingdom of God comes. It is wrong of us to assume that God intends His people to be happy in the midst of suffering, but He does offer the spiritual sustenance to endure it .

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Superscription

This term refers to the brief piece of scriptural text written just before most of the individual Psalms.  For example, if you look at Psalm 23, you will see that before the words we know so well, we find the words ‘A psalm of David’.  Some assume that this means David wrote the Psalm, but it could equally mean that the psalm belonged to David or was part of a collection that bore his name.  A detailed study of these superscriptions shows that many psalms were written by people other than David, such as Asaph (see Psalm 74) and others.  The contents of the psalms tends to show whether a Psalm was truly written by David (for example, Psalm 51).  The superscriptions tell us some interesting information about the psalms, but some of the words used in them are unknown, and we do not know what a ‘Gittith’ means, e.g. (Ps 8,81,84).  The superscriptions deserve our careful attention.

Paul H Ashby - 24/06/10

Tabernacle

The Tabernacle refers to the tent complex designed by God and conveyed to Moses in Exodus, which housed the Ark of the Covenant.  As such, it was like a temporary ‘temple’, and its tent-like structure and courtyard was similar to the design of the Temple in Jerusalem.  When the Tabernacle was used in the journey through the wilderness, it was sometimes called the ‘tent of meeting’ or ‘tent of testimony’ (see Exodus 39:32-43). As a sign of God’s presence with His people the Tabernacle was covered by a cloud, and when the cloud moved, the people of Israel were under orders to move.  For this reason, the Tabernacle represented God’s presence with His people.  After Exodus and Numbers, only Chronicles mentions the Tabernacle again, and the focus moves to the Ark itself.  The Tabernacle therefore became a symbol of God’s guidance, hence the later ‘feast of ‘Tabernacles’  (John 7:2)

Paul H Ashby - 27/05/09

Table (in Tabernacle)

The Table built for the Tabernacle is described in Exodus 25.  It was made of ornate design in a similar fashion to the Ark itself, but of smaller size. It was placed on the northern side of the Tabernacle room in front of the ‘Holy of Holies’, and opposite the Lampstand.  The placing of the Table so close to the Ark in such a holy place indicates its importance.  The table was made to be portable, and had rings on its side with poles, for transport.  When in place, 12 loaves of bread were baked and placed on the table each week.  This ‘Bread of the Presence’ is what David took when he and his men were hungry after being exiled from Israel (1 Sam 20), and Jesus referred to this controversial act in His defence of the disciples before the Pharisees (Matth 12:1-8).  The bread appears to have been an expression of Israel’s commitment to their God (Lev 24:5-9)

Paul H Ashby - 27/05/09

Talmud

Talmud is a Hebrew word meaning ‘teaching’.  From around Jesus’ day until the sixth century AD, Jewish scribes and scholars attempted to write down in enormous detail the Jewish tradition and inheritance as a means of teaching and inheritance. The result were two ‘Talmuds’, the Babylonian and the Palestinian.  Between them they contain detailed commentary upon the ‘Mishnah’, itself a code of laws dating from around 200 years BC.  The Talmuds also comment on scripture and other traditions.  They are an invaluable source of information about the practices and beliefs of Jews around the time of Christ and afterwards.

Paul H Ashby - 17/07/08

Teaching

Teaching is one of the four great ministries of Jesus; preaching, teaching, healing and deliverance.  It is different from preaching because whereas preaching is a prophetic call which asks for a response, teaching is the drawing out or revealing of knowledge.  Jesus taught largely in blocks of teaching such as the (miss-named) ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Matt 5-7), and also the great monologues or dialogues of John’s Gospel found in most chapters.  In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Jesus taught largely about the Kingdom of God and did so in parables, but not exclusively so.  In John’s Gospel, some of Jesus’ best known teaching, such as ‘love one another’ (John 13:34) is found in John’s description of the events leading up to Jesus’ death.  The role of the teacher in the early church was important, and regarded as bearing a heavy responsibility for maintaining the purity of the Gospel.

