Vocabulary List (Fall 2020)

 Theology vocab

^{*At the end of each week there will be a quiz over the next 5 terms and definitions (see syllabus for dates). Students should focus on key words when memorizing. Note: Students can also use Memrise as an aid in memorization (www.memrise.com  (Search "GVCS: HS Bible")}

¹Abba                                 Lit: Daddy, Papa (in Aramaic); A childlike word that children of God use for God the Father; Shows love, closeness, and trust

Abyss                                  The bottomless hole where some demons are imprisoned—and some will in the future be released (Rev. 9:1-12)

Abide                                 To remain in union with Jesus (Jn. 15:1-10)

Adoption                           The act of God when he makes believers members of his family and gives them all the privileges as His children (Rom. 8:14-17)

Advent                               Lit: Arrival, coming; Refers to the two comings of Jesus Christ to the earth (Acts 1:11, Heb. 9:28)

 

²Agnosticism                      The view that the existence of God is not knowable

Alpha                                 The first letter of the Greek alphabet (omega is the last); A nickname for Jesus (Rev. 22:13)

Antichrist                           Lit: Against Christ; Any person who actively opposes Christ (1 Jn. 2:18); A man who will lead the world into opposing Christ 

Apostle                              Someone directly sent by God as a messenger or ambassador (2 Cor. 1:1)

Armageddon                      Location of the great and final battle on earth where God will defeat the world’s evil forces (Rev. 16:16)

 

³Arminianism                     Developed by Jacob Arminius (1560-1609) as reaction against Calvinism; Emphasizes free will of man in choosing to be saved

Ascension                          The departure of Jesus from earth back to heaven after His death and resurrection (Acts 1:1-12)

Atheism                             An absence or rejection of belief in God’s existence (Psalm 14:1)

Atonement                        To cover, purge, make amends for sin through the death of a substitute (Lev. 16:11-19)

Baal                                    Lit: Master, Lord; The main god that the ancient Canaanites worshiped (and some Jews too); God of Agriculture and Children (1 Kings 18)

 

⁴Babel                                An ancient place where people defied God and refused to fill the earth (Gen. 11:1-6)

Baptism                             A Christian practice whereby the believer publicly identifies with Christ through water (Acts 10:48)

Bema                                  The “award seat” where Christians receive according to their works of service on earth (2 Cor. 5:10)

Buddhism                          The belief that humans shape their future through their hearts and actions (karma) and can enter nirvana by self-effort

Calvinism                           A belief system initiated by John Calvin that teaches God pre-chooses some people to be saved

 

⁵Christ                                A title of Jesus; Means “the anointed one”— The Prophet-Priest-King (Mt. 16:16)

Christian                            A follower of Jesus Christ; One who has trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Acts 11:26)

Church                               Refers to (a) The entire group of Christians who have lived after the ascension of Jesus; (b) Local bodies of believers who meet together

Condemnation                  The act of being declared guilty by God and thereby punished (John 3:18)

Covenant                           A formal and binding agreement between God and individuals/groups (Heb. 8:6-13)

 

⁶Covet                                To desire something else so much that one forfeits their contentment in God (Jam. 4:2)

Deism                                 The belief that a god started the universe but is not involved in it

Deity                                   To possess divine nature or Godhood

Demon                               An angel who rebelled against God and now serves Satan (Mt. 25:41)

Depravity                           The belief that every human has an inherited natural desire for sin (Ps. 51:5)

 

 ⁷Elder                                 The main officers of a church who lead and teach; Syn: Pastors, overseers, bishops (1 Pt. 5:1)

Election                              God’s choice in eternity past to appoint individuals for His purposes (1 Pt. 1:2)

Elohim                                The Hebrew word for “God” (Gen. 1:1)

Eternal Life                        New and unending life that begins at the moment someone trusts in Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16)

Evangelize                          To spread the good news of Jesus Christ and urge sinners to repent (Mt. 28:19-20)

 

⁸Faith                                 Complete trust or confidence in an object (Gal. 2:20)

