Search the encyclopedia
712 articles found for “those who understand”
Hebrews 4
Hebrews 4 uses the disobedience of the wilderness generation as a warning and urges readers to strive to enter God's rest. It also presents the living word of God and Jesus, the great High Priest who understands our weaknesses.
Proverbs 3:5-6
A teaching that calls believers to trust in the LORD with all their heart and not to lean on their own understanding, promising that he will direct the paths of those who acknowledge him in all their ways. It is one of the passages believers most often cling to when facing decisions about their future.
1 John 5:14–15
A passage expressing confidence that God hears those who ask according to his will. It is frequently cited as a basis for answered prayer, and interpretation centers on how to understand the condition "according to his will."
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the teaching that the Holy Spirit dwells within those who believe in Christ. It is treated as a basis of the believer's identity and sanctification, and denominations differ in how they understand its relationship to the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Spirit.
1 John 4:9–12
A passage in First John stating that God's love was revealed when He sent His Son into the world as the propitiation for our sins, and that those who have received this love ought to love one another. It is frequently cited in discussions of the definition of love, the understanding of the atonement, and "perfected love."
Christian Liberty
Christian liberty is the Protestant teaching that those who believe in Christ have been set free from the dominion of sin, the condemnation of the law, and human ordinances without basis in Scripture, so that they may serve God and their neighbor in love.
Election
Election is the Christian doctrine that God chooses those whom he will save; it forms part of the doctrine of predestination. Calvinism and Arminianism differ in their understanding of the basis on which God makes this choice.
Forgiveness of Sins
The forgiveness of sins is the act by which God pardons a person's sins and no longer holds that person liable for the guilt and punishment those sins incur. Protestants generally understand it as a grace grounded in the cross of Jesus Christ and received through repentance and faith.
James 5:14–15
This passage instructs the sick to call for the elders of the church, who are to pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The Catholic sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, Pentecostal divine healing ministry, and Protestant pastoral visitation of the sick all appeal to this passage, though each understands its meaning differently.
Perseverance of the Saints
The perseverance of the saints is the Reformed (Calvinist) doctrine that God upholds to the end those whom He has truly saved, so that they never fall away completely from the faith. Other denominations understand the matter differently.
Hebrews 2:3-4
A passage in which the author of Hebrews warns readers not to neglect "so great salvation." It states that this salvation was first spoken by the Lord, confirmed by those who heard him, and attested by God through signs and gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is frequently cited in debates over the continuation of spiritual gifts and the authorship of Hebrews.
Psalm 73
Psalm 73 is a psalm of Asaph that opens Book III of the Psalter. The psalmist, shaken by the prosperity of the wicked, comes to understand their end in the sanctuary of God and confesses that it is good to draw near to God.
Revelation 3:19
A verse from the letter to the church in Laodicea in which Christ says that he rebukes and chastens those he loves, and commands zeal and repentance. It is frequently cited in preaching as a basis for understanding discipline as an expression of love.
1 Timothy 1:9–10
In this passage Paul tells Timothy that the law is made not for the righteous but for the lawless and for sinners, and he gives a catalog of sins. It is frequently cited in theological discussions of the uses of the law and in the debate over homosexuality concerning the translation of the term rendered in the KJV as "them that defile themselves with mankind."
Brothers of Jesus
A collective term for James, Joseph (Joses), Simon, and Judas, who are called the "brothers" of Jesus in the New Testament, together with his unnamed sisters. Christian traditions differ in their understanding of how these individuals were related to Jesus.
Authorship of the Bible
The authorship of the Bible concerns who wrote each of the books of Scripture. The Bible speaks both of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and of the writing of human authors, and denominations and scholars differ in how they understand the authorship and inspiration of each book.
Bani (Levite)
Bani was a Levite in the time of Nehemiah. When Ezra read the Law aloud, Bani helped the people understand its meaning, and at the assembly held for fasting he stood on the platform and cried out to God (Nehemiah 8:7; 9:4-5).
Matthew 5:44
Matthew 5:44 contains Jesus' command, "Love your enemies... and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." It is regarded as one of the most radical passages in Jesus' ethical teaching and is applied broadly, from personal forgiveness to questions of national division and reconciliation.
John 17:21
A verse from the prayer Jesus offered to the Father before his arrest, in which he asks that those who believe "all may be one" so that the world may believe. It serves as a motto of the ecumenical movement, and debate has centered on whether this unity should be understood as spiritual or as visible and institutional.
Psalm 125:1-2
A passage declaring that those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, and that God surrounds His people forever as the mountains surround Jerusalem. It is frequently cited as a classic text on the believer's security and God's protection.