DictList

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. For example, most Psalms begin with some form of address by which God’s name is called called or spoken to. This frequently takes the form of praise of some sort, and this was regarded as the proper way to ‘address’ Almighty God. The means whereby we call someone’s attention is different in each culture, and within the Psalm, God is addressed in different ways. In addition, Paul starts his letters with a form of ‘address’ by which he calls on the attention of his hearers declaring his support and prayers, and then speaking about how he knows them and calling God’s blessing on them (see the beginning of letters such as Philippians, Colossians, 1 Cor 1f.) In modern culture, forms of address have largely slipped out of use, but they are an important part of the Bible.

Paul H Ashby - 16/08/08

Aliens (resident)

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. In some ways they were 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’ which protected their right to live alongside Israelite people 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.). A number of aliens were important characters in Old Testament stories, for example, ‘Uriah the Hittite’, who was the wife of Bathsheba and a bodyguard of Joab, Israel’s army commander; and others.

Paul H Ashby - 12/11/08

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 appear only to be recognised later as the Lord (e.g. Gen 16:7f.) and elsewhere they appear simply as angels (Gen 19:1). They are mentioned in later Biblical books of the Old Testament, notably in the prophecies of Daniel (Dan 3:28; 6:22). In the New Testament they appear mostly in the stories of the birth of Jesus (Matt 1:20f) and also in the Book of Revelation. Angels are heavenly beings who do God’s will, but early in creation, some of them ‘fell’ and have come under Satan’s authority 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, and are not in the Bible.

Paul H Ashby - 24/07/08

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, 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’. In the N.T. anointing is also indicated 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 the Book of 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. Many of the visions and images are not understandable as earthly events and should not be interpreted as such. They are spiritual heavenly visions which we do not necessarily understand. God alone can give us this understanding. The interpretation of these books is as much about understanding the literary patterns within the text as it is about knowing what ‘symbols’ are used.

Paul H Ashby - 20/08/08

Ark of the Covenant

The ark of the Covenant was a box made to keep the tablets of stone with the 10 commandments written on them. The instructions for making the box are in Exodus 25:10f. The ark was kept in a tent compound called the Tabernacle, which was set out like a Temple, with the Ark screened in the central tent, only accessible to a priest. The Ark and Tabernacle were signs of God’s presence during the Exodus. The next we hear about it is in the story of Samuel, where part of the book of 1 Samuel focusses on the story of the Ark (1 Sam 4,5,6). The holiness of the Ark meant that risks were attached to carrying it (2 Samuel 6:2) but David eventually managed to bring it into Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:16,17) where it stayed until Solomon built the Temple, and it was then installed in the ‘Holy of Holies’. The whole Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587BC, and we do not know what happened to the Ark.

Paul H Ashby - 6/09/08

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. Our role is to accept God’s authority in this world and the next; 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 given by God do so in rebellion against God and therefore exercise an ungodly domination over others.

Paul H Ashby - 16/08/08

Ba’al

In the Old Testament, the people of Canaan worshipped a god called ’Ba’al’. This word means ‘Lord’, so there was plenty of scope for misunderstanding when the God of Israel (JHWH) was also called ‘Lord’ in Hebrew (Adonai). The Ba’als were gods of fertility who were worshipped to obtain good crops, and many Israelites succumbed to the worship of Ba’al when there was 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 there were ‘Temple prostitutes’ who engaged in this. Hosea’s wife Gomer was a Temple prostitute. It was the worship of Ba’al gods at ‘high places’ which brought God’s judgement on Israel and Judah.

Baptism

In the New Testament, the first person we come across who baptises is John the Baptist. His baptism was a sign of repentance. The practice was based upon the ancient idea of ‘washing’ or ‘anointing’ in order to deal with past sin. When the early church began with a commission from Jesus to baptise (Matt 28:19), and also the ‘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. There are a large number of possible allusions to baptism in the New Testament which make it difficult to say exactly how it was done.

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 within the families of the forefathers. For example, Esau had the birthright of inheritance from Isaac, but God had chosen Jacob to inherit. Scripture therefore explains to us how Esau lost his birthright and it was taken by Jacob.

Bishop

The Latin term ‘bishop’ comes from a Greek word used in the Testament quite rarely; twice in 1 Timothy 3 and once in Titus 1. It means ‘one who watches over’, originally in the sense of God’s watching over the world to see what is going on. Clearly, however, Paul describes a church office of ‘overseers’ both in 1 Timothy 3:1,2 and Titus 1:7. There is an implied seniority in this definition, but only if you think in a hierarchical manner. The more you read Paul’s writings, the more it seems unlikely that this office was originally more than a local leader who had general responsibility for the life of the church. The formal office of bishop in the life of the early church was yet to be developed. However, Paul clearly had in mind that bishops should be people who represented the church to the community in which they were set, as he laid down strict guidelines for their selection and their moral rectitude.

