|
Speaking Sound
Doctrine |
|||||
V. A Work Of The Church: Worship
Although the gospel is taught when the church gathers for worship, the activities of the assembly are not teaching alone. For example, in the Lord Supper, we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again (1 Corinthians 11:26). However, the bread and fruit of the vine are not mere expediencies for teaching. Remember that expediencies are unspecified optional and discretionary means and methods for conveniently executing a generic command. If the bread and juice are only expedient teaching tools, then we ought to have the authority to use hamburgers and soda pop for teaching tools as well. We ought also have the discretion to not partake of the Lord's Supper at all but teach using some other means or methods. To the contrary, expediencies do not add to or alter the essence of the action in any way. Therefore, the bread and juice of the Lord's Supper are in fact not mere teaching tools, because more than teaching is being accomplished; we are also eating bread and drinking juice. We do not partake of the Lord's Supper as an "expediency" for the generic command to teach the gospel; we partake because we are specifically commanded to do so. For this reason, worship is considered a distinct work of the church apart from teaching the gospel.
Before going further, we should define worship. Investigation will show that there are two senses of worship described in scripture:
● Generally, fulfilling the everyday duties of a righteous life;
● Specially, paying tribute and homage to a divine being.
To explain, there is a sense in which everything an individual Christian does in life is worship to God, if he is shunning evil deeds and engaging in godly behavior. Simply working diligently each day and showing kindness in words and deeds is service to God, bringing Him glory. However, scripture reveals that there is a special way men worship God that is not a mere attribute of normal daily life. This distinction between special worship and everyday service to God is born out in several words of the Greek New Testament most commonly used for the worship of God, defined by Thayer as follows:
● LATREUO {lat-ryoo'-o} [verb form] 1) to serve for hire 2) to serve, minister to, either to the gods or men and used alike of slaves and freemen 2a) in the NT, to render religious service or homage, to worship 2b) to perform sacred services, to offer gifts, to worship God in the observance of the rites instituted for his worship 2b1) of priests, to officiate, to discharge the sacred office. (Acts 24:14).
● LATREIA {lat-ri'-ah} [noun form] 1) service rendered for hire 1a) any service or ministration: the service of God 2) the service and worship of God according to the requirements of the Levitical law 3) to perform sacred services.
● EUSEBEO {yoo-seb-eh'-o} 1) to act piously or reverently 1a) towards God, one's country, magistrates, relations, and all to whom dutiful regard or reverence is due.
● PROSKUNEO {pros-koo-neh'-o} 1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence 2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence 3) in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication 3a) used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank 3a1) to the Jewish high priests 3a2) to God 3a3) to Christ 3a4) to heavenly beings 3a5) to demons.
The essence of LATREUO or LATREIA is serving: doing the desires of another. It is used of both the kind of worship that is the conformance to God's will in the actions of daily life and that which is the performance of appointed special religious rites, as indicated by the context. Note some examples of the 26 times this word family appears in the New Testament (indicated in bold):
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Hebrews 9:9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience --
The essence of EUSEBEO
is to awe. Words in this family are
typically translated "godliness" and "godly," indicating the somberness and respectfulness that would
be expected before kings.
NAU Acts 17:23 "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you."
William Barclay further explains that it is "not confined to the precincts of the church and is not limited to the worship and liturgy and the ritual of the church. True religion begins at home."
The unique essence of PROSKUNEO is to fall, kneel, or bow down at the feet of another: paying homage and obeisance. It is used of offering sacrificial gifts to and petitioning one in authority. The application is consistently of venerating and honoring another by some special act of reverence. Note some examples of the 60 times this word appears in the New Testament (indicated in bold):
Matthew 2:11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "
Matthew 8:2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."
1 Corinthians 14:25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
Revelation 4:10 The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne….
PROSKUNEO is not that form of worship in which we please God in our everyday actions.
Observe our Lord's remarks on
worship to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.
