Glossary

Absolute

God is most absolute in that He depends upon nothing outside Himself and is bound by nothing but His own perfect nature. He is not conditioned, limited, or determined by any external thing, for all things derive from Him while He derives from none. His being and His decrees rest entirely upon His own free and sovereign will.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity, Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree, Chapter 4 - Of Creation

Angels and Men

The rational created beings who are the subjects of God's eternal decree of predestination. In Reformed theology, God's sovereign plan extends beyond the human race to include the angelic realm: some angels are elected and preserved in their holy state, while others are permitted to fall and are foreordained to everlasting punishment. This underscores the total scope of God’s cosmic governance.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity, Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree

Apocrypha

A collection of ancient Jewish books written during the 400 years of prophetic silence following Malachi and before John the Baptist. They were not divinely inspired and were never rightly received as Scripture, though Rome's Council of Trent erroneously elevated them to canonical status in 1546 in direct contradiction of the historic position of the church. They are to be used no differently than any other helpful human writings.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

Aseity

The attribute by which God exists of and from Himself, owing His being to nothing outside Himself. The word comes from the Latin a se, meaning "from oneself." God alone is self-existent and underived; He is the uncaused source of all things and depends upon nothing, while all else depends entirely upon Him. It is closely bound to His all-sufficiency and independence.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity References: Institutes of the Christian Religion

Assurance of Salvation

The subjective certainty, wrought by the Holy Spirit, that a believer is in a state of grace and eternally elected to life. According to the Westminster Standards, this assurance is not a matter of guessing at the secret will of God, but is drawn from the objective promises of scripture, the witness of the Holy Spirit, and the observable fruit of one's effectual calling (faith, repentance, and sincere obedience).

Appears in: Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree

Authentical

The original Old Testament manuscripts were written in Hebrew and the New Testament manuscripts in Greek. Because God directly inspired these documents, they are the definitive and final authority in all matters of faith. While translations are valuable and necessary, the church must ultimately appeal to these original languages when serious controversies arise.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Authority of Scripture

The Bible, as the Word of God, has the complete right to demand our belief and command our obedience. This authority does not come from the church, from scholars, or from any human endorsement, but from God alone. It carries full authority simply because God Himself is its author, and God cannot lie or be mistaken.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

Canon of Scripture

The fixed, authoritative rule of faith and life consisting exclusively of the sixty-six inspired books of the Old and New Testaments. The true church does not create, choose, or give authority to the canon; rather, it simply recognizes and formalizes the specific books that God has uniquely given by divine inspiration.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

Godhead

The divine nature or Deity—the one, undivided, infinite essence that is God. The single Godhead subsists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who are one in substance, power, and eternity. To speak of the Godhead is to speak of the fullness of what it is to be God.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

Good and Necessary Consequence

Not every Christian doctrine appears word-for-word in the Bible. Some truths must be drawn out by carefully reasoning from what Scripture clearly teaches. The Reformed principle of good and necessary consequence holds that a doctrine carries full biblical authority whether it is explicitly stated in the text or logically and necessarily follows from what the text says. The doctrine of the Trinity is the classic example: the word never appears in Scripture, yet the doctrine is clearly taught there.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

High Mystery

The designation given by the Confession to the doctrine of predestination, indicating that it is a profound truth of God that transcends human comprehension and must be approached with "special prudence and care." Rather than a subject for speculative debate or philosophical speculation, this high mystery is intended to produce humility, diligence, praise, and comfort when handled in accordance with the revealed Word of God.

