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E - F

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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.


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Charles Henderson

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