Fall                                     Refers to the rebellious act of Adam and Eve which brought a curse to all their descendants (Gen. 3)

Flesh                                   A nickname for our sinful human nature (Rom. 8:3)

Foreknowledge                  God’s intimate knowledge of all things before they occur (Rom. 8:29)

Forgiveness                        To completely release someone from a debt, mistake, or obligation (Mt. 6:15)

 

⁹Fornication                       Any sexual activity outside of marriage (Mt. 15:19)

Glorification                      The final step for a believer when they unite with God and are completely and permanently perfected (1 Cor. 15:35-49)

Godhead                            Refers to the Trinity of God—that the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit are one essence

Gospel                                The “good news” of what God accomplished through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

Grace                                  Unmerited acceptance based on the accepted work of Jesus (Rom. 3:23, 24)

 

 ¹⁰Great Command             The penultimate command of God to love Him above all else and to love others as we love ourselves (Mt. 22:37)

Great Commission            The great directive of God for his disciples to make disciples (Mt. 28:16-20)

Great White Throne          The future judgment of all unbelievers that results in eternal punishment (Rev. 20:11-15)

Heresy                                Any belief or practice that goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ (2 Pt. 2:1)

Holy                                    A word that means perfection or sinlessness (1 Pt. 1:16)

 

¹¹Hope                               Unwavering confidence regarding things that are unclear or unknown (Heb. 11:1)

Humility                             An attitude that prefers the good of others over the good of self (Jam. 4:6)

Hypocrisy                           Lit: “Actor;” Falsely presenting oneself to others in order to appear better than we are (Mk. 7:6)

Hypostatic Union              The union of two natures in Jesus—fully God and fully human (Col. 2:9)

Idolatry                              The act of valuing something more than God; taking the place of God (Rom. 1:21-24)

 

¹²Imputation                      The act of God where the sin of a Christian is transferred to Jesus on the Cross and the righteousness of Jesus is transferred to the saved sinner.

Incarnation                        “To take on flesh”; the act where Jesus took a body and came to earth (John 1)

Indwelling                          The act where the Holy Spirit lives inside a person at salvation (1 Cor. 3:16)

Inerrancy                            The truth that the Bible, as it was originally written, was completely free from error

Inspiration                         The teaching that God directed and empowered the Bible’s writers to write His very words (2 Tim. 3:16, 17)

 

  ¹³Islam                              Acceptance by Allah is achieved through self-purification by practicing The 5 Pillars of obedience

Jesus                                   The name means “Yahweh saves”

Judaism                              The religion of the Jews

Justification                       The act of God where he declares a repentant sinner to be innocent because of their faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:23-24)

Law                                     God’s instructions to Israel, found in the first 5 books of the Bible (Ex. 20-31)

 

¹⁴Lord                                 A supreme master who has absolute authority and control (Lk. 6:46)

Love                                    A self-sacrificing act for another’s benefit (Jn. 15:13)

Lust                                    A sexual desire for another outside of marriage (1 Thess. 4:1-8)

Mercy                                 To stop short of delivering rightful punishment on a deserving sinner (Eph. 2:4, 5)

Millennium                        The future 1000-year rule of Christ on earth (Rev. 20)

 

¹⁵New Jerusalem               The heavenly city that descends to the new earth in the future (Rev. 21:1, 2)

Old Self                              The believer’s former way of living that was controlled by sinful desires (Col. 3:9-11)

Omnipotence                     The power of God to do whatever He pleases that is consistent with His nature (Dan. 4:35)

Omnipresence                   The everywhere presence of God; Not able to be confined by space (Ps. 139:7-10)

Omniscience                      The quality of possessing all knowledge—actual and possible (Is. 40:14)

  

¹⁶Pantheism                       The belief that God is not greater than and separate from the universe

Patience                              A willingness to embrace God’s will in discomfort without complaint (Rom. 12:12)

Pelagianism                       A heretical belief that humans are not born with a sin nature

Pluralism                            The view that there are many equally valid paths to God and salvation

Predestination                   The act of God in the past when he preorders something to happen  (Eph. 1:4, 5)