A Vocabulary of Faith

A functional, though not exhaustive, vocabulary of things that stir up my faith. This is an on-going work.

agape—divine love. New Testament counterpart to Old Testament hesed. Faith is energized through this (Galatians 5:6).

baptism—with water, a sign from God indicating that we belong to the body of Christ. With the Holy Spirit, an endowment of power (dunamis) for the purpose of presenting proof regarding the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.

boldness—strength of soul (Psalm 138:3). Comes as a filling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:29-31).

born again—the Greek literally means “born from above,” i.e. from heaven. Happens by an action of the Holy Spirit, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

doubt—the Greek word is diakrino, “divided judgment,” of two minds. Results in instability. Hinders the moving of mountains. Does nothing to bring the answer to prayer.

dream—a communication from a deeper realm, a vignette from the spiritual dimension. Dreams bring to light things thought impossible, or improbable, and bid us to follow on to the place of hope and gladness (Psalm 126:1-3)

expectation—expectation is the sign of a lively and active faith at work. Has faith for its basis.

faith—believing the Word of God and expecting to see it come to pass. The gift of God and fruit of the Spirit. Pleases God. The opposite of fear.

faithfulness—the ability to walk in faith, exercise faith, be full of faith.

fear—the opposite of faith (see faith). Comes from listening to the lies of the devil. Does not come from God, does not please God.

fear of the Lord—to live in absolute awe of God, to love what He loves and hate what He hates, to treasure His favor above all things and avoid His displeasure at all costs, to take pleasure in His word, His will, His ways and His works and to honor them in everything you do.

forgiveness—letting go and letting God deal with a matter. The unwillingness to let offenses keep you from moving forward. Forgiveness is necessary to powerful, effective faith.

fruit of the Spirit—a work of the Holy Spirit in our spirit by which the character of the Lord Jesus Christ comes forth from within us. Organic, not a clip-on. Not an imitation, but a revelation of Christ in us.

glory—the weightiness of God’s greatness and goodness. The substance of heaven manifesting on the earth. Often experienced in palpable ways.

hearing—how faith and fear both come. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God; fear by hearing the lies of the devil.

hope—a positive expectation, a joyful anticipation. (Not “maybe so,” as in “I hope it will happen, but I don’t know”).

kingdom of God—righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Seek this first, and every thing else will be taken care of. Like leaven, a seed, a treasure.

LORD—(all caps) signifies the Hebrew Yahweh, the personal name of God, the name by which He reveals Himself in covenant with His people. Yahweh always keeps His promises.

Lord’s Prayer—the prayer model given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ to teach us how to manifest the substance of the Father’s love—His kingdom and His will—upon the earth.

love—God is love, love gives and serves. Faith works through love (Galatians 5:6). Everything is vain without it.

manifestation—an unveiling, bringing forth into the natural that which already exists in the spiritual.

meditation—self-talk, with the Word of God as its content. Strengthens faith by focusing our attention on God and His promises. Most effective when practiced out loud.

mercy—the Hebrew hesed (pronounced with the guttural ch as in “chanakuh”). It is the covenant love of God, that is, the love by which He covenanted Himself to His people, the promise to always show them His kindness and mercy. The New Testament counterpart is agape, divine love.

mountain moving—accomplished by faith, hindered by unforgiveness, meaningless without love.

mystery—a secret, not one that God is keeping from us, but one that God is revealing to us. For example, he who speaks in tongues, speaks mysteries in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:2). (See revelation)

offense—the Greek word is skandalon, from which we get the word “scandal.” A stumbling-block which impedes forward progress. Can be overcome only by forgiveness.

patience—remaining in faith, regardless of sensual perceptions or circumstances.

praying in the Spirit—an activity of the Holy Spirit engaging with our spirit by which we give praise to God, receive revelation and edify ourselves, all at the same time.

power—the ability to get things done. Greek, dunamis. Power for working miracles. The Good New of the Anointed One is power for every kind of salvation (Romans 1:16). Power flows forth from the Body of Christ (see Luke 8:43-48. Also Matthew 14:34-36).

prosperity—to succeed, excel, go beyond, have more than enough. God’s will for every believer. All grace abounding so that we always have all sufficiency in all things, with abundance for every good work. The prosperity of the outer man corresponds proportionately to the prosperity of the inner man.

rejoice—the Hebrew word gul (or gheel), literally, “to spin.” This kind of rejoicing is whirling and twirling with delight. It comes from trusting in mercy (hesed) of God.

revelation—the ability to see and hear in the spiritual realm. A revelation is an uncovering or manifestation. God reveals Himself to us through many means, including the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.

righteousness—the rightness of God. God’s way of doing and being right. Jesus took our sins to make us right with God. (See kingdom of God)

seed—a container of life that is useless until it is planted. The kingdom of God is a seed that is planted by the Word of God. The Word of God is a seed that is received by faith. Faith is a seed that comes by hearing the Word of God and is activated by agreement and declaration.

salvation—forgiveness of sins, healing of the inner and outer man, deliverance from oppressive influences, prosperity—whatever you need to be restored to wholeness and fellowship with God. The Hebrew word for “salvation” is Yeshua, which is also the Hebrew name for Jesus.

saying—one of the chief ways of releasing faith. “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:23)

spiritual—of the Spirit. The fundamental realm out of which all other reality comes forth.

substance—the underlying reality of a thing. The corresponding Greek word means “title-deed.” Faith is the substance, or title-deed, of things we expect to see.

thanks—acknowledging God and His goodness. What we offer while we patiently watch for the fulfillment of God’s promises to manifest.

truth—the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6), the experience of which sets you free. Never changes (unlike facts, which do change).

will of God—revealed by the Word of God. The pattern of what is happening in heaven, which God intends also to happen on earth. “Faith begins where the will of God is known.”

wisdom—the domain or territory belonging to the wise. Comes by asking God in faith (James 1:5-8), and through the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation (the Holy Spirit).

Word of God—the underlying reality of the universe (Hebrews 11:3) and the basis for faith. Since God is Love (1 John 4:8), the Word of God is also the Word of Love.

worry—meditating on the lies of the devil. Cannot bring about any positive change in your life. Always detrimental.

worship—an activity of the Holy Spirit at work in our spirit by which we declare that Jesus is Lord of all.