MSCE Bible Knowledge key terms

God making himself and his will known to people. Christians distinguish general revelation through creation and conscience from special revelation through Scripture, prophets, and supremely through Jesus Christ.

The work of the Holy Spirit by which the biblical writers were guided so that Scripture truly conveys God's message. It explains why the Bible is treated as authoritative for faith and conduct.

The recognised list of books accepted as Scripture. The Old Testament canon was settled in Jewish tradition; the New Testament's 27 books were widely acknowledged by the fourth century.

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made in the centuries before Christ, mainly in Egypt. It was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews and by the New Testament writers when quoting the Old Testament.

A group of Jewish books written between the Old and New Testaments. They appear in the Septuagint and Catholic Bibles but are not accepted as canonical by Protestant churches, though they are valued for background.

The belief that Scripture, in its original writings and when rightly interpreted, contains no error in what it teaches. It is held by many evangelicals but understood and qualified in different ways.

The principles and methods used to interpret a text. Biblical hermeneutics considers literary genre, historical setting, and the whole sweep of Scripture so that a passage is applied correctly today.

Careful reading of a Bible passage to draw out its original meaning, attending to language, context and genre. It is contrasted with eisegesis, where the reader reads their own ideas into the text.

The Latin phrase for 'image of God'. Genesis teaches that human beings alone are made in God's likeness, giving them unique dignity, moral responsibility, and a calling to represent God's rule over creation.

God's free act of bringing the universe into being out of nothing and ordering it by his word. Genesis 1-2 presents it as good, purposeful, and dependent on the Creator at every moment.

The disobedience of Adam and Eve in Eden, described in Genesis 3, which brought sin, shame, estrangement from God, and death into human experience and affected the whole created order.

The teaching that human sinfulness begins with Adam's disobedience and is shared by all people, so that everyone is born into a condition of estrangement from God and inclined to sin.

A binding agreement in which God commits himself to a people and sets out their obligations. The Bible records covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the new covenant fulfilled in Christ.

The founding fathers of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with Joseph prominent in the closing chapters of Genesis. Their stories show God's promises working through flawed human families.

The deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt under Moses, including the plagues and the crossing of the sea. It becomes the model of God's saving action throughout Scripture.

The annual festival remembering how God spared Israelite households marked with lamb's blood on the night they left Egypt. Christians connect its themes of sacrifice and deliverance with Christ.

The Ten Commandments given through Moses at Sinai, setting out duties toward God and toward neighbour. They form the moral core of Israel's covenant and remain central in Christian ethics.

The Hebrew term for instruction or law, referring to the first five books of the Bible. It contains Israel's laws, narratives and covenant teaching and is read liturgically in synagogues.

Belief in one God only. Israel's confession that the LORD alone is God, sharpened during the exile, contrasts with the polytheism of surrounding nations and with traditional African veneration of many spirits.

A person called by God to speak his word to a particular situation, often calling for repentance, justice and covenant faithfulness. Old Testament prophets also spoke of future judgement and restoration.

The deportation of Judah's people to Babylon in the sixth century BC after Jerusalem fell. It tested Israel's faith, reshaped its worship and produced much prophetic and psalm literature.

The Hebrew word for 'anointed one', a royal figure expected to restore Israel. Christians identify Jesus as the Messiah, translating the title as 'Christ' and reading the Old Testament promises as fulfilled in him.

God's reign, announced and inaugurated by Jesus in his preaching, healings and table fellowship. It is both present in his ministry and awaited in fullness at the end of the age.

A short story drawn from everyday life, used by Jesus to teach about God and his kingdom. Parables often surprise or disturb hearers and call for a response rather than merely conveying information.

The study of who Jesus is and what he does, including his identity as Son of God and Son of Man, his humanity and divinity, and the meaning of his death and resurrection.

The Christian belief that the eternal Son of God became a human being in Jesus of Nazareth, fully sharing our humanity without ceasing to be divine, as taught in John's Gospel.

The way Christ's death deals with human sin and restores people to God. The New Testament uses images of sacrifice, ransom, reconciliation and victory to explain its meaning.

God raising Jesus bodily from the dead on the third day, the central claim of apostolic preaching. It confirms his identity, vindicates his teaching and grounds Christian hope for life beyond death.

God's declaration that a sinner is in the right with him, received through faith in Christ rather than by works of the law. It was the key issue of the Reformation debates.

God's undeserved favour freely given to people who cannot earn it. In the epistles it describes both the basis of salvation in Christ and the sustaining power for Christian living.

Trust in God and in Christ for salvation, producing obedience and endurance. The New Testament contrasts it with reliance on law-keeping and presents it as the way people are made right with God.

The covenant promised by prophets like Jeremiah and inaugurated by Christ's death, in which sins are forgiven and God's law is written on the heart rather than merely on stone.

The Jewish harvest festival on which the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Jerusalem, empowering them for witness and marking a decisive beginning of the Church's mission in Acts.

The third person of the Trinity, active in creation, prophecy and the life of Jesus, and given to believers to empower witness, produce character and build up the Church.

The community of people belonging to Christ, described as his body and the people of God. The word is used both of local congregations and of the whole body of believers.

The spread of the gospel beyond Jewish communities to non-Jews, defended by Paul and settled at the Jerusalem council. It shaped the Church's identity as open to all peoples without circumcision.

The ongoing work of God's Spirit in making believers holy in character and conduct after they come to faith, involving moral effort, community accountability and growth in love.

Reflection on what is right and good and how people should live. Christian ethics grounds moral norms in God's character and Scripture, and applies them with wisdom to concrete situations.

Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5-7 on the character and conduct of kingdom people, including the Beatitudes, teaching on love of enemies, prayer, money and judging others.

The command to treat others with the same care one wants for oneself, affirmed by Jesus as second only to love of God and applied in the parable of the Good Samaritan to outsiders and enemies.

The indigenous religious systems of African peoples, typically involving belief in a supreme being, veneration of ancestors and spirits, ritual, and community-centred moral order.

Departed relatives honoured in many African traditions as mediators between the living and the spirit world. Their veneration raises questions for Christians about loyalty to Christ and the communion of saints.

The blending of beliefs and practices from different religions. In Malawi it describes Christians combining biblical faith with traditional rituals, which churches often debate as a pastoral and theological issue.

Expressing the Christian faith within a particular culture, using local language, music and customs while remaining faithful to the gospel, a major theme in Malawian church history.

The translation of Scripture into Chichewa, the main language of Malawi, which made the Bible accessible to ordinary believers and shaped literacy and church life in the region.