Tag Archives: Romans 7:4

To Make Holy, Part 5

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The next form of ἁγιάζω I want to consider is found in Jesus’ prayer to his Father: Set them apart (ἁγίασον, a form of ἁγιάζω) in the truth; your word is truth.[1]  But I’m making a slow pilgrimage through his prayer because I believe I can know his holiness here.  I have revealed your name, Jesus prayed, to the [people] you gave me out of the world.  They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed (τετήρηκαν, a form of τηρέω) your word.[2]

Jesus came into the world to be despised and rejected by people.[3]  And though the Greek word κόσμου (a form of κόσμος), translated of the world, does not exclude the larger Gentile world necessarily, at this particular time He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel[4] rather than Gentile sinners.  You people are from your father the devil,[5] Jesus said of Israel’s religious leaders.  A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher[6] serves as a fair assessment of those who followed Israel’s teachers.  You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves[7] is certainly more explicit.  This gives me some context, how precious the people you gave me out of the world were to Jesus.

He came to what was his own (ἴδια, a form of ἴδιος), but his own people (ἴδιοι, another form of ἴδιος) did not receive him.[8]  He knew this would happen.  Isaiah prophesied it: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.[9]  And in a very real sense their rejection was part of the plan and purpose of salvation (Romans 11:11-33 NET).

I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they?  Absolutely not!  But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles (ἔθνεσιν, a form of ἔθνος), to make Israel jealous.  Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles (ἐθνῶν, another form of ἔθνος), how much more will their full restoration bring?

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles (ἔθνεσιν, a form of ἔθνος).  Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles (ἐθνῶν, another form of ἔθνος), I magnify my ministry, if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them.  For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?  If the first portion of the dough offered is holy (ἁγία, a form of ἅγιος), then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy (ἁγία, a form of ἅγιος), so too are the branches.

Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root, do not boast over the branches.  But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.  Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”  Granted!  They were broken off because of their unbelief (ἀπιστίᾳ), but you stand by faith (πίστει, a form of πίστις).  Do not be arrogant, but fear!  For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.  Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.  And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief (ἀπιστίᾳ)– will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?

For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles (ἐθνῶν, another form of ἔθνος) has come in.  And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.  And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers.  For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.  Just as you were formerly disobedient (ἠπειθήσατε, a form of ἀπειθέω) to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience (ἀπειθείᾳ), so they too have now been disobedient (ἠπείθησαν, another form of ἀπειθέω) in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.  For God has consigned all people to disobedience (ἀπείθειαν, a form of ἀπείθεια) so that he may show mercy to them all.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

I’m ignoring for the moment the more traditional interpretation of this verse, the importance and instrumentality of the eleven apostles carrying on Jesus’ message and building the church, in favor of the comfort God the Father gave to Jesus on a mission of rejection.  My current focus is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.  She comforted Him in a way the apostles could not.

She has kept it for the day of my burial,[10] Jesus said of the three quarters of a pound of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard[11] she had “wasted” on his feet.  She had sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said[12] and apparently believed Him while the eleven (all twelve, in fact) were still full of their own understanding, hoping for (or fearing) the overthrow of the Roman government and their own domination of the world.  Taking Jesus at his word is still a great comfort in a world full of rejection as He draws all to Himself.

They belonged to you (KJV: thine they were), Jesus’ prayer continued.  I don’t want to speculate too much about this beyond Jesus’ own words: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.[13]  Most translators have understood the next clause καμοὶ αὐτοὺς ἔδωκας as a reiteration of people the Father gave to Jesus.  But consider the following table:

King James Version Darby Bible Translation

American King James Version
…and thou gavest them me… …and thou gavest them me… …and you gave them me…

Here it sounds reciprocal: the Father also gave Jesus to them.  But I admit it is possible, probably likely, that this is just King James’ English for a reiteration of the Father gave them to Jesus.  You gave them to Me, the NKJV reads.  The Greek word καμοὶ (and me, me also) is a dative pronoun according to the Koine Greek Lexicon as is μοι (me) in the phrase you gave me out of the world:

Dative Case
The dative is the case of the indirect object, or may also indicate the means by which something is done. The dative case also has a wide variety of uses, with the root idea being that of “personal interest” or “reference”. It is used most often in one of three general categories: Indirect object, Instrument (means), or Location. Most commonly it is used as the indirect object of a sentence. It may also indicate the means by which something is done or accomplished. Used as a dative of location, it can show the “place”, “time”, or “sphere” in which something may happen. 
For example: (Indirect object): “Jesus said to them“, or “he will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask” (Luke 11:13). 
(Instrument or Means): “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (by means of) prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). In this sentence, there is a single Greek word translated into the phrase “by prayer” showing the means by which to let our requests be made known to God. 
(Location): “… and on the third day He will be raised up” (Matt 20:19). The phrase “the third day” is in the dative case, showing the time in which Jesus will be raised. In this sentence, there is no Greek word present that is translated into the English word “on”; it is added to show the meaning of the dative of location.

