Tag: chrestos

1 Peter 2:3 – Tasting God’s Provision

Posted on by Will

if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Truth to Learn

Our Heavenly Father treats us very well.

 

Behind the Words

“If indeed” is translated from eiper, which is a compound word made up of ei, meaning “if” and per, meaning “perhaps” or “indeed.” The best manuscripts, however, use the word ei, meaning “if.” For this reason, we have included the word “indeed” in itallics.

In the New Testament there are three types of conditional phrases (in secular Greek literature there is a fourth). The first class conditional phrase implies reality and can be interpreted as, “if, and it is assumed so…” Hence, it is sometimes interpreted as “since,” rather than ‘if’. The second class condition is the condition of irrealis, or unreality and can be interpreted as, “if, and it is assumed not so…” The third class condition carries with it no assumption as to the reality of the condition. The differences between the various conditional clauses in Greek are distinguished by the grammatical construction of the text.

The conditional clause in the current verse is a first class condition and, therefore, could be translated as:

 If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and I assume you have.

The word translated “tasted” is the word geuomai, which means “to taste,” but figuratively it means “to experience something.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense, showing action that was completed at a point in time in the past.

The word “gracious” is translated from the Greek word chrēstos, which is from the verb chraomai, meaning “to make use of,” “to make the most of,” or “to treat well.” This noun form means, “one who provides what is needed.”

 

Meaning Explained

First, let’s see what Peter is NOT saying here. He is not saying that there is a question about the readers’ salvation. He made that very clear in the previous chapter:

[you who are] chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father … who according to His great mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead …who are kept by the power of God through faith … (selections from 1 Peter 1:2-5)

Neither is Peter questioning whether his readers have already experienced the Lord’s provision for their needs in the past. In fact, we see from the grammatical construction of this sentence that Peter is assuming that his readers indeed have experienced that gracious provision.

Because we have experienced God’s watch care over us, we should be willing, even eager, to lay aside our bad habits and we should have a craving for the sincere milk of the Word of God. We should be so delighted and amazed that the God of all creation cares for each one of us individually, that we should desire to act and be as He wants us to. And, we should have an uncontrollable desire to read His Word so that we can know Him better and so we can be more like Him.

 

Application

Have you experienced the wonder of salvation? If so, do you have a burning desire to be obedient to your Heavenly Father and to learn more about Him through His Word?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:32 – Kindness, Compassion, and Forgiveness

Posted on by Will

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Truth to Learn

Kindness, compassion, and forgiveness are of vital importance within the church.

 

Behind the Words

The verb “be” is translated from ginomai, meaning “to cause to be” or “to become.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood indicating a command for us to “become kind and tenderhearted!”

“Kind” is the translation of chrēstos, which is derived from the verb chraomai, meaning “to furnish what is needed” or “to treat well.” Chrēstos, when used of people, means “useful toward others, that is, good-natured, gentle, or kind.”

The word “tenderhearted” is translated from eusplagchnos. This word is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and splagchnon, meaning “intestine” or “bowel.” The Greeks believed that the intestines were the source of emotions. Thus, “good intestined,” as eusplagchnos literally means, refers to the characteristic of having good feelings, especially compassion, for others.

“Forgiving” is from charidzomai, which is derived from charis, meaning “grace” or “a favor freely given.” Charidzomai means “to be gracious or to forgive someone.”

The first occurrence of “one another” is from allēlōn, meaning “one another” or “each other.” The second occurrence of “one another” is translated from heautou, meaning “yourselves.”

 

Meaning Explained

Back in verse twenty-two the Apostle Paul told us to “put off … the old man,” that is “quit living under the influence of your sin nature.” Then, in verse twenty-four he told us to “put on the new man,” the new nature that God created for us. Since then, Paul has been telling us what it means to live under the influence of this new nature. Yesterday, he instructed us to do away with bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and all badness.

