Tag: if

Ephesians 3:2 – Administrator of Grace

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 3:2  – Administrator of Grace

if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,

Truth to Learn

All Christians are commissioned to preach the Gospel.

Behind the Words

The word “if” is translated from ei. This is a conditional particle which introduces a conditional clause. In New Testament Greek (Koinē Greek) there are four types of conditional clauses, although only three of them appear in the Bible. The first class condition assumes the “if” clause to be true. The second class condition assumes the “if” clause to be false and the third class condition makes no assumption. In today’s verse we see a first class condition, so Paul assumes that his readers have heard of the dispensation.

“Indeed” is from ge, which is a particle of emphasis or qualification. It can be variously translated as “besides, doubtless, indeed, at least, or yet.”

The word translated “dispensation” is oikonomia, which is made up of oikos, meaning “house” and a form of nemō, meaning “to distribute or apportion.” Oikonomia can refer to the position of administrator, the work done by an administrator, or of the process of administration. In today’s verse it refers to the “administration” or “stewardship” of the grace of God.

Meaning Explained

Paul, like every believer in Jesus Christ, has been the recipient of God’s grace as he described it in the previous chapter:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)

However, that’s not what he is specifically referring to in today’s verse. Here he is talking about “the dispensation of the grace of God” or the administration of the grace of God. God chose the Apostle Paul to be the administrator of His grace for the Gentiles. What he means by that is that God has entrusted him with the message of salvation by grace, through faith, and it is his responsibility to deliver it to the Gentiles. In Acts chapter twenty-six Paul described to King Agrippa how he received this responsibility directly from the Lord, who said:

But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, (Acts 26:16, 17)

In fact, he told the believers in Corinth that he now has no choice but to preach the Gospel message:

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Paul recognized his responsibility to administer the grace of God by preaching the Good News to people throughout the known world, and he performed that task until the day he died.

Application

We, too, have been given a commission to preach the Gospel message. Are you carrying out that commission? Are you sharing the Good News with those around you?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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Romans 14:8 – Still On The Altar?

Posted on by Will

Romans 14:8 – Still On The Altar?

For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Truth to Learn

Living to the Lord is submission to His will.

Behind the Words

The subtlety of this verse is in the mood of the verbs in the translated phrases, “if we live” and “if we die.” Greek verbs can be expressed in four different moods. In the indicative mood the action is conceived of as fact. The subjunctive mood expresses action that is possible or probable (one step away from actually happening). The optative mood expresses action that is wished for or questioned (two steps away from actually happening). Finally, the imperative mood expresses a command, indicating action that is not a fact but that needs to be.

The word translated “if” is the Greek word ean, which is a conditional particle, and the words translated “we live” and “we die” are in the subjunctive mood. As explained above, the subjunctive mood in Greek expresses the notion of possibility. Therefore, in this verse Paul is stating that it is possible that we will continue to live, but it is also possible that we will die; however, we don’t know which will happen to us.

Meaning Explained

What Paul is saying is, “If we should continue to live, it is our Lord’s doing; therefore, we live in relation to Him, at His discretion. If we should die, it is our Lord’s doing; therefore, we will die at His discretion. Either way it is the Lord who controls when we will die. We are not in control, He is!

Now, tie this in with what Paul has been talking about: whether or not to eat certain foods and whether or not to hold a particular day of the week more sacred than the rest. It doesn’t really matter whether we believe some foods are forbidden or not, and it doesn’t matter whether we hold one day more sacred than the others, as long as we hold these beliefs because God has convicted us about them. Notice I said, because God has convicted us about them. We do not have the freedom to behave however we please. Our convictions have to be based on what God’s Word teaches us. These convictions must be based on a continual study of the Bible and a close daily walk with Almighty God. An immature Christian who doesn’t yet have a firm understanding of God or a close intimate relationship with God will not have the same convictions that a mature Christian has.

Therefore, since this is a matter of conviction and not of doctrine, we should not judge our brother or sister in Christ for acting differently than we do. If we live to the Lord, we will follow what He wants for us and not be concerned about what a brother or sister is eating or how they treat a certain day of the week. Only when we are completely submitted to Him can we be completely living, or dying, for Him.

Application

The important matter is whether or not we are submitted to God’s lordship over us and committed to doing His will, not what kind of food we eat or how we treat days of the week. If we have our gaze fixed on our fellow Christians and are judging what they do or don’t do, then we don’t have our gaze where it should be: fixed on our Lord and Master. If we are a living sacrifice, we are living for Him and we are submitted to His will. Are you still on the altar or have you climbed off?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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Romans 11:21 – The Almighty Gardner

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Romans 11:21 – The Almighty Gardner

For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.