The Greek word αὐτοὺς (them) is an accusative pronoun as is οὓς the untranslated relative pronoun which precedes you gave in the prior phrase:

Accusative Case
The accusative case is the case of the direct object, receiving the action of the verb. Like the other cases, the accusative has a wide variety of uses, but its main function is as the direct object of a transitive verb. The direct object will most often be in the accusative case. 
For example: “As newborn babes, long for the guiless milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2). The word “milk” is in the accusative case and is functioning as the direct object of the transitive verb “long for” (or “desire”).

The only reason I want this giving to be reciprocal is to make it clearer that God the Father gave them Jesus and thus they have kept[14] his word, rather than too appear as if they obeyed his word so God the Father gave them to Jesus.

Now they understand, Jesus’ continued, that everything you have given me comes from you.[15]  In other words, Jesus relied on his Father’s supply, not his own godliness.  And those who had been given to Him knew (ἔγνωκαν, a form of γινώσκω; translated understand) this.  The verb ἔγνωκαν is in the perfect tense: “The basic thought of the perfect tense is that the progress of an action has been completed and the results of the action are continuing on, in full effect.  In other words, the progress of the action has reached its culmination and the finished results are now in existence.”[16]  And though it is obvious to me here and now that everything you have given me comes from you means that Jesus relied on his Father’s supply rather than his own godliness, it just became obvious to me here and now.

“It’s axiomatic to me,” I wrote in another essay, “that Jesus didn’t utilize his own godliness, but trusted the Holy Spirit that descended like a dove from heaven, and…remained on him.[11] Otherwise, Jesus’ invitation and command, Follow me,[12] is little more than a cruel joke.”

“As I’ve written before it is axiomatic to me that the way Jesus loved us,” I wrote in another essay, “was through that same love He received from the Holy Spirit that descended like a dove from heaven, and…remained on him.[43] He prayed as much to his Father if one has ears to hear: I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love (ἀγάπη) you have loved (ἠγάπησας, a form of ἀγαπάω) me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”[44]

“As I’ve written before,[20] it is axiomatic to me that Jesus’ holiness was from the Holy Spirit rather than his own divine nature” I wrote elsewhere.  “Otherwise, his command and invitation, Follow me, would be meaningless to sinful human beings.”

I acknowledged that my axiom in the beginning was little more than a confidence that “Jesus wasn’t commanding us to follow Him somewhere we couldn’t go…Over time,” I confessed, “my ‘axiom’ has come to mean so much more: When I am anything less than Christlike I no longer think: ‘Oh, He is God and I am not.’  Instead, I know that I am living according to the flesh (Romans 8:5-11), that I’ve fallen away from grace.  One would think I would know better by now but apparently I do not.  It alerts me that it is time to stop relying on myself and get back to trusting Jesus, relying on his Spirit.  But that weight deserves something weightier than an axiom.”[17]  But when did it become axiomatic?  It wasn’t axiomatic when I turned again to obey his rules in my own strength.

I asked a friend I knew from church to sing this prayer as a demo after I had set it to music.  It was beyond his vocal ability.  Twice in the piece Jesus strikes a dissonant pedal tone until the rest of the music resolves and conforms to that note.  My friend recommended a better trained singer, a younger man nearer my age.  And he did this without criticizing my living arrangements or commenting on my unworthiness to write an opera about Jesus.

As this younger more skilful singer and I rehearsed we talked.  I acknowledged the trouble I was having not sinning.  He said that whatever was too difficult for him became easy when he “turned it over to the Lord.”  It was apparent to me that he was describing actual experience, but I failed to ask what he meant by turning it over to the Lord.  I assumed he meant prayer.  When I prayed for Jesus’ help to overcome my sin I got nothing.  (Or I got everything one reads about in these essays.)  At the time I assumed I wasn’t holy enough to merit God’s help.

