The Greek noun bia means force, violence, or vehement power. It describes raw physical force — the violence of a mob, the force of wind or water, or compulsion applied to a person. The verb biazō means to use force or to press forcefully forward. It appears in Acts primarily to describe the force of the Holy Spirit's wind at Pentecost and the violence of a storm at sea.
The theology of bia in Scripture holds both warning and promise. Human violence (bia) is destructive and often satanic in origin. But there is also a holy bia: Matthew 11:12 — "the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force" — may describe the fierce, pressing pursuit of the kingdom by those who will not be denied. The Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost with a sound like a violent rushing wind (biaias pnoēs, Acts 2:2) — God's power is not timid. Divine force breaks the chains that human force cannot.