Truth to Learn

God rejected the Jewish people because they refused to believe that Jesus was their Messiah. Since He was willing to do this, He is just as willing to reject Gentiles in the future and deal exclusively with the Jews once again.

Behind the Words

“If” is translated from the conditional particle ei. When used as it is in this verse, it indicates a conditional statement of the first class. In the New Testament there are three classes of conditional statements. The first class condition assumes that the if clause is true, the second class condition assumes that the if clause is false, and the third class condition makes no assumption about the if clause. Therefore, in a first class conditional statement some translators use the word “since,” although it is not required.

The word translated “spare” is pheidomai, which means “to abstain or to treat leniently.”

The second half of this verse starts off with mēpōs in the Greek text. This word is made up of mē, a conditional negative particle and pōs, meaning “somehow, anyhow, in any way, or in some way or other.” Mēpōs is often translated as “lest by any means” or “lest perhaps.” Here it is immediately followed by the Greek word oude, meaning “also not” or “neither.”

The second occurrence of “spare” is again the word pheidomai. It is expressed in the subjunctive mood, indicating what might possibly or will probably happen.

Meaning Explained

The point that Paul is making is that if God did not spare the natural branches, the Jews, but rejected them as a people, thus turning to the Gentiles and grafting them in, then we should not be arrogant about this. Instead, we should consider our position as God’s chosen ones with reverential fear knowing that God is just as able to reject the Gentiles and turn back to the Jews.

In fact, I believe that this is exactly what God is going to do. If you study Daniel 9:25-29 you will learn about the 70 weeks of years that God has decreed for the Jews. The first 69 weeks cover the time from the decree to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem up to the rejection of the Messiah by the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. Between the 69th and 70th weeks, however, there is a pause, which is where God turns to the Gentiles. This is the church age that we are living in right now. Just before the 70th week begins, God will rapture the church, removing them from the earth, and will once again deal with the Jews. This ushers in Daniel’s 70th week, the seven year period called The Tribulation.

During this seven year period, God’s focus will once again be on the Jews, not the Gentiles. In other words, during the tribulation God will reject the Gentile world. That is, He will break them off as branches. At the same time, he will deal directly with the Jewish nation once more, a remnant of them will believe, and He will graft them back into the holy root stock.

Application

God does as He pleases, not as we want Him to do. We need to be humble and in awe of Him. He is Almighty God and we are but His chosen children. Give Him thanks and praise!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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Romans 11:14 – It May be a Way

Posted on by Will

Romans 11:14 – It May be a Way

if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.

Truth to Learn

Preaching the Gospel message may evoke an emotional response in others, but it also might provoke them to salvation.

Behind the Words

The word translated, “if” is the Greek word ei, which is a conditional conjunction. That is, it ties two thoughts together (conjunction) with a relationship that is not definite but conditional. It is most often translated as “if,” but in cases like this it can be translated idiomatically.

“By any means” is from a single Greek word, pōs. This is an interrogative adverb. As such, it usually forms a question, like “how?” “in what manner?” “by what means?” or “is there a way?” Context and usage, however, sometimes indicate that this is not being used to form a question, but a statement.

The context here does not indicate that Paul is asking a question. Therefore, we could combine the conceptual ideas of these two words, ei and pōs, and paraphrase this verse as, “because it may be a way for me to provoke those who are my flesh to jealousy.”

Meaning Explained

This is one of those verses which sounds so awkward in English that it is difficult to understand exactly what Paul is saying. In order to understand this better we can temporarily take out the parenthetical expression from the previous verse and then put these two verses together, paraphrasing the first part of the current verse. Then we would have,

For I speak to you because it may be a way that I might provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.

Paul has said that he considers his calling to be the Apostle to the Gentiles as an honor and a great responsibility. One of the reasons that he is so determined to carry it out to the fullest is because it might also provoke some of his fellow Jews to jealousy and they might, through this jealousy, seek the truth of Christ and become saved themselves.

Paul had been accused by his fellow Jews of deserting his brothers in the flesh and of defecting to “the other side.” In defense of his actions, Paul started out chapter ten of this letter with:

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

He then opened up the current chapter proclaiming that God has not completely turned away from the Jews. And in defense of that, he reminds everyone that he is a Jew himself.

I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. (Romans 11:1)

He is now showing that God has not deserted the Jewish people, and he believes that he may be a channel of God’s salvation even to the Jewish people by preaching the gospel message to us Gentiles.

Application

You may not have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but that doesn’t release you from the responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel message. Oh, that we all cared as much as Paul about proclaiming the message of salvation to the unsaved!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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