Earlier we learned that we all should be using our spiritual gifts in the building up of the body of Christ. In today’s verse, Paul is not talking about specific gifts, but general attitudes that should replace those things he told us to stop doing yesterday. The first thing he tells us is that we should be kind, gentle, or useful to each other. The second thing is to be tenderhearted to each other; that is, we should demonstrate compassionate care for each other. If every church member were to regularly demonstrate kindness and compassion to everyone else in the church, no one would ever want to leave.

The third thing Paul tells us in today’s verse is that we should be forgiving. After all, he says, each one of us has been forgiven so much by God through the blood of Christ that we should willingly forgive others for what they have done to us. But notice that Paul used the pronoun heautou (yourselves) in reference to forgiveness. We need to be freely forgiving of others in the church, but we also need to be freely forgiving of ourselves. God has forgiven us, so we should too.

Keep in mind that forgiveness, as God defines it, does not simply mean saying “That’s OK” or “I forgive you” to the one asking forgiveness. It means to “throw away” the offense (as far as the East is from the West), which means you can no longer hold on to it. It is discarded and forgotten – completely!

 

Application

Of the three attitudes that Paul admonishes us to exhibit in today’s verse, forgiveness may be the most important. Let’s all commit to be completely forgiving of others this week, and let’s be forgiving of ourselves as well.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:32 – Kindness, Compassion, and Forgiveness

Posted on by Will

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Truth to Learn

Kindness, compassion, and forgiveness are of vital importance within the church.

Behind the Words

The verb “be” is translated from ginomai, meaning “to cause to be” or “to become.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood indicating a command for us to “become kind and tenderhearted!”

“Kind” is the translation of chrēstos, which is derived from the verb chraomai, meaning “to furnish what is needed” or “to treat well.” Chrēstos, when used of people, means “useful toward others, that is, good-natured, gentle, or kind.”

The word “tenderhearted” is translated from eusplagchnos. This word is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and splagchnon, meaning “intestine” or “bowel.” The Greeks believed that the intestines were the source of emotions. Thus, “good intestined,” as eusplagchnos literally means, refers to the characteristic of having good feelings, especially compassion for others.

“Forgiving” is from charidzomai, which is derived from charis, meaning “grace” or “a favor freely given.” Charidzomai means “to be gracious or to forgive someone.”

The first occurrence of “one another” is from allēlōn, meaning “one another” or “each other.” The second occurrence of “one another” is translated from heautou, meaning “yourselves.”

Meaning Explained

Back in verse twenty-two the Apostle Paul told us to “put off … the old man,” that is “quit living under the influence of your sin nature.” Then in verse twenty-four he told us to “put on the new man,” the new nature that God created for us. Since then, Paul has told us what it means to live under the influence of this new nature. Yesterday, he instructed us to do away with bitterness, anger, wrath, clamor, blasphemy, and all badness.

Earlier we learned that we all should be using our spiritual gifts in the building up of the body of Christ. In today’s verse, Paul is not talking about specific gifts, but general attitudes that should replace those things he told us to stop doing yesterday. The first thing he tells us is that we should be kind, gentle, or useful to each other. The second thing is to be tenderhearted to each other; that is, we should demonstrate compassionate care for each other. If every church member were to regularly demonstrate kindness and compassion to everyone else in the church, no one would ever want to leave.

The third thing Paul tells us in today’s verse is that we should be forgiving. After all, he says, each one of us has been forgiven so much by God through the blood of Christ that we should willingly forgive others for what they have done to us. But notice that Paul used the pronoun heautou (yourselves) in reference to forgiveness. We need to be freely forgiving of others in the church, but we also need to be freely forgiving of ourselves. God has forgiven us, so we should too.

Application

Of the three attitudes that Paul admonishes us to exhibit in today’s verse, forgiveness may be the most important. Let’s all commit to be completely forgiving of others this week, and let’s be forgiving of ourselves as well.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.