Holy Spirit, Gifts of Four New Testament passages delineate specific gifts that God’s Spirit gives to his people ( Rom 12:3-8 ; 1 Cor 12-14; Eph 4:7-13 ; 1 Peter 4:10-11 ). The terminology varies from ordinary words for gift (dorea, doma — Eph 4:7-8 ) to a cognate of grace (charisma Rom 12:6 ; 1 Corinthians 12:4 1 Corinthians 12:9 1 Corinthians 12:28 1 Corinthians 12:30-31 ; 1 Peter 4:10 ), […]

Government [N] Administration of life in an organized society as well as the body of officials that presides over the process. Human beings discovered at an early stage in their history that a social situation in which “everyone did as he saw fit” ( Judges 21:25 ) proved to be an unstable, disorganized, and frequently even a dangerous […]

Galatians, Theology of More than any other book in the New Testament, including perhaps even Romans, Paul’s letter to the Galatians has been the source of theological teaching for the church in the midst of its deepest crises. Already in the original context of the letter, the Judaizing heresy threatened to undermine the work of […]

Friend, Friendship Most of the Old Testament words translated “friend, ” “friendship, ” or “be friendly” come from two Hebrew roots, rh and hb. The most common terms for friend are reeh, [h,[er] “friend, ” and oheb, [b;hoa] a participial form meaning “one who loves.” In the New Testament several words appear, including philos [fivlo”], “friend, ” hetairos [eJtai’ro”], “companion, comrade, ” and plesion [plhsivon], “neighbor, ” along […]

Fulfillment State, process, or act by which a situation comes to a complete end, whether ultimately good or bad. While fulfillment may be extended over an indefinite period of time, there are several occasions in Scripture in which a specific situation is being described, such as gestation and birth ( Gen 25:25 ; Job 39:1-2 ; Luke 1:57 ; 2:6 ), or the […]

Fruit of the Spirit The fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Holy Spirit’s presence and working in the lives of maturing believers and is itemized in Galatians 5:22-23. In the context of these verses, the singular fruit of the Spirit is contrasted with the plural works of the flesh ( 5:19-21 ). Neither listing […]

Foreknowledge In his omniscience God knows what the future holds both for individuals and for nations. He knows and sees everything in advance and his will is carried out in accord with his plans and purposes. In the Old Testament God’s foreknowledge is usually represented by the verb yada [[;d”y], which is the normal verb for “know.” […]

Freedom [N] [E] The theme of freedom rings loudly in one of the most crucial sections of Scripture, namely the narrative of the exodus. Already when establishing his covenant with Abraham, God had predicted the bondage and suffering of the Hebrews in a foreign land ( Gen 15:13 ). That long period of Egyptian slavery became a powerful symbol […]

Fellowship [N] [E] To appreciate the full meaning of the word-group in the New Testament that conveys the nature and reality of Christian fellowship (i.e., the noun koinonia [koinwniva], the verb, koinonein [koinwnevw], and the noun koinonos [koinwnov”]) as used in the New Testament, it is necessary to be aware of two fundamental points. First, the fact and experience of Christian fellowship only […]

Fullness of Time Well-known phrase from Galatians 4:4 that conveys Paul’s understanding of salvation. The churches of Galatia were the fruit of Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13-14). But they were almost immediately troubled by people (the Judaizers) who distorted the gospel that Paul had proclaimed. In his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul […]