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Ask FGBC #42: What Words Aren't In The Bible But Help Protect Its Teachings?

Jim Butler · 2025-05-10 · 928 words · 7 min

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Okay, what are maybe six to 10 
words that aren't in the Bible that help protect its meaning? 
And this has come up a few times in our theology study recently, 
right? So I thought, hey, let's record this. What are those handful 
of words? For the Trinity and the discussion? Okay, okay. Yeah, I guess there's other words 
like inerrancy, there's canon, there's the omni words. Yeah, yeah. Well, with that question, 
yeah, the first word that immediately comes to mind is the word Trinity. 
That's a word not used in the Bible, outside of the Bible, 
which of probably the entire list, that is probably the most 
important one. And, you know, it reflects the 
Christian Church articulating what the Bible says in order 
to protect what the Bible says, and usually in these sorts of 
cases, against error. Words like this that are given Words like Trinity that are given 
by men are usually forged within the fires of controversy. And 
so they're faced with those who are opposing what the Bible teaches, 
and so they use words outside of the Bible to protect what's 
in the Bible. And Trinity is a perfect example 
in order to, it's a blessed word that reflects the reality that 
the Bible teaches that there is one God who does eternally 
exist as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And it's a very helpful 
word to not only positively present the doctrine of God, but also 
negatively, apologetically, and polemically defend the truth 
of the Bible, that God himself reveals in the Bible that he 
is one. And he is one in one sense and 
three in another sense. If you're just asking for a list 
of words with the assumption that people are going to go find 
the meanings, I would say when it comes to Trinity discussion, 
yeah, inseparable operations, appropriations, missions, notions, consubstantiality, the omnipresent, 
omniscient, omnipotent, Yeah. There's not a lot. You know, again, the illiteracy 
on the doctrine of God, it's really It's not justifiable. The Saturday morning book we're 
presently studying is Scott Swain's Introduction to the Trinity. 
I did a page count the other day. It's 137 pages. I mean, 
we have all these modern conveniences. We got phones that do everything. 
We got washing machines that don't happen to be our wives. 
We got dishwasher. We can't find time to read a 
137-page book. Partitive exegesis is another one. Partitive exegesis. Definitely look that one up. 
I haven't learned that one yet in a few years of theology. Basically, 
it's ascribing to Christ, the one person of Christ in two natures. He does things according to his 
humanity. He does things according to his 
divinity. That's partitive exegesis. So, 
you're familiar with the concept. You just didn't know that identifier. 
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and Jim mentioned 
consubstantiality after the word Trinity. That's probably one 
of the most important words in the history of the church. And 
the use of an extra biblical term like that or a word outside 
of the Bible, what we have seen in the history of the church 
is that heretics, errorists, those who oppose truth, very 
often oppose the use of extra-biblical words. And one of the reasons 
that they oppose them is that they can't then dishonestly handle 
the Word of God. Because at the time, for example, 
of the Nicene Creed, One of the points of opposition by the Arians 
was the use of words outside of the Bible to protect what 
was inside of the Bible. The defenders of Nicene theology, 
or we could simply say the defenders of Christianity, the defenders 
of truth of what the Bible says, very quickly learned that the 
Aryans, for example, and the radical Aryans, the Unomians 
that would follow them, were using the Bible, using the simplicity, 
we could say the naked words of the Bible, in order to try 
to articulate and defend their heretical notions of what they 
thought the truth was. And obviously they're mishandling 
the Bible in so doing and not articulating what the Bible, 
what God in his word is actually communicating. But the defenders 
of truth very quickly realized that, you know, God has given 
us language. He has given us his spirit and 
the use of our words in order to articulate what the Bible 
says with regards to important aspects of doctrine. And if we 
just simply think about the act of preaching, if we weren't allowed 
to use words outside of the Bible, we would never be able to preach 
a sermon. We wouldn't be able to pray to God in any way other 
than by words which are inside of the Bible. And so God expects 
and anticipates, and we might even say in the scriptures that 
we have apostolic command to use words outside of the Bible 
to protect it, earnestly contend for the faith. which was once 
for all delivered to the saints. And so words like this are absolutely 
important and we have received throughout the centuries a theological 
grammar that has been handed down to us by men who have vigorously 
defended the truth against error. Yeah. I'd say causes and consequences, 
too. When you get to justification, 
what's a cause? What's a consequence? Basic grammar 
terms. Yeah. Basic stuff. You know, so many of our problems 
in theology are bypassing basic stuff. Am I justified because 
I believed? No, I'm justified through faith 
in the object believed on. There's causes and consequences, 
or causes and effects, or, you know, the big stuff.