explore these questions related to Greek words

It seems more and more the case that the prerequisite to accurate Bible interpretation requires special training. In fact, this condition or restraint that accurate Bible interpretation requires special training can take many forms. For example, many churches require [more]

Determining how church is defined in the Bible could be done a few different ways. If we were to simply look up the word “church” in our modern dictionaries we would get something like, “a building [more]

The purpose of worship is a worthwhile question for the believer to ask from time to time. It’s doubtful that a Christian doesn’t understand the need to worship, but remembering the purpose of worship can get lost. There is a [more]

Defining salvation according to the Bible is yet another instance in which simply getting out a dictionary or “going to the Greek” is useless.  Knowing the Greek word for “salvation” (“soteria” – rescue or safety either physically or morally, deliverance, [more]

Godly love is a lot like Godly fear or Godly joy; there’s definitely more than meets the eye when measuring “love”, and the Christian’s demonstration of Godly love, according to Scripture. There may not be a more important [more]

Working through how “works” are defined in Scripture isn’t for the faint of heart. Where one comes down on works defined has led some to question the very inspiration of the Bible. After all, Paul said, “one is justified by [more]

Scripture doesn’t comment about the time of Christ in typical human terms.  The exact dates of his birth or death are not mentioned. But that’s not to say that Scripture is silent about the time of Christ. In fact, the [more]

Joy is a readily understood word, so a Christian’s joy may seem to be self-evident. As a word, “joy” means pretty much the same in the English as it does in the Greek – the language in which the New [more]

Sin is an ugly word that has its root and meaning in Scripture. Webster attests to the severity of this word in human terms. In the New Testament, the Greek word [more]

Priests of God are most often associated with the Catholic religion. That tradition has specific qualifications to become a priest. “Catholic men who have been baptized, have undertaken their confirmation, and are practicing members of their local [more]

Baptism “for the forgiveness of sins” is a statement Peter makes in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38 ). The preposition “for” comes from the Greek word “eis” which is defined by [more]

What Christian’s believe and how they have come to understand what the Bible teaches isn’t always shaped purely by Scripture. The Ancient Greek influence of Gnosticism has had a profound and enduring effect on Christian thought. [more]

Attempting to understand the Bible can be difficult. For many centuries, the Catholic Church taught that the Bible could only be understood by an ordained priest. In modern times, people like N.T. Wright and other [more]

The idea of Christian fellowship may seem obvious. After all, the word “fellowship” is commonly understood. Merriam defines it as “companionship” or “community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience.” So Christian fellowship is simply a group of [more]

Fear is a strong emotion with a fairly negative connotation. It’s generally not a good thing. Psychology Today gives advice about how to overcome fear. Therefore, “fear God” could leave the secular thinker with a negative [more]

The office of elder in the first century church was an important one. As such, Scripture includes specific qualifications for a church elder. To be clear, we should note that Scripture uses several words to refer to “elder” including bishop, [more]

Some maintain that Jude quotes from the apocryphal book of Enoch. Often, this is put forward as a statement of fact in order to move forward to the much “larger” discussions regarding the meaning of extra-Biblical quotes, their place in [more]

Must an apostle see Jesus? This question gets raised when attempting to justify the appointment of apostles today. The word “apostle” in the Greek (apóstolos) literally means “one who is sent” or “to send off” or [more]

Water baptism has something to do with water, right? Some believe water baptism is just getting wet (“sprinkling”) while other Christians insist one isn’t baptized unless the individual is completely submerged in water. In fact, [more]