For Christians a word is worth a thousand pictures. I remember when I started taking New
Testament Greek in seminary and discovering, to my surprise, that I already
knew many of the Biblical terms from listening to sermons and teaching. Here are just a few such Biblical terms that
hold importance for believers:
Agape: This word means love
(KJV: charity). Though it may refer to the love a husband has
for his wife (cf. Ephesians 5:25:
“Husbands love your wives…”), in the New Testament it more often has the
technical meaning of love among Christian brothers, rooted in the love that
Christ has demonstrated for believers (see the New Commandment in John
14:34-35). The great “love chapter” is
found in 1 Corinthians 13.
Christos: This word means The
Anointed One, Christ, or Messiah. It was
the key title that the early disciples gave to Jesus. Peter made this confession to Jesus: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God” (Matthew 16:16).
Diakonos: The basic meaning of
this word is servant or minister (in the informal sense of one who ministers or
serves the needs of others). It is
likely used in this way to describe Phoebe of Cenchrea (Romans 16:1) and
Epaphras (Colossians 1:7). The root
sense of the word is one who goes through (dia)
the dust (konos) for others. The term came to have a technical meaning to
refer to the office of deacon in the early church (cf. Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy
3:8-13). The English word “diaconate”
comes from this word and refers to the body of deacons within a church.
Ekklesia: The basic meaning of
this word is assembly or gathering. At
root the term means “the called-out ones.”
In secular Greek it was used to refer to political or public meetings. It is, in fact, used in this way in Acts
19:32 to describe the mob which gathered in the theater at Ephesus, instigated
by the silversmith Demetrius, to oppose Paul.
For Christians it came to be a technical term for their gatherings for
worship and fellowship. It is translated
as “church.” Jesus said: “… I will build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). From this term come English words like
ecclesiastical, meaning “having to do with the church,” and ecclesiology,
meaning “the doctrine of the church.”
Episkopos: This word means bishop or overseer. The word has two roots. The first is the prefix epi- from the preposition meaning “upon” or “over.” Think of English words like epidermal (upon
the skin) or epicenter (over the center).
The second is the verb skopeo,
which means to look at or to watch.
Think of English words like to scope, periscope, microscope, or
telescope. In the New Testament, this
word is used in a technical sense to refer to a church officer who serves as a
teaching elder or pastor in a church (cf. Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1
Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:2). He
watches over the church, as a shepherd watches over a flock, knowing that
Christ is the Chief Shepherd (cf. 1 Peter 5:1-4). From this word there later came terms like
episcopal, referring to a form of church government which posits “bishops” who
preside over various churches. In the
New Testament, however, the bishops did not rule over many congregations but
were local church elders in one distinct assembly.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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