So I strove with all my might to make myself holy enough to earn his blessing, by which I meant becoming a famous (and hopefully rich) composer.  I clearly didn’t grasp that since Jesus is holy everyone who abides (John 15:1-8) in Him is holy (Romans 11:16-24).  I saw my task as one of becoming holy rather than one of allowing Jesus’ holiness to shine through me; namely, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that is the fruit of his Holy Spirit.[18]  And I didn’t understand that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit.

In my ignorance I attempted to use Him as my personal demon to achieve my own purposes.  I was a lot like Nikolai (Adam Brody), the lead singer of the band Low Shoulder, in Jason Reitman’s and Diablo Cody’s movie Jennifer’s Body.  “Do you know how hard it is to make it as an indie band these days?” he asked Jennifer (Megan Fox).  “There’s so many of us, and we’re all so cute, and it’s like, if you don’t get on Letterman or some retarded soundtrack, you’re screwed, okay?  Satan is our only hope.  We’re in league with the beast now, and we have to make a really big impression on him.  And to do that, we’re going to have to butcher you and bleed you.”  And he does.

Granted, I tried to make an impression on Jesus by attempting to obey his laws in my own strength, laws that included not butchering or bleeding young women.  So what would I say to myself now about overcoming sin by turning it over to the Lord?

It was a bit like being caught in Devil’s Snare from the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  Hermione (Emma Watson), who “pays attention in Herbology” at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, recognizes the plant and knows how to escape it.  “Stop moving, both of you,” she yells to Ron (Rupert Grint) and Harry (Daniel Radcliffe).  “You have to relax.  If you don’t, it will only kill you faster.”

For when we were in the flesh, (as opposed to being led by the Holy Spirit) Paul wrote believers in Rome, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.  But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.[19]  My striving to obey rules only strengthened sin’s hold on me: the power of sin is the law.[20]  Rather than living in the flesh, striving to obey laws, I should have given more heed to Paul’s explanation: So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.[21]

In the movie Ron doesn’t respond well to Hermione’s words: “Kill us faster?” he exclaims.  “Oh, now I can relax.”  But Hermione relaxes and falls through the bottom of the plant.  Harry is able to follow her example and disappears as well.  Poor Ron is left alone, struggling, thinking his friends have been swallowed whole by the Devil’s Snare.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen (gôy, בגוים; Septuagint: ἔθνεσιν, a form of ἔθνος), I will be exalted in the earth.[22]  In that quiet place of trust I began to find that seemingly inexhaustible supply of God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control like a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.[23]  Ironically, even my striving to obey laws was fueled by his Holy Spirit channeled through my own ignorance of Him, my ignorance of the Bible which reveals Him to all who have ears to hear.

[1] John 17:17 (NET)

[2] John 17:6 (NET)

[3] Isaiah 53:3a (NET)

[4] Matthew 15:24 (NET)

[5] John 8:44a (NET)

[6] Luke 6:40 (NET)

[7] Matthew 23:15b (NET)

[8] John 1:11 (NET)

[9] Isaiah 53:3 (Tanakh)

[10] John 12:7b (NET)

[11] John 12:3 (NET)

[12] Luke 10:39b (NET)

[13] John 6:44 (NET)

[14] I have written enough about forms of τηρέω (τετήρηκαν is a form of τηρέω) elsewhere: Everyone Fathered by God Does Not Sin; Antichrist, Part 2; Son of God – 1 John, Part 3; Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 3; My Deeds, Part 1; My Deeds, Part 2; My Deeds, Part 3

[15] John 17:7 (NET)

[16] https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm#TENSE

[17] Who Am I? Part 6

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

[19] Romans 7:5, 6 (NET)

[20] 1 Corinthians 15:56b (NET)

[21] Romans 7:4 (NET)

[22] Psalm 46:10 (Tanakh)

[23] John4:14b (NET)

Romans, Part 31

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So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation (ὀφειλέται, a form of ὀφειλέτης),[1] not to the flesh (σαρκὶ, a form of σάρξ),[2] to live according to the flesh (σάρκα, another form of σάρξ), Paul continued, (for if you live according to the flesh [σάρκα, another form of σάρξ], you will die [ἀποθνῄσκειν, a form of ἀποθνήσκω][3])…[4]  If I consider myself the old man, the sin condemned in the flesh,[5] I will die along with the flesh.  This truism is equivalent to Jesus’ saying to Martha, The one who believes in me will live even if he dies (ἀποθάνῃ, another form of ἀποθνήσκω),[6] or to his disciples, The one who loves his life [i.e., in this world] destroys [or, loses] it.[7]  But no, I didn’t see that for a long time.