Paul H Ashby - 21/11/08

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

Both Paul and the writer of the letter to the Hebrews use the term ‘body’ to connect the person of Jesus Christ and the Church, which is made up of Jesus’ disciples. Hebrews speaks of a ‘body’ prepared for sacrifice which is Christ, and removes the sins of the world (10:5f.), and in many letters, notable Romans and 1 Corinthians, Paul takes the analogy further, using the idea of a connected body as an example of how the church works (1 Cor 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4). In one place Jesus Christ is called the ‘head of the body’ (Col 1:18) and elsewhere, the emphasis is on Christian unity, and the whole body being Christ, the Church, and made up of many separate parts which are interdependent and cannot function apart from each other. It is a powerful description of the nature of the church which has rarely, if ever been fulfilled.

Paul H Ashby - 19/08/08

Boundary stones

Boundary stones are example of the way in which ancient peoples set up agreements, or covenants, also called ‘testimonies. They were the outward evidence of agreements about boundaries between tribes-people and were formally laid with religious ceremony, invoking the wrath of the gods of the relevant parties upon anyone who might disrupt the agreement.

Canaanite

This word is used by the Old Testament to refer to all the people who lived in the region of the Promised Land, before the Lord gave it to the people of Israel. The word covered many groups of people, some of whom were nomadic, and other were more settled. They are regarded as peoples who were descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham who was one of Noah’s three sons (Gen 10:15f.)

Chosen

Choice is an important theme of Scripture. We are given free choice to love god or not, and God respects the choices we make, even though they cause 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 were unable 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 an ‘elect’ people.

Christian

The name ‘Christian’ for someone who follows Jesus Christ is not a name which is found very much in the New Testament. Luke tells us that it was at Antioch where Paul and Barnabas taught before they embarked on their first missionary journeys that ‘disciples were first called Christians’ (Acts 11:26). It is probable that this happened because Paul was brilliant at persuading people that Jesus was the Messiah, the ‘Christ’, and so other people named the disciples ‘followers of Christ’, or, ‘Christians’. The name has stuck as a general term, and is still important to many people as a definition of those who accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and Saviour, and Lord.

Church

The Church is God’s gathered people. Whereas the ‘people of God’ in the Old Testament were the Israelites, the ‘people of God’ in the New Testament are the Church. The New Testament does not use the word ‘Church’ to mean a building except in the sense of being the ‘Body of Christ’ (e.g. 1 Cor. 12) The New Testament Church was united in Christ as there were initially no divisions based on varying beliefs. Christ was the uniting factor of all Christians. Over the years, after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, Rome became the centre of the Christian Church. Jesus knew that His disciples would become the first ‘church’, and He prayed that His people would be united (John 17) in Him.

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 it respects God for who He is. Really, it is very important that we should be honest and bring our trials and complaints to the Lord. He can then help us.

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’ normally refers to the act of eating bread and wine in remembrance of the Lord, as described by Paul in 1 Cor 11:23f. Over the course of time, different churches have come to use different words for a service of worship which includes this, ‘Mass’, ‘Eucharist’, ‘the Lord’s Supper’ and ‘Communion’. It is best to think of the communion itself as a meal shared in memory of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which is what it originally was.

Confession

Confession is the act of telling someone about something. Because of the way we use the word in church to refer to telling God about our sins, we can easily forget that we ‘confess’ our faith as well as our sins. The word confession therefore has an important part to play in the Christian Faith because it emphasises the need to speak out to others and to God what we believe, and also what we have done wrong. 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’!

Covenant

The word Covenant comes from the Old Testament and means ‘formal agreement’. God’s Covenant relationship with people was begun with Noah, when God made a Covenant agreement with Noah that he would never again kill people because of their sin; but seek their salvation. The Covenant is 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. The Covenant is then extended by Moses, David and the Prophets, before being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The word ‘Covenant’ is the same as ‘Testament’, as in Old and New Testaments.

Cross

The Cross was a sign of scandal in the days of Christ. 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 victims arms 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). It became the sign of the Church after the Emperor Constantine saw it in a vision at his ‘conversion’ in 312 AD,

Crucifixion

Crucifixion was an unpleasant form of death devised by the Romans to intimidate their subjects in the states they had conquered. The crucifixion of Jesus was for them, 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 His case. Jesus was different from other people however, and His crucifixion was merely 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, and the ‘crucifix’, an image or representation of the crucifixion of Jesus is for some, a powerful sign of their faith.

