comfort your hearts and may He establish you in every good word and work.
Truth to Learn
Comfort is God’s doing, but walking in faith is up to you.
Behind the Words
“Comfort” is translated from the Greek verb parakaleō. This word has the same root as the word translated “consolation” in yesterday’s verse. It means “to comfort, encourage, and challenge” just as a coach does for an athlete. It is expressed here in the rare optative mood; there are less than 70 uses of the optative mood in the New Testament. The optative is the mood used when a writer is expressing an action as possible.
Kardia is the word translated “heart.” The English word “cardiology” (the study of the heart) is obviously from this Greek word. It refers not only to the physical heart, but figuratively to “the seat and center of human life, including thoughts and feelings.”
The word “establish” is from stēridzō, which is derived from histemi, meaning “to stand or to set in place.” Stēridzō means “to make firm” or “to place securely.” This verb, as a parallel verb with parakaleō (comfort), is also expressed in the optative mood.
Agathos is the word translated “good.” This word refers to the general character or quality of goodnesaying.”
Ergon is the Greek word translated “work.” It refers to “something done or performed, an act or a deed.”
Meaning Explained
Today’s verse is directly connected with the previous one. In fact, grammatically, verse sixteen is the subject of the sentence and this verse is the predicate. You will recall that in the previous verse Paul equated the Father and Jesus Christ as one by using singular verbs with the plural subject. He continues that form in today’s verse. Though this sentence has a plural subject (Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father), the verbs “comfort” and “establish” are singular verbs.
There are two key lessons to learn from Paul’s prayer. The first is that our God is the one who comforts our hearts and who makes our standing firm. In his teachings at the Last Supper in the upper room, Jesus said this to His disciples:
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hss or usefulness.
“Word” is from the Greek noun logos, which refers to “an expression of intellect.” That is “a word or a
eart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
In other words, He said, “Don’t allow your hearts to be troubled or afraid.” Modern day psychology indicates that worry and fear are the results of our own minds; that is, we do it to ourselves. Comfort and peace, on the other hand, are the result of outside agents working on us to sooth us. Paul is praying for God to be that outside agent working on us both to comfort us and to make our standing firm.
The other thing we learn from today’s verse is that the Christian life is not just about what we claim to be. We all know people who profess to be Christian, but the manner in which they live their lives does not demonstrate true faith. In other words, don’t just talk the talk, also walk the walk. Let your Christian witness be the way you act and the way you treat others. You may know the words of Christianity, but do you do the works?
Application
Think about your faith this way: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Remember, don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved