EDT- Week #2

Chapters 4-10 of Doctine

Aseity

Another name for the attribute of God’s independence or self-existence.

Communicable Attributes

Aspects of God’s character that he more fully shares or “communicates”.

Eternity

When used of God, the doctrine that God has no beginning, end, or succession of moments in his own being, and that he sees all time equally vividly yet sees events in time and acts in time.

Inner sense of God

An instinctive awareness of God’s existence possessed by every human being.

Immutability

Another term for God’s unchangeableness.

Incommunicable Attributes

Aspects of God’s character that he less fully shares with us.

Incomprehensible

Not able to be fully understood. As this applies to God, it means that nothing about God can be understood fully or exhaustively, although we can know true things about God.

Independent

The attribute of God whereby he does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation can glorify him and bring him joy.

Infinite

When used of God, refers to the fact that he is not subject to any of the limitations of humanity or of creation in general.

Infinity with respect to space

Another term for God’s omnipresence.

Infinity with respect to time

Another term for God’s eternity.

Knowable

Refers to the fact that we can know true things about God, and we can know God himself and not simply facts about him.

Omnipresence

The attribute of God whereby he does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.

Self-Existence

Another term for God’s independence.

Unchangeableness

The doctrine that God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations.

Unity

The doctrine that God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times.

Attributes of Being

Aspects of God’s character that describe his essential mode of existence.

Attributes of Purpose

Aspects of God’s character that pertain to making and carrying out decisions.

Beauty

The attribute of God whereby he is the sum of all desirable qualities.

Blessedness

The attribute of God whereby he delights fully in himself and in all that reflects his character.

Communicable Attributes

Aspects of God’s character that he more fully shares or “communicates” with us.

Faithfulness

The attribute of God whereby he will always do what he has said and will fulfill what he has promised.

Freedom

The attribute of God whereby he does whatever he pleases.

Goodness

The attribute of God whereby he is the final standard of good and all that he is and does is worthy of approval.

Grace

God’s goodness toward those who deserve only punishment.

Holiness

The attribute of God whereby he is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor.

Invisibility

The attribute of God whereby his total essence, all of his spiritual being, will never be able to be seen by us, yet God still shows himself to us through visible, created things.

Jealousy

The doctrine that God continually seeks to protect his own honor.

Justice

Another term for God’s righteousness.

Knowledge

The attribute of God whereby he fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.

Love

When used of God, the doctrine that God eternally gives of himself to others.

Mental Attributes

The aspects of God’s character that describe the nature of his knowing and reasoning.

Mercy

God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.

Moral Attributes

Aspects of God’s character that describe his moral or ethical nature.

Omnipotence

The attribute of God whereby he is able to do all his holy will (from Lat. omni, “all,” and potens, “powerful”).

Omnipresent

The attribute of God whereby he does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.

Perfection

The attribute of God whereby he completely possesses all excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable for him.

Power

Another term for God’s omnipotence.

Revealed Will

God’s declared will concerning what pleases him or what he commands us to do. God’s revealed will is found in Scripture.

Righteousness

The attribute of God whereby he always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right.

Secret Will

God’s hidden decrees by which he governs the universe and determines everything that will happen.

Sovereignty

God’s exercise of power over his creation.

Spirituality

The doctrine that God exists as a being who is not made of any matter, has no parts or dimensions, is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses, and is more excellent than any other kind of existence.

“Summary Attributes”

Qualities of God’s character that emphasize the excellence of his entire being, such as perfection (he lacks no desirable quality), blessedness (he delights in all his qualities), and beauty (he is the sum of everything desirable).

Theophany

An “appearance of God” in which he takes on a visible form to show himself to people.

Truthfulness

The doctrine that God is the true God, and that all his knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth.

Will

The attribute of God whereby he approves and determines to bring about every action necessary for the existence and activity of himself and all creation.

Wisdom

The attribute of God whereby he always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals.

Wrath

The attribute of God whereby he intensely hates all sin.

Arianism

The erroneous doctrine that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Economic Subordination

The teaching that certain members of the Trinity have roles or functions that are subject to the authority of other members; specifically, that the Son is eternally subject to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is eternally subject to the Father and Son. (To be distinguished from ontological subordination or subordinationism, an erroneous teaching that has been rejected by the church.)

Homoiousios

Greek word meaning “of a similar nature,” which was used by Arius in the fourth century to affirm that Christ was a supernatural heavenly being but not of the same nature as God the Father.

Homoousios

A Greek word meaning “of the same nature,” which was included in the Nicene Creed to teach that Christ was of the exact same nature as God the Father and therefore was fully divine as well as fully human.

Modalism

The heretical teaching that holds that God is not really three distinct persons, but only one person who appears to people in different “modes” at different times. Also called Sabellianism.