Curse

The Bible tells us realistically that words have power. This is something we like to forget today. The teaching of the Bible is that our words either bless or curse; in other words, their effect is either good or bad. 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, for a Christian, words spoken as a curse have real spiritual power to harm, and words spoken to bless have spiritual power to help. We should therefore be very careful about our use of words, a scripture constantly teaches.

Divorce

The subject of divorce is only dealt with in the Old Testament very briefly. in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 where Moses quotes the fact that divorce is performed by the handing of a notice to a woman by a man; however, the issue at stake in this passage is the adultery of a man who divorces his wife and then receives her back again! Jesus speaks strongly about divorce in Matthew 19:3f. and in 5:31f. Although Jesus insists that a man and woman joined in marriage reflects the image of God within a holy union, and issues what is tantamount to a curse against any who would separate a marriage, he never speaks of blame or offers a curse to those who are divorced. I suggest that although marriage is a sacred union, Almighty God is able to help those who find themselves rejected in marriage, as is both able to comfort and heal the soul.

Paul H Ashby - 17/7/08

Deliverance

The word ‘deliverance’ can be used to translate the Hebrew ‘jeshua`’, more often rendered ‘salvation’. The Hebrew word has a wide range of meanings from ’welfare’ to ‘victory’, and because of this, Salvation in the Bible means a gloriously wide range of things. There is no problem with this because the Salvation won for us in Jesus is an extensive and complete work of God. When we use the word ‘deliverance’, we mean salvation in the particular sense of being set free from evil. When we were saved, we were set free from the grip of Satan’s evil, but within the Christian life we are never wholly free from its influence until the Lord comes in glory, and any attack by the enemy must be repelled. Christians have traditionally used the word ‘deliverance’ to describe the liberty we may minister to each other in Jesus’ name, when helping each other with problems and dismissing the powers of evil.

Paul H Ashby - 8/09/08

Discernment

Discernment is a gift of the Spirit which is mentioned a significant number of times in the Bible, but the Hebrew and Greek words which mean ‘discernment’ are sometimes translated in other ways, such as ‘judgment’, thus losing the unique sense of the word and the gift. Discernment is the ability to perceive what is right and wrong, and perceive the difference between 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. Where the gift is mentioned in 1 Cor 12:10, it is associated with knowledge about good and evil spirits, but it would be wrong to limit the Bible’s teaching about it to this. Discernment is a basic tool of spiritual counselling and an essential requirement for leadership.

Paul H Ashby - 12/09/08

Discipleship

Christian discipleship is a matter of following the spiritual pattern of life Jesus gave to the first disciples. Essentially, this consists of a basic requirement to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. We cannot do that literally, but we can easily see from the Bible that discipleship originally meant leaving all things behind, being guided by Jesus, following His teaching both practically and morally (which includes having a concern for the poor and being a servant of others), and also being obedient to the charge Jesus gave His disciples after the Resurrection to preach the Good News and Baptise. In addition to this, Christians have discovered through the experience of life that a number of spiritual disciplines assist our discipleship, and primary amongst these are Bible study and prayer.

Elder

The term ‘elders’ is used throughout the Bible, and in the Old Testament we find numerous references to elders as the senior figures in the community responsible for running its affairs (see Exodus 17:5f., Deut 21:2f. Josh 2:7 etc.). At the time of Jesus, the Gospels refer to ‘elders’ as being responsible with the Chief priests for Jesus’ death, these may have been members of the Sanhedrin. In the early church, the term was quickly used to refer to leaders other that the apostles (see Acts 11:30 etc.) The council of Jerusalem which decided about the inclusion of Gentiles was composed of apostles and ‘elders’ (Acts 15:1f.). Thereafter in the epistles, elders are mentioned alongside other categories of leader (bishop, deacon) in 1 Timothy 3 and also in Titus 1. The office is also referred to by James and Peter and also John in his ‘Revelation’. However, little is said about how this leadership is to be exercised.

Paul H Ashby - 21/11/08

Ephod

Not much is known about what an ‘ephod’ really was in ancient times. Clearly, Moses gave elaborate instructions for one to be made in the form of vestments worn by Aaron to signify his priestly role (Exodus 28), but there are indications that the term ‘ephod was really a general word used for an object used for maintaining contact with ‘gods’ (see Judges 18:14f. where the ephod appears to be some item like an idol). In Israel, however, the ephod famously held pockets containing the ‘Urim’ and ‘Thummim’, two stones possibly indicating ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. These were drawn from the priests vestments to indicate God’s responses to prayers and requests made to the High Priest by the King (see 1 Sam 30 and 2 Sam 6).

Paul H Ashby - 21/08/08

Evangelism

The Bible does not speak about ‘evangelism’ in the way we do. 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 (see Acts 17:16, for example). This evangelistic effort was the clear response of the apostles and early disciples to Jesus’ command given after the resurrection ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them ... ’ (Matt 28:19). The activity of evangelism is also linked with both the ideas of ‘sowing’ and ‘reaping’ in the New Testament; sometimes it is one, and sometimes the other! Nevertheless, all evangelistic effort is at heart the spreading of the Good News of Jesus and the the salvation which we may find through Him, bringing peace with God.

Evil

The nature of evil is a characteristic of the world in which we live. Genesis 3 describes why there is evil in the world, and the way it works through challenge, persuasion, and temptation; and it describes our personal responsibility for doing evil and also power of evil which come to us from beyond ourselves. It is this last form of evil which the Bible in New Testament times describes as the work of ‘Satan’, or the ‘devil’. Through Christ, we have a choice about how we deal with evil, sin and death. They are all linked in our understanding of a fallen world, and Jesus’ victory over death and sin is a victory against all evil and Satan himself. The Psalms speak extensively about evil and point to the power of God to overcome it. Job describes the victory of God over evil, and the Gospels tell us that evil is overcome in Christ. Finally, Revelation tells us that God will execute His final victory when He comes again in Glory.

Paul H Ashby - 17/08/08

Faith

Faith is an extraordinary word because it is used generally to describe ‘what we believe’. Not much is said about ‘faith’ in the Old testament, except that Abraham responds to God with faith (Gen 15:6) which enables God to form a Covenant relationship with him. In the New Testament, Jesus looks for faith amongst people, often amongst those who ask for healing (e.g Matt 8:10). He also asks the disciples to have faith in Him, and welcomes Peter’s confession of faith (Matthew 16:16). It is Paul who brings together what the Bible says about faith to define our Salvation (Romans 1:16,17). He is the person who explains that by faith we are saved and made righteous with God. Faith also brings peace with God (Romans 5:1f.)

Faithful love

Faithful love is an expression used largely in the Old Testament to translate the Hebrew word ‘cheseth’ which is closely related to the idea of the Covenant. The original Hebrew word is one for love, but emphasising the permanent nature of that love, and so it is often translated ‘steadfast love’. In many Psalms, there are frequent references to the ‘faithful love’ or ‘steadfast love’ of God and such phrases therefore evoke the idea of Covenant even though this word is not itself used. Indeed, it is found throughout the Old Testament. The Hebrew word ‘cheseth’ (faithful love), is complemented by the word ‘ahavah’ meaning ‘undeserved love’ to give a complete picture of the nature of God’s love in the Old Testament.

Fall

We describe the consequences of what happened in the Garden of Eden as the ‘Fall’, because it describes the fallen nature of humanity. Whatever you believe about the event itself, the story in Genesis 3 does describe how evil works in men and women today; temptation and its consequences, blame, pain, the futility of labour and the loss of sexual innocence are among those things which are the consequence of the ‘Fall’. The understanding that everything and everyone in this world is ‘fallen’ is fundamental to the Bible’s portrayal of God’s Salvation.

Fasting

The practice of fasting was assumed in Jesus’ day to be a regular 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) and abstention from food for a period of time was put together with prayer as a religious duty and commitment to the remembrance of God in the course of everyday life. In Jesus’ day, fasting on a regular basis was normal, but Jesus and his disciples did not follow normal practice, and drew criticisms on themselves as a consequence. Jesus taught that public fasting did not show serious religious intent (Matt 6:16f.). However, Jesus fasted himself whilst in the desert for 40 days to be ‘tempted’ by the devil (Matt 4:1f.). The practice of fasting today is best when following Jesus’ principle that it is an aid to ones prayer life which focusses the mind on God.

Paul H Ashby - 23/07/08

Fellowship

The word ‘fellowship’ does not occur much in the Bible, and is found only in the New Testament. In Acts 2:42, fellowship is mentioned as one of the important first things which Christians enjoyed when filled with the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost. The Greek word for this is ‘koinonia’ and is also used for the ‘right hand of fellowship’ (Galatians 2:9) and also to describe the relationship of Christians with one another and with Christ in the first letter of John )see chapter 1). Today, the word fellowship is often used as a substitute for ‘church, because people do not like the word ‘church’. However, in Scripture ‘church’ means ‘gathering’, and ‘fellowship’ means ‘sharing or participation’. God calls together His church, and asks us to have fellowship - and that is the best way to understand it.

