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Great Commission
[Bible]The Great Commission is the command in which the risen Jesus instructed his disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them. Its principal text is Matthew 28:18-20.
Colossians 1:15–17
[Bible Verses]A passage that celebrates Christ as the image of the invisible God and as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Because of the phrase "the firstborn," it is frequently cited in debates over the deity of Christ.
Acts 1:4–5
[Bible Verses]In this passage the risen Jesus, before his ascension, tells the apostles not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, saying that they will soon be baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is frequently cited as the starting point for the differing ways denominations understand "baptism in the Holy Spirit."
Cainan
[People]Cainan is a name that appears twice in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3. One Cainan is an antediluvian figure corresponding to Kenan in Genesis; the other is a son of Arphaxad who does not appear in the Hebrew text of Genesis.
Satisfaction Theory
[Doctrine & Theology]The satisfaction theory is a theory of the atonement that explains the death of Christ as rendering the "satisfaction" (reparation) rightly owed for the glory (honor) of God that has been injured by sin. It was systematized by Anselm of Canterbury in the late eleventh century.
Paschal Candle
[Worship & Rites]The Paschal candle is a large candle lit at Easter whose light represents Christ risen in victory over death. It is used chiefly in churches of liturgical traditions, such as the Catholic and Anglican churches, and some Protestant churches also use it.
Recapitulation
[Doctrine & Theology]Recapitulation (anakephalaiōsis) is the soteriology developed by the second-century Church Father Irenaeus. It teaches that Christ retraced from the beginning the human path on which Adam failed, restored it through obedience, and gathers all things together in himself.
Justification
[Doctrine & Theology]Justification is the act by which a sinner is accounted righteous before God. Protestants hold that it comes not through works but through faith in Christ, a teaching known as justification by faith.
Nestorianism
[Heresies & Cults]Nestorianism is a Christology regarded as originating with Nestorius, the fifth-century Patriarch of Constantinople. It was criticized for separating the divinity and humanity of Christ too sharply and was condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431.
1 Peter 2:25
[Bible Verses]In this verse the apostle Peter tells suffering believers that they, once like sheep going astray, have now returned to Christ, "the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." The verse concludes a passage that draws on Isaiah 53 and is frequently cited in discussions of conversion, shepherd imagery, and the office of bishop.
The Resurrection Chapter
[Bible]The Resurrection Chapter is a name for 1 Corinthians 15 in the New Testament. In this chapter Paul gives his most extensive treatment of the resurrection of Christ and the bodily resurrection of believers on the last day.
Theotokos
[Doctrine & Theology]Theotokos is a Greek term meaning "the one who gave birth to God." It is a title for Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was formally affirmed by the Council of Ephesus in 431.
Matthew 1
[Bible]The first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. It records a genealogy from Abraham to Jesus arranged in three periods of fourteen generations each and, focusing on Joseph, recounts how Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit and how Jesus came to be born.
Colossians
[Bible]Colossians is the twelfth book of the New Testament. It is a letter from the apostle Paul to the church at Colossae in Asia Minor, emphasizing that Christ is preeminent over all things and sufficient for salvation.
2 Peter
[Bible]Second Peter is one of the General Epistles of the New Testament, a three-chapter letter written in the name of the apostle Peter. It warns against false teachers and urges believers to live godly lives as they await the return of Christ.
Council of Ephesus
[History]The Council of Ephesus was a church council held in 431 at Ephesus in Asia Minor. It was convened to address the relationship between the divinity and humanity of Christ and whether Mary may be called Theotokos ("God-bearer"), and it is counted as the third ecumenical council.
Seminal Logos
[Doctrine & Theology]The seminal logos is a concept used by the second-century apologist Justin Martyr. It holds that the Word of God (the Logos) has been sown like a seed in every person, so that even those who lived before Christ could know the truth in part.
Second Council of Constantinople
[History]The Second Council of Constantinople was a church council convened in Constantinople in 553 by the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. It condemned the so-called "Three Chapters" and reaffirmed the Christology of the Council of Chalcedon. The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church count it as the fifth ecumenical council.
Religious Pluralism
[Controversies]Religious pluralism refers to the debate over whether religions outside Christianity offer a way of salvation. Positions in this debate are commonly grouped into three: exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism.
Resurrection of the Body
[Doctrine & Theology]The resurrection of the body is the Christian doctrine that on the last day the bodies of the dead will be raised and reunited with their souls. It is one of the articles confessed in the Apostles' Creed.