Only-Begotten

A mistranslation of the Greek word monogenēs (John 3:16; et al.), which actually means “unique” or “one-of-a-kind.” The Arians used this word to deny Christ’s deity, but the rest of the church understood it to mean that the Son eternally related as a son to the Father.

Ontological Equality

Phrase that describes the members of the Trinity as eternally equal in being or existence.

Subordinationism

The heretical teaching that the Son was inferior or “subordinate” in being to God the Father. Also called “ontological subordination,” but different from economic subordination, which has been the historic view of the church.

Trinity

The doctrine that God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.

Tritheism

The belief that there are three gods.

Asceticism

An approach to living that renounces many comforts of the material world and practices rigid self-denial.

Creation

The doctrine that God created the entire universe out of nothing; it was originally very good; and he created it to glorify himself.

Creation ex Nihilo

Latin phrase meaning “out of nothing.” Refers to God’s creation of the universe “out of nothing,” or without the use of any previously existing materials.

Deism

The view that God created the universe but is not now directly involved in it.

Dualism

The idea that both God and the material universe (or some evil force) have eternally existed side by side as two ultimate forces in the universe.

Immanent

Existing or remaining in; used in theology to speak of God’s involvement in creation.

Intelligent Design

The view that God directly created the world and its many life forms, which stands against the view that new species came about through an evolutionary process of random mutation.

Macro-Evolution

The “general theory of evolution,” or the view that nonliving substance gave rise to the first living material, which then reproduced and diversified to produce all living things that now exist or ever existed in the past.

Materialism

The view that the material universe is all that exists.

Micro-Evolution

The view that small developments occur within individual species without creating any new species.

Natural Selection

The idea, assumed in evolutionary theory, that living organisms that are most fitted to their environment survive and multiply while others perish (also called “survival of the fittest”).

Old Earth Theory

A theory of creation that views the earth as very old, perhaps as old as 4.5 billion years.

Pantheism

The idea that the whole universe is God or part of God.

Random Mutation

According to evolutionary theory, the entirely random mechanism by which differences occurred when cells reproduced themselves, with the result that all life forms developed from the simplest form without any intelligent direction or design.

Theistic Evolution

The theory that God used the process of evolution to bring about all of the life forms on earth.

Transcendent

The term used to describe God as being greater than the creation and independent of it.

Transitional Types

In evolutionary theory, fossils showing some characteristics of one animal and some of the next developmental type, which, if found, would provide evidence for evolutionary theory by filling in the gaps between distinct kinds of animals.

Young Earth Theory

A theory of creation that views the earth as relatively young, perhaps as young as ten thousand to twenty thousand years old.

Arminianism

A theological tradition that seeks to preserve the free choices of human beings and denies God’s providential control over the details of all events.

Calvinist

A theological tradition named after the sixteenth-century French reformer John Calvin (1509–64) that emphasizes the sovereignty of God in all things and man’s inability to do spiritual good before God.

Concurrence

An aspect of God’s providence whereby he cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do.

Free Choices

Choices made according to our free will (see “free will”).

Free Will

The ability to make willing choices that have real effects (however, other people define this in other ways, including the ability to make choices that are not determined by God).

Government

An aspect of God’s providence that indicates that God has a purpose in all he does in the world and that he providentially governs or directs all things so they accomplish his purposes.

Preservation

An aspect of God’s providence whereby he keeps all created things existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them.

Primary Cause

The divine, invisible, directing cause of everything that happens.

Providence

The doctrine that God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.

Reformed

Another term for the theological tradition known as Calvinism.

Secondary Cause

The properties and actions of created things that bring about events in the world.

Voluntary Choices

proceeding from the will or from one's own choice or consent.

Willing Choices

Choices that are made in accord with our desires and with no awareness of restraints on our will.

Faith

Trust or dependence on God based on the fact that we take him at his word and believe what he has said (see also “saving faith”).

“In Jesus’ Name”

Refers to prayer made on Jesus’ authorization and consistent with his character.

Mediator

The role that Jesus plays in coming between God and us, enabling us to come into the presence of God.

Prayer

Personal communication from us to God.

Angel

A created spiritual being with moral judgment and high intelligence but without a physical body.

Archangel

An angel with authority over other angels.

Cherubim

A class of created spiritual beings who once guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden and over whom God is enthroned.

Demon Possession

A misleading phrase found in some English translations of the Bible that seems to suggest that a person’s will is completely dominated by a demon. The Greek term daimonizomai is better translated “under demonic influence,” which could range from mild to strong influence or attack.

Demonized

To be under demonic influence (Gk. daimonizomai); in the New Testament, the term often suggests more extreme cases of demonic influence.

Demons

Evil angels who sinned against God and who now continually work evil in the world.