Tag Archives: Romans 5:17

Romans, Part 52

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So how can I view, Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good,[1] and what follows as a definition of love rather than as rules?  I’ve constructed the following table to help.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

Goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη)
…for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of the light – for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness (ἀγαθωσύνῃ), righteousness, and truth (ἀληθείᾳ) – trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.[2]
Love (ἀγάπη) is…

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NET)

 …not glad about injustice (ἀδικίᾳ)…

1 Corinthians 13:6a (NET)

 …but rejoices (συγχαίρει, a form of συγχαίρω) in the truth (ἀληθείᾳ).

1 Corinthians 13:6b (NET)
The person who speaks on his own authority desires to receive honor for himself; the one who desires the honor of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness (ἀδικία) in him.[3]
This Love Without Hypocrisy…

Romans 12:9-21 (NET)

 Abhor (ἀποστυγοῦντες, a form of ἀποστυγέω) what is evil (πονηρόν, a form of πονηρός)…

Romans 12:9b (NET)

 …cling (κολλώμενοι, a form of κολλάω) to what is good (ἀγαθῷ, a form of ἀγαθός).

Romans 12:9c (NET)

While it makes some sense to place cling to what is good (ἀγαθῷ) under goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη), there is also a certain arbitrariness to subdividing a multivariate unity like the fruit of the Spirit.  Why not place rejoices (συγχαίρει) in the truth under joy (χαρά)?  I have no argument against that at all.  I wholeheartedly believe that the motivating power (both to will and to do)[4] is the fruit of Christ’s Spirit.  I rejoice in the truth because of his joy flowing in and through me.  And I’ve clearly walked everything through love (ἀγάπη; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NET) as well.  What is most important to me is the direction of flow, that I abhor what is evil and cling to what is good by God’s goodness, not my own.

I used to work this backwards.  I believed that if I gathered a list of all that is evil and abhorred it, if I gathered a list of all that is good and clung to it, then I would be a man of integrity who desired to honor God.  And if I was not glad about injustice but rejoiced in the truth, then I would be walking as a child of the light, and I would have achieved the fruit of the Spirit, the very Goodness of God.  I would have climbed up sunshine mountain.[5]  Though I now consider this adultery, even a super πορνεία, and precisely what Jesus meant when he called the Pharisees hypocrites, I didn’t know any better then.  My only alternative in the futility of my thinking[6] was to say, “No, I won’t do any of those things.”

Though I could see no alternative to obeying rules in my mind, I felt it in my heart and in my spirit.  I had moments, brief, precious God-given moments of unbounded grace, when I could do no wrong, effortlessly.  Why did they end? I wondered.  And so I studied the Bible for more rules to obey.  But despite my best efforts to remain blind and unthinking, God’s light shone through.  His love, his joy, his peace, his patience, his kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his gentleness and his firm control[7] began to take its toll on my recalcitrant mind, and renew it.

Now I see even with my mind, that if I abhor what is evil and cling to what is good, it is due to his goodness.  If I am not glad about injustice but rejoice in the truth, it is due to his love and joy.  If I walk as a child of the light it demonstrates his righteousness, not mine.  It is his gift received by faith.  For if, by the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ![8]  Now I can look back and see that even the point of that silly little song was to “Look to God on High,” but my religious mind tried to keep me blind—tried and failed because eventually I learned to stop trying to do and started believing.

John’s words are an excellent transition to believe into the next definition of love in Paul’s letter to the Romans, Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.[9]

I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name.  I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning.  I am writing to you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one (πονηρόν).  I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father.  I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning.  I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one (πονηρόν).[10]
The Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

Kindness (χρηστότης)
But “when the kindness (χρηστότης) of God our Savior and his love for mankind (φιλανθρωπία) appeared, he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy (ἔλεος), through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior.”[11]
Love (ἀγάπη) is…

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NET)

 …kind (χρηστεύεται, a form of χρηστεῦομαι)…

1 Corinthians 13:4 (NET)

 …it is not envious (ζηλοῖ, a form of ζηλόω).

