This glossary is here to help newer Christians, Bible college students and thoughtful readers keep moving when an unfamiliar word appears. The definitions are deliberately brief. They are not meant to settle every debate, but to give enough meaning to keep reading carefully.
Terms
Accessibility - The practice of removing unnecessary barriers so people can participate, contribute and belong, including people with disability, illness, hearing impairment, mobility needs or other support needs.
Accommodation - The idea that God communicates divine truth in forms suited to human language, culture and limitation without surrendering the truth God intends to convey.
Adoption - The gift of being welcomed into God’s family through Christ, receiving the status, belonging and inheritance of God’s children.
Anabaptist - A stream of the Radical Reformation that emphasised believers’ baptism, voluntary church membership, discipleship and separation of church and state.
Annihilationism - The view that final judgment results in the destruction of the wicked rather than their endless conscious torment.
Apocalyptic - A symbolic and visionary kind of writing that reveals God’s perspective on history, conflict, judgment and hope. Daniel and Revelation contain major apocalyptic sections.
Apostle - A commissioned messenger. In the New Testament, the term especially refers to those sent by the risen Christ to bear authoritative witness to him.
Arianism - The teaching associated with Arius that the Son was created and was not eternally divine in the same way as the Father. It was rejected at the Council of Nicaea.
Arminianism - A Christian account of salvation that emphasises God’s enabling grace, Christ’s provision for all and a genuine human response that can be resisted.
Atonement - What God has done through the death and resurrection of Jesus to deal with sin, reconcile people to himself and defeat evil.
Baptism - The Christian practice of being immersed in or washed with water as a sign of repentance, faith, union with Christ and belonging to his people.
Biblical theology - The study of how themes, promises and doctrines develop through the unfolding story of Scripture.
Boundaries - Clear limits that identify what a person is responsible for, what behaviour they will accept and how they will respond when those limits are crossed.
Burnout - A state of deep physical, emotional or spiritual exhaustion often caused by prolonged stress, excessive demands and inadequate rest or support.
Calvinism - A theological tradition associated with John Calvin and later Reformed theology, commonly emphasising God’s sovereignty, election and effective grace in salvation.
Canon - The recognised collection of biblical books received as Scripture by a Christian community.
Canonical interpretation - Reading a passage in its own literary setting while also considering its place within the complete canon and the wider biblical story.
Christian hospitality - The practice of welcoming, receiving and caring for others, including strangers and people who may not be able to repay the kindness.
Christian maturity - Growth in Christlike character, wisdom, love, holiness, discernment and faithful participation in the life and mission of the church.
Christology - The area of theology concerned with who Jesus Christ is, including his humanity, divinity, identity, mission and work.
Christus Victor - An atonement theme that presents the death and resurrection of Jesus as God’s victory over sin, death, evil and hostile spiritual powers.
Compatibilism - The view that divine sovereignty and meaningful human responsibility can both be true, even when human choices occur within God’s determining will.
Complementarianism - The view that men and women are equal in dignity and worth, but that some church or family roles are reserved for men.
Conditional immortality - The view that immortality is God’s gift to the redeemed rather than an inherent possession of every human soul. It is often linked with annihilationism.
Confession - A substantial statement of Christian belief used by a church or tradition to summarise and teach its doctrine.
Contentment - Grateful trust in God that is not controlled by comparison, possessions or circumstances, while still allowing grief, ambition and hope for change.
Context - The surrounding setting that helps us understand a passage, including the words nearby, the book as a whole, the historical situation and the wider biblical story.
Council of Chalcedon - The church council held in AD 451 that confessed Jesus Christ as one person in two natures, truly divine and truly human.
Council of Nicaea - The church council held in AD 325 that rejected Arianism and affirmed that the Son is truly divine and of one being with the Father.
Covenant - A solemn relationship established by God, often involving promises, commitments and signs. Major biblical covenants include those with Noah, Abraham, Israel, David and the new covenant in Christ.
Creation - God’s making of all things. Christian teaching begins with the goodness of creation and looks forward to its renewal.
Creed - A concise, historic summary of central Christian belief, often intended for shared confession in worship and teaching.
Descriptive - A text that describes what happened, without necessarily commanding readers to copy it.
Disability theology - Theological reflection shaped by the presence, experience and contribution of disabled people, asking how Christian beliefs and church practices understand embodiment, dignity, dependence and belonging.
Discernment - Wise judgment shaped by Scripture, prayer, experience, Christian community and attention to motives, circumstances and consequences.
Discipleship - The lifelong process of following Jesus, learning from him and being shaped into his likeness.
Dispensationalism - A theological framework that emphasises distinct periods in God’s dealings with humanity and usually maintains a strong distinction between Israel and the church.
Doctrine - A teaching of the Christian faith. Doctrine is not meant to be abstract information only, but truth that shapes worship, obedience and life.
Dynamic equivalence - A translation approach that prioritises communicating the meaning of the original text naturally in the receiving language. It is also called functional equivalence.
Ecclesiology - The area of theology concerned with the identity, nature, mission, worship, practices and leadership of the church.
Ecumenism - Efforts to encourage dialogue, cooperation and greater visible unity among different Christian churches and traditions.
Egalitarianism - The view that men and women are equally able to serve in all roles of church leadership, according to gifting and calling.
Eisegesis - Reading one’s own assumptions or preferred ideas into a biblical text rather than drawing meaning from the text in context.
Eschatology - The area of theology concerned with final things, including resurrection, judgment, the return of Christ and the hope of new creation.
Eternal conscious torment - The view that those finally judged remain conscious and experience punishment without end.
Exegesis - Careful interpretation of a biblical text, aiming to understand what the text says in its literary, historical and theological context.
Faith - Trusting God, receiving his promises and responding to him in allegiance, dependence and obedience.
Formal equivalence - A translation approach that aims to preserve the wording and structure of the original languages as closely as readable English allows.
General revelation - God’s self-disclosure through creation, providence, conscience and human experience, available broadly to humanity.
Generative AI - Artificial intelligence that produces new text, images or other content from patterns learned from large datasets. Its output still requires verification and human judgment.
Generosity - The willing and wise sharing of time, attention, abilities and resources for the good of others.
Genre - The kind of writing being read, such as narrative, poetry, law, prophecy, Gospel, letter or apocalyptic. Genre helps guide interpretation.
Glorification - The completion of salvation when believers are raised and transformed to share fully in resurrection life and the renewed creation.
Gospel - The good news of what God has done through Jesus Christ: his life, death, resurrection, reign and the invitation to repentance, faith and new life.
Grace - God’s undeserved kindness and favour, shown supremely in Jesus Christ and received rather than earned.
Great Awakening - A name given to major evangelical revival movements, especially in eighteenth-century Britain and North America, marked by preaching, conversion and spiritual renewal.
Great Schism - The gradual division between Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic Christianity, commonly associated with the mutual excommunications of 1054.
Hermeneutics - The study of interpretation, especially the principles and practices used when reading Scripture.
Historical context - The social, cultural, political, geographical and religious circumstances surrounding a biblical text and its first audience.
Humility - Seeing oneself truthfully before God, rejecting both pride and false self-denigration, and being willing to learn, serve and receive correction.
Image of God - The biblical teaching that human beings are made to represent, reflect and relate to God, receiving dignity from the Creator rather than from ability, status or usefulness.
Incarnation - The Christian teaching that the eternal Son of God became truly human in Jesus Christ.
Inerrancy - The view that Scripture is without error in all that it truly teaches. Christians who use this word may still differ on how it should be defined and applied.
Infallibility - The belief that Scripture will not fail or mislead God’s people in accomplishing the purpose for which God gave it.
Inspiration - The Christian teaching that Scripture is God-breathed, with God working through human authors to give his people trustworthy Scripture.
Intercession - Prayer offered for another person, community or situation.
Intermediate state - The condition of people between death and the future resurrection. Christians disagree about whether this state is conscious or unconscious.
Justice - Right relationships and fair treatment shaped by God’s character, including truthfulness, accountability and concern for people who are vulnerable or oppressed.
Justification - God’s gracious act of declaring sinners to be in the right through faith in Jesus Christ.
Kingdom of God - God’s reign and rule. In the New Testament, the kingdom is announced and embodied by Jesus, already present but not yet fully complete.
KJV-onlyism - The belief that the King James Version is the uniquely preserved or only acceptable English Bible translation.
Lament - Faithful grief brought before God. Lament names sorrow, injustice, pain or confusion while still turning toward God.
Literary context - The words, sentences, paragraphs, sections and argument surrounding a passage within the book in which it appears.
Methodism - A Christian movement associated with John and Charles Wesley that emphasises grace, holiness, discipleship, evangelism and organised small-group formation.
Molinism - A view associated with Luis de Molina that seeks to reconcile divine providence and human freedom through God’s knowledge of what free creatures would choose in any possible circumstance.
Monotheism - The belief that there is one God. Historic Christianity is monotheistic while confessing the one God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
New creation - The Christian hope that God will renew creation, raise the dead and dwell with his people, rather than simply removing souls from the earth forever.
Nicene Creed - An early Christian creed developed from the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, confessing belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Old Testament law - The commands given to Israel within the covenant story of the Old Testament. Christians read them through Christ, the whole biblical story and the wisdom of the Spirit.
Ordinance - A practice commanded by Jesus for the church, especially baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptist traditions often prefer this term to sacrament.
Original sin - The shared fallen condition of humanity inherited from Adam, involving corruption, alienation and a bent towards sin. Christian traditions explain its transmission in different ways.
Paraphrase - A freer restatement of biblical meaning in contemporary language. A paraphrase can aid understanding but is not usually designed for close word-level study.
Pastoral care - The church’s ministry of spiritual support, encouragement, prayer, guidance and practical concern for people in real circumstances.
Peacemaking - The active pursuit of truthful, just and restored relationships rather than merely avoiding disagreement or suppressing conflict.
Penal substitution - An atonement model in which Christ bears the judgment due to sinners, allowing God to forgive while upholding divine justice.
Pentecostalism - A diverse Christian movement emphasising the present work of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, healing, evangelism and Spirit-empowered worship.