Appears in: Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree

Holy Ghost

An older designation for the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. He is fully and equally God with the Father and the Son, eternally proceeding from both, and is no less divine for being named last in order. "Ghost" here means simply "Spirit," following older English, and implies nothing impersonal or lesser.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity, Chapter 4 - Of Creation

Immutable

Unchangeable in His being, perfections, purposes, and promises. God neither grows nor diminishes, neither learns nor forgets, neither improves nor decays, for He is already and eternally perfect. His immutability is the ground of all confidence in His Word, since what He has decreed and promised can never alter.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity, Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree References: Institutes of the Christian Religion

Incomprehensible

Not that God is unknowable, but that He can never be fully comprehended or exhaustively grasped by any finite mind. The creature may truly know God as He reveals Himself, yet never completely, for the infinite can never be contained by the finite. We know Him truly, but not totally.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

Inerrancy

Because God is the author of Scripture and God cannot lie, the original manuscripts of the Bible were completely true and entirely free from error of any kind. We do not possess these originals today, but God in His providence has preserved the biblical text so faithfully through copying and transmission that we can know with confidence what the originals said and trust our translations as a reliable and trustworthy rendering of His Word.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Infallible

Where inerrancy speaks to the factual accuracy of the original manuscripts, infallibility speaks to the Bible's complete trustworthiness as our guide for faith and life. Because God cannot deceive, His Word will never mislead us, though we may certainly mislead ourselves through careless or faithless reading of it.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1), Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1, Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

Inspiration

Inspiration refers to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit breathing out God's Word through chosen human authors. The biblical writers were not robots or passive dictation machines. God worked through their genuine personalities, languages, and experiences so that every word they wrote was truly theirs, and yet every word was also truly God's. The result is a Bible that is fully human in its expression and fully divine in its authority.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1), Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1 References: The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible

Natural Revelation

God has revealed Himself to every human being through the created world and the works of His providence. This revelation is real and true: it communicates genuine knowledge of God's existence, power, goodness, and wisdom. However, it is not saving knowledge. Natural revelation leaves every person without excuse before God on the day of judgment, but it cannot tell us who Christ is, how sinners are forgiven, or what we must do to be saved. It is enough to condemn, but not to save.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

Omniscience

God's perfect and complete knowledge of all things—past, present, and future, actual and possible. He knows all things immediately, eternally, and infallibly, never learning and never forgetting. Nothing is hidden from Him and nothing is uncertain to Him, for His knowledge is, as the Confession says, infinite and independent of the creature.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

Passed Over for Death

Also termed reprobation or preterition, this refers to God's sovereign decision, according to His unsearchable counsel, to pass by the non-elect in the distribution of saving grace and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sins. In Westminster theology, this act manifests God's absolute sovereignty and holy justice, ensuring that while salvation is an act of pure mercy, condemnation is a righteous judgment for human rebellion.

Appears in: Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree

Persons

In Trinitarian language, the three distinct subsistences within the one divine essence—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They are not three gods, nor three parts of God, nor three names for one person, but three who are genuinely distinct yet share fully and equally the one undivided substance. The distinction among the persons lies in their eternal relations, not in any difference of nature or being.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

Perspicuity

The Bible is clear. The core truths necessary for salvation are presented so plainly in Scripture that any person, educated or not, can understand them through ordinary reading and hearing of the Word read and preached. This does not mean every passage is equally easy to interpret or that difficult texts do not exist. It means that no one needs a priest, a pope, or a scholarly elite to unlock the Bible's saving message for them. The gospel is accessible to all.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Praise to God

The ultimate end and purpose of all of God's decrees, particularly the predestination of the elect to everlasting life. This doctrine is designed to strip human beings of all pride and boasting, leading them instead to a state of profound gratitude, worship, and admiration of God's free grace, mercy, and unchangeable love in Christ Jesus.

Appears in: Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree

Predestined Unto Life

Also known as election, this is God's eternal, unchangeable, and unconditional choice of certain individuals to be saved and brought to everlasting glory. This decree is made before the foundation of the world, out of God's mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, good works, or perseverance in the creature as a condition or cause, and is executed through all the necessary means of salvation (redemption, calling, justification, adoption, sanctification, and preservation).

