Sermons & Devotionals by Dictionary of Theology

A theological term referring to the relation of God to creation. God is "other," "different" from His creation. He is independent and different from His creatures (Isaiah 55:8-9). He transcends His creation. He is beyond it and not limited by it or to it.... Read More

This refers to the mysterious change that occurred to Jesus on the mount: "Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling wh... Read More

The theory accepted by Catholicism, that in the Lord's Supper, the elements are transformed into the actual body and blood of Jesus. However, there is no perceptible or measurable change in the elements. The transformation occurs during the Mass at the elevation of the elements by the priest.... Read More

According to premillennialism, this is a seven year period that immediately precedes the return of Christ and the millennial kingdom of His rule which lasts for 1000 years. It will be a time of great peace (the first 3 ½ years) and great war (the second 3 ½ years) when the Antichrist rules over many... Read More

The teaching that the human consists of three parts: body, soul, and spirit.... Read More

The word "trinity" is not found in the Bible. Nevertheless, it is a word used to describe one fact the Bible teaches about God: Our God is a Trinity. This means there are three persons in one God, not three Gods. The persons are known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and they have all alw... Read More

Tritheism is the teaching that the Godhead is really three separate beings forming three separate gods. This erring view is often misplaced for the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there is but one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.... Read More

A type is a representation by one thing of another. Adam was a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14) and so was Isaac (Heb. 11:19). The Passover was a type of Christ (1 Cor. 5:7). There are many types in the Bible and most of them are too extensive and deep to be listed.... Read More

The Greek characters of upper case: ABGDE, etc. Different copies of Greek manuscripts appear in Uncial form. Minuscules are the lower case letters of the Greek alphabet order and rank.... Read More

A theological error that holds to the unity of God by denying the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, and the deity of the Holy Spirit. Unitarians teach the unity of God and hold to a common system of believing as you will about God, salvation, sin, etc. They often profess to have no dogma. Unitarians also... Read More

The teaching that all people will eventually be saved through the universal redemption of Jesus. Some universalists teach that even the devil, after a time of punishment, will be redeemed.... Read More

A material used for writing, like paper. It was made from animal skins, usually from cattle, sheep, goats, and antelope. The hair was scraped off of the skins, then they were washed, smoothed, and dressed with chalk. Vellum was used until the late Middle Ages until paper was introduced into Europe f... Read More

In Catholicism, a sin but not as bad as mortal Sin. It lessens the grace of God within a person's soul.... Read More

The theory of the atonement which states that Christ's death was "legal." It satisfied the legal justice of God. Jesus bore the penalty of sin when he died on the cross. His death was a substitution for the believers. In other words, he substituted himself for them upon the cross. Jesus hung in our ... Read More

In Greek the word for "word" is logos. It is used in many places, but of special interest is how it is used of Jesus. In John 1:1 it says, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." The Word is divine and the word "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). In... Read More

The obligation of God's creation to give to Him all honor, praise, adoration, and glory due Him because He is the holy and divine creator. Worship is to be given to God only (Exodus 20:3; Matt. 4:10). Jesus, being God in flesh (John 1:1,14 ; Col. 2:9), was worshipped (Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; John 9:35-... Read More

Biblically, it is the divine judgment upon sin and sinners. It does not merely mean that it is a casual response by God to ungodliness, but carries the meaning of hatred, revulsion, and indignation. God is by nature love (1 John 4:16), however, in His justice He must punish sin. The punishment is ca... Read More

A dualistic philosophy of passive and active, good and bad, light and dark, positive and negative, male and female, etc., and that they are in opposition, each is part of the whole and works together.... Read More

A philosophical as well as physical way of life emphasizing harmony of body and mind. The philosophy of yoga is based in Eastern Metaphysical beliefs. The goal of the philosophy is to help a person become balanced in mind and body and attain self-enlightenment. Yoga, apart from its metaphysical teac... Read More

The stars in the heavens divided into twelve main groups. Imaginary patterns are imposed upon various star patterns as an aid to remember the stars. In Astrology, the Zodiac signs signify personality types for the people born under them. The Zodiac signs are determined by durations of time in the ca... Read More