Sunday Reflection: The Advocate Who Indwells
Christ promised the disciples another Paraclete, one who would not merely assist them but dwell within them, and that promise still divides the helpers we have from the Helper we need.
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14 entries tagged Scripture · 4 wires · 10 terms.
Wisdom Wire
Sunday Reflection: What the Apostles Refused to Delegate
When the early church faced a scaling crisis, the apostles delegated some work and refused to delegate other work. The line they drew is the line every operator now has to draw with AI.
Sunday Reflection: The Stranger on the Road
Two disciples walked seven miles beside the risen Christ and did not know it was him. The question of our age is whether we still would.
Sunday Reflection: Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen
Thomas demanded proof. In an age built on data and benchmarks, his question feels more modern than ancient.
Dictionary
Analepsis
Greek ἀνάληψις, 'taking up,' the early-church word for the Ascension of Christ, naming the moment the risen Lord is enthroned at the Father's right hand and his mode of presence shifts from visible body to indwelling Spirit and reigning Head.
Diakonia
Greek for service or ministry; in the New Testament the same word covers both practical hands-on service (such as serving tables) and the ministry of the word, with the difference between the two left to spiritual discernment rather than to status.
Dorean
Greek for 'as a gift, freely, without cost'; in Matthew 10:8 Jesus uses it twice in the same sentence to bind the receipt of grace to the giving of grace, forbidding the recipient to put a price on what was never priced when it was given.
Koinonia
Greek for communion, fellowship, or participation; in the New Testament the word the church uses for the real sharing that joins believers to Christ and to one another through the Eucharist, the Spirit, and common life.
Martyria
Greek μαρτυρία, 'witness' or 'testimony,' the New Testament word for the first-person, embodied act of bearing public testimony to what one has personally seen and heard of Christ.
Oikonomia
Greek for household management; the New Testament word for stewardship of what is held in trust, where the steward is judged not by how much he amassed but by how faithfully he accounted for what was given.
Paraclete
Greek paraklētos, 'one called alongside,' the Johannine title for the Holy Spirit promised by Christ as advocate, comforter, helper, and indwelling Spirit of truth.
Perichoresis
A Greek theological term for the mutual indwelling of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, naming the doctrine that the persons of the Trinity exist in such complete communion that the life of each is the life of the other two.
Pneuma
The Greek word for breath, wind, and Spirit that runs through the New Testament Pentecost narrative, naming the Holy Spirit as the living breath of God given to the church.
Talanton
The Greek word for a unit of weight and the largest unit of currency in the ancient Mediterranean, used in the Parable of the Talents to name the capability a master entrusts to a steward for return.