Two fundamental attributes of worship are revealed – spirit and truth:
John 4:19-24 The woman said to Him,… 20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her,… 23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
The word translated
"spirit" is PNEUMA {pnyoo'-mah}. Thayer's
definition includes, "…2a) the rational spirit, the power by which the
human being feels, thinks, decides… 3) a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid
of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing,
desiring, deciding, and acting…."
This indicates worship:
● From the heart, not merely from the lips in pretense (Matthew 15:8);
● With fervor, not perfunctory routine (Acts 12:5).
● In purity, free from carnality and interests of the flesh (Romans 8:1-8).
The word translated
"truth" in John 4:24 is ALETHEIA {al-ay'-thi-a},
for which Thayer gives both an objective and a subjective meaning: "1)
objectively 1a) what is true in any matter under consideration 1a1) truly, in
truth, according to truth 1a2) of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly 1b)
what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and
religious truth 1b1) in the greatest latitude 1b2) the true notions of God
which are open to human reason without his supernatural intervention 1c) the
truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of
his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike
to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the
corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians 2)
subjectively 2a) truth as a personal excellence 2a1) that candour
of mind which is free from affection, pretence,
simulation, falsehood, deceit."
This indicates the following:
● That which is true no matter what (2 Thessalonians 2:10-13; 2 Peter 2);
● That which is authorized in God's word (Matthew 7:21-23; 2 Peter 3:15-17);
● That which is not subject to corrupt human opinions (Mark 7:7-9);
● Worship performed in sincerity and integrity (Matthew 21:23-27);
● Worship not founded upon emotions (James 1:14-16; Colossians 2:4-8);
● Worship not founded upon personal feelings (Proverbs 14:12).
With the meaning of worship and its attributes well defined, let us now observe in scripture the activities of worship we see ordained for the local church as a corporate body distinguished from acts of worship performed by individual Christians.
A more thorough investigation of worship activities within the church and the common controversies involved are covered in a separate study.
We have already briefly discussed the Lord's Supper in order to establish assembled worship as a work of the church separate from teaching. The following passages show that this activity is indeed an appointed sacred service for expressing reverence in the assembled church.
Matthew 26:26-29 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."
1 Corinthians 11:18-30 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it…. 23 …I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup….
Notably, God has ordained and specified that the Lord's Supper is to be observed collectively, when disciples are reverently gathered together for that purpose (Acts 20:3-7).
We previously noted that the Lord's Supper is not an expediency for teaching. This is also applicable to singing. Scripture clearly indicates that we are to teach when we sing, but we are doing more than teaching; we are also singing. If singing is nothing more than an expediency for teaching, then we should also have the authority to use dance or drama as an expedient teaching tool as well. We should also have the option to choose not to sing but utilize some other convenient methods of teaching instead. To the contrary, neither singing, dancing, nor drama are teaching expediencies, because they incorporate additions to the action; we are doing more than only teaching. The church as an assembled body does not sing as an "expediency" for fulfilling the generic command to teach; we sing because we are specifically instructed to do so. Similarly, the church as an assembled body does not dance, perform drama, play musical instruments, or do any other such thing, because we are not instructed to do so. These things are additions, not teaching expediencies.
The following passages show that singing spiritual songs is indeed an ordained sacred service for expressing reverence, supplication, and an offering to God.
Ephesians 5:18-20 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:16, 17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Hebrews 2:12 …Saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."
Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Revelation 15:3, 4 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested."
Prayer is perhaps the purest form of worship. From the heart, words of honor, praise, adoration, reverence, and thanksgiving are simply expressed. In prayer, supplication is made to Him whom the speaker acknowledges as having the power to work in him and the sovereign rule over the universe. Unsurprisingly, Luke records many instances of prayer among early church gatherings.