I thought Paul was threatening me with eternal damnation if I lived according to the flesh, even though the text said die.  I wasn’t happy about it, especially after everything else he had said, but I couldn’t make any other sense of it at the time.  And yes, it is embarrassing to keep admitting how stubbornly dull-witted I am.

Paul continued, but if by the Spirit you put to death (θανατοῦτε, a form of θανατόω)[8] the deeds (πράξεις, a form of πρᾶξις)[9] of the body you will live.[10]  If I identify with the new man created in the image of God, I will live.  But no, I didn’t see how well this fit with Jesus saying to Martha, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die (ἀποθάνῃ, another form of ἀποθνήσκω).[11]  And I didn’t relate it to Jesus saying to his disciples, and the one who hates his life in this world guards [or, keeps] it for eternal life.[12]

I thought it was best, if I wanted to go to heaven, to keep trying to put the deeds of my body to death by striving to keep the law, or at least by striving to love by keeping the definition of the love that fulfills the law as if it were laws.  The idea that I could put to death the deeds of the body by faith, by believing that my old man was crucified with [Christ] so that the body of sin would no longer dominate [me], so that [I] would no longer be enslaved to sin,[13] because God achieved what the law could not do…By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh…so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit,[14] was a slow train coming.

For all who are led (ἄγονται, a form of ἄγω)[15] by the Spirit of God are the sons of God,[16] Paul continued.  Surely I am a byword in heaven.  Over and over I was led back to these verses, and over and over I refused to drink them in.  But let me recount the word ἄγω as used in the Gospels as a contrast to my Do-It-Yourself religion.

And you will be brought (ἀχθήσεσθε, another form of ἄγω) before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles,[17] Jesus told his disciples.  When they arrest (ἄγωσιν, another form of ἄγω) you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.[18]  Go to the village ahead of you, Jesus said.  Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her.  Untie them and bring (ἀγάγετε, another form of ἄγω) them to me.[19]  They brought (ἤγαγον, another form of ἄγω) the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.[20]  Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was led (ἤγετο, another form of ἄγω) by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he endured temptations from the devil.[21]

So here I have Jesus ἤγετο (another form of ἄγω) by the Holy Spirit, and handed over to the devil: Then the devil brought (῎Ηγαγεν, another form of ἄγω) him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here…”[22]  An angry mob got up, forced [Jesus] out of the town, and brought (ἤγαγον, another form of ἄγω) him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.[23]  A mob of duly authorized law enforcement types arrested Jesus, led (ἤγαγον, another form of ἄγω) him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house.[24]   Then the whole group of them rose up and brought (ἤγαγον, another form of ἄγω) Jesus before Pilate.[25]  Two other criminals were also led away (῎Ηγοντο, another form of ἄγω) to be executed with him.[26]

Now I look back at the meaning and usage of ἄγω and ask myself incredulously, “Just exactly what part of being led (ἄγονται, a form of ἄγω) by the Spirit did you think was your doing, Dan?”  But I’m not alone, though I might wish that I were.  I want to take the movie “Courageous” as my point of departure here.

Actually, a big part of me doesn’t want to do that at all.  As an independent filmmaker wannabe I have nothing but admiration for what the Kendrick brothers and Sherwood Baptist Church have done.  I can watch their movies without being embarrassed by the quality of the filmmaking, and each film gets better on that score than the one before.  I didn’t feel anything I’m about to say while watching the film (and I watched “Courageous” again last night).  What I feel is comfort, familiarity and a warm nostalgia for the religion of my childhood, my youth and beyond.  I like stirring music.  I want to be courageous, too.  That’s part of my problem, that I only see a problem in retrospect when I analyze the story in the light of the Gospel and the religious mind.

The storyline of “Courageous,” for those who haven’t seen it, is about a father Adam after his daughter Emily dies in a car crash.  She was his favorite, though he was almost as detached from her as from his son, concerned about his work and his appearance to others.  After her death he is concerned that he should have been a better father.  His wife reminds him that he is still a father.  He talks to his Pastor.  He studies the Bible.  He begins to make a rapprochement with his son.  So far so good.

Then he drafts a resolution, a list of rules derived from his Bible study about fatherhood.  He passes it out to his friends.  Most of them, interestingly enough, are other policemen.  He asks these policemen to hold him accountable to his list of rules.  They want to sign it, too.  Eventually, all the men join in a ceremony, effectively swearing an oath to abide by Adam’s rules.  It is all very moving, and courageous.  But Adam, a churchgoing man, was ashamed of the Gospel for exactly the same reason that Paul was not.

