Legalism The term legalism is defined as striving to gain the approbation (attention or approval) of God, for salvation, by human good works. Legalism is the trend of mankind’s sin nature that makes futile attempts through human efforts to earn salvation, spirituality, or the approbation of God by some system of strict conformity to a code of conduct, ethics, religion,…
Lapsarianism Lapsarianism means fall and refers to humanity’s fallen condition and the five decrees of God in eternity past, before He created anything. The five decrees are related to election and are often referred to as elective decrees. At any point in eternity past, God is. Before God created the universe and all that it contains, there was God the…
Lake of Fire The lake of fire was originally created for Satan and fallen angels, but is also the destination of all unbelievers (Matthews 25:41). It is both literal and eternal.
Kenosis Kenosis is the voluntary restriction of a divine attribute, such as power or knowledge (this is why only the Father knows the time of the rapture). During his incarnation (His earthly ministry in the flesh), Christ voluntarily restricted the use of His divine attributes, which include omnipotence—His power (and this action is called kenosis in the Greek). Reference our…
Justification Justification is a judicial act of vindication whereby God imputes His perfect righteousness to the new believer at the point of salvation (faith in the cross-work of Christ). God’s righteousness is imputed forever to every believer at the instant of faith in Christ (Romans 3:20-28), and we are justified and accepted forever, in God the Father’s eyes, as a…
Justice Justice is an attribute of God that describes God’s infinite and perfect fairness, whether in judgment or blessing.
Judgment Seat of Christ This is God’s judgment or evaluation of believers only, and is based on the execution of God’s Pre-Designed Plan for the believer, or the failure to execute said plan. The purpose is to cleanse by fire all human good and separate human good from divine good. It is based on rewards or loss of rewards for…
Integrity of God God’s integrity is based on His righteousness and His justice. God’s integrity is defined by His attributes which form His holiness. God’s righteousness is the principle of his integrity while His justice is the function of His integrity. Divine integrity is, therefore, infinite, perfect, eternal, unchangeable, and incomprehensible apart from God revealing Himself to humanity through Bible…
Inspiration Inspiration means God-breathed. God-breathed means the Holy Spirit supernaturally directed the human writers of Scripture so that without wavering their individual intelligence, literary style, personal feelings, or any other human factor, they wrote God’s complete and coherent message to humanity with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture, the very words bearing the absolute authority of divine authorship….
Inordinate Desire Inordinate desire is the lust to exalt oneself above others, without regard for them or God, and self-promotion, even if harm to others is necessary. This is a manifestation of the infestation of arrogance in humanity’s nature. Inordinate desire originated with Lucifer who became Satan at his fall in eternity past (Ezekiel 28:12-15). Inordinate desire becomes narcissistic, enamored…
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit At salvation, the Holy Spirit permanently takes up residency in the church–age believer. The believer’s body is transformed into God’s temple for the simultaneous indwelling of Jesus Christ. Reference the term “Shekinah Glory.”
Incarnation Incarnation refers to the time Jesus Christ lived on earth in Hypostatic Union.
Imputation There are various types of imputation from God. The imputation of sin imputed to all men; the imputation of righteousness imputed to all believers at salvation. Imputation is an action of God involving condemnation or blessing. Therefore, imputation is the function of God’s justice, which is a characteristic of God’s essence. (Reference our study on Divine Essence, and Romans…
Imprecatory Prayer Example: Imprecatory prayer for justice because of antagonism, hostility, persecution, or terrorism directed toward those involved.
Virtue Love Virtue love emphasizes the character of the subject, rather than the object, as in Romans 5:8. God’s love is a manifestation of His divine character – it is who and what God is in His very being.
Impeccability of Christ The impeccability of Christ refers to the doctrine that Christ did not sin during the incarnation. He remained free from all three categories of sin in the human race: inherent sin (He had no sin nature); imputed sin; and personal sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15). The impeccability of Christ relates to the Hypostatic Union. See term…
Immutability Immutability = unchanging. Immutability is an attribute of God, which describes His inability to change—only God is consistent. In His absoluteness, He cannot change because He is complete within Himself, and a perfect being (Exodus 3:14; Malachi 3:6).
Imminence Imminence means something could occur at any moment. The Rapture is considered to be imminent.
Immediate Creation The direct creative act of God, apart from intermediate agents or means. Adam was created immediately by God as is the soul of every human being. Reference the terms “Mediate Creation” and “Soul Life.”
The Image of God The image of God is reflected in the immaterial, invisible essence of mankind—the soul. The very pattern God used when He created mankind… was Himself. Our essence includes volition, emotion, self-consciousness, conscience, and mentality. Reference the definition for “Soul Life.”