This glossary defines key terms as they are used in this book. Several of these terms carry specific meanings that differ from how they are commonly used in mainstream Christian theology. Understanding these definitions will help the reader follow the arguments presented throughout the book.
Authority. See Power and Authority.
Born Again. The event of choosing to stop sinning. Being born again is a choice, not a passive gift. It occurs when a person fully submits to God by deciding to cease doing what they know to be contrary to God and begins living according to their understanding of Him at all times from that point onward. The gift of the Holy Ghost follows this choice but does not cause it. (See Chapter 10)
Baptism. A symbolic ordinance that publicly confirms and commemorates the inward change of being born again. Baptism does not itself produce the remission of sins; rather, it is performed after a person has already ceased sinning and submitted to God. It requires behavioral alignment with God and a priest to certify that this alignment is complete and ongoing and to perform the ordinance. (See Chapter 11)
Character. The part of your identity that you choose. Your character is what you do, why you do it, and how you feel about it. It is the composite of qualities that describe how and why you will think, feel, and act under any given circumstance. Character is not defined by external circumstances, possessions, or attributes beyond your control. It is built, destroyed, and changed through decisions. (See Chapter 1)
Character of Christ (God’s Character). The complete description of how God thinks, feels, and acts—and why. The character of Christ is the central subject of the gospel and the pattern all people are meant to emulate. Knowing God’s character perfectly would require the ability to predict how he would act, why, and how he would feel about it in any situation. (See Chapters 1, 12, 14)
Eternal Life. The state one enters after being justified by forsaking all of their sins. Not merely living forever, but the quality of life obtained through becoming like God. Eternal life is acquired by degrees and is proportional to how fully a person has learned about and lived like Jesus Christ. It is a measure of character, not merely duration of existence. The degree of eternal life received corresponds to the accuracy, depth, and breadth of one’s reconciliation to Jesus. (See Chapter 3)
Glorify God. To make the divine qualities or their effects more apparent, or to bestow them upon someone more fully. You glorify God by thinking, feeling, and acting more like him, or by helping others to do the same. A person who becomes like God glorifies him more than any other act of worship. (See Chapter 1)
God’s Purpose. Everything God is and does is dedicated to enabling all people to obtain and retain the greatest joy they are willing to receive. God’s purpose encompasses the immortality and eternal life of man—immortality being to live forever, and eternal life being the quality of that immortality, obtained by learning more about and living more of the character of Jesus Christ. (Chapters 9, 4)
Gospel. The process by which God shows you more of how he is while providing you the opportunity, reasons, and capability to become the same way yourself. The word comes from two Old English words meaning “good” and “story.” The gospel encapsulates what is good, how to do good, and why to do good. It is not a static set of rules or beliefs, but a living mechanism for transformation. (See Chapters 1, 6)
Justification. The decision to submit fully to God as you presently understand him. Justification is an event, not a process. It is the choice to forsake everything you know to be contrary to God and to embrace all things that align with him. It is synonymous with repentance in the fullest sense. A person is justified when they are living up to everything they currently understand about God’s character. (See Chapter 6)
Model of Christ. A person’s present understanding of how Jesus thinks, feels, and acts. Everyone who believes in God has a model—an internal picture—of what he is like. This model is always incomplete and contains errors. The process of sanctification involves continually updating, extending, and correcting this model as new understanding is gained. (See Chapter 14)
Perfect / Perfection. In the ancient languages, not the description of a flawless outcome, but of a process that maximally flows and grows toward the intended end. To be perfect in Christ is to progress as quickly as possible in your understanding of how he is, by living exactly as you believe he would in your place given your present understanding. Perfection is alignment with your current knowledge of God, not omniscience. (See Chapter 1)
Power and authority. Power is the ability to achieve, obtain, and retain what you desire. God has all power because he achieves, obtains, and retains what he desires. God’s power comes from his character—it is the embodiment of his wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment that make him God. God’s power and authority are inseparable; valid authority is a question of what you can do and have done, not who you claim to be. Godly power is distinguished from the power of evil by its independence from the choices of others. (Chapters 4, 9)
Priesthood. Any information that extends one’s understanding of how God is, how he would live in your situation, the benefits of doing so, and the consequences of failing to. The priesthood is a conduit of information through which people who have adopted God’s character are linked, providing the power to do, feel, and think as God would in your place, as far as you choose to. Priesthood does not just require righteousness—it is righteousness, and does not exist outside of merit. (Chapter 4)
Remission of Sins. The state defined by the cessation of sin. Remission comes from the internal change of no longer willingly choosing to act contrary to one’s understanding of God, not from the performance of any outward ordinance. Baptism commemorates but does not produce the cessation of sin. (See Chapter 11)
Repentance. The event of choosing to forsake everything you currently understand to be contrary to God and embracing all things that align with your current understanding of him. Repentance is not a process but a decisive moment of submission. It includes the understanding that God will incrementally teach you more than your present understanding contains. (See Chapters 6, 10)
Robes of Righteousness. The character of Jesus Christ. To put on the robe of righteousness is to learn about and live more like Jesus Christ. There are many versions, as each person’s understanding of how Jesus is differs. Each improvement to a person’s understanding could be considered another, better robe, forming a chain of successively improving models of the character of Christ. One receives a robe through justification and wears robes of ever-increasing brightness through sanctification. (Chapter 22)
Rules, Principles, and Character. A three-tier hierarchy of understanding God’s commandments. Rules are fixed behaviors that describe specific situations (do this, don’t do that). Principles are the generalized purposes behind rules (the “why”) that apply across all situations. Character is the composite of qualities that produce both rules and principles. Most Christians encounter God’s commandments only at the level of rules. Knowing the Lord requires progressing from rules to principles to character. (See Chapter 15)
Salvation. The process of being saved from the consequences of sin and death through becoming more like God. (See Chapter 3)
Sanctification. The ongoing process of learning more about Jesus while remaining reconciled to him. Where justification is the event of deciding to submit, sanctification is the lifelong journey of growing in understanding and living according to that understanding. It is the process by which a person’s model of Christ becomes more complete and accurate over time. All blessings that God enjoys flow from how he is, and the more sanctified a person becomes, the more of God’s blessings they will enjoy. (See Chapter 6)
Servants, Friends, and Sons. Three progressive relationship types a person can have with God. A servant obeys specific commands with limited understanding of God’s purpose. A friend possesses intimate knowledge of God’s purpose and character. A son has achieved similarity to God and inherits from Him. Each level is characterized by a different degree of knowledge of and intimacy with God. (See Chapter 16)
Submission to God. Knowing and fully adopting God’s purpose as your own. Submission is not mere belief in God or obedience to a list of rules. It requires knowing God’s purpose—maximal joy for all—and making it your own without reservation. Very few Christians, by this definition, have actually submitted to God. (See Chapter 9)
Words of Eternal Life. Any idea that leads to learning more about and living more like Jesus. The words of eternal life can be expressed at different levels of breadth, depth, accuracy, sincerity, and power. They are obtained incrementally as one learns more about Jesus while living up to what they already know. The defining quality of the words of eternal life is not what they are or where they come from, but what they result in, which is improvement. (Chapter 18)
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