1 Corinthians 13:4 (NET)
But the Jews became jealous (Ζηλώσαντες, a form of ζηλόω), and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar.[12]They court you eagerly (ζηλοῦσιν, another form of ζηλόω), but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly (ζηλοῦτε, another form of ζηλόω).  However, it is good to be sought eagerly (ζηλοῦσθαι, another form of ζηλόω) for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you.[13]
This Love Without Hypocrisy…

Romans 12:9-21 (NET)

 Be devoted (φιλαδελφίᾳ, a form of φιλαδελφία) to one another with mutual love (φιλόστοργοι, a form of φιλόστοργος)…

Romans 12:10a (NET)

 …showing eagerness (προηγούμενοι, a form of προηγέομαι) in honoring (τιμῇ, a form of τιμή) one another.

Romans 12:10b (NET)
Now on the topic of brotherly love (φιλαδελφίας, a form of φιλαδελφία) you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love (ἀγαπᾶν, a form of ἀγαπάω) one another.  And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia.  But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you.  In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need.[14]

So I began here with John’s good and kind and gracious words that I may cling to them and rejoice in their truth: 1) your sins have been forgiven because of his name; 2) you have known him who has been from the beginning, 3) you have conquered the evil one [whether that be Satan or the sin in my own flesh]; 4) you have known the Father; 5) you have known him who has been from the beginning [and it is good to hear it again]; 6) you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

This kindness (χρηστότης), an aspect of the fruit of his Spirit, is from God: when the kindness (χρηστότης) of God our Savior and his love for mankind (φιλανθρωπία) appeared, he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy (ἔλεος), through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior.  And so, love is kind (χρηστεύεται), it is not envious (ζηλοῖ, a form of ζηλόω).

It’s worth the time to try to grasp what Paul meant by negating ζηλοῖ here, because he often used forms of ζηλόω in a more positive sense.  I am jealous (ζηλῶ, another form of ζηλόω) for you with godly jealousy (ζήλῳ, a form of ζῆλος), because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.[15]  He encouraged the Corinthians to be eager (ζηλοῦτε, another form of ζηλόω) for the greater gifts,[16] to Pursue love and be eager (ζηλοῦτε) for the spiritual gifts,[17] to be eager (ζηλοῦτε) to prophesy, and do not forbid anyone from speaking in tongues.[18]  But he was well aware of the jealousy of the religious mind (Acts 17:1-5a NET).

After they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.  Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”  Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.  But the Jews became jealous (Ζηλώσαντες, a form of ζηλόω), and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar.

They court you eagerly (ζηλοῦσιν, another form of ζηλόω), but for no good purpose,[19] Paul wrote the Galatians.  The word translated good in for no good purpose is καλῶς, literally beautifully.  Paul used it often in an edgy almost sarcastic way.  Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”  Granted (καλῶς)!  They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith.  Do not be arrogant, but fear![20]  For you are certainly giving thanks well (καλῶς), he wrote to the one who speaks in a tongue[21] but does not interpret, but the other person is not strengthened.[22]  For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough (καλῶς)![23]

I think this same edginess comes into play here in Galatians as Paul hit on the primary motive of the religious mind’s jealousy: they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly (ζηλοῦτε, another form of ζηλόω).[24]  Then he explained the difference between a positive and negative ζηλόω.  However, it is good (καλὸν, a form of καλός) to be sought eagerly (ζηλοῦσθαι, another form of ζηλόω) for a good (καλῷ, another form of καλός) purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you.[25]  The words translated good here, καλὸν and καλῷ, are forms of καλός, beautiful literally, “goodness” in appearance.  It is a beautiful image of the difference between attempting to be good by one’s own efforts and relying on the intrinsic goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη) of God.  For I know that nothing good (ἀγαθόν, a form of ἀγαθός) lives in me, Paul wrote the Romans, that is, in my flesh.  For I want to do the good (καλὸν, a form of καλός), but I cannot do it.[26]  The religious works of the religious mind lack the ἀγαθωσύνη of God (and probably his χρηστότης as well).

And so Paul’s description of love is to Be devoted (φιλαδελφίᾳ, brotherly affection) to one another with mutual love (φιλόστοργοι, familial affection), showing eagerness (προηγούμενοι, lead the way) in honoring (τιμῇ, or valuing) one another.[27]  This is what John did with the words that I used to begin this section.  And this is what Paul did: Now on the topic of brotherly love (φιλαδελφίας) you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love (ἀγαπᾶν) one another.  And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia.  But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more…[28] 

What follows is interesting as a regional/cultural difference or Paul’s personal taste or something gleaned from experience.  In Jerusalem God’s kindness was manifest as a communal ethic: All who believed were together and held everything in common, and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need.[29]  When Ezra followed Shecaniah’s suggestion to have the men who married foreign women divorce them according to the law,[30] A proclamation was circulated throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem [Table].  Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders [Table].[31]  With a historical precedent like that Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem may have forfeited their property to the authorities if they had tried to keep it.

Paul worked with his own hands even as he ministered the Gospel.  When James, Cephas, and John, who had a reputation as pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, Paul wrote the Galatians, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.  They requested only that we remember the poor [in Jerusalem], the very thing I also was eager to do.[32]  James commented how some in the Jerusalem church had become judges with evil motives[33] favoring the rich: Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?  Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to?[34]

Against this backdrop Paul counseled the Thessalonians to show God’s kindness through a more working-class ethic, to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you.  In this way you will live a decent life before outsiders and not be in need.[35]

[1] Romans 12:9b (NET)

[2] Ephesians 5:8-10 (NET)

[3] John 7:18 (NET)

[7] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[8] Romans 5:17 (NET)

[9] Romans 12:10 (NET)

[10] 1 John 2:12-14 (NET)

[11] Titus 3:4-6 (NET)

[12] Acts 17:5 (NET)

[13] Galatians 4:17, 18 (NET)

[14] 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 (NET)

[15] 2 Corinthians 11:2 (NET)

[16] 1 Corinthians 12:31 (NET)

[17] 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NET)

[18] 1 Corinthians 14:39 (NET)

[19] Galatians 4:17a (NET)

[20] Romans 11:19, 20 (NET)

[21] 1 Corinthians 14:13 (NET)

[22] 1 Corinthians 14:17 (NET)

[23] 2 Corinthians 11:4 (NET)

[24] Galatians 4:17b (NET)

[25] Galatians 4:18 (NET)

[26] Romans 7:18 (NET)

[27] Romans 12:10 (NET)

[28] 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 10 (NET)

[29] Acts 2:44, 45 (NET)

[31] Ezra 10:7, 8a (NET)

[32] Galatians 2:9, 10 (NET)

[33] James 2:4 (NET)

[34] James 2:6b, 7 (NET)

[35] 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12 (NET)

Romans, Part 45

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For by the grace (χάριτος, a form of χάρις)[1] given to me, Paul continued describing the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect,[2] I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.[3]  To offset my own tendency to think that sober discernment is necessary because God has distributed a niggardly measure of faith (μέτρον[4] πίστεως[5]) to me, I want to look at two other occurrences of χάριτος.  The first described the words Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:18, 19 NET):

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

After Jesus returned the scroll to the attendant and sat down, he added, Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.[6]  Luke wrote, All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious (χάριτος, a form of χάρις) words coming out of his mouth.[7]  So proclaiming 1) good news to the poor, 2) release to the captives, 3) the regaining of sight to the blind, 4) setting free those who are oppressed, and 5) the year of the Lord’s favor were called gracious (χάριτος) words.[8]  There was nothing niggardly about it.

For if, by the transgression of the one man, Paul wrote the first time he used χάριτος in his letter to the Romans, death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace (χάριτος, a form of χάρις) and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ![9]  Sober discernment entails all of these facts without implying a niggardly measure of faith, but the realization that any of the recipients of this χάριτος is one person among many.  For just as in (ἐν)[10] one (ἑνὶ, a form of εἷς)[11] body we have many members, Paul continued, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one (ἓν, another form of εἷς) body in (ἐν) Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one (εἷς) another.[12]

I think sober discernment was equivalent for Paul to walking worthily of the calling with which [we] have been called, as he wrote the Ephesians, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.[13]  For here, too, a description of oneness followed (Ephesians 4:4-7 NET).

