Tag: agnoeo

Romans 10:3 – Completely Submitted

Posted on by Will

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Truth to Learn

Righteousness comes by submitting your will to the will of Almighty God.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “ignorant” is agnoeō, which is a compound word made up of a, indicating “not” and noeō, meaning “to perceive or understand.”

The word translated “establish” is histēmi, meaning “to stand.” By application, it also means “to make something to stand in place” or “to establish something.”

“Submit” is a form of the word hupotassō, which is a compound word made up of hupo or hypo, meaning “under” or “beneath” and tasso, which means “to place in an orderly manner.” It is a military term which means “to place oneself under the authority of someone else.” This word does not imply that someone is forcibly put under the authority of another, rather a voluntary placing of oneself under the command and authority of another.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now explains what he meant in the previous verse when he said that his Jewish brothers had a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. He starts off this verse by stating that they were ignorant of God’s righteousness. The Israelites did not understand God’s righteousness or the fact that we cannot attain God’s righteousness because we are spiritually flawed by our sin nature.

He then goes on to say, not only did the Israelites not understand God’s righteousness, they also tried to establish their own form of righteousness based on what the Law told them to do. They firmly, even zealously, believed that by keeping the whole Law they could become as righteous as God Himself.

But, as Paul will tell us in the next few verses, there is only one person who can completely fulfill the Law, and that is Jesus Christ. The reason that Christ was able to keep the whole Law is twofold. First of all, he doesn’t have a sin nature and secondly, because He is God, he cannot sin.

Finally, Paul tells us in this verse that the Israelites could not obtain the righteousness of God because they have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness. These Israelites who had a great zeal for God were trying to obtain that righteousness by their own means instead of humbling themselves before God and allowing Him to grant His righteousness to them.

There are many professed Christians today who are still trying to earn righteousness when what they need to do is to submit themselves to God. Instead of working hard to obtain righteousness we need to submit to God’s will and receive His righteousness by grace.

 

Application

Are you still trying to obtain your own righteousness by obeying all the rules and ordinances of your church? Or are you humbled before the hand of Almighty God and completely submitted to His will?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 1:13 – Focused Zeal

Posted on by Will

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that I often planned to come to you (but was held back until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other nations.

Truth to Learn

Paul had intended to visit Rome several times, but it wasn’t yet part of God’s plan for Paul.

 

Behind the Words

The word “ignorant” is translated from agnoeō, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and noeō, meaning “to perceive” or “to understand.” Therefore, we can see that agnoeō means “ignorant or unaware.”

“Planned” is from the Greek word protithēmi, composed of pro, meaning “before, in time or location” and tithēmi, meaning “to place.” It means “to place before, in the mind.” In other words, it means “to give thought to ahead of time, to intend, or to plan ahead of time.”

The words “held back” are from the Greek verb kōluō, meaning “to hinder, weaken, prevent, or restrain.”

 

Meaning Explained

I really enjoy the tenderness that Paul shows toward other believers. He could easily have started off this verse with, “You, brothers and sisters, are ignorant of the fact that I have often intended to come visit you …” but in such matters he is much kinder. He says, “I do not want you to be ignorant.” The implication is very clear, they were ignorant, and he didn’t want that to be the case.

Paul had wanted to visit Rome for some time, and apparently had made plans to do so on numerous other occasions, but he was prevented from doing so. We don’t know specifically what hindered Paul. It is likely that it simply wasn’t God’s timing.

His reason for wanting to be with the Roman Christians, as we said earlier, was to share a spiritual gift, probably a message of strengthening and encouragement. He elaborates a little more on his reason for wanting to come in today’s verse, “that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among other nations.” Paul was not looking to share a plate of dried figs with them, that’s not the type of fruit that he is talking about. He’s talking about the fruit that comes about as a result of the Spirit of God working in people’s hearts.

You will notice that Paul’s objective is to do that which will ultimately bring praise to God, not what will ultimately bring praise to Paul. This Paul is dramatically different from Saul of Tarsus, who persecuted Christians for personal gain and because of personal zeal. He is still a zealot, but now that zeal is focused on the work of God rather than on the work of Paul.

 

Application

Are you a zealot today? Is there something that you are so totally committed to that you place it above all else in your life? If so, what is it? Is it your children? Is it your business? Is it your husband or your wife? Is it your health? Is it your retirement? These are all good things to be zealous about, but they are all the wrong things if you’re not first zealous about serving God, and doing so His way.

