Tag: doxa

Ephesians 1:6 – Amazing Grace

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 1:6  – Amazing Grace

to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Truth to Learn

God loves us with the same love He has for Jesus Christ.

Behind the Words

The word “praise” is translated from epainos, composed of epi, meaning “upon” or “on” and ainos, meaning “praise given for benefits received.” Epainos refers to applause or commendation given in recognition of something that was done.

“Glory” is from doxa, which is derived from the verb dokeō, meaning “to think or suppose.” Doxa primarily means “thought or opinion, especially favorable opinion.” In a secondary sense it means “reputation, praise, honor, or splendor.”

“Grace” is from charis which we looked at back in verse two. It refers to “favor, good will, or kindness, especially that which causes joy and gratification.”

The expression “made us accepted” is from charitoō, which is a verb form of charis. It means “to endue with special honor” or “to greatly favor.”

“Beloved” is translated from agapaō, meaning “to love with a perfect, self-sacrificing love.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense, indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect, where the emphasis in on the effect. That is, God perfectly loved the Second Person of the Godhead (His Son) in the past, and the result is that He is His beloved Son.

Meaning Explained

The opening phrase of this verse, “to the praise of the glory of His grace” is a Hebraism, that is, a method of thought of the Hebrew people. The meaning they would ascribe to this phrase is “to His glorious grace!” In other words, by His choosing us and determining beforehand that we will be adopted as His children, God is shining the spotlight fully on His amazing grace. God did not have to choose us and He did not have to legally make us His children. We do not deserve to be chosen by Him, and we certainly do not deserve to be adopted into His family. And, He did not do these things for our benefit; He did them to show to all of creation how magnificent His grace is.

Were it not for God’s holiness and righteousness, we wouldn’t need His grace. Because He is holy, he is completely separated from all sin and sinfulness. Therefore, but for His grace, He could not fellowship with us. Because He is righteous, He always does what is right, and He must judge (condemn) every sin and every sinner. Therefore, but for His grace, we are condemned as sinners and destined for Hell.

In the second chapter of this letter, Paul will get into a deeper explanation of this marvelous grace of His. For now, he tells us that by this grace, “He graced us in the beloved.” In other words, He showed great favor and bestowed great honor on us by placing us in His beloved Son. In Him we possess all that the Father loves in His Son. Thus, we are perfectly loved!

Application

What a blessing to know that God sees His beloved Son every time He looks at a Christian. The Father loves you and me with the same love with which He has always loved the Son. By His grace, He loves us with the love of Christ! How great is that?!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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Romans 16:27 – To God Be The Glory!

Posted on by Will

Romans 16:27 – To God Be The Glory!

to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all the glory and all of our praise.

Behind the Words

“God” is from the Greek noun theos. This is probably derived from the Greek theteres (a placer of things) because the Greeks believed that their gods were the placers and disposers of things (thus, they had a god of fire, a god of wind, etc.) In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) the title of God (elohim) is always translated as theos, even though elohim is plural and theos is singular.

“Alone” is translated from monos, meaning “unaccompanied, alone, only, or single.”

The word translated “wise” is sophos, meaning “the ability to skillfully apply the knowledge that one posesses.” The meaning of sophos in the New Testament, like its Hebrew equivalent chōkmah, differs from the classical meaning in at least two ways. First of all, the biblical concept of wisdom is God-centered rather than man-centered. It refers to a fear of God and an understanding of His ways. Secondly, Biblical wisdom implies the possession of a certain adeptness or practical ability in applying knowledge.

“Glory” is from the word doxa, which is derived from the verb dokeō, meaning “to think or suppose.” Doxa primarily means “thought or opinion, especially favorable opinion.” In a secondary sense it means “reputation, praise, honor, or splendor.”

Meaning Explained

Paul’s closing benediction to his letter to the Christians in the church at Rome is the longest benediction contained in any of his letters.

In this final verse, he is proclaiming, first of all, the fact that only God is wise. In Greek, word order is significant, with the most important word being first. The Greek text for this verse reads, “only wise God.” Thus, his emphasis is on the fact that only God is truly wise. To our singularly wise God belongs “great reputation, honor, and splendor” because of the fact that He alone is wise.

This honor that God so richly deserves is earned in and through the person of Jesus Christ. Only a God of infinite wisdom could have developed a plan whereby we, God’s created race made filthy by the stain of our sin, could be so perfectly cleansed by the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God.

Because of this salvation plan which reconciles God’s moral righteousness with the brilliance of His wondrous mercy, He will receive all the glory from all of creation for all of eternity. Truly, He is worthy!

Application

Throughout eternity we will give God the glorious expression of our praise. In order to be fully prepared for that experience, we should be practicing every day by proclaiming His glory and declaring His praise. To God be the glory!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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Romans 11:36 – It’s All His

Posted on by Will

Romans 11:36 – It’s All His

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all our praise for only He is worthy.

Behind the Words

There is a three-fold expression that Paul uses in the first part of this verse which is very simple and yet profound. In the Greek Paul says ex autou kai di autou kai eis autou ta panta. Let’s look at this in detail.

The word kai simply means “and” and the word autou means “him, that is, in relation to him or with respect to him.” Next, let’s look at the three words ex, di, and eis. All three of these are prepositions. The first, ex is a form of ek, meaning “from” or “out of,” implying that He is the source. The second preposition is di, a contraction of dia, meaning “through, either as movement or as the instrument of action.” Finally, the third preposition is eis, meaning “into” or “unto.” Paul then finishes the first phrase with the two words, ta panta which mean “all things,” or “everything.” Thus, Paul says that all things originate with God, He is the instrument of action for all events, and all things will culminate in Him.

“Glory” is translated from doxa, from which we get our English word doxology. It is derived from the verb dokeō, meaning “thought or opinion, particularly favorable human opinion.” Thus, we see that doxa means “dignity, glory, or honor.” This word is sometimes translated as “praise” or “worship,” since that is the highest possible form of favorable human opinion.

The Greek expression translated “forever” is eis tous aiōnas. This literally means “unto the ages” or “forever.”

Putting this all together we see that this verse says: All things come from God, are created and sustained by God, and ultimately belong to God. Therefore, He alone should receive our praise both now and forever! Amen.

Meaning Explained

Paul ends this chapter of Romans with a doxology that we would all do well to meditate on. He says that everything which exists, both physical and spiritual, has its source in God and God alone. Everything that is, exists through God’s instrumentality, that is, it has come into being as a result of His creative action. Finally, everything that exists belongs to God and will be laid at His feet, and all creatures will give Him the glory. We see this in the heavenly scene painted for us by the Apostle John in the book of the Revelation:

the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:10-11)

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)

Application

Think about that as you celebrate Christmas this year!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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