Appears in: Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree

Preservation

Despite centuries of hand-copying across thousands of manuscripts (transmission), God in His providence has kept His Word pure and intact. Minor variations exist between manuscripts, but none affect any doctrine of the faith. The church today possesses an abundance of manuscript evidence, far more than any other ancient document, giving us every confidence that we know what the original texts said. God did not inspire His Word only to lose it. He who gave us Scripture has faithfully kept it.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Rule of Faith

Because God is the single author of Scripture, the Bible never contradicts itself. This means the Bible is its own best interpreter. When a passage is difficult or obscure, the answer is not to look to church tradition or human reason as the final word, but to compare that passage with other parts of Scripture that speak more clearly on the same subject. Difficult texts are always interpreted in light of clearer ones, never the other way around.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1), Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Sanctified Wisdom

Scripture does not answer every practical question the church will face. For matters the Bible leaves open, church officers are called to apply their knowledge of the Word, their God-given wisdom, and their care for their congregation to make faithful decisions. These decisions are not binding declarations and must always remain subject to Scripture.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

Self-Sufficiency

God is entirely complete and perfect within Himself. He lacks absolutely nothing and has no needs, weaknesses, or dependencies that must be fulfilled by anyone or anything outside of Himself.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity

Sola Scriptura

Scripture alone is the final and supreme authority over the faith and life of the church. We can value tradition, creeds, and confessions as useful and faithful summaries of biblical teaching, they carry no independent authority of their own. No council, no pope, no elder, and no tradition can bind the conscience where Scripture has not spoken.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1), Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Sovereignty

God's absolute, supreme, and unchallengeable authority and dominion over the entire universe.

Appears in: Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity, Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree

Special Revelation

God's voluntary condescension to actively step in and communicate His character, His specific will, and the plan of salvation directly to His chosen people. Historically given 'at sundry times, and in divers manners' through methods like dreams, visions, and the prophets, it has now been fully and permanently committed to writing in the Holy Scriptures.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

Spirit

A being without body or material parts, immaterial and invisible. To confess God as "a most pure spirit" affirms that He has no physical form and is not composed of parts, but is simple, whole, and undivided in His being. As spirit, He is present everywhere and is perceived not by the senses but known through His revelation.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1), Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1, Chapter 2 - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity, Chapter 3 - Of God’s Eternal Decree, Chapter 4 - Of Creation

Sufficiency of Scripture

The Bible contains everything necessary for salvation and godly living. God has given us in Scripture the complete counsel of His will for His glory, our salvation, and our daily lives. Because Scripture is fully sufficient, nothing may be added to it. We do not need new revelation. We need faithful obedience to the revelation we already have.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1), Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Supreme Judge

When religious controversies arise, something must serve as the final word. For the Reformed church that final word is not a pope, a council, or a private spiritual experience. It is the Holy Spirit speaking through the written Scripture. This means that every theological debate, every church ruling, and every theological claim must ultimately be brought to the bar of Scripture and settled there.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

The Light of Nature

See Natural Revelation

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1)

Translation

Because God desires all people to know Him and be saved, the Bible must be translated into the everyday languages of every nation. Translation is not optional or merely practical. It is a mandate rooted in God's own desire for His people to know Him. The original Hebrew and Greek texts carry full divine authority, but God never intended His Word to be locked away behind scholarly barriers. Every person, regardless of education or social standing, deserves access to Scripture in a language they can read and understand.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Transmission

Transmission refers to the process by which the biblical text has been copied and handed down across centuries. Before the printing press, every Bible was copied by hand, one manuscript at a time, across thousands of years and multiple continents. This was an entirely human process involving real scribes who made occasional minor errors.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1

Vulgar Language

The common, everyday native language spoken by the ordinary, local population of a given nation (such as English, Aramaic, or German, rather than scholarly Latin, Hebrew, or ancient Greek). This is the language into which the scriptures must be translated so the Word can dwell plentifully in all.

Appears in: Chapter 1 - Of the Holy Scripture (Part 1) 1