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I AM — a name of God.
ICONIUM [i-co´-ne-um] — the capital of Lycaonia in central Asia Minor. Paul and Barnabus visited there when they were forced to leave Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:51). Paul’s ministry at Iconium was very successful and many people were saved (Acts 14:1). Eventually they had to flee for their lives because of persecution (Acts 14:19, 21). Iconium is known today as Konya, or Konia.
IDLE — useless; inactive; lazy. The Bible says that an idle person will be poor and hungry (Prov. 19:15).
IDOL, IMAGE — a man-made symbol or an object of worship; a false god. There are a few places in the Bible where the word “image” appears, but not as a reference to a man-made object of worship (Gen. 1:26; Lev. 19:4).
IDOLATRY — the worship of something created instead of the worship of the Creator Himself (God). Idolatry is mentioned many times in the Bible. It was probably the greatest temptation for people in Bible times. This sin was so serious that it was placed near the beginning of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:4–6).
IMAGE — a likeness (Gen. 1:26).
IMAGE OF GOD — the characteristics God gave humans at creation. This is one thing that makes people stand out from the rest of God’s creatures.
IMMANUEL [im-man´-u-el] (with us is God) — a symbolic name from the prophecy of Isaiah that was later given to Jesus the Messiah (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23).
Twenty-three times in all we find Jesus’ “IAM ” (ego eimi, Gk.) in the Greek text of John’s Gospel (4:26; 6:20, 35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 18, 24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5; 18:5, 6, 8). In several of these, Jesus joins His “IAM” with seven metaphors which show how He loves and desires to save the world.
“I AM the bread that gives life” (6:35, 41, 48, 51)
“I AM the light of the world” (8:12).
“I AM the door for the sheep” (10:7, 9).
“I AM the good shepherd” (10:11, 14).
“I AM the resurrection and the life” (11:25).
“I AM the way. And I am the truth and the life” (14:6).
“I AM the true vine” (15:1).
IMMORALITY — behavior that goes against established moral principles. The word is used to describe Israel’s worship of pagan gods (Ezek. 23:8, 17, NKJV), an adulterous woman (Prov. 2:16, NKJV), and sexual impurity (1 Cor. 5:1, NKJV).
IMMORTALITY — the ability to live forever. In the Bible, the word “immortality” is usually talking about the spirit, but it is also used as a reference to the resurrected body.
IMPART — to give (Rom. 1:11, NKJV).
IMPORTUNITY — a word that means having persistence when asking for something; boldness. In Jesus’ parable of the persistent friend (Luke 11:5–8, KJV), a man was rewarded for his importunity because he kept knocking on the door. Jesus taught that we should have this kind of persistence with our prayers.
This incense burner, decorated with sacred serpents, was discovered in the excavation of the Canaanite temple at Beth Shan.
IMPUTE, IMPUTATION — the act of charging something to a person’s account.
INCARNATION — a word that refers to the act of Jesus becoming a human being. This word is not used in the Bible, but it is based on clear references in the New Testament (Rom. 8:3; Eph. 2:15; Col. 1:22).
INCENSE — a sweet-smelling substance that was burned as an offering to God on the altar in the tabernacle and the temple. The purpose of this incense offering was to honor God. Incense was a symbol for the prayers of the Hebrew people, which were like a pleasant aroma offered to God.
INCREASE — when used as a noun it means fruit (Lev. 26:4, KJV); when used as a verb it means to grow (Prov. 1:5, NKJV; Acts 6:7, KJV).
INDIGNATION — anger (Ps. 69:24, NKJV; Rev. 14:10, NKJV).
INFINITY — forever, no beginning and no end; a word that shows that God has always been and will always be (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3).
INFIRMITY — sickness; weakness (John 5:5, NKJV).
INHABITANT — a person who dwells (lives) in a certain place (Gen. 19:25, NKJV; Rev. 17:2, NKJV).
INHERITANCE — something (like property or money) that is given to someone else in a family, usually after someone dies (Gen. 15:7, NKJV; Luke 10:25, NKJV; Deut. 21:16, KJV). In the Bible it was after the father died.
To the Hebrews, the land of Canaan was regarded as an inheritance from the Lord because God had promised the land to Abraham and his descendants (Num. 33:53). Both Moses and Joshua were told by the Lord to divide the land of Canaan among the tribes “as an inheritance” (Num. 26:52–53, NKJV; Josh. 13:6, NKJV).
INIQUITY — unrighteousness; lawlessness (sin). The Bible uses this word to describe all kinds of sin (2 Pet. 2:16, NKJV; Rev. 18:5, NKJV; 1 Cor. 13:6, NKJV; Gen. 15:16, NKJV).
