are – Ministry of Grace Church

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1 Thessalonians 5:5 – Spiritual Enlightenment

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Will

You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of night nor of darkness.

Truth to Learn

Christians have spiritual understanding given to us by the Holy Spirit.

Behind the Words

“You” is from humeis, the second person plural personal pronoun. Greek is different from English in that all verbs indicate not only what the action is, but also who performs the action. The verb in this case is “are,” which is the Greek verb eimi (the verb of being). The form of the verb in this verse is second person plural (you, plural). Therefore, the personal pronoun humeis (you, plural) is not needed to accurately portray what Paul is saying. That fact that he included it indicates emphasis on who are the sons of light.

The word translated “sons” is huios, which means “a male descendant.” However, it is often used in the New Testament to refer to a child, male or female.

Pas is the root word translated here as “all.” It carries the idea of “oneness” or “the totality of something.” Therefore, pas refers to “all of something without anything being left out.”

“Light” is from the Greek word phōs (or phōtos), which is derived from the verb phaō, meaning “to shine” or “to make visible.” This, phōs refers to “that which shines” or “that which makes visible.” In other words, it refers to light. It is used both of physical light and spiritual light (enlightenment).

The word “day” is from the Greek word hēmera, which can refer to a complete twenty-four hour period or to that portion of the day in which the sun is shining (daytime).

Meaning Explained

In order to completely understand Paul’s teaching here we need to understand that Paul was brought up as a Hebrew. The Hebrew language, like most other languages, has idiomatic expressions that don’t always translate easily into other languages. For instance, the Hebrew expression “with four eyes,” as in “the two men met with four eyes,” means that the two men met face to face without anyone else present. Paul often uses such Hebrew idioms (called Hebraisms) in his writing, even though he is writing in Greek.

The expression in the previous verse, “you are not in darkness” is a Hebraism meaning “you are not ignorant, unaware, or unenlightened.” Likewise, the expression “sons of light” is a Hebraism meaning “children of God, the heavenly Father, who is light and in whom is no darkness at all.” Throughout the Bible, the metaphor of light (with respect to God) is a reference to His holiness, righteousness, and sinlessness. As His adopted children, we have been given the righteousness of Christ. In Genesis 15:6 we read that Abraham was credited with righteousness because of his faith. Similarly, a Christian, one who has faith in the saving blood of Christ, is seen by God as completely righteous. In God’s record book we are sinless, righteous, and holy. Hence, we are children of light.

And – because we are righteous children of light, our minds are illuminated by the Spirit of God so that we can understand spiritual things like God’s coming judgment on the world of sinners. “We are not of night nor of darkness” is another Hebraism meaning that we are not ignorant sinners marching mindlessly towards God’s judgment and destruction.

Finally, note that Paul starts off this verse with “you,” speaking directly to those to whom he is teaching, but then says “we,” indicating that all Christians are in the same category.

Application

Unsaved people cannot understand the Bible because they are not spiritually enlightened like we are (see 1 Corinthians 2:10, 11). We, on the other hand, are taught by the Holy Spirit, and we can know future things as taught to us in Scripture.

In God's service, for His glory,

James 5:2 – Perishable Possessions

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Will

Your riches are putrefied, and your garments are moth-eaten.

Truth to Learn

Earthly possessions are perishable and soon will all be gone.

Behind the Words

Ploutos is the word translated “riches.” This is from the same root word as plousios, which we saw in the previous verse. It refers to “wealth” or “fullness of money and/or possessions.”

The Greek word translated “putrefied” is sēpō, which means “to putrefy or spoil.” It is the source of our English word “sepsis” or “septic.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense, indicating something that occurred at a point in time in the past with an ongoing effect, but the emphasis is on the effect.

“Garments” is translated from himation, referring to all articles of clothing.

The verb “are” is translated from a form of ginomai, meaning “to become” or “to begin to be.” The verb is expressed in the perfect tense, indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect. In other words, “your clothes have been eaten by moths and, therefore, are now moth-eaten.”

Meaning Explained

In the first century AD, some of the most precious possessions included grain, oil, and other things that are perishable. The rich people to whom James is speaking had stockpiled these things for their own personal satisfaction, not because they had need of them, but simply because they wanted them. As a result, these things were not being used, but were wasting away. It reminds me of the Israelites when they were wandering through the wilderness during the exodus from Egypt. Each morning God provided them with manna, which they were to gather for themselves, but they were only to gather as much as they needed for a single day. If they tried to gather more and save it for the following day, it spoiled and became rotten.

James also says that the clothing of the rich, which they had stored up, was being wasted. Throughout most of the history of mankind, having extra clothing has been a luxury. But even clothes, James says, get moth eaten if we try to store them up.

In reality, all earthly riches are perishable since we won’t be able to take them with us when we appear before the great Judge at the end of our lives. None of us can take anything with us beyond the grave. Only what we do with the things that God has provided us will have any eternal value.

This is not to say that we should never save up for the future. There have been times when God’s people have stockpiled goods, such as Joseph storing up the grain of Egypt in preparation for the famine that was coming. That’s not what James is condemning. He is speaking against the amassing of treasure for the sake of pride and arrogance, or as an attempt to make one feel secure apart from God.

It is far better to use for His glory that which God has provided us, resulting in eternal rewards, than to hoard it to ourselves and receive no earthly or eternal benefit from it at all!

Application

How many coats do you own? How many pairs of shoes are in your closet? How much “stuff” do you own that you seldom, if ever, use? How much food do you consume on a daily basis? How many “toys” do you own? How much money is in your checking account or your retirement account? Is God being glorified by the way you use all that He has given you?

Are all these things really yours, or are they God’s? Ouch!

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Corinthians 3:21 – Focus on Him

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Will

Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:

Truth to Learn

We need to keep our focus on God and humbly serve Him.

Behind the Words

“Therefore” is translated from the Greek word hōste. This word is made up of hōs, meaning “as” and the particle te, meaning “and” which serves to connect the following clause more closely to the previous one. As a result, this word means “therefore, accordingly, and so, or thus.”

The word “boast” is from kauchaomai, which means “to boast, to glory, or to exult,” either in a good manner or bad. In this verse, it is used in a bad sense, meaning “to brag without reason.”

The word translated “all things” is translated from the Greek word pas, meaning “all” or “every.” It is expressed here in the neuter plural, so it means “all things” or “everything.”

“Are” is from the verb of being, eimi. It is expressed in the second person singular, so the last part of this verse could be translated, “For everything is yours.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous three verses, Paul was speaking to the teachers in the church in Corinth, warning them not to depend on worldly techniques in their teaching. In this and the following two verses, he is speaking to all of us. Paul’s entire letter up to this point has been centered on the fact that there were divisions in the church because people placed the importance of one teacher over another. They had been bragging about who the real leader was and identifying themselves with him. Back in 1 Corinthians 1:12, Paul said:

Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ."

When we put too much importance on the messenger instead of the message, we take the credit away from God and give it to men. In his second letter to this church, quoting Proverbs 27:2, Paul says:

But "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord." (2 Corinthians 10:17)

And, in his letter to the Christians in Galatia, Paul says:

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ … (Galatians 6:14a)

The Corinthian Christians were focused on people and things of this world instead of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul now tells them (and us) that boasting in men is wrong because all believers share equally in the grace of God and the gifts He has given us for building up the church. Some people in the church have a more prominent position, while others work behind the scenes. It doesn’t matter whether we are up front preaching to thousands of people or sweeping floors and emptying trash. Our focus needs to be on God, we need to be focused on Him and serve Him with all our heart.

Application

Don’t place too much importance on other people within the church or the gifts that God has given them. Instead, humbly serve God in the task He has assigned you and gifted you for.

In God's service, for His glory,