It’s good to be committed to a cause but don’t let that commitment take you in a direction other than where God wants you to go!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 4:13 – Dead, But Still Alive

Posted on by Will

But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, that you not grieve as others who have no hope.

Truth to Learn

For Christians, physical death is not the end of existence.

 

Behind the Words

“We … want” is translated from the Greek verb thelō, which means “to want” or “to desire.” But it carries more weight than simply a wish, because it involves volition and purpose, seeing one’s desire to its completion. It could be translated as “I am determined.” In some manuscripts it is expressed in the first person singular (I), but the best manuscripts have it as first person plural (we).

The word translated “ignorant” is agnoeō, which is made up of a, meaning “not” and noeō, meaning “to know, to recognize, or to understand.” Thus, agnoeō means “to not know.”

The words “have fallen asleep” is from a form of koimaō, which literally means “to cause to lie down to sleep.” It is used metaphorically as a reference to those who have died physically. It is expressed in the perfect tense indicating past action completed at a point in time with an ongoing effect, the emphasis being on the ongoing effect.

“Grieve” is translated from the verb lupeō, which means “to grieve” or “to be sorrowful.” It is expressed as a present tense, subjunctive verb, indicating the possibility of something happening.

The word translated “others” is loipoi. This noun is derived from the verb leipō, meaning “to leave behind, to lack, or something remaining. Thus, loipoi literally means “the remaining ones.”

This word “hope” is from a Greek word that we have looked at before. It is the word elpida, which is a form of elpis, meaning “the desire of obtaining something good with the full expectation of obtaining it.” It is the type of hope that Christians have of being resurrected to eternal life. We certainly desire it and we have full expectation that it will happen because God has promised it to us.

 

Meaning Explained

In this fourth chapter of his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul has switched from comforting and encouraging the saints, to teaching doctrine to them (us). He started by teaching that we are to avoid fornication (sexual activity outside of marriage). Then he taught the importance of increasing our demonstration of brotherly love.

For the remainder of this chapter and the first half of the next chapter, Paul is teaching about events that will occur at the end times. First he will teach us about the rapture of the church. Then he will teach about the day (time period) of the Lord, when God will judge the world and its ungodly inhabitants. He makes it very clear that the rapture, which is referred to as “the day of Christ” or “the day of Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6, 10; Philippians 2:16; and 2 Thessalonians 2:2) and “the day of the Lord” are not the same.

He says that he is determined that the Christians in Thessalonica not be ignorant. That’s Paul’s polite way of saying “you are ignorant about something and I want to inform you.” He tells them, and us, something interesting about Christians who have died physically (those who have fallen asleep). He says, “Don’t be overly filled with sorrow like unbelievers who have no hope.” The reason we are not to grieve too much is because we have a hope that the unsaved don’t have. He will explain this hope in the next few verses.

 

Application

When loved ones pass through the door of physical death, it is natural for us to grieve. We grieve because they are no longer in our presence physically and we will greatly miss them. But, if they were believers in Jesus Christ, they are not gone from existence, they have simply moved from the physical world to paradise, where they are in the presence of God. We who are Christians will see them again someday and together we will be in God’s presence, eternally.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:18 – Darkened, Alienated, and Ignorant

Posted on by Will

having their intellect obscured, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;

Truth to Learn

The unsaved are the way they are because of unbelief caused by a lack of spiritual enlightenment.

 

Behind the Words

“Intellect” is translated from the Greek word dianoia, which is derived from dia, meaning “through and a form of noeō, meaning “to exercise the mind,” that is, “to think, to consider, or to understand.” Dianoia refers to a person’s intellect or understanding.  

The word “obscured” is from the verb skotidzō, meaning “to deprive of light,” that is, “to darken” or “to obscure.” In today’s verse it is used figuratively to mean “deprived of the light of understanding.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect, the emphasis being on the effect. In other words, Paul is saying that at some time in the past they were deprived of the light of understanding and as a result they are now in a condition of not understanding.

“Alienated” is from the verb apallotrioō, which is made up of apo, meaning “from or away from” and allotrioō, meaning “to make a stranger,” “to separate from,” or “to make a non-participant.” This word is also expressed in the perfect tense.