There is one (῞Εν) body and one (ἓν) Spirit, just as you too were called to (ἐν) the one (μιᾷ, yet another form of εἷς) hope of your calling, one (εἷς) Lord, one (μία)[14] faith, one (ἓν) baptism, one (εἷς) God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in (ἐν) all.  But to each one (Ἑνὶ, still another form of εἷς) of us grace (χάρις) was given according to the measure (μέτρον) of the gift of Christ.

And we have different gifts (χαρίσματα, a form of χάρισμα)[15] according to the grace given to us, Paul continued to describe the diversity of this oneness in Romans, a theme he revisited often:

The Diversity of Oneness
And we have different gifts (χαρίσματα) according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy (προφητείαν, a form of προφητεία),[16] that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.  If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:6-8 (NET)

 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets (προφήτας, a form of προφήτης),[17] some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NET)

 Now there are different gifts (χαρισμάτων, another form of χάρισμα), but the same Spirit.  And there are different ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.  To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all.  For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts (χαρίσματα) of healing by the one Spirit, to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy (προφητεία), and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.  It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NET)

I want to consider these different[18] gifts (χαρίσματα) individually.   If the gift is prophecy (προφητείαν), that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.[19]  I am assuming that in proportion (ἀναλογίαν, a form of ἀναλογία)[20] to his faith relates back to that measure (μέτρον) of faith God has distributed to each.  In the law the Lord said to Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18-20 NET):

I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites.  I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.  I will personally hold responsible anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet speaks in my name.  But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.

Now if you say to yourselves, the Lord continued, “How can we tell that a message is not from the Lord (yehôvâh)?”[21] – whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it; the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear (gûr)[22] him.[23]  But a fulfilled prediction alone was not sufficient to declare one a prophet of yehôvâh (Deuteronomy 13:1-5 NET):

Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, “Let us follow other gods” – gods whom you have not previously known – “and let us serve them.”  You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being.  You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him.  As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go.  In this way you must purge out evil from within.

The prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah (apparently a false prophet), From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably prophesied war, disaster, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.  So if a prophet prophesied peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.[24]  In this light I can begin to appreciate the proportion of Jesus’ faith when He read those gracious words—The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor; He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor—and added, Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.

And so Paul wrote, If the gift is prophecy (προφητείαν), that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.  And if I have prophecy (προφητείαν), he wrote the Corinthians, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.[25]  I can’t tell if this was a hypothetical consideration to highlight the preeminence of love, or an actual concern.  It is difficult to imagine an individual who received so many of the different gifts[26] (Διαιρέσεις δὲ χαρισμάτων) of the Spirit, not shared by all (For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom[27]…to another prophecy [προφητεία][28]…), and yet did not have the love that is given by the same Spirit to all believers.  If such a monstrosity is actually possible it would seem to be someone with a religious mind believing something other than the word of the Lord to quench the love that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Love never ends, Paul continued to contrast love and prophecy in Corinthians.  But if there are prophecies (προφητεῖαι, another form of προφητεία), they will be set aside[29]…when what is perfect comes…[30]  Pursue love, he wrote, and be eager for the spiritual gifts (πνευματικά, a form of πνευματικός),[31] especially that you may prophesy (προφητεύητε, a form of προφητεύω).[32]  Then he contrasted prophesying to one speaking in a tongue.

Tongues

Prophecy
For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to people but to God, for no one understands; he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:2 (NET)

 But the one who prophesies (προφητεύων, another form of προφητεύω) speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation.

1 Corinthians 14:3 (NET)
The one who speaks in a tongue builds himself up…

1 Corinthians 14:4a (NET)

 …but the one who prophesies (προφητεύων, another form of προφητεύω) builds up the church.

1 Corinthians 14:4b (NET)
I wish you all spoke in tongues…

1 Corinthians 14:5a (NET)

 …but even more that you would prophesy (προφητεύητε, a form of προφητεύω).

