Search the encyclopedia
111 articles found for “Gentiles”
Ephesians 4:3–6
[Bible Verses]Ephesians 4:3–6 is a passage in which the apostle Paul urges the church at Ephesus to keep "the unity of the Spirit" and lists seven "ones": one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. It is among the passages most frequently cited in discussions of church unity.
Romans 3:21–26
[Bible Verses]A passage in which Paul states that all have sinned, yet the righteousness of God is received freely, apart from the law, through faith in Jesus Christ. As a central text for the doctrine of justification, it is frequently cited and has been the subject of considerable interpretive debate.
Diaspora
[Bible]Diaspora is a Greek word meaning "scattering." It refers to the Jews who lived in various regions outside Palestine and to their communities. In the New Testament the term was also applied to Christians living scattered throughout the world.
Prison Epistles
[Bible]The Prison Epistles is the collective name for Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, the four letters in which the apostle Paul indicates that he is writing while in confinement.
Circumcision Party
[Bible]The circumcision party is a New Testament expression for believers of Jewish origin who had been circumcised. It is used especially of those among them who required Gentile believers to be circumcised and to keep the Law of Moses.
Acts 8
[Bible]Acts 8 describes the great persecution that followed the martyrdom of Stephen and the scattered believers who preached the gospel wherever they went. It recounts Philip's preaching in Samaria and on the desert road to Gaza, including the accounts of Simon the sorcerer and the Ethiopian eunuch.
Ephesians 4
[Bible]Ephesians 4 urges a life worthy of the Christian calling and the preservation of the church's unity, which the Holy Spirit has brought about. It teaches the purpose of the ministries given to the church and describes the practical conduct involved in putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
Epiphany
[Feasts & Seasons]Epiphany is a Christian feast, observed on January 6, that commemorates the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world as the Son of God.
Matthew 6:33
[Bible Verses]Matthew 6:33 is the promise that those who do not worry about what they will eat, drink, or wear, but "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness," will have "all these things" added to them. It is one of the verses most frequently cited in discussions of priorities in the life of faith.
Mark 10:45
[Bible Verses]Mark 10:45 is a saying of Jesus: "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." The verse unites the theme of servant leadership with the meaning of substitutionary redemption and is a central text for the doctrine of the atonement.
1 Corinthians 12:3
[Bible Verses]1 Corinthians 12:3 is the criterion Paul establishes at the outset of his teaching on spiritual gifts to the church at Corinth. He declares that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and that no one can say that Jesus is the Lord except by the Holy Spirit. The verse is frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between the confession of faith and the Holy Spirit and of the criteria for discerning spirits.
1 Peter 2:13–17
[Bible Verses]An exhortation in First Peter urging Christians to submit to rulers and human institutions "for the Lord's sake" and not to use their freedom as a cover for evil. Together with Romans 13, it is frequently cited in discussions of the Christian's stance toward state authority.
Ephesians 4:22–24
[Bible Verses]A passage in Ephesians that exhorts believers to put off the "old man" and to put on the "new man," which "after God is created." It is frequently cited in discussions of conversion, sanctification, and the restoration of the image of God.
Romans 1:18–25
[Bible Verses]Paul's argument that human beings, though able to know God through the created world, worshiped idols and therefore stand under God's wrath. The passage is frequently cited as a key text in discussions of general revelation and natural theology.
Romans 11:28-29
[Bible Verses]Romans 11:28-29 is a passage in which Paul states that Israel, though it has not accepted the gospel, remains beloved of God for the sake of the fathers, and that God's gifts and calling are not withdrawn. It is frequently discussed for its bearing on the future of Israel and because verse 29 is often applied to individual vocation.
Son of David
[Bible]A term meaning a descendant of King David. In the New Testament it is applied to Jesus as a messianic title for the king who, in keeping with the Old Testament promise, was to come from the house of David.
Sisera
[People]Sisera was the commander of the army of Jabin, the Canaanite king who oppressed Israel during the period of the judges. In Judges 4–5 he is defeated by the Israelite forces led by Deborah and Barak, and while fleeing he is killed by Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite.
Iconium
[Bible]Iconium was a city in south-central Asia Minor where Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel during the first missionary journey until persecution forced them to leave. It is identified today with Konya, Turkey.
Phoenicia
[Bible]Phoenicia was the region of port cities, such as Tyre and Sidon, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, in what is now Lebanon. In the Old Testament the region appears mainly under the names of its cities, Tyre and Sidon, while the name Phoenicia itself appears in the Book of Acts.
Conscience
[Bible]Conscience is a biblical term for the inner awareness by which a person reflects on and knows the rightness or wrongness of his or her own conduct. It appears chiefly in the Pauline Epistles of the New Testament.