Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary Of Biblical Theology – Golden Rule Golden Rule [N] The Old Testament. The term “Golden Rule” is not found in Scripture, but is the popular way of referring to the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:12 and lu 6:31. Jesus states, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” With […]

Good, Goodness The main Old Testament words for good/goodness come from the Hebrew word tob [b’f] while the most common New Testament words are kalos [kalov”], agathos [ajgaqov”], chrestos [crhstov”], and their cognates. These words often appear in a nonmoral sense; a “good” or “good-of-appearance” woman is beautiful ( Gen 6:2 ; 24:16 ; 26:7 ; 2 Sam 11:2 ; Est 1:11 ; Esther 2:2-3 Esther 2:7 ) and a “good” man is handsome ( 1 Sam […]

Gospel [N] [E] “Glad tidings” or “good news, ” from Anglo-Saxon godspell. The Old Testament. Good news is proclaimed widely ( 1 Sam 31:9 ; Psalm 96:2-3 ; Isa 40:9 ; 52:7 ), spread rapidly ( 2 Sam 18:19-31 ; 2 Kings 7:9 ; Psalm 68:11 ), and declared and received joyfully ( 2 Sam 1:20 ; Psalm 96:11-12 ; Isa 52:7-9 ; Jer 20:15 ). Where the message is gospel for Israelites and based on fact, the news is in every case but one ( Jer […]

God, Name of The God of Israel was known by many different names, titles, and epithets. God’s particular names derive both from his revealing his attributes and character to Israel and from Israel’s response to him. However, alongside this wealth of names and epithets in the Bible, the concept of God’s “Name” itself plays an […]

Godly, Godliness Reverence for God and a life of holiness in the world. The Old Testament. “The Lord has set apart the godly for himself” ( Psalm 4:3 ); they are, and are to become, his holy people ( Lev 11:44-45 ). Communion with God is to be zealously cultivated: “Let everyone who is godly pray to you while […]

Glorification In the Scripture the idea of glorification deals with the ultimate perfection of believers. The word “glorification” is not used in the Hebrew Old Testament or the Greek New Testament, but the idea of glorification is conveyed by the Greek verb doxazo [doxavzw] (“glorify”) and the noun doxa [dovxa] (“glory”) as well as in passages that do not […]

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 […]