The word “ignorance” is translated from agnoeō, which literally means “lacking knowledge.”

The word “hardness” is from pōrōsis, a form of pōroō, meaning “to harden, to petrify, or to make insensitive.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul instructed us not to live our lives like unbelievers do. He said that they live their lives intellectually instead of spiritually. He also said that their intellect is worthless. Now he explains why their thinking is so bad. He tells us that the intellectual understanding of the unsaved has been obscured, deprived of the light of understanding. As we discussed in Behind the Words, the tense of this verb indicates that the darkening occurred at some point in time in the past. That point in time referred to is when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. From that time onward, mankind has been alienated from God with a mind that is deprived of the light of knowledge, the knowledge of God.

That enlightenment can be regained, however. It is given by God through His Holy Spirit. It can be gained by learning the teaching of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as Paul will tell us later. Here we are told that one of the results of the intellectual darkening is separation from the life (spiritual life) that is in God. We are also told here that one of the reasons that the unsaved don’t have spiritual life is because they lack knowledge (the knowledge of what Christ did for them on the cross). And finally, Paul tells us that they lack knowledge of the work of salvation because of the hardness of their hearts.

So, we can summarize this by saying that sin leads to a hardening of the heart, which prevents the acknowledgement of God’s gift of salvation, which produces alienation from the spiritual life that God offers us all.

 

Application

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from your sins, your heart is not hardened, you are not ignorant of God’s truth, and you have eternal life. Hallelujah!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 4:13 – Dead, But Still Alive

Posted on by Will

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

Truth to Learn

For Christians, physical death is not the end of existence.

Behind the Words

“I … want” is translated from the Greek verb thelō, which means “to want” or “to desire.” But it carries more weight than simply a wish, because it involves volition and purpose, seeing one’s desire to its completion. It could be translated as “I am determined.” It is expressed here in the first person singular (I), but the best manuscripts have it as first person plural (we).

The word translated “ignorant” is agnoeō, which is made up of a, meaning “not” and noeō, meaning “to know, to recognize, or to understand.” Thus, agnoeō means “to not know.”

The words “have fallen asleep” is from a form of koimaō, which literally means “to cause to lie down to sleep.” It is used metaphorically as a reference to those who have died physically. It is expressed in the perfect tense indicating past action completed at a point in time with an ongoing effect, the emphasis being on the ongoing effect.

“Sorrow” is translated from the verb lupeō, which means “to grieve” or “to be sorrowful.” It is expressed as a present tense, subjunctive verb, indicating the possibility of something happening in an ongoing manner.

Meaning Explained

In this fourth chapter of his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul has switched from comforting and encouraging the saints, to teaching doctrine to them (us). He started by teaching that we are to avoid fornication (sexual activity outside of marriage). Then he taught the importance of increasing our demonstration of brotherly love.

For the remainder of this chapter and the first half of the next chapter, Paul is teaching about events that will occur at the end times. First he will teach us about the rapture of the church. Then he will teach about the day (time period) of the Lord, when God will judge the world and its ungodly inhabitants. He makes it very clear that the rapture, which is referred to as “the day of Christ” or “the day of Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6, 10; Philippians 2:16; and 2 Thessalonians 2:2) and “the day of the Lord” are not the same.

He says that he is determined that the Christians in Thessalonica not be ignorant. That’s Paul’s polite way of saying “you are ignorant about something and I want to inform you.” He tells them, and us, something interesting about Christians who have died physically (those who have fallen asleep). He says, “Don’t be overly filled with sorrow like unbelievers who have no hope.” The reason we are not to grieve too much is because we have a hope that the unsaved don’t have. He will explain this hope in the next few verses.

Application

When a loved ones pass through the door of physical death, it is natural for us to grieve. We grieve because they are no longer in our presence physically and we will greatly miss them. But, if they were believers in Jesus Christ, they are not gone from existence, they have simply moved from the physical world to paradise, where they are in the presence of God. We who are Christians will see them again someday and together we will be in God’s presence, eternally.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:18 – Darkened, Alienated, and Ignorant

Posted on by Will

having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

Truth to Learn

The unsaved are the way they are because of unbelief.