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes,[27] because the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”[28]  Anyone might become dissatisfied with the righteousness of God that is showing through him and out into the world at any given moment.  It is an excellent time to return to Christ, to be joined to the one who was raised from the dead, like a wife seeking to enlarge her family comes to her husband, to bear fruit to God.[29]  It is not a time to attempt to have one’s own righteousness derived from the law.[30]  You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace![31]

Instead of rebuking and correcting them privately, Adam’s Pastor praises the men publicly for their resolution and their oath to keep it.  Then Adam is allowed to speak to the entire congregation.  Adam persuades other men to follow him in his defection from Christ.  I feel this defection deeply when I get away from the movie and its rousing music, Adam’s tear-filled eyes, his upraised arm and his hand grasping for something elusive.  But my anger is restrained for two reasons.

First, I find it extremely interesting that the character’s name is Adam.  For all I know there is a “Courageous 2” in the works where Adam (or Shane, but that’s another story) learns to be led by the Spirit rather than by the flesh.  And secondly, I know how much remedial help I’ve needed in the sense that the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ.[32]  The NET has it, the law had become our guardian until Christ.[33]  Neither word alone is quite right, governess, nanny, just don’t say it.  I think of Creasy, Denzel Washington’s character in “Man on Fire,” taking Pita, Dakota Fanning’s character, to school, guarding her, protecting her, and preparing her to learn.  He became much more than a bodyguard, but not her teacher.  Jesus is the teacher not the law, or living by laws.

Even those born only of the flesh of Adam bind themselves to laws, rules and ethical principles to keep from becoming complete sociopaths.  It doesn’t take a prophet to see that if the Kendrick brothers’ resolution fails to bring those born of the flesh and of the Spirit to Christ, Shariah is waiting in the wings.  But it must be equally clear that the Kendrick brothers’ resolution derived from the Bible is no more the Gospel than Shariah law is.  Both are of the old way, the old written code, and neither is the new life of the Spirit.[34]

Romans, Part 32

The Life 

Back to The Soul

Back to Romans, Part 34

Back to Romans, Part 35

Back to Romans, Part 48

Back to Romans, Part 82

Back to Romans, Part 83

[4] Romans 8:12, 13a (NET)

[5] Romans 8:3 (NET)

[6] John 11:25b (NET)

[7] John 12:25a (NET)

[10] Romans 8:13b (NET)

[11] John 11:26a (NET)

[12] John 12:25b (NET)

[13] Romans 6:6 (NET)

[14] Romans 8:3, 4 (NET)

[16] Romans 8:14 (NET)

[17] Matthew 10:18 (NET)

[18] Mark 13:11 (NET)

[19] Matthew 21:2 (NET)

[20] Matthew 21:7 (NET)

[21] Luke 4:1 (NET)

[22] Luke 4:9 (NET)

[23] Luke 4:29 (NET)

[24] Luke 22:54 (NET)

[25] Luke 23:1 (NET)

[26] Luke 23:32 (NET)

[27] Romans 1:16 (NET)

[28] Romans 1:17 (NET)

[29] Romans 7:4 (NET)

[30] Philippians 3:9 (NET)

[31] Galatians 5:4 (NET) Table

[32] Galatians 3:24 (NKJV)

[33] Galatians 3:24 (NET)

Romans, Part 6

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The children who came of age in a population where the worship of created things was firmly established know better than anyone that the worship of created things is a waste of time and effort.  At that moment they have an opportunity to turn back to the worship of the living God, but if their ἀσέβεια (ungodliness) is not overcome by the Spirit of God, the word of God, faith in the Lord Jesus, and being born from above they are more likely to take the next logical step.

Unrighteous Worship

The Wrath of God Revealed from Heaven
And just as they did not see (ἐδοκίμασαν, a form of δοκιμάζω) fit (ἔχειν, a form of ἔχω) to acknowledge (ἐπιγνώσει, a form of ἐπίγνωσις) God…

Romans 1:28a NET

 God gave them over (παρέδωκεν, a form of παραδίδωμι) to a depraved (ἀδόκιμον, a form of ἀδόκιμος) mind, to do what should not be done.

Romans 1:28b NET

I think the King James translation of the first part of Romans 1:28a can really help here: And even as they did not like (ἐδοκίμασαν, a form of δοκιμάζω) to retain (ἔχειν, a form of ἔχω) God in their knowledge (ἐπιγνώσει, a form of ἐπίγνωσις)…  Paul used the word ἐχέτω (another form of ἔχω) in the sense of having a wife or a husband in 1 Corinthians 7:2 (KJV): let every man have (ἐχέτω) his own wife, and let every woman have (ἐχέτω) her own husband.  Considering where all this is leading—you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God1—the double entendre of ἔχω intrigues me.  It is something like, even as they did not approve of having God in their knowledge.

Approve is both a possible and likely meaning for ἐδοκίμασαν (a form of δοκιμάζω) in Romans 1:28.  It comes from δόκιμος.  And the negation of δόκιμος, ἀδόκιμος (ἀδόκιμον), is the unapproved (NET, depraved; KJV, reprobate) mind the Lord gave those who did not approve of having Him in their minds.  All of that beautiful logical symmetry is lost in both translations in favor of emotionally charged language that fails to communicate that the mind He gave them over to is unapproved, perhaps even untested, by God.  If the lake of fire,2 or the outer darkness,3 is the place where the omnipresent God is not, this unapproved mind is as close as a human being can come to it here and now.

Romans 1:28 is the first usage in the New Testament of ἐπιγνώσει (a form of ἐπίγνωσις).  Paul used it two other times in this letter: 1) For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις) of sin;4 and, 2) For I can testify that [my fellow Israelites] are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth5 (ἐπίγνωσιν, another form of ἐπίγνωσις).  Though Paul doesn’t say it directly I think he has used ἐπίγνωσις6 in Greek for the Hebrew word יָדַע (yâdaʽ).

The early history of יָדַע (yâdaʽ) must have been in Paul’s thoughts as he penned Romans.7  The first occurrence of יָדַע (yâdaʽ) is from the mouth of the cunning serpent: The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, for God knows (yâdaʽ, ידע) that when you eat from it8 your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know (yâdaʽ, ידעי) good and evil.”9  Adam and Eve believed the serpent and ate the forbidden fruit.  Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew (yâdaʽ, וידעו) they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.10  And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing (yâdaʽ, לדעת) good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”  So the Lord God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.11

It seems to me that Paul must have been thinking about God’s promises through Jeremiah as he wrote Romans 9-11.  I will give them the desire to acknowledge (yâdaʽ, לדעת) that I am the Lord.  I will be their God and they will be my people.  For they will wholeheartedly return to me.12  “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know (yâdaʽ, דעו) me.  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know (yâdaʽ, ידעו) me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”13  So while the desire for the ידעי (yâdaʽ) of good and evil led to sin and death, the ידעו (yâdaʽ) of God is the way back to righteousness and life.

One more thing about יָדַע (yâdaʽ) bears mentioning and bundles everything together with Paul’s understanding—you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.14  Now the man had marital relations (yâdaʽ, ידע) with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.15  So יָדַע (yâdaʽ) (and ἐπίγνωσις, I think,) describes an intimate form of knowing, much more than a casual acquaintance.

God gave them over to a depraved, reprobate or unapproved (ἀδόκιμον, a form of ἀδόκιμος) mind, and this led inexorably to the social situation we all know intimately (Romans 1:29-31 NET):

They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness,16 wickedness, covetousness, malice.  They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility.  They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless,17 ruthless.

One final thing should be noted about this unapproved mind.  Left to our own devices we not only practice this worship of unrighteousness, we promote it with missionary zeal.  Although they fully know (ἐπιγνόντες, a form of ἐπιγινώσκω) God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.18

 

Addendum: May 29, 2020
Tables comparing Genesis 3:4; 3:5; 3:7; 3:22; 3:23; Jeremiah 24:7; 31:34; Genesis 4:1; 2:16 and 2:17 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and Genesis 3:4; 3:5; 3:7; 3:22; 3:23; Jeremiah 24:7; 31:34 (38:34); Genesis 4:1; 2:16 and 2:17 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.  Following those are tables comparing Romans 1:29 and 1:31 in the NET and KJV.