Paul H Ashby 24/06/10

Temptation

Temptation is an essential part of the way that sin is described in the Bible.  The first analysis of temptation is found in Genesis 3, where it is clear that temptation is a combination of internal and external influences drawing people towards specific sin.  It is interesting therefore that ‘temptation’ is largely mentioned by the New Testament only in the context of some work of evil or Satan.  For example, Jesus was ‘tempted’ by Satan in the wilderness, and Paul speaks about the ‘tempter’ in 1 Thess. 3:5.  James also speaks about the power of temptation in his letter (Jas 1:13f.).  The traditional rendering of the Lord’s prayer ‘lead us not into temptation’ refers in fact to a different word meaning ‘a time of testing’ in general, rather than temptation as described elsewhere in scripture.

Paul H Ashby - 7/11/08

Testimony

The word ‘testimony’ means witness or personal evidence.  It occurs frequently in the New Testament but rarely in the Old (except the Psalms).  The New Testament speaks about the personal testimony of those who observed the ministry of Jesus, and this formed the basis of the early preaching of the Gospel (see Acts 4:33).  In Jesus’ trial much was said about the false ‘testimony’ given against Jesus which gave the Jews a reason to bring Jesus before the Roman procurator, Pilate (see Mark 14:55f.).  It should also be noted that the Psalms, although they do not mention the word ‘testimony’, are in fact a great store of personal testimony to faith in God.  It is the one place in scripture where we can read phrases such as ‘These things I remember as I pour out my soul ... (Ps 42:4).  Nearly every psalm contains personal testimony such as this.  The word for ‘Testimony’ is the same as that for ‘Covenant’.

Paul H Ashby - 15/04/09

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is used as a word similar to praise, and we ‘thank’ God for the good that happens to us. Of itself, there is nothing wrong with this. However, the O.T. Hebrew word for thanksgiving (‘tulah’) does not mean ‘thanks’ in general. It has a religious meaning; ‘praise given to God because sin has been overcome’!  So ‘thanksgiving’ will often have this specific meaning of praise to God for His salvation!  In the New Testament, the Greek word for thanksgiving is ‘eucharisto’, and it is used more like we use the word ‘thanks’ today, in an entirely general way.  However, because of its Hebrew background, Paul sometimes uses the word with the specific meaning it has in the O.T. (e.g. Col. 2:7; 4:2).  Remembering this can help us understand what ‘thanksgiving’ can mean in the Bible, and it also explains why the ‘Lord’s Supper’ is called the ‘Eucharist’ (thanksgiving) in many Christian traditions!

Paul H Ashby - 15/04/09

Theology

Theology means ‘thoughts about God’; so the word itself need hold no fear for Christians!  Indeed, most Christian people engage in theology when they express thoughts and opinions about God in any worship, house-group or private setting.  However, where theology is studied academically, it has become a more rigourous activity.  In this sense, a church pastor can be a theologian, but we tend to reserve the word for people who study ‘theology’ in a university setting.  Much good work has been done over the centuries by theologians, helping us to understand our faith and studying the Bible, for example.  However, in recent times, some academic theology has wandered away from mainstream church thought, and few Christians therefore think of theology as relevant or valuable.  This is unfortunate, because it prevents us from accepting the value of thinking about God together and studying His Word.

Paul H Ashby - 15/04/09.

Tongues

Speaking in tongues has been badly misunderstood for centuries. The experiences described in the New Testament (Acts 2, 1 Cor. 12, 14) are not extreme, and described as the normal evidence of the work of God in the life of the believer, and something to be welcomed.  One who speaks in a tongue does not go into a supernatural trance or ‘ecstacy’, but releases the mind from the control of language to pray or sing (1 Cor. 14:15) ‘in the spirit’.  The nature of the language spoken is not defined, and the New Testament only speaks about ‘families’ of languages (1 Cor 12:10,28), some of which are known (as in Acts 2:4f.). Paul properly objects to the excess of use of this gift in worship without the accompanying spiritual gift of ‘translation’ by which the tongue may become a means of prophecy. as with all things, this gift can be misused, so it is best to keep to the guidance of Scripture.

