Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and ConceptDiscipline in the biblical context refers to the practice of training oneself or others to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. It is both a personal and communal practice that is essential for spiritual growth and maturity. Discipline is seen as a reflection of God's love and care for His people, guiding them towards righteousness and holiness.
Biblical FoundationThe concept of discipline is deeply rooted in Scripture, where it is often associated with wisdom, instruction, and correction.
Proverbs 3:11-12 states, "My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights." This passage highlights the loving nature of divine discipline, likening it to a father's care for his child.
Purpose of DisciplineDiscipline serves multiple purposes in the life of a believer. It is intended to correct, instruct, and train individuals in righteousness.
Hebrews 12:10-11 explains, "Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it." This passage underscores the transformative power of discipline, leading to spiritual growth and peace.
Discipline in the Family and ChurchIn the family setting, discipline is a crucial aspect of parenting.
Ephesians 6:4 instructs, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." This verse emphasizes the responsibility of parents to guide their children in a manner that reflects God's principles.
Within the church, discipline is necessary for maintaining order and purity.
Matthew 18:15-17 outlines the process of church discipline, encouraging believers to address sin within the community with the goal of restoration. The passage advises, "If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church."
God's DisciplineGod's discipline is an expression of His love and commitment to His people. It is not punitive but redemptive, aimed at drawing believers closer to Him.
Revelation 3:19 affirms, "Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent." This verse calls believers to respond to God's discipline with repentance and earnestness, recognizing it as a sign of His love.
Self-DisciplineSelf-discipline is a vital aspect of the Christian life, enabling believers to live in accordance with God's will.
1 Corinthians 9:27 illustrates the apostle Paul's commitment to self-discipline: "No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." This personal discipline is essential for maintaining integrity and effectiveness in ministry.
ConclusionDiscipline, both divine and self-imposed, is a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith. It is a tool used by God to shape His people into the image of Christ, fostering spiritual growth and maturity. Through discipline, believers learn obedience, develop character, and experience the peace and righteousness that come from living in alignment with God's will.
Topical Bible Verses
Hebrews 12:11Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby.
Topicalbible.orgHebrews 12:5-6
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to children, My son, despise not you the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of him:
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Hebrews 12:5-11
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to children, My son, despise not you the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of him:
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Proverbs 29:17
Correct your son, and he shall give you rest; yes, he shall give delight to your soul.
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Proverbs 13:1
A wise son hears his father's instruction: but a scorner hears not rebuke.
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Proverbs 6:23
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
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Ephesians 6:4
And, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
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Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
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Proverbs 12:1
Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge: but he that hates reproof is brutish.
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Proverbs 13:24
He that spares his rod hates his son: but he that loves him chastens him betimes.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) Training for obedience, whether physical, mental, or moral.
2. (n.) Training to act in accordance with established rules; accustoming to systematic and regular action; drill.
3. (n.) Subjection to rule; submissiveness to order and control; habit of obedience.
4. (n.) Severe training, corrective of faults; instruction by means of misfortune, suffering, punishment, etc.
5. (n.) Correction; chastisement; punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.
6. (n.) The subject matter of instruction; a branch of knowledge.
7. (n.) The enforcement of methods of correction against one guilty of ecclesiastical offenses; reformatory or penal action toward a church member.
8. (n.) Self-inflicted and voluntary corporal punishment, as penance, or otherwise; specifically, a penitential scourge.
9. (n.) A system of essential rules and duties; as, the Romish or Anglican discipline.
10. (v. t.) To educate; to develop by instruction and exercise; to train.
11. (v. t.) To accustom to regular and systematic action; to bring under control so as to act systematically; to train to act together under orders; to teach subordination to; to form a habit of obedience in; to drill.
12. (v. t.) To improve by corrective and penal methods; to chastise; to correct.
13. (v. t.) To inflict ecclesiastical censures and penalties upon.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
DISCIPLINEdis'-i-plin (mucar): In the King James Version only inJob 36:10, where it refers to moral discipline, the strenuous cultivation of the righteous life; the Revised Version (British and American) "instruction." the Revised Version (British and American) in2 Timothy 1:7 has "discipline" for a Greek word (sophronismos) meaning "sobering"; in2 Timothy 3:16 margin, for Greek paideia, "instruction." In classic Greek paideia means "education," mental culture. Through the influence of the Septuagint, which translates the Hebrew mucar by paideia, the meaning of "chastisement" accompanies paideia in the New Testament. CompareHebrews 12:5, 7, 8, 11.
SeeCHASTISEMENT; and for ecclesiastical discipline see CHURCH.
Greek
3809. paideia -- the rearing of a child, training,discipline... the rearing of a child, training,
discipline. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: paideia Phonetic Spelling: (pahee-di'-ah) Short Definition
...3811. paideuo -- to train children, to chasten, correct
... children, to chasten, correct. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: paideuo Phonetic
Spelling: (pahee-dyoo'-o) Short Definition: Idiscipline, educate, train...
4995. sophronismos -- self-control
... of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: sophronismos Phonetic Spelling:
(so-fron-is-mos') Short Definition: self-control, self-discipline Definition: self...
1129. gumnasia -- exercise
... This ancient (and current) philosophy contends thediscipline of the body is one
of life's concerns and special physical exercises as necessary for spiritual...
4994. sophronizo -- to recall one to his senses, admonish
... correct,discipline, teach to be sober. From sophron; to make of sound mind, ie
(figuratively) todiscipline or correct -- teach to be sober. see GREEK sophron....
1128. gumnazo -- to exercise naked, to train
... 1128 ("exert intensely, like a pro-athlete") presumes fulldiscipline, necessary
to be in "top working condition" (full agility, skill, endurance)....
