Ecclesiology - Freethinker
The study of the Christian church, its structure, order, practices, and hierarchy.
Edify
To build up. In the Christian context it means to strengthen someone, or be strengthened, in relationship to God, the Christian walk, and holiness. As Christians, we are to "let all things be done for edification" (1 Cor. 14:26). We are edified by the Word of God (Acts 20:32) and by love (1 Cor. 8:1). (See also Rom. 14:19; Eph. 4:29 and 1 Cor. 3:1-4; James 4:1-6).
Efficacy
Producing a result. Christ's atonement was efficacious; it produced the result of forgiveness of sins for the elect. The atonement is efficacious grace in action.
Egalitarianism
in the context of the Christian church is the teaching that all people, both men and women, are to be treated as equal and that women are to share all offices within the church equally with men. This position would hold that women could be pastors, elders, bishops, etc., and that male headship in the church and the family is invalid.
Eisegesis
Eisegesis is when a person interprets and reads information
into the text that is not there. An example would be in viewing
1 Cor. 8:5 which says,
"For
though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as
there be gods many, and lords many," (KJV). With this verse, Mormons,
for example, bring their preconceived idea of the existence of many gods
to this text and assert that it says there are many gods. But that
is not what it says. It says that there are many that are called
gods. Being called a god doesn't make it a god. Therefore, the
text does not teach what the Mormons say and they are guilty of eisegesis;
that is, reading into the text what it does not say. See also exegesis.
Elect, Election
The elect are those called by God to salvation. This election occurs before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) and is according to God's will not man's (Rom. 8:29-30; 9:6-23) because God is sovereign (Rom. 9:11-16). The view of election is especially held by Calvinists who also hold to the doctrine of predestination.
Empiricism
The proposition that the only source of true knowledge
is experience. It is the search for knowledge through experiment and
observation. Denial that knowledge can be obtained a priori.
Epistemology
The branch of philosophy that deals with the area of knowledge,
its source, criteria, kinds, and the relationship between what is known
and the one who is knowing it.
Eschatology
The study of the teachings in the Bible concerning the end times, or of the period of time dealing with the return of Christ and the events that follow. Eschatological subjects include the Resurrection, Resurrection, the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Millennium, the Binding of Satan, the Three witnesses, the Final Judgment, Armageddon, and The New Heavens and the New Earth. In the New Testament, eschatological chapters include Matt. 24, Mark 13, Luke 17, and 2 Thess. 2. In one form or another most of the books of the Bible deal with end-times subjects. But some that are more prominently eschatological are Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Joel, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 2 Thessalonians, and of course Revelation. (See Amillennialism and Premillennialism for more information on views on the millennium.)
Eternal life
Life everlasting in the presence of God. "This
is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom Thou has sent," (John 17:3).
There are two senses in which this is used. First, as Christians we possess eternal life (1 John 5:13), yet we are not in heaven or in the immediate presence of God. Though we are still in mortal bodies and we still sin, by faith we are saved (Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9) and possess eternal life as a free gift from God (Rom. 6:23). Second, eternal life will reach its final state at the resurrection of the believers when Christ returns to earth to claim His church. It is then that eternal life will begin in its complete manifestation. We will no longer sin.
Eternal Security
The doctrine that salvation cannot be lost. Since it is not gained by anything we do, it cannot be lost by anything we do. This does not mean that we can sin all we want (Rom. 6:1-2) because we have been freed from sin and are set apart for holy use (1 Thess. 4:7). (See Antinomianism.)
Ethics
The study of right and
wrong, good and bad, moral judgment, etc.
Eucharist
The elements of the communion supper in
Christian Churches where the bread and wine are consumed as a representation
of the sacrifice of Christ. They correspond, representatively, to
the body and blood of Christ.
Eunuch
A male who has been castrated; that is, had the testes
removed. Eunuchs were often used as guards of harems. In
Acts 8:27, a Eunuch was
"a court
official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her
treasure." Biblically, some people are born Eunuchs and others
are made Eunuchs (Matt. 19:12).
They were forbidden to enter into sacred duty (Deut.
23:1).
This is similar to Monophycitism. It states that Christ's natures were so thoroughly combined -- in a sense scrambled together -- that the result was that Christ was not really truly able to relate to us as humans. The problem is this implies that Jesus was not truly God nor man. Therefore, He would be unable to act as mediator and unable to truly atone for our sins. (See Hypostatic Union, which is the correct view of Christ's two natures, and also Nestorianism and Monophycitism which are the incorrect views of Christ's two natures.)
Evil
Moral rebellion against God. It is contrary to the will of God. There is natural evil (floods, storms, famines, etc.) and moral evil (adultery, murder, idolatry, etc.). Natural evil is a result of moral evil. Adam's sin resulted in sin entering the world allowing floods, storms, famines, etc. Evil originated with Satan (Isaiah 14:12-15) and is carried on by man (Matt. 15:18-19). (See Theodicy.)
Evolution
The theory that all living things on earth evolved
from a single source and driven by genetic mutation and natural selection
gave rise to all the various life forms on earth. This evolutionary
process was without the intervention of a divine being or beings.
The theory has undergone many changes since its inception in the 1800's.
The Scriptures do not speak about evolution but instead negate the theory
by stating that God created all things (Gen.
1). See Evolution for more information.
Though you might not expect to find the subject of evolution
in a dictionary of theology, it is appropriate since it poses a challenge
to Christianity by displacing the Genesis account of special creation.
Excommunication
The act of discipline
where the Church breaks fellowship with a member who has refused to repent
of sins. Matt. 18 is generally
used as the model of procedures leading up to excommunication. Those excommunicated
are not to partake in the Lord’s supper.
In the Bible, serious offenders of God’s law, who were
supposed to be Christian, were "delivered over to Satan for the destruction
of the flesh," (1 Cor. 15:5;
1 Tim. 1:20). However, upon
repentance, the person is welcomed back into fellowship within the body
of Christ.
Exegesis
Exegesis is when a person interprets a text based solely
on what it says. That is, he extracts out of the text what is there
as opposed to reading into it what is not there (eisegesis).
There are rules to proper exegesis: read the immediate context, related
themes, word definitions, etc., that all play a part in properly understanding
what something says and does not say.
Existentialism
A philosophical viewpoint that
emphasizes human freedom and abilities. Therefore, subjectivity and
individual choice are elevated often above conceptual and moral absolutes.
Expiation
The cancellation of sin. Expiation and propitiation are similar but expiation does not carry the implication of dealing with wrath, of appeasing it through a sacrifice. Generally speaking, propitiation cancels sin and deals with God's wrath. Expiation is simply the cancellation of sin. Jesus was our propitiation (1 John 2:2; 4:10 -- "atoning sacrifice" in the NIV).
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). It is synonymous with trust. It is a divine gift (Rom. 12:3) and comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). It is the means by which the grace of God is accounted to the believer who trusts in the work of Jesus on the cross (Eph. 2:8). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). It is by faith that we live our lives, "The righteous shall live by faith," (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17).
Fall, The
The fall is that event in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve disobeyed the command of God and ate of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2 and 3). Since Adam represented all of mankind, when He sinned, all of mankind fell with Him (Rom. 5:12).
False Prophet, (The)
The second beast of Revelation (Rev.
13:11-18). He is a person who will manifest himself near the culmination
of this epoch shortly before the physical return of Christ. He will
be a miracle worker and during the Tribulation period will bring fire down
from heaven and command that people worship the image of the Beast (Rev.
11:15). See also (13:16-17).
Jesus warned about false prophets in
Matt. 24:24 stating that
in the last days many false prophets would arise and deceive, if possible,
even the elect. False prophets teach false doctrine and lead people
away from the true gospel message and teaching of God found in the Bible.
Examples of modern day false prophets are Joseph Smith (Mormonism),
Charles Taze Russell (Jehovah's Witnesses),
Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science),
etc. Each of them distorts the truth sufficient to cause damnation.
Falsifiability
The ability of something to be proven false. A non
falsifiable statement would be, "There is a green lizard sitting in a rocking
chair on the fourth largest moon of Jupiter." This statement is not
falsifiable in that it cannot be proven false because it cannot be verified
or denied. Jesus' resurrection was falsifiable in that all the critics
had to do was produce the body, but they did not. Falsifiability,
generally, is a test of the validity of a belief or occurrence. Something
that is not falsifiable can be said to be untrue since it cannot be confirmed
or denied.