Acts 4:24-31 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them…. 29 Now, Lord,… grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word…." 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Acts 12:5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
Acts 13:1-3 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
Acts 14:23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
1 Timothy 2:8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
Some Christians today, disparaging orderliness and routine in assembled worship services, are claiming that giving is not a commanded act of worship for the church as a body. In rebuttal, examine the words of Paul to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 16:1, 2 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
They claim that the only reason the church in Corinth is taking a collection is as an expediency to relieve what will be needy saints in Judea when the famine occurs as prophesied (Acts 11:28-30). Not so; look carefully. The reason for the collection is precisely because they are specifically commanded to do so, not as an expediency for fulfilling some generic command. Remember: for a thing to be expedient, it must not be specified, but Paul here specifies the collection as a mandate. "Orders" in verse 1 translates DIATASSO {dee-at-as'-so}, which means "1) to arrange, appoint, ordain, prescribe, give order" (JHT). This word is rendered "commanded" in Acts 18:2 (NKJ) with reference to an edict from the emperor. Paul gives the same instructions on giving to the Galatian churches, and what he ordains in any church, he ordains in them all (1 Corinthians 4:17; 7:17). Moreover, the verb in the original phrase translated "so you must do also" is in the present tense, active voice, and imperative mood, meaning we ought to be continually and regularly doing it. Conclusively, giving is commanded of the church. Now examine Paul's words further:
2 Corinthians 9:11-14 …while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, 14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
In verse 12 the word "service" is from LEITOURGIA {li-toorg-ee'-ah}. Thayer explains its biblical usage to include "a service or ministry of the priests relative to the prayers and sacrifices offered to God" (Luke 1:23). The Greek-English lexicon of Louw and Nida further states that the verb form means, "to perform religious rites as part of one's religious duties or as the result of one's role" (Hebrews 10:11). Indisputably, giving is a form of worship, and to debate otherwise is contentiousness. Consider this: little is required of us to sing and pray and take the Lord's Supper, but nothing is typically regarded as more of a personal sacrifice to a man than that which he is asked to offer from his wallet.
As noted earlier, God has ordained and specified the corporate church as the body through which the collection is to be performed. We will further examine giving when we later discuss the treasury of the church and its purpose.
We have already established that gospel teaching is a work of the church; however, the academic question before us now is whether it is an act of worship. In the sense that preaching is a prescribed sacred service, a divine ministry, and an expression of respect for God, it fits the spirit of LATREUO and PROSKUNEO: terms for worship defined earlier. The people in Ezra's day certainly considered preaching an act of profound reverence.
Nehemiah 8:5-8 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground…. 8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.
Consider this: if teaching the doctrines of men is vain worship, then teaching the commandments of the Lord must be true worship (Matthew 15:9). Moreover, scripture reveals that early church gatherings for other worship forms typically included time for gospel preaching.
Acts 20:7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.
1 Corinthians 14:23-31 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. 26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
Furthermore, teaching men that they need to be baptized is not the same kind of thing as teaching them to be diligent in work, honest in business, and sober in behavior. Baptism is not an aspect of everyday life but a sacred, religious service and token of sublime submission (Luke 7:29, 30). It therefore conforms to the special sense of worship as defined earlier: PROSKUNEO.
All indications in scripture of worship within the church as a corporate body are in the sense of rendering religious service or homage, performing sacred services, offering gifts, observing instituted rites, making obeisance, expressing reverence, or making supplication to God. Such activities are consistent with PROSKUNEO by definition.
Conclusively, worship in the church as a body is not that form of service rendered by each man's diligence in the duties of everyday life. For example, gardening, carpentry, cooking, and sewing are noble individual pursuits, generally speaking, and God is glorified when we engage these with sensibility and integrity, but these are not worship services in the sense of paying homage and obeisance. Similarly, even though our bodies are temples of the Lord for His glory (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20), nevertheless, personal hygiene, nutrition, physical exercise, and such things are normal aspects of everyday life, not special acts of veneration offered in reverence to a divine being, and they are therefore not works of the church as a body.
Expediencies can take many forms. Any convenient means, methods, or tools to assist in doing a thing without changing it into something else or adding something to it is authorized by the generic command.