1 Corinthians 14:5b (NET)
…unless he interprets so that the church may be strengthened.

1 Corinthians 14:5d (NET)

 The one who prophesies (προφητεύων, another form of προφητεύω) is greater than the one who speaks in tongues…

1 Corinthians 14:5c (NET)

Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, Paul concluded, seek to abound in order to strengthen the church.  So then, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.[33]  And, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, but in the church I want to speak five words with my mind to instruct others, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.[34]  Then he quoted the Old Testament prophecy concerning tongues: By people with strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, yet not even in this way will they listen to me…[35]  So then, tongues, he concluded, are a sign…for unbelievers.  Prophecy (προφητεία), however, is…for believers.[36]

So if the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and unbelievers or uninformed people enter, will they not say that you have lost your minds?[37]  In other words, the Old Testament prophecy holds true: unbelievers hearing strange tongues will not listen to the Lord.  Rather, they say, you have lost your minds.  But if all prophesy (προφητεύωσιν, another form of προφητεύω), and an unbeliever or uninformed person enters, he will be convicted by all, he will be called to account by all.  The secrets of his heart are disclosed…[38]  So prophecy is for believers, their rightful occupation that brings an unbeliever or uninformed person to faith and repentance, and in this way he will fall down with his face to the ground and worship God, declaring, “God is really among you.”[39]

Still, It was [Jesus] who gave…some [not all] as prophets (προφήτας, another form of προφήτης) …to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.[40]  And God has placed in the church…second prophets (προφήτας, another form of προφήτης)…Not all are prophets (προφῆται, another form of προφήτης), are they?[41]  No, because we have different gifts (χαρίσματα, a form of χάρισμα) according to the grace given to us.[42]  For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.[43]

 

Addendum (7/18/2015): Jim Searcy has published that the Septuagint is a hoax written by Origen and Eusebius 200 hundred years after Christ.  “In fact, the Septuagint ‘quotes’ from the New Testament and not vice versa…”  His contention is that the “King James Version is the infallible Word of God.”  So, I’ll re-examine the quotations above with the KJV.

My thoughts on Luke 4:18, 19 are too long to append to this essay.  This addendum is found as Study: Luke 4:18-19.

Romans, Part 46

Back to Fear – Exodus, Part 6

Back to Son of God – 1 John, Part 3

Back to Saving Demons, Part 2

Back to Romans, Part 49

[2] Romans 12:2b (NET)

[3] Romans 12:3 (NET)

[6] Luke 4:21 (NET)

[7] Luke 4:22a (NET)

[8] Luke 4:22 (NET)

[9] Romans 5:17 (NET)

[12] Romans 12:4, 5 (NET)

[13] Ephesians 4:1-3 (NET)

[18] κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα (literally, “according to the grace given to us differently”) Romans 12:6 (NET)

[19] Romans 12:6b (NET)

[22] Septuagint: ἀφέξεσθε receive in full or abstain http://lexicon.katabiblon.com/?search=ἀφέξεσθε

[23] Deuteronomy 18:21, 22 (NET)

[24] Jeremiah 28:8, 9 (NET)

[25] 1 Corinthians 13:2 (NET)

[26] 1 Corinthians 12:4 (NET)

[27] 1 Corinthians 12:8 (NET)

[28] 1 Corinthians 12:10 (NET)

[29] 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NET)

[30] 1 Corinthians 13:10 (NET)

[32] 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NET)

[33] 1 Corinthians 14:12b, 13 (NET)

[34] 1 Corinthians 14:18, 19 (NET)

[35] 1 Corinthians 14:21 (NET)

[36] 1 Corinthians 14:22 (NET)

[37] 1 Corinthians 14:23 (NET)

[38] 1 Corinthians 14:24, 25a (NET)

[39] 1 Corinthians 14:25b (NET)

[40] Ephesians 4:11-13 (NET)

[41] 1 Corinthians 12:28, 29 (NET)

[42] Romans 12:6a (NET)

[43] Romans 12:4, 5 (NET)

Romans, Part 34

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What then shall we say about these things? Paul continued.  If God is for (ὑπὲρ) us, who can be against (καθ᾿, a form of κατά) us?[3]  It would be a mistake to think that Paul implied that no one is, or would be, against us.  Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against (κατὰ) his father, a daughter against (κατὰ) her mother, and a daughter-in-law against (κατὰ) her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies (ἐχθροὶ, a form of ἐχθρός) will be the members of his household.”[5]  The point of Paul’s rhetorical question is, who are they who would array themselves against us compared to God?