INJUSTICE — a wrong; an injury (Job 16:17, KJV).
INNOCENCE — blamelessness; freedom from sin and guilt (Gen. 20:5; Ps. 26:6). Since the fall of man, when Adam and Eve brought disobedience into the world (Gen. 3:1–24), no one except Jesus has been totally sinless and blameless (Rom. 3:9–18; 2 Cor. 5:21).
INNOCENT — without guilt (Matt. 27:4). People can be called “innocent” only because they have been forgiven of sin and been declared new creations through faith in Christ.
INSPIRATION — a technical term for the Holy Spirit’s supernatural guidance of those who received special revelation from God as they wrote the books of the Bible. The result of this inspiration is that the Bible contains the truths that God wanted His people to know and share with the world (2 Tim. 3:16, NKJV).
INSTRUCT — to train; to teach (2 Tim. 2:25, KJV).
INSURRECTION — an act of rebellion against the government (Ezra 4:19, KJV; Ps. 64:2, KJV; Acts 21:38). Barabbas, the criminal who was released by Pilate before Jesus’ crucifixion, was guilty of this crime against the Roman government (Mark 15:7, KJV).
INTEGRITY — honesty; sincerity. In the Old Testament, Noah (Gen. 6:9), Abraham (Gen. 17:1), Jacob (Gen. 25:27), David (1 Kings 9:4, NKJV), and Job (Job 2:3, 9; 4:6; 27:5; 31:6, NKJV) were called people of integrity. Although Jesus did not use the word “integrity,” he told people to have a pure heart and a pure motive (Matt. 5:8; Matt. 6:1–6).
Michelangelo’s painting of the prophet Isaiah in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
The famous Isaiah Scroll is one of the best-preserved manuscripts discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. It contains the entire text of the Book of Isaiah.
INTERCESSION — the act of asking God or praying on behalf of another person or group (Isa. 53:12, NKJV; Heb. 7:25, NKJV).
INTEREST — an additional payment or a fee, especially in reference to loans.
ISAAC [i´-zak] ([God] laughs) — the only son of Abraham by his wife Sarah and the father of Jacob and Esau. God promised to make Abraham’s descendants a great nation that would become God’s chosen people. Abraham and Sarah laughed when they heard they would have a son at their ages (Gen. 17:17–19; 18:9–15). Isaac was born when Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety (Gen. 17:17; 21:5).
God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. When God saw that Abraham would obey him no matter what, He stopped Abraham and saved Isaac’s life (Gen. 22:1–19).
ISAIAH [i´-za-ah] (the Lord has saved) — a famous Old Testament prophet who predicted the coming of the Messiah. He also wrote the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah was probably born in Jerusalem to a family that was related to the royal house of Judah. He recorded the events during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah (2 Chron. 26:22). When Uzziah died (740 B.C.), Isaiah had a vision of God in the temple (Isa. 6). That vision was his calling to become a prophet.
ISAIAH, BOOK OF — a major prophetic book of the Old Testament. Because of the way this book talks about God and His purpose of salvation, it is sometimes called “the fifth gospel.” The book is named for its author, the great prophet Isaiah, whose name means “the Lord has saved.”
ISCARIOT [is-car´-e-ot] (man of Kerioth) — the last name of Judas. He was the disciple who betrayed Jesus (John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2, 26).
ISHMAEL [ish´-ma-el] (God hears) — the name of six men in the Old Testament but usually refers to Abraham’s son by his wife’s Egyptian maidservant, Hagar.
Sarah wasn’t very nice to Hagar, so she ran away. Then Hagar met the angel of God. The angel told her to go back to Sarah and have a good attitude. The angel promised Hagar that her son, who would be named Ishmael, would also have many descendants. Hagar went back to Abraham and Sarah and gave birth to her son (Gen. 16:4–15). She named him Ishmael just like the angel said.
ISRAEL [iz´-ra-el] (he strives with God) —the name given to Jacob after his great struggle with God at Peniel (Gen. 32:28; 35:10). Later, the name was given to the descendants of Jacob. The twelve tribes were called “Israelites,” “children of Israel,” and “house of Israel,” identifying them as the descendants of Israel through his sons and grandsons.
ISRAELITE [iz´-ra-el-ite] — a descendant of Israel, or Jacob (Lev. 23:42–43). Israelites were considered to be children of the covenant, faithful servants of the Lord, and heirs to the promises made to Abraham (Rom. 11:1).