Forefathers

The forefathers of the people of Israel were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph (and possibly the rest of Jacob’s 12 sons). Abraham was the first man who responded by faith to the call of God (Gen 12:1-3, 15:6 etc.) and was given a Covenant relationship with God. Then his son Isaac, who was miraculously born of Abraham and Sarah in their old age, continued the Covenant heritage of his father. Isaac married Rebekah, and they had two sons, Jacob and Esau, of whom only Jacob was chosen by God to continue the heritage. The twelve sons of Jacob are sometimes regarded as forefathers, especially Joseph, whose story fills the last ten chapters of the book of Genesis, and who was responsible for the people of Israel going to live in Egypt. The other sons were the forefathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Paul H Ashby - 23/07/08

Forgiveness

There is a great deal about forgiveness in Jesus’ teaching, and it crops up in a number of unexpected places. The Lord’s prayer focusses on forgiveness, and makes the essential point that this should be basic to Christian life, because we are a ‘forgiven people’. The Gospel proclaims that our ‘sins are forgiven’, so we must be prepared to forgive others their sins - which 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 also believe it is wrong to forgive people who have sinned against them; but this is natural human behaviour, and not that of one who has been ‘saved’. How do we forgive? We do so 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 - 23/07/08

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, the word fruit is used metaphorically for a number of positive things such as the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ (Gal 5:22), or the ’fruits of the Gospel’ (Rom 1:13, Col 1:6). Jesus talked a great deal about ‘harvest’ and ‘produce’ but not much about fruit as such, though it is implied in what he says when speaking about ‘harvest’. Fruitfulness is best thought of as a general expression in the New Testament which explains what God wants of His people, and links with the idea of the church as a ‘vine’ which ‘bears fruit’ (John 15).

Paul H Ashby - 23/07/08

Galatians

Galatia is the central region of what Paul called ‘Asia’ but we call ‘Turkey’. Paul’s first missionary journey with Barnabas was largely around this region (Acts 13,14), and the churches mentioned are those at Antioch (in Pisidium), Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Paul visited these churches on his second missionary journey with Silas (Acts 16) before going on further to Macedonia (Acts 16:9f.). as the first fruits of Paul’s missionary enterprise, he was particularly upset that Judaisers upset the churches in that region by preaching that a Christian was not only saved by Christ, but had to obey the laws of Moses and also be circumcised if they were to be acceptable to God. Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians in order to counter this teaching.

Galilee

This region of northern Israel is generally reckoned to be the southern, western and north western shores of Lake Galilee. The lake itself is a fresh water lake fed by the waters from the river Jordan coming down from the heights of Mount Hermon, and empties into the river Jordan which runs down the centre of the rift valley to the Dead Sea, and is below sea level. In Old Testament times, the tribes settled in this region were Zebulun and Naphtali (and Issachar a little further south), whilst part of the tribe of Manasseh was settled on the north eastern side of Lake Galilee. In Jesus’ day, the region was well inhabited, fertile, and the centre of significant agriculture and trade.

Gentiles

The Hebrew word ‘goy’ means ‘nations’ or ‘Gentiles’. Gentiles were people other than of Israel or Judah, and although the word itself is used in a non-discriminatory way in scripture, by the time of Christ, the Jews had separated themselves so much from other peoples that the word ‘Gentiles’ became almost dismissive. A Jew would not normally be happy to be seen doing business with or sharing food with a Gentile, for example. When God gave Abraham a promise that his descendants would be a blessing to many ‘nations’ (Gentiles), this aspect of God’s Covenant promise was largely forgotten by Israel and Judah. It was only after the life and death of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit that God’s Covenant promises for the Gentiles were fulfilled by Jesus through the work and ministry of the early church. It was Paul who led the missionary work to enable the Gospel to be made available to the Gentiles.

Gifts of the Spirit

This is the term used for the spiritual gifts mentioned principally by Paul in Romans 12 (6f.); 1 Corinthians 12 (4f.); Ephesians 4 (11f.). To this list should be added those spiritual gifts mentioned in the Old Testament, at least those in Isaiah 11:2. These gifts are part of the outward manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, and are distinct gifts which are normally experienced as being something beyond a persons normal life’s experience. Indeed, we should expect that God gives us these and other gifts as a token of His love when we are ‘born again of the Spirit’.

Glory

The word glory is found a great deal in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the word for glory is ‘cavath’ which means ‘heavy’ or ‘weighed down’ in the positive sense of being full of wealth and the good things of life. This is a strange concept for us, but it is easy to see how this describes God who is ‘heavy’ in the sense of being full of everything good and right. In the New Testament the word for glory is ‘doxa’ which means ‘splendour, praise, fullness, power, or pride’. Therefore, to talk about the glory of God is to talk about everything about Him as our Creator God, His power and His authority, Majesty and splendour. The word also conveys a sense of mystery because we can never know everything about God or know the full glory of God until we see Him face to face. His glory is so great that we can only come into His presence by the grace of Jesus. Through Him we acknowledge His glory and He receives us into His presence.

