Tag: distress

Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Posted on by Will

What will separate us from the love of Christ, tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Truth to Learn

No matter what happens to you, remember that God loves you!

 

Behind the Words

“What” is from the Greek interrogative pronoun tis, meaning “who, which, or what.” In light of the remainder of this verse, I think the best translation here is “what.”

The verb “separate” is translated from the Greek word chōridzō, which is based on the adverb chōris, which means “separately, by itself, apart from.” Hence, chōridzō means “to put distance between” or “to make things separate from one another.”

“Love” is from the Greek word agapē, which refers to a self-sacrificing love in which the lover is focused on the ultimate goodness and benefit of the loved one.

Paul now gives us a number of descriptions of things that can’t separate us from the love of Christ. They are:

  • thlipsis, meaning “pressure, anguish, tribulation, trouble, or affliction.” It refers to troubles pressing from the outside.
  • stenochōria, literally meaning “narrow space.” It is different from thlipsis in that it refers to internal distress or “anguish.”
  • diōgmos, which is derived from the verb diōkō, meaning “to relentlessly pursue or persecute.”
  • limos refers to “a scarcity of food.” It is most often translated as “hunger or famine.”
  • gumnotēs, meaning “nudity or nakedness.”
  • kindunos, meaning “peril or danger.” It refers to someone who is constantly moving because of imminent danger.
  • machaira, meaning “a sword used for warfare and slaughter.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has already made several declarations about those of us who are the chosen ones of God including:

  • If God is for us, who can possibly be against us.
  • He who gave His Son for our salvation will freely give us all things that we need for life and peace.
  • No one can get away with charging us with any wrong, and if they do (that is, when Satan does) we have Christ as our defense attorney interceding for us.

Now Paul begins the final declaration of this chapter (although it will take several verses to finish the idea). He starts this verse off with, “What will separate us from the love of Christ?”

The answer to this question doesn’t appear until verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine, but a number of candidates are offered by Paul in this verse. Though he never does directly answer this question, the ultimate answer is, “None of these things can separate us from the love of Christ.”

He will go on to provide an ever greater example of how strong Christ’s love for us is in a few verses.

 

Application

No matter what happens to us, God will always love us as His children (those whom He has chosen, redeemed, and justified).

Always!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

2 Thessalonians 1:9 – Eternal Torment

Posted on by Will

These shall pay the penalty, eternal distress from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

Truth to Learn

Those who reject Jesus Christ will suffer terribly, for eternity!

 

Behind the Words

The words “pay the penalty” is translated from the words dikēn tisousin. The word dikēn refers to “a judgment, a penalty, or a punishment” and tisousin is a form of the verb tinō, which means “to pay the value of something.” When these two words are used together they mean “to pay a penalty.”

“Eternal” is from the Greek adjective aiōnios, which is derived from the noun aiōn, meaning “an age of time.” Aiōnios means “constant, perpetual, or eternal.”

Olethros is the word translated “distress.” It is based on the verb ollumi, meaning “to destroy” or “to kill.” The fundamental thought behind olethros is not annihilation (ceasing to exist), but unavoidable and never ending distress and torment.

The word translated “presence” is prosōpon, which is made up of pros, meaning “toward” and ops, meaning “the eyes.” Thus, prosōpon literally means “toward the eyes.” It is most often translated as “face,” but it can also be translated as “presence.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has been talking about the righteous judgments of God: His righteous decision to show grace to sinners who believe in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, and His righteous decision to sentence all non-believers to eternal punishment. Yesterday we looked at one aspect of this punishment of unbelievers. Paul identified it as hot, blazing fire. In Luke’s gospel account the following description of this torment is described in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, where the rich man was in torment in hades:

And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.” (Luke 16:24)

But even this pales in comparison to the final torment that unbelievers will suffer. According to Revelation 20:15, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

As painful and torturous as this may be, I believe that this is not the worst part of the sentence that will be passed on those who reject the gospel message. Listen to the words of Jesus:

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:11-12)

In this verse, the expression “sons of the kingdom” is a reference to the Jews, sons of Abraham, who rejected their Messiah. The total absence of the presence of God and His glory will produce such darkness that it will cause those experiencing it to wail and to gnash their teeth. This is the future that is promised to all who reject Jesus Christ.

 

Application

It is not our job to punish evil doers. That is God’s prerogative and His punishment will be worse than anything we could do.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 3:7 – Focusing On Others

Posted on by Will

because of this, brothers, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith.

Truth to Learn

Paul was concerned about how his own persecution was affecting the faith of others.

 

Behind the Words

“Because of this” is from the Greek words dia touto. The word dia denotes the channel of action, that is, “on account of” or “by means of.” Touto means “this.” Therefore, dia touto literally translates as “on account of this” or “because of this.”

“Brothers” is the translation of adelphos, which is made up of a, indicating unity and delphus, which refers to the womb. Therefore, literally this word means “someone having the same birth origin.” Since all Christians are “born of the Spirit,” we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord.

The word “affliction” is translated from thlipsis, which we saw back in verse three. It means “pressure, stress, trouble, or affliction.”

The word translated “distress” is anagkē, which can refer to “necessity” or to “an oppositional compelling force.”

“We were comforted” is from the Greek verb parakaleō, which we saw back in verse two where it was translated as “encourage.” It is a picture of someone being called alongside to challenge and encourage. In this verse it could be translated as “comforted” or “encouraged.”

Pistis is the Greek word translated “faith.” It is based on the verb peithō, meaning “to persuade” or “to win over by persuasive discussion.” Pistis refers to the state of having been firmly convinced of a truth.

 

Meaning Explained

As we have mentioned before, word order is very important in Greek. The thought or idea expressed first is the most important. In today’s verse, the Greek word order says, “because of this, we were comforted, brothers, concerning you …” You may recall from verses one and five that Paul wanted to know about how the Thessalonians were doing, but he had not heard any word from them. He knew that he and his co-workers had only spent a brief time with these young Christians and he was concerned that the persecution that they were facing might have weakened their faith. So, Paul had sent Timothy to Thessalonica to strengthen and encourage them and to see how strong their faith was.

But it was not just the persecution of the Thessalonians that Paul was uncomfortable about. Paul was concerned that the persecution and affliction that he and his companions were suffering might be affecting the faith of his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. This may be only a subtle distinction, but it demonstrates something significant about the Apostle. He was not focusing on himself and his own circumstances, but on how his circumstances might be affecting others.

 

Application

Part of human nature is to look-out for ourselves, to do all we can to ensure that we are safe and comfortable. Pure and undefiled faith in God, however, means trusting God and being concerned about the safety and wellbeing of others. What are you putting your trust in and whose wellbeing are you most concerned about?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

1 Thessalonians 3:7 – Focusing On Others

Posted on by Will

therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith.

Truth to Learn

Paul was concerned about how his own persecution was affecting the faith of others.

Behind the Words

“Therefore” is from the Greek words dia touto. The word dia denotes the channel of action, that is, “on account of” or “by means of.” Touto means “this.” Therefore, dia touto literally translates as “on account of this” or “because of this.”

“Brethren” is the translation of adelphos, which is made up of a, indicating unity and delphus, which refers to the womb. Therefore, literally this word means “someone having the same birth origin.” Since all Christians are “born of the Spirit,” we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord.

The word “affliction” is translated from thlipsis, which we saw back in verse three. It means “pressure, stress, trouble, or affliction.”

The word translated “distress” is anagkē, which can refer to “necessity” or to “an oppositional compelling force.”

“We were comforted” is from the Greek verb parakaleō, which we saw back in verse two where it was translated as “encourage.” It is a picture of someone being called alongside to challenge and encourage. In this verse it could be translated as “comforted” or “encouraged.”

Pistis is the Greek word translated “faith.” It is based on the verb peithō, meaning “to persuade” or “to win over by persuasive discussion.” Pistis refers to the state of having been firmly convinced of a truth.

Meaning Explained

As we have mentioned before, word order is very important in Greek. The thought or idea expressed first is the most important. In today’s verse, the Greek word order says, “therefore, we were comforted, brothers, over you …” You may recall from verses one and five that Paul wanted to know about how the Thessalonians were doing, but he had not heard any word from them. He knew that he and his co-workers had only spent a brief time with these young Christians and he was concerned that the persecution that they were facing might have weakened their faith. So, Paul had sent Timothy to Thessalonica to strengthen and encourage them and to see how strong their faith was.

But it was not just the persecution of the Thessalonians that Paul was uncomfortable about. Paul was concerned that the persecution and affliction that he and his companions were suffering might be affecting the faith of his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. This may be only a subtle distinction, but it demonstrates something significant about the Apostle. He was not focusing on himself and his own circumstances, but on how his circumstances might be affecting others.

Application

Part of human nature is to look-out for ourselves, to do all we can to ensure that we are safe and comfortable. Pure and undefiled faith in God, however, means trusting God and being concerned about the safety and wellbeing of others. What are you putting your trust in and whose wellbeing are you most concerned about?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Posted on by Will

Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Truth to Learn

No matter what happens to you, remember that God loves you!

Behind the Words

“Who” is from the Greek interrogative pronoun tis, meaning “who, which, or what.” In light of the remainder of this verse, I think the best translation here is “what.”

The verb “separate” is translated from the Greek word chōridzō, which is based on the adverb chōris, which means “separately, by itself, apart from.” Hence, chōridzō means “to put distance between” or “to make things separate from one another.”

“Love” is from the Greek word agapē, which refers to a self-sacrificing love in which the lover is focused on the ultimate goodness and benefit of the loved one.

Paul now gives us a number of descriptions of things that can’t separate us from the love of Christ. They are:

  • thlipsis, meaning “pressure, anguish, tribulation, trouble, or affliction.” It refers to troubles pressing from the outside.
  • stenochōria, literally meaning “narrow space.” It is different from thlipsis in that it refers to internal distress or “anguish.”
  • diōgmos, which is derived from the verb diōkō, meaning “to relentlessly pursue or persecute.”
  • limos refers to “a scarcity of food.” It is most often translated as “hunger or famine.”
  • gumnotēs, meaning “nudity or nakedness.”
  • kindunos, meaning “peril or danger.” It refers to someone who is constantly moving because of imminent danger.
  • machaira, meaning “a sword used for warfare and slaughter.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has already made several declarations about those of us who are the chosen ones of God including:

  • If God is for us, who can possible be against us.
  • He who gave His Son for our salvation will freely give us all things that we need for life and peace.
  • No one can get away with charging us with any wrong, and if they do (that is, when Satan does) we have Christ as our defense attorney interceding for us.

Now Paul begins the final declaration of this chapter (although it will take several verses to finish the idea). He starts this verse off with, “What shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

The answer to this question doesn’t appear until verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine, but a number of candidates are offered by Paul in this verse. Though he never does directly answer this question, the ultimate answer is, “None of these things can separate us from the love of Christ.”

He will go on to provide an ever greater example of how strong Christ’s love for us is in a few verses.

Application

No matter what happens to us, God will always love us (those whom He has chosen, redeemed, and justified) as His children.

Always!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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