Genesis 3:4 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:4 (KJV)

Genesis 3:4 (NET)
And the serpent said unto the woman: ‘Ye shall not surely die; And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,

Genesis 3:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ὄφις τῇ γυναικί οὐ θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῗσθε καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ὄφις τῇ γυναικί· οὐ θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῖσθε

Genesis 3:4 (NETS)

Genesis 3:4 (English Elpenor)
And the snake said to the woman, “You will not die by death, And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

Genesis 3:5 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:5 (KJV)

Genesis 3:5 (NET)
for G-d doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as G-d, knowing good and evil.’ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ᾔδει γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἐν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγητε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ διανοιχθήσονται ὑμῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί καὶ ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοὶ γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν ᾔδει γὰρ ὁ Θεός, ὅτι ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγητε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, διανοιχθήσονται ὑμῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ καὶ ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοί, γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν

Genesis 3:5 (NETS)

Genesis 3:5 (English Elpenor)
for God knew that on the day you eat of it, your eyes would be opened, and you would be like gods knowing good and evil.” For God knew that in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Genesis 3:7 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:7 (KJV)

Genesis 3:7 (NET)
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ διηνοίχθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν δύο καὶ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι γυμνοὶ ἦσαν καὶ ἔρραψαν φύλλα συκῆς καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῗς περιζώματα καὶ διηνοίχθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν δύο, καὶ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι γυμνοὶ ἦσαν, καὶ ἔρραψαν φύλλα συκῆς καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς περιζώματα

Genesis 3:7 (NETS)

Genesis 3:7 (English Elpenor)
And the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons to go round them.

Genesis 3:22 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:22 (KJV)

Genesis 3:22 (NET)
And HaShem G-d said: ‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.’ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Genesis 3:22 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός ἰδοὺ Αδαμ γέγονεν ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν τοῦ γινώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν καὶ νῦν μήποτε ἐκτείνῃ τὴν χεῗρα καὶ λάβῃ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ φάγῃ καὶ ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· ἰδοὺ ᾿Αδὰμ γέγονεν ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν, τοῦ γινώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν· καὶ νῦν μή ποτε ἐκτείνῃ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ λάβῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καὶ φάγῃ καὶ ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

Genesis 3:22 (NETS)

Genesis 3:22 (English Elpenor)
Then God said, “See, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now perhaps he might reach out his hand and take of the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” And God said, Behold, Adam is become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and [so] he shall live forever–

Genesis 3:23 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:23 (KJV)

Genesis 3:23 (NET)
Therefore HaShem G-d sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So the Lord God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.

Genesis 3:23 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν αὐτὸν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου τῆς τρυφῆς ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν γῆν ἐξ ἧς ἐλήμφθη καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν αὐτὸν Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου τῆς τρυφῆς ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν γῆν, ἐξ ἧς ἐλήφθη

Genesis 3:23 (NETS)

Genesis 3:23 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God sent him forth from the orchard of delight to till the earth from which he was taken. So the Lord God sent him forth out of the garden of Delight to cultivate the ground out of which he was taken.

Jeremiah 24:7 (Tanakh)

 Jeremiah 24:7 (KJV)

Jeremiah 24:7 (NET)
And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. I will give them the desire to acknowledge that I am the Lord.  I will be their God and they will be my people.  For they will wholeheartedly return to me.’

Jeremiah 24:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Jeremiah 24:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ δώσω αὐτοῗς καρδίαν τοῦ εἰδέναι αὐτοὺς ἐμὲ ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος καὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν καὶ ἐγὼ ἔσομαι αὐτοῗς εἰς θεόν ὅτι ἐπιστραφήσονται ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν καὶ δώσω αὐτοῖς καρδίαν τοῦ εἰδέναι αὐτοὺς ἐμέ, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος, καὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς Θεόν, ὅτι ἐπιστραφήσονται ἐπ’ ἐμὲ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν

Jeremiah 24:7 (NETS)

Jeremiah 24:7 (English Elpenor)
And I will give them a heart that they may know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall become a people to me, and I shall become a god to them, because they shall return to me with their whole heart. And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God: for they shall turn to me with all their heart.

Jeremiah 31:34 (Tanakh)

 Jeremiah 31:34 (KJV)

Jeremiah 31:34 (NET)
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me.  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord.  “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Jeremiah 31:34 (Septuagint BLB)

Jeremiah 38:34 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων γνῶθι τὸν κύριον ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσίν με ἀπὸ μικροῦ αὐτῶν καὶ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῗς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· γνῶθι τὸν Κύριον· ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσί με ἀπὸ μικροῦ αὐτῶν ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῖς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι

Jeremiah 38:34 (NETS)

Jeremiah 38:34 (English Elpenor)
And they shall not teach, each his fellow citizen and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” because they shall all know me, from their small even to their great, because I will be gracious regarding their injustices, and remember their sins no more. And they shall not at all teach every one his [fellow] citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more.