Behind the Words

“Understanding” is translated from the Greek word dianoia, which is derived from dia, meaning “through and a form of noeō, meaning “to exercise the mind,” that is, “to think, to consider, or to understand.” Dianoia refers to a person’s intellect or understanding.

The word “darkened” is from the verb skotidzō, meaning “to deprive of light,” that is, “to darken.” In today’s verse it is used figuratively to mean “deprived of the light of understanding.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect, the emphasis being on the effect. In other words, Paul is saying that at some time in the past they were deprived of the light of understanding and as a result they are now in a condition of not understanding.

“Alienated” is from the verb apallotrioō, which is made up of apo, meaning “from or away from” and allotrioō, meaning “to make a stranger,” “to separate from,” or “to make a non-participant.” This word is also expressed in the perfect tense.

The word “ignorance” is translated from agnoeō, which literally means “lacking knowledge.”

The word “blindness” is from pōrōsis, a form of pōroō, meaning “to harden, to petrify, or to make insensitive.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul instructed us not to live our lives like unbelievers do. He said that they live their lives intellectually instead of spiritually. He also said that their intellect is worthless. Now he explains why their thinking is so bad. He tells us that the intellectual understanding of the unsaved has been darkened, deprived of the light of understanding. As we discussed in Behind the Words, the tense of this verb indicates that the darkening occurred at some point in time in the past. That point in time referred to is when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. From that time onward mankind has been alienated from God with a mind that is deprived of the light of knowledge, the knowledge of God.

That enlightenment can be regained, however. It is given by God through His Holy Spirit. It can be gained by learning the teaching of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as Paul will tell us later. Here we are told that one of the results of the intellectual darkening is separation from the life (spiritual life) that is in God. We are also told here that one of the reasons that the unsaved don’t have spiritual life is because they lack knowledge (the knowledge of what Christ did for them on the cross). And finally, Paul tells us that they lack knowledge of the work of salvation because of the hardness of their hearts.

So, we can summarize this by saying that sin leads to a hardening of the heart, which prevents the acknowledgement of God’s gift of salvation, which produces alienation from the spiritual life that God offers us all.

Application

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from your sins, your heart is not hardened, you are not ignorant of God’s truth, and you have eternal life. Hallelujah!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

Romans 10:3 – Completely Submitted

Posted on by Will

Romans 10:3 – Completely Submitted

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

Truth to Learn

Righteousness only comes by voluntarily submitting your will to the will of Almighty God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “ignorant” is agnoeō, which is a compound word made up of a, indicating “not” and noeō, meaning “to perceive or understand.”

The word translated “establish” is histēmi, meaning “to stand.” By application, it also means “to make something to stand in place” or “to establish something.”

“Submitted” is a form of the word hupotassō, which is a compound word made up of hupo or hypo, meaning “under” or “beneath” and tasso, which means “to place in an orderly manner.” It is a military term which means “to place oneself under the authority of someone else.” This word does not imply that someone is forcibly put under the authority of another, rather a voluntary placing of oneself under the command and authority of another.

Meaning Explained

Paul now explains what he meant in the previous verse when he said that his Jewish brothers had a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. He starts off this verse by stating that they were ignorant of God’s righteousness. The Israelites did not understand God’s righteousness or the fact that we cannot attain God’s righteousness because we are spiritually flawed by our sin nature.

He then goes on to say, not only did the Israelites not understand God’s righteousness, they also tried to establish their own form of righteousness based on what the Law told them to do. They firmly, even zealously, believed that by keeping the whole Law they could become as righteous as God Himself.

But, as Paul will tell us in the next few verses, there is only one person who can completely fulfill the Law and that is Jesus Christ. The reason that Christ was able to keep the whole Law is twofold. First of all, he doesn’t have a sin nature and secondly, because He is God, he cannot sin.

Finally, Paul tells us in this verse that the Israelites could not obtain the righteousness of God because they have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness. These Israelites who had a great zeal for God were trying to obtain that righteousness by their own means instead of humbling themselves before God and allowing Him to grant His righteousness to them.

There are many professed Christians today who are still trying to earn righteousness when what they need to do is to submit themselves to God. Instead of working hard to obtain righteousness we need to submit to God’s will and receive His righteousness by grace.

Application

Are you still trying to obtain your own righteousness by obeying all the rules and ordinances of your church? Or are you humbled before the hand of Almighty God and completely submitted to His will?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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