Paul H Ashby - 9/03/09

Translation

The Bible was written in Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT).  The process of translation of these ancient documents is complicated, and it is not an exact process, as anyone who has  studied any language will know.  Most problems about the translation of the ancient text of the Bible today arise either because people are familiar with old translations (like the ‘Authorised Version’) which are technically incorrect in places, or because we just do not know what many Hebrew or Greek words actually mean.  A significant number of scholars spend their time researching the meaning of ancient words in order to help us gain a better understanding of the Bible, and their work is essential to our understanding of the Bible today.  With their help and with careful study, we must work out what the words of the ancient text mean, and translate the Bible according.  Each translation expresses the theology of the translator(s).

Paul H Ashby - 11/03/09

Urim and Thummim

These were two stones, placed in the ‘ephod’, believed to have been the name for the priestly vestment worn by the High Priest of Israel, the first of whom was Aaron (Exodus 28, see 28:30).  It is believed that the Urim and Thummim were used for divination, meaning either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, when drawn from a priest’s pockets, thus signifying a reply by God to a question.  The idea is typical of the early Israel, but  Ezra and Nehemiah were concerned to establish a priesthood capable of using ‘Urim and Thummim’ (Ezra 2:63, Neh. 7:65).  It is likely that the practice was used less and less, and it was certainly not known in Jesus’ day.  The use of Urim and Thummim seems primitive and pagan, but the people of Israel were honest in their belief that God was able to use such means to let His people know His will.  Being all-pwerful, God was quite able to deliver His will by means of such stones.

Paul H Ashby - 11/05/11

Vine

The vine is a plant indiginous to the region of Canaan, as evidenced by the story of Israel’s invasion of the land, when spies encountered a huge bunch of grapes (Numbers 13:20)!  Vineyards were planted throughout the region for making wine, and the Bible speaks of the great value of these vineyards; a landlord would have watchtowers built in them, with guards (Isaiah5:1f.)!  Grapes were set out to dry to provide raisins, a good source of nutrients (Numbers 6:3, 1 Sam 25:18).  The vine was an emblem of peace and security, Israel’s ‘shalom’.  Isaiah used this picture when prophesying God’s anger at the unfaithfulness of Israel (Isaiah 5:1f); Israel was a vine that should have had peace with God but had rebelled.  In the Gospels, Jesus dramatically changes the illustration, calling Himself the ‘true vine’, the new Israel, pruned yet ready to bear fruit for the Kingdom (John 15:1f.)

Paul H Ashby - 11/05/11

Vision

The word ‘vision’ means a communication from God that is prophetic, with a strong visual element, sometimes close to reality.  The first recorded ‘vision’ in the Bible occurred when Abraham saw God in a vision (15:1) and was required to count the stars of the sky; the vision became a test of faith. Samuel’s childhood vision of the Lord required his response, and he was given the gift of prophecy so that he could govern His people (1 Sam 3:15). Other OT visions are found in Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.  In Daniel, visions and dreams guide Daniel to understand the power of God within His own confusing world.  In the New Testament, there is little mention of visions until the Holy Spirit works through visions given to Peter and Paul to extend the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9,10).  Proverbs 29:18 says (AV) ‘without vision the people perish’ (or ‘wander away’). Visions are an important means of God’s guidance.

Paul H Ashby - 6/11/08

Water

The Bible is full of references to water.  Canaan is a dry region of the world, and is highly dependent on water supply either by river or rain.  Jerusalem could only exist because of an important spring, bringing water into the city through the rocks of the hill on which it was set, to the pool of Siloam.  Many great Bible stories happen at times of drought, and consequently, God’s blessings are likened to rain.  The famous confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al was all about who would provide water for the people at a time of drought (1 King 17-19).  The prophets speak of God as ‘living water’ supplying the deepest needs of His people (Jeremiah 2:13).  This train of thought follows through to the time of Jesus, who is described as ‘a spring of water ... welling up to eternal life’ (John 4:14).  Entry into the church is by baptism in water, symbolising the death and resurrection of Christ.