Perspicuity - Another term for the clarity of Scripture: the belief that its central saving message can be understood by ordinary readers, even though some passages remain difficult.
Pneumatology - The area of theology concerned with the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Premillennialism - The view that Christ will return before a future millennial reign. Christians differ on how literally or symbolically to understand the millennium.
Prescriptive - A text or command that tells people what they should do.
Proof-texting - Using an isolated verse to support a claim without giving sufficient attention to its literary, historical and theological context.
Protestant Reformation - The sixteenth-century movement that challenged abuses and doctrines in the Western church and produced Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Anabaptist and other Protestant traditions.
Providence - God’s continuing work of sustaining, caring for and governing creation while creatures act with real responsibility.
Provisionism - A view of salvation that emphasises God’s gracious provision for all people, while also affirming human response and resisting some Calvinist accounts of election and grace.
Rapture - A term often used for believers being caught up to meet Christ. Christians disagree about whether this is a separate event before a tribulation or part of the one public return of Christ.
Recapitulation - An atonement theme in which Christ faithfully retraces and renews human life, succeeding where Adam and humanity failed.
Reconciliation - The restoration of a damaged relationship through truth, repentance, forgiveness and the rebuilding of trust. It normally requires participation from both sides.
Redemption - God’s act of rescuing people from sin, slavery, evil and death, often pictured as liberation through the payment of a cost.
Repentance - Turning from sin and self-rule toward God. Repentance includes changed allegiance, not merely feeling sorry.
Resurrection - God’s raising of the dead to embodied life. Christian hope is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus and the promised resurrection of his people.
Sabbath - A biblical pattern of regular rest and worship that reminds people they are creatures sustained by God rather than defined only by productivity.
Sacrament - A visible sign of God’s grace, commonly used of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Some traditions prefer the word ordinance.
Sanctification - The Spirit’s work of making believers holy, gradually shaping them into the likeness of Christ.
Satisfaction theory - An atonement model, especially associated with Anselm, in which Christ’s obedient self-offering restores the honour and order disrupted by human sin.
Second Coming - The future return of Jesus Christ to judge, renew, reign and complete God’s saving purposes.
Service - The use of one’s gifts, time, strength and opportunities for the good of others in response to the example and command of Jesus.
Social Gospel - A movement that emphasised applying Christian teaching to social problems such as poverty, inequality, labour conditions and public injustice.
Social model of disability - An approach that locates much disability in social, architectural and attitudinal barriers rather than only in an individual body or diagnosis.
Soul sleep - The view that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection, rather than consciously present in heaven or hell before final judgment.
Special revelation - God’s particular self-disclosure through redemptive acts, inspired Scripture and supremely Jesus Christ.
Spiritual disciplines - Practices such as prayer, Scripture reading, fasting, worship, solitude and service through which believers make themselves available to God’s transforming grace.
Spiritual formation - The process by which a person is shaped spiritually, especially into Christlike love, character, habits and desires.
Spiritual gifts - Abilities and ministries given by the Holy Spirit for serving others, building up the church and participating in God’s mission.
Statement of faith - A church or organisation’s summary of the beliefs it considers important for identity, teaching or membership.
Stewardship - Responsible care for what God entrusts to people, including creation, money, time, gifts, relationships and influence.
Substitutionary atonement - A broad atonement theme in which Christ acts on behalf of sinners and bears what they could not bear in order to bring forgiveness and reconciliation.
Supplication - A request made to God in prayer, whether for oneself or for others.
Theocracy - A system in which religious authority directly governs the state or civil law is formally controlled by a religious institution.
Theology - The study of God and of all things in relation to God. Good theology should lead to worship, humility and faithful living.
Tradition - The beliefs, practices and interpretations passed down through the church. Tradition can help guide the church, but it must be tested by Scripture.
Translation philosophy - The principles guiding how translators balance wording, meaning, readability, literary style and faithfulness to the source text.
Trinity - The Christian teaching that the one God eternally exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Typology - The recognition of recurring persons, events and institutions in Scripture that form patterns and reach fuller expression in Christ and the biblical story.
Union with Christ - The believer’s shared life with Jesus through the Spirit, including participation in his death, resurrection, righteousness and future glory.
Universal reconciliation - The view that God will ultimately reconcile every person to himself, sometimes through judgment and correction.
Universalism - The belief that all people will ultimately be saved or reconciled to God. Different forms explain judgment, freedom and restoration in different ways.
Vatican II - The Second Vatican Council, held from 1962 to 1965, which addressed Roman Catholic worship, Scripture, church life, ecumenism and engagement with the modern world.
Verbal plenary inspiration - The belief that inspiration extends to all of Scripture and to the words through which its authors communicated, without requiring mechanical dictation.
Vocation - A calling from God. Vocation can include paid work, ministry, family responsibilities, service, witness and ordinary faithfulness.
Wisdom literature - Biblical writing that explores skill in faithful living, including Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes, and often using poetry, reflection and general observations.
Witness - The church’s calling to bear truthful testimony to Jesus in word, action, character and community life.
Word study - The careful investigation of how a word is used in its sentence, book, original language and wider context, without assuming every possible meaning applies at once.