Was the church of Christ established on the day of Pentecost? Or was it established at some earlier time in human history?

“He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” If there is one verse most folks have memorized, it is this one. But what does it really mean?

There is much confusion in the community of “Christendom” as to what constitutes “conversion.” There need not be. A collective consideration of those cases in the book of Acts wonderfully clarifies the matter. Study this theme with us.

Existentialism is the name of a philosophical movement that began in Germany just before World War II. It attempts to probe the meaning of “human existence” apart from divine revelation and its res...

“Jehovah” is a name for God that is found in the American Standard Version (1901) of the Old Testament. The word is actually a hybrid term, composed of four Hebrew consonants, YHWH, and vowel sound...

Knowledge refers to a body of factual data that is received and understood by a rational human being. The acquisition of spiritual knowledge is fundamental to Christianity. The prophets foretold th...

Life may be viewed under two categories — physical life and spiritual life. (a) All biological organisms are characterized by physical “life.” A living creature has independent movement, processes...

This is the name of a figure of speech whereby things are described in human terms. The word derives from the Greek anthropos (man) and morphe (form), hence man-form. 

Because God is “spirit” (Jn....

A “type” (tupos) is a prophetic, pictorial preview, which finds its fulfillment in an “antitype.” Types are grounded in historical events, but they are symbolic in import. These forms of figurative...

The church in Thessalonica was established on Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 17:1ff). After he left the region, he received a report regarding the congregation in Thessalonica, containing b...

Autonomy derives from two roots: auto (“self”) andnomos (“law”). It can have positive or negative connotations.

It’s crucial to remember that man is not autonomous. He is not empowered to rule him...

The word “agnostic” does not appear in the English Bible. The term derives, however, from Greek roots suggesting the idea “not known.”

When Paul visited Athens, he noted that the pagans there had...

The name “Armageddon” derives from a passage in the book of Revelation, where certain opposing forces were gathered at a place called Har-Magedon for a great battle (Rev. 16:16).

It is believed th...

Paul’s great “mystery of godliness,” when unfolded, is rich indeed. It is the gospel in seed form. It is intellectually satisfying, emotionally rewarding, and practically motivating.

The creation was the act of an omnipotent God, speaking into existence, from no previous materials, the entire Universe and everything within it. This concept is unique to Judeo-Christian theology....

Several Hebrew words are rendered by the English “wine,” the most common of which are yayin (134 times) and tirosh (33 times). The basic term for “wine” in the Greek New Testament is oinos (33 time...

From the Greek word eschatos (“last”) comes “eschatology,” a study of “last things” (e.g., the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment day, the end of the world, heaven,...

A “mediator” is a “go-between” (from mesos, “middle” and eimi “to go”). Ideally, the role of a mediator is to work for the reconciliation of parties that have become estranged. (a) Moses was a medi...

The Greek word paradeisos derives from the Persian term pairidaeza, which meant an enclosure, a royal park, a garden with a wall. In the Greek Old Testament (LXX) the term is employed of the garden...

This expression takes its rise from the language employed by Christ in his conversation with Nicodemus (Jn. 3:1ff). The facts regarding the “new birth” are these. (a) It is an absolutely essential ...