PAul H Ashby - 11/05/11

Wealth

The Old Testament says that wealth is evidence of blessing by God.  For example, Abraham is promised that if he is obeient, God will bless him with abuundant wealth (Gen 12:2,3, 15:1-6).  It is unwise to lift this idea straight into the New Testament era because Jesus teaches great caution over the possession of wealth; for example, He says that a rich man is unlikely to be able to enter heaven (Matt 19:24) and teaches about the difference between earthly and heavenly wealth (Matt 13:44).  Paul explains things well, identifying the love of money s the ‘root of all evil’ (1 Tim 6:10).  He also teaches forthrightly that Christians should be content with what they possess, so that ‘wealth’ is not to be measured in earthly goods or money (see also James).  It is often preached today that God’s intention is for His people to be rich, but we mnust take the Bible’s advice about what these riches are!

Paul H Ashby - 11/05/11

Wisdom

In the O.T., the idea of Wisdom comes from the notion of being successful, or ‘getting things right’. It was needed by leaders, and ‘wise men’ (latterly prophets) advised the kings about their actions. Wisdom meant understanding how the world worked and what would achieve successful results, and many proverbs illustrate this well. The Bible advises that wisdom without God is ignorant atheism (Is 5:21).  The wisdom literature of the O.T. comprises at least Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and parts of other books.  Wisdom is personified as a wise woman in Proverbs 1-8 (esp. 9:1f). Wisdom is one of the attributes of God present at Creation (Prov 8:22), and this has led some to make think of Christ as wisdom personified - an idea rejected by the early Church.  N.T. references to ‘wisdom’ are best understood as referring to ‘good judgement’, or ‘discernment’; particularly in the letters of Paul and later N.T. writings.

Paul H Ashby - 14/12/10

Word

The ‘Word’ is a complex idea strongly connected with the person of Jesus because of the opening words of John’s Gospel (John 1:1f.). John presents Jesus to us as God’s ‘Word’, that is, both His spoken Word and His deeds of saving grace made known in the world through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. In the Creation story God made the world by His ‘Word’ i.e. ‘He spoke and it was done.’ The Hebrew language has one word  (‘davar’) which means both word and deed; something real because it can be described and seen.  The idea of the ‘Word of God’ is therefore one which encompasses both God’s physical words but also His deeds, especially in Christ. The Bible is a supreme example of this, for by talking about the ‘Word of God’ we speak not just about the text of scripture, but about the physical evidence of God’s saving and redeeming power at work in the world; i.e. Jesus.

Paul H Ashby - 16/09/08

Work

Work is part of God’s design for humanity.  After God made people He gave them the job of looking after the world and exercising ‘dominion’ within it.  As a consequence of the ‘fall’ (Genesis 3:17f.), the work done by ‘man’ becomes laborious and less than productive.  The Old Testament describes work as virtuous but not an end in itself (Ecc 2:4), and it also condemns any form of work by which people are exploited, for example, the slavery of God’s people in Egypt (Exodus 1,2).  In the New Testament, Jesus’ own work as a carpenter is seen as giving blessing to the world of work, and Jesus takes a number of His illustrations from the world of work (the tennants in the vineyard (Matt 20:1f., 21:28f.).  The tyeaching in the letters generally encourages people to engage in their work as given to God, and it encourages church leaders to work for their living (Acts 18:3, 1 Tim 5:17 etc.).

Paul H Ashby - 13/05/11

Works

The word ‘works’ translates a Greek word that describes human effort.  In this sense, the works of Christ are the means of our salvation (John 10:37).  The term also refers to the work of God through the life of a believer (Matt 5:16).  It is important not to forget that the teaching of the Bible is that faith is something that should become evident in the ‘works’ done by someone (a point made strongly in the letter of James).  The word is of particular importance in the work of Paul, where it tends to refer to the efforts of people to find God.  This of course, is impossible, for people are saved by faith in Christ alone, and not by what they do themselves, that is, their ‘works’.  It is important to distinguish between works that cannot save the soul, and works that are a result of a saved soul; the first is presumptuous, and the second is to be applauded.

Paul H Ashby - 13/05/11

Worship

The worship of God is the highest call of every person.  This is because God is our creator, and as our creator we owe Him our life, and even our freedom to respond to Him.  The word ‘worship’ has its origins in the idea of giving glory and honour to God, and is close to the idea of ‘praise’.  Worship is not about the feeling of being happy or sad; worship is about coming before God to honour Him in the midst of all earthly circumstances.  The Bible indicates several mannerisms of worship; to ‘bow down’ or to ‘lift up hands’.  In the Bible, worship is primarily linked with giving to God (by sacrifices or money), paying attention to God’s Word (reading Scripture and hearing it explained), speaking to Him (praying), singing (as in the Psalms) and honouring Him on festive occasions.  The Bible rarely tells us what we should do in worship, beyond asking that it is done orderly (1 Cor 14).

Paul H Ashby - 8/04/10

Wrath

The wrath of God refers to God’s just anger against those who rebel against Him.  Wrath is difficult for us to understand and put alongside our understanding of God as a God of love.  Wrath does not mean uncontrolled anger.  It describes that complex emotion of frustration and pain that you feel when someone you love very deeply lets you down badly.  Wrath is what a jilted lover might feel, for example.  This is the sense in which the word is used in the Bible when talking about God’s ‘wrath’.  God is wrathful when His people turn against Him, as the Israelites did in the Old Testament, bringing God’s judgement on them.  In the New Testament, the wrath of God is dealt with by the death of Christ, which means that people today need no longer live in fear of God’s wrath and judgement if they have faith in Christ as God’s Son.  God’s wrath is dealt with eternally by His eventual re-creation of all things.

Paul H Ashby 24/06/10

Yeast

Yeast is the modern word for the Biblical term ‘leaven’, which occurs in a number of Biblical stories, notably Jesus’ parable of the yeast in the lump, and also Moses’ description of the Passover Feast (the Feast of Unleavened Bread - Exodus 12).  The instruction about leaving the leaven (yeast) appears to have been to remind the Israelites of their hasty departure from Egypt, and the fermentation process may have symbolised disintegration and decay.  Jesus used the term to symbolise the decay and sinfulness of the Pharisees (Matt. 16:6).,  However, he also used leaven as an example of the growth of the Kingdom (Matt 13:33).  This last example from the Bible reminds us that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with leaven or yeast and it should not be exclusively associated with evil.  Yeast is a natural part of life and can bear being used as a positive and a negative illustration.

Paul H Ashby - 14/12/10

Yoke

The yoke is a wooden frame slung between the necks of two animals to make them work together in harness, commonly used with cows and bulls.  In the O.T. the yoke is often used to illustrate the bondage of God’s people to other nations, hence the many prophecies which call for the breaking of the yoke of ‘...’ (some other nation).  When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam ‘yoked’ the people harder by controlling them in slave labour, and by so doing enflamed a rebellion against his rule, and the eventual partition of God’s people (2 Kings 12).  In the N.T., when Jesus says ‘my yoke is easy’, it may be that He is encouraging the disciples to perceive a new relationship with God in which the individual share work with Jesus (they are ‘yoked’ together’) but Jesus bears the burden of our sins and responsibilities - hence the lightness of our ‘yoke’.

Paul H Ashby - 14/12/10

Zeal

The word ‘zeal’ is often used today to describe fervour and energy in advancing a cause.  In the Bible, it comes from the idea of ‘exclusive interest’, and is closely related to the idea of jealousy.  For example, God is described as jealous for His people and exclusively concerned for their their welfare and interest.  This is His ‘zeal’.  Paul described himself as ‘zealous’  in faith before he became a Christian, and also describes Christians as needing to be zealous in good deeds.  The idea of ‘zeal’ can be thought of as ‘eagerness’ or ‘doing one’s best’, but it is good to remember that it has this idea of exclusive interest as well.  The word is closely related today to the idea of enthusiasm, but this should warn us that it has a more religious meaning and speaks of what comes from an exclusive relationship with God through Christ.

Paul H Ashby - 14/12/10