We must have unleavened bread and grape juice to participate in the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26-29). We can use store-bought bread or home-made. If home-made, we need an oven. The church has authority to own an oven for making communion bread. Similarly, we can use store-bought grape juice or home-made. If home-made, we need white, red, or black grapes from which to squeeze juice. The church can buy them or grow them. The church has authority to buy a winepress and a tract of land on which to grow grapes for communion juice. The church can buy a cabinet for storing the bread or flour and a refrigerator for storing the grapes or grape juice. The church can buy serving trays and cups for distribution. Many of these methods are arguably not the most convenient for us, but for other people in different times or places, they may well be. However, we cannot deny that these are mere expediencies, if in the end we are doing nothing more and nothing less than eating bread and drinking juice in communion. All other supporting elements and actions are authorized by a necessary inference.
To sing together, we must have some way to agree on what psalm we will be singing, at what time we will be singing it, and in what musical key we will sing. Unavoidably, some brother will need to either be assigned or volunteer to lead by making these decisions for the group: a "song leader." He can use a pitch pipe to determine the key. He can mark the timing by hand. The church has the authority to buy songbooks or video projectors and screens to aid in providing the lyrics and sheet music, as long as in the end, we are doing nothing other than singing hymns and spiritual songs (1 Corinthians 14:15).
In order to pray as a group, only one man must be speaking at any given time. If two or more are speaking at the same time, confusion is the result (1 Corinthians 14:26-33). Unavoidably, some brother will need to either be assigned or volunteer to lead the prayer while the others listen, pray along in heart, and confirm. The one praying can use a microphone. The church has the authority to write together a list of all the things they want to pray about, and the leader can use this list while praying. If we are doing nothing other than praying, all these means and methods are authorized.
Any means or methods of gathering funds is lawful, as long as it is done on each first day of the week by free-will offerings from individuals as they have prospered and purposed in heart (1 Corinthians 16:1, 2; 2 Corinthians 9:7). Beyond this, we can pass around a bucket, a tray, or a basket. We can also just put this container by the door so contributions can be conveniently made at any time during that first day of the week. We can also all just hand our contribution to one designated to gather the funds - a deacon, perhaps. Some Christians may think that the collection needs to be a ceremonial activity or a formalized worship ritual, as it is traditionally conducted in many congregations. There is nothing unlawful in doing so, but there is also no scriptural precedence which would bind this upon us. As long as the contributors all understand what they are doing and are doing it with decency and orderliness (1 Corinthians 14:40), any mode or method is authorized.
The apostle Paul highly praises the Thessalonian church for their efforts to spread the gospel not only in their nearby location but also into regions far away.
1 Thessalonians 1:8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.
A church conscientious about the divine ordinance to be forth-tellers of the gospel to the world will never be content with satisfying minimum requirements or with perfunctory weekly meeting-house preaching efforts. Instead of limiting corporate teaching efforts to worship assemblies, a church can be working to arrange instructional classes in homes, hotels, schools, prisons, or nursing homes, wherever or however possible, in addition to newspaper, radio, television, or internet work or supporting preachers outside the local body. With all this, the treasury should never grow out of control. Fundamentally, there is more to the work of the church as a body than assembling for worship (Acts 19:5-10).
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
A problem occurs when a congregation adopts the notion that the work of the church as a local body is limited to worship assembly activities. This might more easily happen today in areas of generally good prosperity in comparison to earlier times and where churches are seldom burdened with real physical needs among the saints (the relief for whom is a separate work of the church to be discussed later). Moreover, if a church is characterized by complacency concerning outreach evangelizing, they will imagine they are meeting their responsibility in this area as long as the gospel is only preached as part of their traditional bi-weekly public worship services and bi-annual "gospel meetings." Such a church can easily run up enormous amounts in the Lord's treasury while paying for little more than building maintenance and Lord's Supper supplies.
Consequently, once a church accepts that their ordained work as a body is limited to "worship service" activities when they are all assembled together, then separate age-appropriate children's classes begin to indeed look like a "breaking off" from the church. Consider the fallacy of this reasoning.