5299. hupopiazo -- to strike under the eye
... hoop-o-pee-ad'-zo) Short Definition: I bruise, worry, exhaust Definition: I strike
under the eye, hence: I bruise, treat severely,discipline by hardship...
5010. taxis -- an arranging, order
... Word Origin from tasso Definition an arranging, order NASB Word Usage good
discipline (1), order (7), orderly manner (1). order....
814. ataktos -- disorderly
... Cognate: 814 -- properly, ("breaking rank"); insubordinate to God's Word
and hence () -- because lacking (discipline). See 813 ()....
1651. elegcho -- to expose, convict, reprove
... Speech: Verb Transliteration: elegcho Phonetic Spelling: (el-eng'-kho) Short Definition:
I rebuke, expose Definition: (a) I reprove, rebuke,discipline, (b) I...
Strong's Hebrew
4148. musar --discipline, chastening, correction... 4147, 4148. musar. 4149 .
discipline, chastening, correction. Transliteration:
musar Phonetic Spelling: (moo-sawr') Short Definition: instruction.
...3256. yasar -- todiscipline, chasten, admonish
... 3255, 3256. yasar. 3257 . todiscipline, chasten, admonish. Transliteration:
yasar Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-sar') Short Definition: chasten. Word Origin a prim...
2596. chanak -- to train up, dedicate
... dedicate, train up. A primitive root; properly, to narrow (compare chanaq);
figuratively, to initiate ordiscipline -- dedicate, train up. see HEBREW chanaq....
Library
Discipline
...DISCIPLINE.DISCIPLINE 8,7,8,7. "Zage nicht.". [[5]Anonymous]. transl., Jane Borthwick,
1854. Tremble not, though darkly gather. Clouds and tempests o'er thy sky...
Discipline and Other Sermons
Discipline and Other Sermons. <.Discipline and Other Sermons Charles
Kingsley. Transcribed by David Price, email ccx074...
Home-Discipline.
... CHAPTER XIX. HOME-DISCIPLINE. "In ancient... breach.".Discipline involves the
judicial and executive functions of the home-government. It...
Discipline
... The Treasury of Sacred Song. Book First LXVIDISCIPLINE. Throw away Thy rod, Throw
away Thy wrath; O my GOD,. Take the gentle path. For my heart's desire....
Note on the PenitentialDiscipline of the Early Church.
... Book II. Note on the PenitentialDiscipline of the Early Church. It was
always believed in the Church that the power of binding...
ChurchDiscipline.
... Section 63. ChurchDiscipline.... [736]. These facts show how needfuldiscipline
is, both for the church herself and for the offenders....
The Order andDiscipline of the Church...
... Article XXXII The Order andDiscipline of the Church? The Order and
Discipline of the Church In the meantime we believe, though...
Of theDiscipline of the Church, and Its Principal Use in Censures...
... BOOK FOURTH. OF THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH CHAPTER 12. OF THEDISCIPLINE OF THE
CHURCH, AND ITS PRINCIPAL USE IN CENSURES AND EXCOMMUNICATION....
Of the Difference BetweenDiscipline and Power, and of the Power...
... Chapter XXI."Of the Difference BetweenDiscipline and Power, and of the Power
of the Keys. If the apostles understood these (figurative...
Knox and the Book ofDiscipline
... CHAPTER XIII: KNOX AND THE BOOK OFDISCIPLINE. This Book ofDiscipline,
containing the model of the Kirk, had been seen by Randolph...
Thesaurus
Discipline (63 Occurrences)... 9. (n.) A system of essential rules and duties; as, the Romish or Anglican
discipline. 10.
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
DISCIPLINE.
...Self-discipline (1 Occurrence)
Self-discipline. Self-controlled, Self-discipline. Self-disparagement . Noah
Webster's Dictionary... Multi-Version Concordance Self-discipline (1 Occurrence)....
Disciplined (18 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) ofDiscipline. Multi-Version Concordance... Hebrews
12:7 The sufferings that you are enduring are for yourdiscipline....
Exercise (35 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) That which is done for the sake of exercising, practicing, training, or
promoting skill, health, mental, improvement, moraldiscipline, etc.; that...
Correction (26 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) The act of reproving or punishing, or that which is intended to rectify
or to cure faults; punishment;discipline; chastisement....
Abstinence (2 Occurrences)
... It may be defined as a self-discipline which consists in the habitual renunciation,
in whole or in part, of the enjoyments of the flesh, with a view to the...
Great (10383 Occurrences)
... Philip had been for some years a hostage in Thebes: while there he had learned to
appreciate the changes introduced into militarydiscipline and tactics by...
Teach (172 Occurrences)
... tech, tech'-er, tech'-ing: I. OLD TESTAMENT TERMS 1.Discipline 2. Law 3. Discernment
4. Wisdom 5. Knowledge 6. Illumination 7. Vision 8. Inspiration 9...
Teaching (372 Occurrences)
... tech, tech'-er, tech'-ing: I. OLD TESTAMENT TERMS 1.Discipline 2. Law 3. Discernment
4. Wisdom 5. Knowledge 6. Illumination 7. Vision 8. Inspiration 9...
Treating (9 Occurrences)
... (YLT). Hebrews 12:7 It is fordiscipline that you endure. God deals with you as
with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn'tdiscipline?...
Resources
How should Christians discipline their children? What does the Bible say? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about church discipline? | GotQuestions.orgWhen, why, and how does the Lord God discipline us when we sin? | GotQuestions.orgDiscipline: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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