Golgotha

This is the place of Jesus’ crucifixion. Three Gospels tell us this and provide us with a translation of the word; ‘place of the skull’ (Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22 and John 19:17). The word itself is an Aramaic word which more accurately means ‘skull’. The name ‘Calvary’ comes from the Latin translation of this word. The site of Golgotha was certainly outside of the city of Jerusalem, and appears to have been near a major roadway (Matt 27:39). The Cross at Golgotha could be seen ‘from afar’ (Matt 27:39), so we can assume that it was on raised ground, such as prominent hill/ All this would suit the Romans, who crucified people where they could be seen by as many people as possible, to send out a message that opposition to the Roman Empire would not be tolerated.

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 to enable us to have a relationship with God the Father through faith in Him, and therefore have eternal life. The Gospel is therefore the good news of our ‘salvation’. It is not something which can be caught or passed down from one generation to another. It is something which has to be heard and accepted by each person in each generation. For this reason, Paul argues that the work of proclaiming this Gospel is continuous (Romans 10:14-21), and today we call it ‘evangelism’, which happens to come from the Greek word which means the same as ‘Gospel’!

Grace

The grace of God is a phrase which comes from the Hebrew word for ‘heavy’ which describes a person’s greatness in terms of wealth or ‘largess’, and is also related to the idea of ‘favour’. God has all the wealth of the world at His disposal, and is therefore able to show us favour by saving us, giving us gifts and blessing us with His presence in Christ. All this may be called God’s ‘grace’. Paul says ‘by grace you have been saved’ (Eph 2:4) and therefore means not just that God has shown us favour, but also that He has the power and authority in heaven and earth to do this. When we talk of being ‘gracious’ to each other, this is a gift of God’s spirit in which we show spiritual love and generosity to each other and so copy the example of Christ.

Greek

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, and Latin was the language of Rome itself. This was because the Roman Empire was itself built upon the previous Greek Empire which spread Greek culture and the Greek language throughout vast areas of land we now know as the Mediterranean lands and also the Middle East. It has many words which are similar in English, but it is written in a text (the actual letters) which is different. The New Testament writers used this ‘common Greek’ because it meant that their writing could be read throughout the then known world.

Paul H Ashby - 27/07/08

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 as representing the present ‘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 God’s final harvest with a reckoning (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 is a natural function of the human body . We tend to use the word however to mean those activities by which people are brought to health through exterior assistance; either medically or miraculously. Miraculous healing is found in the Old Testament, where it is done by God, largely through the prophets, and always with a reason or a message attached for the person or family of those healed, and always a message for the People of God. In the New Testament, healing is one of the four great ministries performed by Jesus; preaching, teaching, healing and deliverance. All of Jesus’ healing miracles were unique and personal, employing different techniques and attitudes to faith. All of them demonstrate God’s love for people, and appeal for faith in God through Jesus. These characteristics should be remembered when engaged in healing ministry today.

Heart

The word ‘heart’ when used in scripture is frequently misunderstood. The reason is because in common usage today people think of the heart as the seat of the emotions, and we use the word ‘heart’ to talk about how we ‘feel’. This is not entirely how the Bible uses the word in its original Hebrew and Greek. The New Testament usage of the word largely follows that of the Hebrew, in which ‘heart’ is a personal word which means something like ‘all of me’; as in ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart ...’ One other think becomes clearer in the New Testament, which is that the ‘heart’ is the seat of the human ‘will’. Therefore, in our ‘hearts’ we make decisions about what to do, weighing up (mental) thoughts and emotions (feelings). Hence Paul speaks of a ‘love which come from a pure heart’ (1 Tim 1:5).

Paul H Ashby - 1/08/08

Heaven

‘Heaven’ in the Bible is firstly the ‘dome’ of sky above earth in which ancient people believed the stars, sun and moon were set; its blue colour attributed to the ‘waters’ which lay beyond (see Gen 1). Heaven was the place above the earth where God dwelled. For this reason, God was thought of as ‘coming down’ to be with people. Our view of heaven is now more spiritual than pragmatic, because the overall picture we have of the world and universe has changed since the Bible was written. We now interpret heaven as the spiritual place of God’s dwelling which is beyond our physical experience, and this way of thinking about it means that we can read most Biblical texts without difficulty. Heaven is the place of God’s ‘court’ in which He sits in judgment over the world (Matt 25:31f.) God will create a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ when He come at the conclusion of this world.

Paul H Ashby - 30/08/08

Hebrew

The language of the O.T. is Hebrew. This is an old language which uses characters quite different from western scripts. It was written originally using consonants only, without vowels. Neither was there any punctuation as we know it or ‘upper’ or ‘lower’ case. Vowels and some punctuation were added to the Old Testament script in the 12th century AD by Jews who wanted to ensure that Christians were not misquoting ‘their’ sacred texts. The language is also written from right to left; that is, backwards! From all this you can see that there is ample opportunity for people to get it wrong when translating the Old Testament; and from a linguistic point of view, anything up to one half of the words used in the Bible cannot be verified from any source outside the Bible! For this reason, we rely heavily on traditional translations, such as the ‘Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew OT available in Jesus’ day.

Paul H Ashby - 27/07/08

Holiness

Holiness is the ‘noun’ which conveys the idea of being ‘holy’ (see below). It is a quality which God gives, and by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God at work amongst us, the Lord is able to help us lead a life of godliness and holiness. Holiness is therefore one way of describing the path of discipleship on which we walk, because having been made holy by Christ through our baptism, we walk towards God’s complete Holiness when Jesus comes again in glory. Holiness is an objective which we know in part now, but points to more to come. We tend to see it in other people, rather than claim it for ourselves, because it is easier to observe holiness at work and aspire to live by it rather than to claim we have reached any particular standard which might be called ‘holiness’. Unfortunately, many people equate ‘holiness’ with some picture 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 that which is mortal, or of this world. So the word holy carries with it a sense of the awesomeness of God, and in the O.T., God grants that people, objects or things are holy according to His pleasure and purpose. In this sense, the Temple is holy, and the religious events and worship which takes place there are all holy. In the New Testament, when Jesus has done His work of Salvation, He opens up the way for contact and acceptance between God and people, thus making people ‘holy’ through His work on the Cross; as indicated by the tearing of the Temple curtain at the time of His death (Matt 27:51). God’s presence on earth is by means of His Holy Spirit. Spirit is the breath of God, and it is Holy because it is God’s breath and the power of creation. The Holy Spirit is now our helper and guide.

Paul H Ashby - 12/09/08

Hope

Hope, for a Christian, is a ‘sure thing’. Our hope is in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, who will save us through our faith in Him. This is not some kind of anticipation or vague desire, but something certain, which is guaranteed by God’s gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:1-5). Many Christian people do not realise that it is the presence of the Holy Spirit which gives people the ‘certainty’ of hope in faith, rather than mere anticipation that God might save. The presence of the Holy Spirit enables a Christian to be set free of worries about their faith so that they can feel free to be creative in the Spirit. Our hope is that Christ will come again and bring us into His heavenly Kingdom. It is a sure hope!

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 forthcoming pregnancy (Gen 18:1-8). They are also reflected in Jesus instructions to His disciples concerning mission (Matt 10:1-15). The ritual of footwashing was a sacred ritual of hospitality before Jesus made 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.

Paul H Ashby - 20/08/08

Houses (O.T.)

The Hebrew word for ‘house’ is ‘beth’, and you will find it crops up in many place names, such as ‘Bethlehem’ (meaning ‘house of bread’). This word house is used in a very similar way to ‘house’ in English, because the word means many things; a place to live in (from a small dwelling to a palace) and it also means a family line or dynasty, as in the ‘house of Windsor’. In the Old Testament, we find many references to the ‘house of David’. Indeed, David longs to build a ‘house’ for the Lord, by which he means a Temple, but God tells David that He will make a dynasty out of his line from which will come the Messiah (2 Samuel 7 - see verse 12,13,14). There are many word plays on ‘beth’ in the Old Testament - for example in Amos 3:15.

Immanuel

Immanuel is a name which means ‘with us is God’. Isaiah prophesied (Is. 7:14) that a young woman would conceive and bear a child and call his name ‘Immanuel’. The Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament (the ‘Septuagint’) describes a ‘virgin’ who conceived instead of a ‘young woman’ (pointing forward to the ‘Virgin birth’ of Jesus). Isaiah’s prophecy is the first of many revelations of child born to be king (Isaiah 9:2f., 11:1f. etc.) who would become a servant of God who would do His will. Isaiah foresaw that ‘Immanuel’ would fulfil what God required by being a ‘suffering servant’ (Is. 53). These prophecies were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus (Matt 1:23f.) and in His life and death for all people on the Cross. Isaiah’s prophecy does not just point forward to Christ, it is the first glimpse of the Old Testament’s anticipation of a ‘Messiah’, and as such, it is a very important prophecy.

Paul H Ashby - 29/07/08

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). The text in Genesis is important because its tells us not that men and women are both, separately, the ‘image of God’, but that together and between the two of them they encompass all that we mean by the ‘image of God’. This gives special meaning to marriage, for the spiritual union of a man and a woman (Matt 19:5,6) is, in a special way, a reflection of God’s purpose for both, and their true destiny.

