Effective, Essential, Synoptic, Gospel, Perspicuous, and Useful

word definitions and meanings

when describing the Bible

ver. : 20 March 2008

When talking about the Bible, what is : Effective,
Essential, Synoptic,
Gospel, Perspicuous Clear, and Useful ?

The Effective Bible

Effective [ < Latin effectus, ppart. of efficere (to accomplish)]. It can bring about the desired result.

The Bible succeeds in doing what it is created to do. Through the Spirit's work, it shows God, God's vision, God's purposes, and God's good news to us. Our collective openness to the Bible seems to be shrinking, but the Spirit is still using it to pry us open to God. Related words with a like meaning are efficacious and effectual.

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The Essential Bible

Essential [ Latin essentia < esse (to be; is)] the one source you cannot do the task without. Because there are no other reliable sources to tell us about Jesus, His ministry, and the start of the Christian church, the New Testament is to be seen as the essential record. The Old Testament is essential, too, since Jesus came in fulfillment of it.

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What is Synoptic ?

Synoptic : Greek, "of one eye". The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called this because they are similar works to each other, for the most part covering the same events and using most of the same sources. The Gospel of John, however, is very different in the order of events, which events are described, and the point of view taken about the life and ministry of Jesus. Therefore John is a Gospel, but not Synoptic. In modern times, Bible scholars have re-discovered the fact that each Synoptic Gospel has its own very special slant. Though they're not anywhere near as different as John's Gospel is, the Synoptics are each different works with their own vision to share.

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What About the Gospel ?

Gospel, the : The core message of the Bible, that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. There are many other things in the Bible, great and wonderful, but they all exist to create and further this reconciliation with the God who loves us, by God's grace through faith.
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The Bible as Perspicuous

(or Clear)

perspicuous. [ < Latin per- (through) + specere (to look, view); related to Eng. "perspective".] Clearly and directly communicated or presented; lucid, readily understood.

To say the Bible is perspicuous means that it doesn't take any specialized training to get what the Bible (or most any part of it) is trying to tell you. This is not a license to be ignorant. You are still called on to take the time and effort to work it through, but there's no required method for that. True, there are some mysteries, but these confound even the wisest. The unschooled and the retarded often show a solid grasp of the main thrusts of the Bible. That's because the Spirit wants us to know such things. The Spirit is the one who reveals it to us, and the Spirit can work through an awareness, a happening, a life experience, a method of study, or anything else to make clear to us what is being revealed through the Bible. Idiots and geniuses alike can be fools and jerks about Scriptural matters, but they and everyone in between have what it takes to grasp the message. A related term is clarity.

For more on using the Bible, check this out.

The Bible as Useful

Useful (adj.) : [ < Old French user < Latin uti (to use, utilise)]
Having a beneficial or practical application; able to be put into service for a purpose.. Most terms for describing the Bible are not words that the Bible's inspired writers used. However, in 2 Timothy 3:16, it says that the Scriptures are God-breathed (inspired) and useful (for teaching, training, and correction). The Greek word there is ophelimos; the root meaning has to do with using something in order to progress, gain, or profit. The English word-field would include gainful, helpful, useful, grow, intensify, and deepen.

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