If a church can arrange for a gospel preacher to speak at an assisted living facility, for example, it does not constitute division in the church, even if the whole church isn't at that assembly. Indisputably, parents can likewise teach their children. If numerous parents want to teach all their children together, they can do this. If no one's home can hold them all, the church can provide teaching space at the church-owned meeting house, if available. If they can meet at 1:00 PM Thursday afternoon, then they can alternatively meet at 10:30 AM Sunday after the whole church assembles. There is no reason to view this as "breaking off" from any other thing. It is nothing other than a means of gospel teaching, a work of the church, which the elders are to oversee (Acts 20:28).
As baptism is the desired result of gospel preaching, some pool of water is necessary. In Bible examples of baptism, natural streams and rivers are utilized, however, to the extent that this action is generic, we are not limited to those examples. A baptistery or any other pool or tub with sufficient water volume, owned, rented, or borrowed by the church, is a lawful expediency.
John 3:23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.
Acts 8:36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
Questions And Thoughts For Review: Worship
1. Is the Lord's Supper just another expedient way of teaching the gospel? Is singing hymns just another expedient way of teaching the gospel? Explain your answers.
2. In what two senses is worship described in scripture?
3. What two attributes of God-approved worship does Jesus reveal in John 4?
4. Explain in your own words what it means to worship God in spirit. Explain what it means to worship God in truth.
5. Do the scriptures reveal matters of absolute truth, or are all matters subject to each one's own speculation?
6. What is the primary purpose of the Lord's Supper?
7. Is laying by in store as described in 1 Corinthians 16 an act of worship in the church? In what special way is this activity particularly consistent with homage and obeisance?
8. Can teaching the gospel and baptism be legitimately considered acts of worship in the church? Explain your answers.
9. List five or six expediencies commonly utilized in assembled worship in the church.
10. Are children's Bible classes, men's Bible classes, and ladies' Bible classes expediencies for gospel teaching?
Some material in this study is derived or directly quoted from the following texts, which are suggested for further study and additional information:
● (BDB) "Revised Whittaker's Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon," 1906, 1997, Logos Research Systems, Inc.
● (JHT) "A Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament," Joseph Henry Thayer, 1979, Zondervan Publishing House
● "Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament: Based On Semantic Domains," Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, 1989, New York: United Bible Societies
● "Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament,", Timothy and Barbara Friberg, 1994
● (WEV) "Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words," W. E. Vine, 1966, Flemming H. Revell Co.
● "A Manual Grammar Of The Greek New Testament," 1927, 1955, Dana and Mantey, Macmillan Co.
● LXX Septuaginta (LXT) (Old Greek Jewish Scriptures) edited by Alfred Rahlfs, 1935, the German Bible Society
● "New Testament Words," William Barclay, SCM Press Ltd., 1964
● (TBA) "The Bible Almanac," Packer, Tenney, White, Jr., 1980, Thomas Nelson Publishers
● (OED) Online Etymology Dictionary, http://www.etymonline.com
● "The Bible in English: Its History and Influence," 2003, David Daniell
● "Walking By Faith," Roy E. Cogdill, 1957, 1967, The Gospel Guardian Company
● "Old Issues Do Not Fade Away – A Study In Centralization Of Churches And Institutionalism," Gene Frost, 1975, 1976, Gospel Anchor
● (M-W) The Merriam-Webster American English Dictionary Online, 2012
● Wikipedia: web-based free-content encyclopedia, 2012
Bible translations referenced in this work include:
KJV: King James Version (1611)
ASV: American Standard Version (1901)
NKJ: New King James Version (1982)
NAU: New American Standard Bible (1995)
YLT: Young's Literal Translation (1862, 1898)
TNT: Tyndale New Testament (1534)
Bible quotations in this work are from the NKJ unless otherwise indicated. Anglicized equivalents of Greek and Hebrew words appear in all upper case characters with the approximate pronunciation following in braces.
Copyright 2012, Speaking Sound Doctrine