Tag: all things

Romans 8:28 – Called for Goodness Sake

Posted on by Will

And we know that to the ones loving God all things work together for good, to those who are the called ones according to His purpose.

Truth to Learn

God is producing goodness in Christians because He has decided to do so.

 

Behind the Words

The words “all things” are from pas, meaning “all” or “every.” It is expressed here as a neuter plural noun, thus “all things.”

The Greek verb sunergeō is translated “work together.” It is made up of sun, meaning “together with” and ergō, meaning “to work.” It is expressed as a third person singular verb so it could be translated as “He (God) works all things together.”

“Good” is from agathos, meaning “good and benevolent” or “useful.” There is another Greek word translated “good.” It is the word kalos, meaning “inherently good without necessarily being benevolent” or “beauty as a harmonious completeness.” An easy way to distinguish the two is to think of kalos as specific goodness or beauty and agathos as general goodness.

The word translated “called” is from klētos, meaning “one who is called, invited, or appointed.” It is a noun, not a verb.

 

Meaning Explained

What does Paul mean by “all things work together for good?” The key is the word translated “good,” meaning “general goodness.” Paul is saying that even though some of the things that happen to us don’t necessarily seem very good, all things work together for our general goodness.

As we mentioned above, the verb “work together” is a singular, third-person verb. The subject for this verb is not “all things.” How do we know? The word translated “all things” is a plural subject. In Greek, as in English, the number of a verb (singular or plural) must always agree with the number of its subject, so the subject of this verb must be singular. As it turns out, the subject is not stated but simply implied. That’s why some translators render the first part of this verse as, “And we know that God works all things together for good.”

Who are those people for whom He works together all things? Paul says they are “those who love God.” Only we who have recognized our own sinfulness and need for salvation can fully appreciate the sacrifice that God made to have our sins paid for. And only we can really love God for having done it for us.

He also says it is “those who are the called ones according to His purpose.” As we noted above, the word “called” is not a passive verb, but a plural noun (as in, those who are the called ones). Those for whom God works all things together for good are those who are the called ones according to His (God’s) purpose. Paul is saying clearly that our being called to Christ and salvation is not of our own doing. It is wholly God’s doing and it is according to His purpose. We don’t know why God called us to salvation but we do know, according to Paul, that He is purposeful in calling us.

 

Application

When we are in the midst of trials we should be encouraged for two reasons. The first is that the Holy Spirit is our prayer partner and the second is that no matter how bad things seem, God is going to use whatever is happening to us ultimately to produce good in us, and that brings the glory back to Him.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Corinthians 2:10 – The Spirit Reveals

Posted on by Will

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

Truth to Learn

The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the gospel to Christians.

Behind the Words

“Has revealed” is translated from the verb apokaluptō. This word is made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and kaluptō, meaning “to cover” or “to conceal.” Therefore, we see that apokaluptō means “to uncover” or “to reveal.”

The words “to us” are from the first person plural personal pronoun humin, meaning “to us, by us, or in us.” As we have mentioned before, word order is important in Greek. In the Greek text, this is the first word in this sentence, indicating special emphasis on this word.

“Searches” is from the Greek verb ereunaō, which means “to search into,” “to investigate,” or “to explore.”

The words “all things” are from the Greek word pas, meaning “all” or “every.” It is expressed in the neuter person, so it refers to “all things” or “everything.”

Bathē is the Greek word translated “deep things.” It refers to something that is deep, like the ocean. Metaphorically, it refers to something that is very great or profound.

Meaning Explained

Paul has been talking about God’s wisdom in His plan of salvation. This truth is hidden from the minds and hearts of natural man but is now being revealed to those who believe God’s truth. You may recall that Paul told us that “the rulers of this age” did not, and do not, understand the wisdom of God. Instead, they think they are wise in their own reasonings, which God sees as foolishness. In yesterday’s verse we were told that the natural mind of man cannot understand God’s wisdom. But now, we learn why Christians can understand this wisdom.

We are told here that the understanding of God’s plan of salvation is revealed to us (those who believe His truth regarding the substitutionary death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God) by His Spirit. When Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people, He thanked the Father for hiding these truths from the “wise and prudent” and for revealing them to us:

At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes." (Matthew 11:25)

Notice that our salvation is the work of all three persons of the godhead. The father chose us (Ephesians 1:3, 4; 1 Peter 1:2), the Son gave His life for us (1 Thessalonians 4:14), and the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to us (1 Corinthians 2:10, John 16:12-14). Also notice that even though Christ’s death was sufficient to pay the penalty for everyone’s sins, without the Father having chosen us and the Holy Spirit having revealed the truth to us, we could not be saved.