Though they do not measure up to God they are the enemies we love.  But I say to you who are listening, Jesus said: Love your enemies (ἐχθροὺς, another form of ἐχθρός), do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”[6]  It is a mysterious blessing that we learn this love at home, with our families, in our own households.

Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, Paul continued to elaborate how God is for (ὑπὲρ) us, but gave him up for (ὑπὲρ) us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?[7]  Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift (δωρεὰν, a form of δωρεά) of the Holy Spirit,[9] Peter ended his first sermon on Pentecost.  Paul indicated that those who trust in Jesus receive the abundance of grace and of the gift (δωρεᾶς, another form of form of δωρεά) of righteousness.[10]  I became a servant of this gospel, Paul wrote the Ephesians, according to the gift (δωρεὰν, a form of δωρεά) of God’s grace that was given to me by the exercise of his power.[11]  When Paul enumerated the gifts of God’s grace for the Corinthians[12] he went on to describe a way that is beyond (καθ᾿) comparison,[13] the love[14] that fulfills the law, the gift of righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit, the essence of what it means to be led[15] by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

As Paul wrote the Ephesians, For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift (δῶρον) of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.  For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.[17]

Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (ἐκλεκτῶν, a form of ἐκλεκτός)? Paul continued in Romans.  Of course, many will presume, but who are they compared to God?  It is God who justifies.[19]  And yet the elect are not smug masters of the universe (Colossians 3:12-17 NET):

Therefore, as the elect (ἐκλεκτοὶ, another form of ἐκλεκτός) of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness (χρηστότητα, a form of χρηστότης), humility, gentleness (πραΰτητα, a form of πραΰτης), and patience (μακροθυμίαν, a form of μακροθυμία), bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else.  Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.  And to all these virtues[23] add[24] love (ἀγάπην, a form of ἀγάπη), which is the perfect bond.  Let the peace (εἰρήνη) of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

To clothe myself with a heart of mercy (σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ) is an interesting word picture.  I am to clothe myself with something internal, cover my naked ambition one might say with Christlikeness, the fruit of his Spirit (Galatians 5:13-16, 22-26).

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”  However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.  But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh…the fruit of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη), joy, peace (εἰρήνη), patience (μακροθυμία), kindness (χρηστότης), goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (πραΰτης), and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

Who is the one who will condemn? Paul continued.  Again, many will condemn, but who are they by comparison?  Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.[29]  Though many will try to bring a charge or condemn, who will actually prevail?  Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[30]

Paul quoted from Psalm 44.  In the Psalm the experience of death was viewed in confusion, as an evil, a lament, a plea to, or a rebuke of, God (Psalm 44:20-24 NET):

If we had rejected our God, and spread out our hands in prayer to another god, would not God discover it, for he knows one’s thoughts?  Yet because of you we are killed all day long; we are treated like sheep at the slaughtering block (Table).  Rouse yourself!  Why do you sleep, O Lord?  Wake up!  Do not reject us forever!  Why do you look the other way, and ignore the way we are oppressed and mistreated?

Paul’s attitude about death in the Gospel was entirely different (2 Corinthians 4:7-11 NET):

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body.  For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body.

No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! Paul continued in Romans.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.[31]

Paul’s quotation is compared with the Septuagint below for completeness.

Paul

Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint)

NET   Bible (Greek parallel text)
For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

Romans 8:36 (NET)

 ὅτι ἕνεκα σοῦ θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς

Psalm 44:22

 ὅτι ἕνεκεν σοῦ θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς

Romans 8:36

[3] Romans 8:31 (NET)

[5] Matthew 10:34-36 (NET)

[6] Luke 6:27 (NET)

[7] Romans 8:32 (NET) Table

[9] Acts 2:38 (NET) Table

[10] Romans 5:17 (NET)

[11] Ephesians 3:7 (NET)

[17] Ephesians 2:8-10 (NET)

[19] Romans 8:33 (NET)

[23] NET Note: The term “virtues” is not in the Greek text, but is included in the translation to specify the antecedent and to make clear the sense of the pronoun “these.” See: Peter’s Way?

[24] Net Note: The verb “add,” though not in the Greek text, is implied, picking up the initial imperative “clothe yourselves.” See: Peter’s Way?

[29] Romans 8:34 (NET) Table

[30] Romans 8:35, 36 (NET) Table

[31] Romans 8:37-39 (NET)

Romans, Part 24

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Much more then, Paul continued, because we have now been declared righteous (δικαιωθέντες, a form of δικαιόω) by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath (ὀργῆς, a form of ὀργή).1  I had a tendency to think of this as present or future wrath.  That may also be true, but as he continued his discussion of how sin entered the world and how the Lord Jesus’ one righteous act was the agency through which came righteousness leading to life for all people,2 it is evident that the past tense of the wrath revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness3 was on Paul’s mind.

So, because we have now been declared righteous (δικαιωθέντες, a form of δικαιόω) by his blood, we will be saved through him from 1) the impure desires of human hearts,4 2) dishonorable passions,5 and 3) depraved minds,6 as well as the sins associated with God’s wrath in Romans 1:18-32.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled (κατηλλάγημεν, a form of καταλλάσσω) to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled (καταλλαγέντες, another form of καταλλάσσω), will we be saved by his life?7  Though I may be reading too much into the text I think it is possible to gauge Paul’s progress through his troubles and affliction by the word translated reconciled above.

To the married I give this command – not I, but8 the Lord – a wife should not divorce a husband (but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled [καταλλαγήτω, another form of καταλλάσσω] to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife.9  Here in 1 Corinthians reconciliation seems almost like the second best choice to remaining unmarried if a wife divorces her husband.  This I assume was written before Romans.  After Romans, in 2 Corinthians, I encounter the word translated reconciled again (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NET).

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come! [Table]  And all these things are from God who reconciled (καταλλάξαντος, another form of καταλλάσσω) us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation (καταλλαγῆς, a form of καταλλαγή) [Table].  In other words, in Christ God was reconciling (κκαταλλάσσων, another form of κκαταλλάσσω) the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation (καταλλαγῆς, a form of καταλλαγή).  Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us.  We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled (καταλλάγητε, another form of καταλλάσσω) to God!”  God made the one who did not know (γνόντα, a form of γινώσκω) sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God [Table].

Not only this, Paul continued in Romans, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation (καταλλαγὴν, another form of καταλλαγή).10  I don’t see any particular problem with reading Paul’s attitude toward our reconciliation with God back into the reconciliation of a wife with her husband.

So then, Paul continued, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned…11  Thus began a contrast between Adam and Jesus.  A similar contrast can be found in 1 Corinthians 15.  In fact the contrasting mate to this opening statement is found there rather than in Romans.

Adam

Jesus
So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned…

Romans 5:12 (NET)

 [the Lord Jesus] must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet [Table].  The last enemy to be eliminated is death.

1 Corinthians 15:25, 26 (NET)

Paul’s rationale for this particular contrast is more apparent in 1 Corinthians.

Adam

Jesus
For since death12 came through a man…

1 Corinthians 15:21a (NET)

 …the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.

1 Corinthians 15:21b (NET)

In his letter to the Romans Paul veered away a bit from this same presentation.  First, he offered the following explanation (Romans 5:13, 14 NET):

…for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting (ἐλλογεῖται, a form of ἐλλογέω) for sin when there is no law.  Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed Table.

In other words, not everyone transgressed the specific command God gave to Adam alone before Eve was created, You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard [Table] (including the tree of life), but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die [Table].13  After Adam disobeyed God and gained knowledge of evil he had sons and daughters in his own likeness, according to his image.14

But the gracious gift (i.e., reconciliation) is not like the transgression,15 Paul returned to his contrast of Adam and Jesus.

Adam

Jesus
For if the many died through the transgression of the one man…

Romans 5:15b (NET)

 …how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!

Romans 5:15c (NET)

And the gift is not like the one who sinned.16

Adam

Jesus
For judgment, resulting from the one transgression, led to condemnation…

Romans 5:16b (NET)

 …but the gracious gift from the many failures led to justification.

Romans 5:16c (NET)
For if, by the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one…

Romans 5:17a (NET)

 …how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!

Romans 5:17b (NET)
Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression…

Romans 5:18a (NET)

 …so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people.

Romans 5:18b (NET)
For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners…

Romans 5:19a (NET)

 …so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:19b (NET)

Now the law came in, Paul explained, so that the transgression (i.e., the breaking of specific commandments as Adam did) may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more…17

Adam

Jesus
…so that just as sin reigned in death…

Romans 5:21a (NET)

 …so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:21b (NET)

Eternal life can be a difficult concept for those of us socialized in the value and necessity of death.  Perhaps the easiest way to present that socialization is through the 2011 film “In Time.”  Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer) served as the objective character in the movie and presented the normative assumption, “Everyone can’t live forever.  Where would we put them?”  Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), the convert from the dark side concurred, “We’re not meant to live forever.”  Her father Philippe (Vincent Kartheiser) said, “everyone wants to live forever,” but in his role as the personification of evil that meant only foolish people want this, and that desire will always keep evil men like Philippe Weis in power.  Philippe quipped, “for a few to be immortal, many must die.”  And the protagonist Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) countered, “No one should be immortal if even one person has to die.”

Paul, however, paired eternal life with the gift of God’s credited righteousness.  Once God’s righteousness begins to take root and flourish in one the possibility and desirability of eternal life (not mere immortality) become obvious.  This same contrast in 1 Corinthians complements the contrast in Romans.

Adam

Jesus
For just as in Adam all die…

1 Corinthians 15:22a (NET)

 …so also in Christ all will be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:22b (NET)
The first man, Adam, became a living person”…

1 Corinthians 15:45a (NET)

 …the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45b (NET)

Here I can relate this contrast to Jesus’ explanation to Nicodemus, I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Table].  What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must all be born from above.”18

 

Addendum: March 28, 2024
According to a note (27) in the NET, Paul quoted from Genesis 2:7 in 1 Corinthians 15:45. A table comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint follows.

1 Corinthians 15:45a (NET Parallel Greek)

Genesis 2:7b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Genesis 2:7b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν

1 Corinthians 15:45a (NET)

Genesis 2:7b (NETS)

Genesis 2:7b (English Elpenor)
The first man, Adam, became a living person the man became a living being the man became a living soul

Tables comparing the Greek of 1 Corinthians 7:10 and 15:21 in the NET and KJV follow.

1 Corinthians 7:10 (NET)

1 Corinthians 7:10 (KJV)
To the married I give this command—not I, but the Lord—a wife should not divorce a husband nd unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

1 Corinthians 7:10 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 Corinthians 7:10 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 Corinthians 7:10 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τοῖς δὲ γεγαμηκόσιν παραγγέλλω, οὐκ ἐγὼ ἀλλὰ ὁ κύριος, γυναῖκα ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς μὴ χωρισθῆναι τοις δε γεγαμηκοσιν παραγγελλω ουκ εγω αλλ ο κυριος γυναικα απο ανδρος μη χωρισθηναι τοις δε γεγαμηκοσιν παραγγελλω ουκ εγω αλλ ο κυριος γυναικα απο ανδρος μη χωρισθηναι

1 Corinthians 15:21 (NET)

1 Corinthians 15:21 (KJV)
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:21 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 Corinthians 15:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 Corinthians 15:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπου θάνατος, καὶ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπου ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν επειδη γαρ δι ανθρωπου ο θανατος και δι ανθρωπου αναστασις νεκρων επειδη γαρ δι ανθρωπου ο θανατος και δι ανθρωπου αναστασις νεκρων

1 Romans 5:9 (NET)

7 Romans 5:10 (NET)

9 1 Corinthians 7:10, 11 (NET)

10 Romans 5:11 (NET)

11 Romans 5:12 (NET)

12 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding death. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

13 Genesis 2:16, 17 (NET)

14 Genesis 5:3 (NET) Table

16 Romans 5:16a (NET)

17 Romans 5:20 (NET)

18 John 3:5-7 (NET) Table