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. His work created a new people of God with the inheritance of a New Covenant for the salvation of all the world, as was God’s original purpose. It is passed on through families and through evangelism, but it is an inheritance that must be positively accepted, or by default, it is rejected.

Israel

Israel is the name given to Jacob by God when the two of them ‘wrestled’ (Genesis 32:28). The meaning of the name is unclear, either ‘the one who strives with God’, or ‘God strives’. Whichever it is, the name represents the on-going struggle of the relationship between God and His people in the Old Testament, a spiritual heritage rooted in Jacob. The twelve sons of Jacob formed the twelve tribes of Israel. In time, on tribe, Levi, was set aside for God’s service, and the tribe of Joseph was from early years divided between Joseph’s two sons Ephraim and Manasseh. For this reason, most lists of the ‘twelve tribes’ leave out Levi, but include both Ephraim and Manasseh. Significantly, after the time of David, the Kingdom of Israel split between ‘Judah’ (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and Simeon), and ‘Israel’ (the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and all the rest). Jerusalem was the capital of Judah.

Jerusalem

The origins of Jerusalem are unknown, possibly mentioned in Genesis 14 as the home of Melchizedek, and inhabited by ‘Jebusites’ right through the invasion of Canaan by the Israelites during the occupation (Joshua). David invaded the city to make it his capital after being crowned king of both Israel and Judah; the city being on the border between the northern and the southern tribes of Israel. When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah divided after the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 12), Jerusalem remained as the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah, and after the Assyrian invasion of the land in 701BC, Jerusalem was more like a ‘city state’, eventually captured by the Babylonians in 597BC, and then ransacked in 587BC after ten years of rebellion led by king Zedekiah. Jerusalem was where the Temple was built, and was regarded as holy because of this, and was referred to as ‘Zion’ in later years.

Judah

Judah was the fourth son of Jacob, but came to be regarded as the leader amongst his brothers. The eldest, Reuben, insulted his father by attempting to sleep with Bilhah, his father’s concubine and received a curse from his father on his death bed (Gen 35:22,49:4), Simeon and Levi, the 2nd and 3rd were cursed because of their slaughter of the citzens of Shechem (Gen 34:25f.), and this left Judah to become the leader. The tribe of Judah took the lead in conquering the promised Land (see Judges 1, for example) and was the tribe of David, the king who united all Israel. In the course of time, the tribe of Judah and its capital Jerusalem formed the southern nation of God’s people, whilst (most of) the rest formed ‘Israel’ in the north. The Judeans who returned to Jerusalem after the Exile formed the beginning of a new nation which came to be called the ‘Jewish’ people.

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 legal matter, and when reading the Bible they can make the mistake of thinking that God’s justice is tied up with doing what the law requires(the laws of Moses). It is often said that God is a God of ‘mercy’ not ‘justice’, because we are saved by His love, not by the law. In reality, God is consistent, and mercy is one aspect of His justice. God is entirely just or ‘right’ to save those whom He loves who have repented and have confessed their sins. In the world, God is always just, and the world He has created will always demonstrate the justice and morality of its maker.

Kings of Israel and Judah

The Israelites asked Samuel to anoint a King because of the disastrous fragmentation of Israel under the Judges. Samuel warned that a King might try to take the place of God (1 Sam 8), but he went ahead and Saul was anointed the first King. He broke the rules of Kingship (1 Sam 13), so Samuel anointed David, although it was many years before he was able to reign over a united Kingdom of Israel and Judah. His son Solomon built the Temple (1 Kings 6,8) but fell from grace by abusing his position. After this, his belligerent son Rehoboam forced the northern tribes to secede, creating a new Kingdom of Israel ruled over by a series of military dynasties until the Assyrian invasion in 721BC. In Jerusalem a surviving ‘son of David’ ruled over Judah until the Babylonian invasion of 597BC. When the line of David died out, Israel’s hopes were ‘spiritualised’ into the expectation of a Messiah.

King (title of God)

Although from the time of Samuel and Saul, Israel and Judah were ruled by kings, Samuel set down guidelines for this kingship which acknowledged the Lord God as the supreme King over all Israel; a fact that had to be accepted by the earthly kings and was ‘enforced’ by vigilance by the prophets (Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Elijah etc.). The imagery of Kingship was then applied to the Lord God, creating titles such as ‘King of Kings’. To talk about the Lord as King acknowledged the authority of God, and in this sense the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were a preview of the ‘Kingdom of God’ announced by Jesus in the New Testament. In New Testament times we continue to use the title ‘King’ because it expresses the nature of absolute authority which God has in His Creation and in His Church. Few countries in the world today are ruled by King, but it remains an important model for our understanding of God.

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 exp