Application

These truths about our election, God’s choice to save us and the revealing of this truth to us by the Holy Spirit, are hard to accept by many Christians. Instead, they want to believe that salvation is based on their own choice to believe the truth. However, the Bible clearly teaches that our salvation is God’s work, not our own. This should cause us to be humbly grateful.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2013 Will Krause. All rights reserved

 

Ephesians 5:20 – Thankful for Everything

Posted on by Will

 

giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Truth to Learn

Thankfulness is an indication of Spirit-filling.

Behind the Words

“Giving thanks” is translated from the Greek word eucharisteō. This word is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and a form of charidzomai, meaning “to give” or “to be gracious.” Eucharisteō means “to give thanks.” Because of the derivation of this word, when we give thanks at a meal it is known as “saying grace.”

Pantote is the word translated “always.” It is composed of a form of pas, meaning “all” or “every” and a form of hote, which is an adverb of time. Thus, pantote literally means “at all times” or “always.”

The words “all things” are from the Greek word pas, which we just learned means “all” or “every.” In the form that is used here it means “all things” or “everything.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is giving examples of what happens when a person is “filled with the Spirit.” The first example was given in yesterday’s verse:

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

In today’s verse he gives the second evidence, “giving thanks always for all things.” When we are filled with the Spirit we are thankful, not just one day a year on Thanksgiving Day, but at all times. Now, here’s the hard part of Paul’s teaching in this verse – when we are filled with the Spirit we are thankful “for all things.” Notice, he did not say, “for all good and pleasant things,” or “for all the things that make us feel good.” He said, “for all things.”

Being Spirit-filled makes us thankful for everything that God brings into our lives. Paul taught the same thing about thanksgiving in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica:

pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1Thessalonians 5:17-18)

And his teaching to the Philippian Christians was similar:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (Philippians 4:6)

So – being Spirit-filled causes us to be truly thankful for even the bad things that happen to us: thankful for heartache and pain, thankful for injury or disease, thankful for the loss of a loved one, thankful for persecution, thankful for being made the way we are, thankful for being too short, thankful for being too tall, thankful for being too skinny, thankful for being too fat, thankful for a mean boss, thankful for …

Finally, notice that we are to give thanks to the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not instructed to thank Jesus. We are to thank the Father in Jesus’ name.

Application

What are you thankful for? Careful, that’s a trick question. If we allow ourselves to be filled with the Spirit, then we will be thankful for ALL things at ALL times!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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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Romans 8:28 – Called for Goodness Sake

Posted on by Will

Romans 8:28 – Called for Goodness Sake

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Truth to Learn

God is producing goodness in Christians because He has decided to do so.

Behind the Words

The words “all things” are from pas, meaning “all” or “every.” It is expressed here as a neuter plural noun, thus “all things.”

The Greek verb sunergeō is translated “work together.” It is made up of sun, meaning “together with” and ergō, meaning “to work.” It is expressed as a third person singular verb so it could be translated as “he or she works together.”

“Good” is from agathos, meaning “good and benevolent” or “useful.” There is another Greek word translated “good.” It is the word kalos, meaning “inherently good without necessarily being benevolent” or “beauty as a harmonious completeness.” An easy way to distinguish the two is to think of kalos as specific goodness or beauty and agathos as general goodness.

The word translated “called” is from klētos, meaning “one who is called, invited, or appointed.” It is a noun, not a verb.

Meaning Explained

What does Paul mean by “all things work together for good?” The key is the word translated “good,” meaning “general goodness.” Paul is saying that even though some of the things that happen to us don’t necessarily seem very good, all things work together for our general goodness.

As we mentioned above, the verb “work together” is a singular, third-person verb. The subject for this verb is not “all things.” How do we know? The word translated “all things” is a plural subject. In Greek, as in English, the number of a verb (singular or plural) must always agree with the number of its subject, so the subject of this verb must be singular. As it turns out, the subject is not stated but simply implied. That’s why some translators render the first part of this verse as, “And we know that God works all things together for good.”

Who are those people for whom He works together all things? Paul says they are “those who love God.” Only we who have recognized our own sinfulness and need for salvation can fully appreciate the sacrifice that God made to have our sins paid for. And only we can really love God for having done it for us.

He also says it is “those who are the called according to His purpose.” As we noted above, the word “called” is not a passive verb, but a plural noun (as in, those who are the called ones). Those for whom God works all things together for good are those who are the called ones according to His (God’s) purpose. Paul is saying clearly that our being called to Christ and salvation is not of our own doing. It is wholly God’s doing and it is according to His purpose. We don’t know why God called us to salvation but we do know, according to Paul, that He is purposeful in calling us.

Application

When we are in the midst of trials we should be encouraged for two reasons. The first is that the Holy Spirit is our prayer partner and the second is that no matter how bad things seem, God is going to use whatever is happening to us ultimately to produce good in us, and that brings the glory back to Him.

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to: