E - F Return
to the The Dictionary of Theology Index
Page Ecclesiology 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. Eisegesis Eisegesis
is when a person interprets and reads information into the text that is not there,
imposing personal opinion upon a text. 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 (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. For more on heaven and eternal life. 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. For
more on this sacrament. 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). Eutychianism 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 human. Therefore, He would be unable to act as mediator
and unable to truly atone for our sins. (See Hypostatic Union, and also Nestorianism and Monophycitism.) Evil Separation
from God and the consequences thereof. There is natural evil (floods, storms,
famines, etc.) and moral evil (exploitation of the poor, murder, idolatry, etc.).
According to some evangelical Christians, natural evil is a result of moral evil.
Adam's sin resulted in sin entering the world allowing floods, storms, famines,
etc. Others see natural evil as resulting from purely natural causes. (See Theodicy.) Evolution The
theory that all living things on earth evolved from a single source in a process
involving genetic mutation and natural selection. While some see the theory as
a repudiation of the biblical notion of Creation, others find little conflict
between Christian and scientific notions of the origins of life. The
Christian case for evolution. Excommunication The act of discipline
where the Church breaks fellowship with a member who has refused its discipline.
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, she 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 the content of a specific
passage from the Bible. Existentialism A
philosophical viewpoint that emphasizes human freedom and abilities. 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. According to most Christian denominations,
Jesus was the once and for all propitiation of human sin(1 John 2:2; 4:10). Faith "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 (Eph. 2:8). According
to Reformed Theology, without faith it is impossible to have a right relationship
with God (Heb. 11:6). Fall,
The According to traditional Christianity,
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
represents all of humankind, when He sinned, all of humanity 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 Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell who
distort biblical and Christian teaching to conform to a particular, partisan political
ideology. 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, at least until our knowledge
of the moons of Jupiter has vastly increased. 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. Forgiveness 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 an individual to
receive forgiveness, repentance is necessary (Luke 17:3-4).
In classical Christian theology, forgiveness is based upon the sacrifice of Christ
on the cross. Fool 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. God 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 will Freedom of self determination
and action independent of external causes. Freethinker A person who forms his opinions
without regard to external authority such as the Bible or the doctrines of the
church. Return
to the The Dictionary of Theology Index
Page |