Theological Dictionary

Law

     The Law is God's instructions concerning the moral, social, and spiritual behavior of His people found in the first five books of the Bible. The Law is the very reflection of the nature of God because God speaks out of the abundance of what is in Him. Therefore, since God is pure, the Law is pure. Since God is holy, the Law is holy. The Law consists of the 10 commandments (Exodus 20), rules for social life (Exodus 21:1-23:33), and rules for the worship of God (Exodus 25:1-31:18). It was a covenant of works between God and man and was (and is) unable to deliver us into eternal fellowship with the Lord because of Man's inability to keep it. The Law is a difficult taskmaster because it requires that we maintain a perfect standard of moral behavior. And then when we fail, the Law condemns us to death. We deserve death even if we fail to keep just one point of the law: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10).

     The law made nothing perfect (Hebrews 7:19). That is why the Law has shown us our need for Jesus and the free gift we receive through Him (Galatians 3:24).

Man

     Man is the creation of God. It is man alone who reflects God. The first man, Adam, was made in God's image (Genesis 1:26, 27), and placed in the Garden of Eden for the purpose of enjoying the fellowship of the Lord and fulfilling the purpose of God's creation. He was told to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 2:28). When Adam and Eve sinned, all of humanity fell with them (Romans 5:12-21). Adam represented all humanity: "In Adam all die..." (1 Corinthians 15:22). As a result of Adam's disobedience, condemnation resulted to all men (Romans 5:18). Therefore we are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). We do not seek God (Romans 3:11) nor can we understand the spiritual things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Since this is the condition of man in his natural state, salvation is then impossible for us to achieve (Matthew 19:26). That is why we need the free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23) given by God to Christians through faith in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Mediation, Mediator

     A mediator is someone who intervenes, someone who conveys and conciliates. The word "mediator" is not found in the O.T., but its principle is. God gave the Law to the people through a mediator, Moses (Galatians 3:19), who was a type of the true mediator, Jesus. The word occurs only a few times in the N.T.: 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24. It is in the N.T. that the true nature of mediation is understood in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the mediator of a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6). He was able to become our mediator by becoming man (John 1:1,14) and dying as our substitute (1 Peter 1:18,19; 2:24). He reconciled us to God (Ephesians 2:16).

Mercy

     Mercy is the act of not meeting justice when that justice is punitive. Because of our sinfulness we deserve death and eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23; Isaiah 59:2), but God provided an atonement for sin and through it shows us mercy. That is, He does not deliver to the Christian the natural consequence of his sin which is damnation. That is why Jesus became sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21) and bore the punishment due to us (Isaiah 53:4-5). It was to deliver us from damnation. (Compare with justice and grace.)

     God saved us according to His mercy (Titus 3:5) and we can practice mercy as a gift (Romans 12:8). "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Messiah

     Messiah is a Hebrew word. It means "anointed one." It is the equivalent of the N.T. word "Christ" which also means "anointed." Jesus, as the messiah, was anointed by God (Matthew 3:16) to carry out His three-fold ministry of Prophet, Priest, and King. As the messiah He has delivered the Christian from the bonds of sin and given to him eternal life. In that sense, messiah means deliverer, for He has delivered us. The Messiah was promised in the O.T. in the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).

Millennium

     Literally, this word means 1000 years. In the study of end times doctrines (eschatology) the millennium is the duration of Christ's rule over the earth. The debate has been over when the millennium will take place. The terms that have arisen out of this debate are premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. Premillennialism teaches that the millennium is yet future and that upon Christ's return He will set up His earthly kingdom. Amillennialism teaches that the millennium is a figurative period and that Christ's rule began when He first became man. Postmillennialism teaches that through the preaching of the Word of God, the world will be converted and will then usher in Christ and the kingdom of God. There are good arguments for each position.

Miracle

     A miracle is an out-of-the-ordinary direct and divine intervention in the world. Examples would be the parting of the Red Sea, Jesus walking on water, the resurrection of Lazarus, etc. Some hold that it is a violation of the natural order of physical laws. Others maintain that there is no such violation upon God's part but only a natural manifestation of His work.

     They are also known as powers and signs (Mark 9:39; Acts 2:22, 19:11) and mighty works (John 10:25-38). They are a manifestation of the power of God over nature (Josh. 10:12-14), animals (Numbers 22:28), people (Genesis 19:26), and illness (2 Kings 5:10-14). They are produced by God's power (Acts 15:12), Christ's power (Matthew 10:1), and the Holy Spirit's power (Matthew 12:28).

Monergism

     The teaching that God alone is the one who saves. It is opposed to synergism which teaches that God and man work together in salvation. Cults are synergistic. Christianity is monergistic.

Monophycitism

     This is an error regarding the two natures of Jesus (See Hypostatic Union). It states that Jesus' two natures are combined into one new one; the problem here is that neither God nor man was represented in Christ but a new third thing. (Other errors regarding the two natures of Christ are Nestorianism and Eutychianism.)

Monolatry

     The belief that there is more than one God, but only one is served and worshiped. Mormonism is an excellent example of monolatry. It teaches the existence of many Gods of many worlds, yet worships only the one of this planet. Therefore, monolatry is a division of polytheism, the belief in many gods. It is a false teaching contrary to Scripture. See Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5-6.

Monotheism

     The belief that there is only one God in all places at all times. There were none before God and there will be none after Him. Monotheism is the teaching of the Bible (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8).

Nestorianism

     States that the two natures of Christ were so separated from each other that they were "not in contact"; the problem here is that worship of the human Jesus would then not be allowed. (See also Hypostatic Union, Eutychianism, and Monophycitism.)

Occult

     Occult means "hidden". It covers practices that are not approved of by God e.g., astrology (Isaiah 47:13), casting spells (Deuteronomy 18:11), consulting with spirits (Deuteronomy 18:11), magic (Genesis 41:8), sorcery (Exodus 22:8), witchcraft (Deuteronomy 18:10), and spiritism (Deuteronomy 18:11).

     Occult practices such as Ouija boards, tarot cards, astrology charts, contacting the dead, seances, etc. are to be avoided by the Christian.

Omnipotence

     An attribute of God alone. It is the quality of having all power (Psalm 115:3). He can do all things that do not conflict with His holy nature. God has the power to do anything He wants to.

Omnipresence

     An attribute of God alone. It is the quality of being present in all places at all times (Jeremiah 23:23,24). He is not bound by time and space. This does not mean that nature is a part of God and is, therefore, to be worshiped. Creation is separate from God, but not independent of Him.

Omniscience

     An attribute of God alone. It is the quality of having all knowledge (Isaiah 40:14). Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience represent the nature of God concerning His relation to the creation.

Oracles

     Oracles are the divine revelations given to God's people. God's method of communicating these oracles varied from dreams and visions (Numbers 12:6-8), to wisdom (Proverbs 30:1), and even the Urim and Thummim (Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 14:3-37).¹

Original Sin

     This is a term used to describe the effect of Adam's sin on his descendants (Romans 5:12-23). Specifically, it is our inheritance of a sinful nature from Adam. The sinful nature originated with Adam and is passed down from parent to child. We are by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 3:2).

1. The Urim and Thummim were placed in the breastplate of the high priest (Exodus 28:30) and were used as a means of communication with God. They mean "light" and "perfection". Unfortunately, they are not described anywhere in the Bible. Some theories maintain that they were twelve stones that made up part of the high priests garments. The process of the communication with God is not given either.