Fast, Fasting
Depriving oneself of food for a period of time for a specific purpose, often spiritual. It is the "weakening" of the body in order to "strengthen" the spirit. It is interesting to note that sin entered the world through the disobedience of eating (Gen. 3:6). We are called to fast in the N.T. (Matt. 6:16 ). (See also 1 Kings 21:27; Psalm 35:13; Acts 13:3; 2 Cor. 6:5).
Fatalism
The idea that all things are predetermined to occur and that there
is no ability of the person to alter the predetermined plan of God in any
event. This is not the correct biblical view. The Bible teaches
us that we can influence God with our prayers (James
5:16). How this influence is worked out by God who knows all things
from eternity is something apparently unexplainable in Christianity.
Fellowship
There is no specific definition given in the N.T.
But we are called into fellowship with one another (1
John 1:3, with Jesus (1 Cor. 1:9),
with the Father (1 John 1:3),
and with the Holy Spirit (2 Cor.
13:14). Fellowship implies sharing common interests, desires, and motivations.
Fellowship requires that time be spent with another communicating, caring,
etc. It carries with it a hint of intimacy. As Christians we fellowship
with one another because of our position in Christ, because we are all redeemed
and share an intimate personal knowledge of Jesus. We share a common belief
(Acts 2:42), hope (Heb.
11:39-40), and need (2 Cor.
8:1-15).
The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. This word is also translated communion in 1 Cor. 10:16 in the KJV. This is where we get the term the communion supper.
Fideism
The position that religious doctrines rest not on reason,
but only on faith.
Filioque
The doctrine that the Holy Spirit
proceeds equally from both the Father and the Son.
Firstborn
The first of the mother's offspring. It stands figuratively for that which is most excellent. The firstborn male of the family carried certain familial rites and privileges (Gen. 27:1-29; 48:13-14) and was given a double portion of the inheritance (Deut. 21:17). The term is also applied to Christ as the pre-eminent one and the first one raised from the dead (Col. 1:15,18). It does not mean first created as Jehovah's Witnesses believe. In fact, the firstborn rites were transferable. Compare Jer. 31:9 with Gen. 41:50-52.
There are seven words in Scripture that denote the
idea of forgiveness: three in Hebrew and four in Greek. No book of religion
except Christianity teaches that God completely forgives sins. God remembers
our sins no more (Heb. 10:17).
God is the initiator of forgiveness (Col.
2:13).
There is only one sin for which the Father does not
promise forgiveness: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark
3:28; Matt. 12:32). The
contexts suggest this to be the sin of attributing to unclean spirits the
work of the Holy Spirit.
For man to receive forgiveness, repentance is necessary (Luke 17:3-4). For the holy God to extend forgiveness, the shedding of blood is necessary (Heb. 9:22; Lev. 17:11). Forgiveness is based upon the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
Hater of God. One who is morally weak, who misuses what God has given him for selfish purposes. He is lustful (Prov. 7:22), lazy (Ecc. 10:15), does not fear God (Prov. 14:1), hates knowledge (Prov. 1:22), and is self-righteous (Prov. 12:15). As Christians, we are to avoid foolishness (Eph. 5:4). (See Ecc. 7:25; Prov. 3:35, 10:8.)
Foreknow, Foreknowledge
It is God's knowledge about things that will happen. Past, present, and future are all "present" in the mind of God. He inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15). God has infinite knowledge (Isaiah 41:22,23) and knows all things in advance. In the N.T. it does not always mean "to know beforehand" but also to cause to be. See 1 Pet. 1:2,20.
Free Knowledge
The free act of God’s will where, after His free act of
creation, He knows all things that are going to happen and that this knowledge
is contingent upon His free creative will. Therefore, the free knowledge
of God would be different if He had chosen a different creative fiat. In
other words, because God created one possible existence instead of another,
the range of His knowledge regarding actual existence would have been different
had He created something different in the first place. (See also
Natural knowledge and
Middle Knowledge.)
Free will
Freedom of self determination and action independent of
external causes.
Freethinker
A person who forms his opinions about religion and God
without regard to revelation, scripture, tradition, or experience.