Genesis 4:1 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 4:1 (KJV)

Genesis 4:1 (NET)
And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: ‘I have gotten a man with the help of HaShem.’ And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. Now the man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.  Then she said, “I have created a man just as the Lord did!”

Genesis 4:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 4:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
Αδαμ δὲ ἔγνω Ευαν τὴν γυναῗκα αὐτοῦ καὶ συλλαβοῦσα ἔτεκεν τὸν Καιν καὶ εἶπεν ἐκτησάμην ἄνθρωπον διὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ΑΔΑΜ δὲ ἔγνω Εὔαν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ συλλαβοῦσα ἔτεκε τὸν Κάϊν καὶ εἶπεν· ἐκτησάμην ἄνθρωπον διὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ

Genesis 4:1 (NETS)

Genesis 4:1 (English Elpenor)
Now Adam knew his wife Heua, and after she had conceived she bore Kain and said, “I have acquired a man through God.” AND Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, I have gained a man through God.

Genesis 2:16 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:16 (KJV)

Genesis 2:16 (NET)
And HaShem G-d commanded the man, saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard,

Genesis 2:16 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐνετείλατο κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ Αδαμ λέγων ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ βρώσει φάγῃ καὶ ἐνετείλατο Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ᾿Αδὰμ λέγων· ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ βρώσει φαγῇ

Genesis 2:16 (NETS)

Genesis 2:16 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, “You shall eat for food of every tree that is in the orchard, And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat,

Genesis 2:17 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:17 (KJV)

Genesis 2:17 (NET)
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 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.”

Genesis 2:17 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ γινώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ᾗ δ᾽ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγητε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῗσθε ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ γινώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν, οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ· ᾗ δ᾿ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγητε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῖσθε

Genesis 2:17 (NETS)

Genesis 2:17 (English Elpenor)
but of the tree for knowing good and evil, of it you shall not eat; on the day that you eat of it, you shall die by death.” but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil– of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die.

Romans 1:29 (NET)

Romans 1:29 (KJV)
They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice.  They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility.  They are gossips, Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
πεπληρωμένους πάσῃ ἀδικίᾳ πονηρίᾳ πλεονεξίᾳ κακίᾳ, μεστοὺς φθόνου φόνου ἔριδος δόλου κακοηθείας, ψιθυριστάς πεπληρωμενους παση αδικια πορνεια πονηρια πλεονεξια κακια μεστους φθονου φονου εριδος δολου κακοηθειας ψιθυριστας πεπληρωμενους παση αδικια πορνεια πονηρια πλεονεξια κακια μεστους φθονου φονου εριδος δολου κακοηθειας ψιθυριστας

Romans 1:31 (NET)

Romans 1:31 (KJV)
senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀσυνέτους ἀσυνθέτους ἀστόργους ἀνελεήμονας ασυνετους ασυνθετους αστοργους ασπονδους ανελεημονας ασυνετους ασυνθετους αστοργους ασπονδους ανελεημονας

1 Romans 7:4 (NET)

4 Romans 3:20 (NET)

5 Romans 10:2 (NET)

6 The Septuagint used forms of εἴδω and γινώσκω for the verses quoted in Genesis (3:5 ᾔδει, γινώσκοντες; 3:7 ἔγνωσαν; 3:22 γινώσκειν) and in Jeremiah (24:7 εἰδέναι; 31:34 γνῶθι, εἰδήσουσίν).  I think Paul used forms of ἐπίγνωσις to add that intimate sense of knowing, following 1 Corinthians 13:12b (NET): Now I know (γινώσκω) in part, but then I will know fully (ἐπιγνώσομαι, a form of ἐπιγινώσκω), just as I have been fully known (ἐπεγνώσθην, another form of ἐπιγινώσκω).

8 Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, 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.” Genesis 2:16, 17 (NET)

9 Genesis 3:4, 5 (NET)

10 Genesis 3:7 (NET)

11 Genesis 3:22, 23 (NET)

12 Jeremiah 24:7 (NET)

13 Jeremiah 31:34 (NET)

14 Romans 7:4 (NET)

15 Genesis 4:1 (NET)

16 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πορνεια (KJV: fornication) following unrighteousness.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

17 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ασπονδους (KJV: implacable) following heartless (KJV: without natural affection).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

18 Romans 1:32 (NET)