Tag: eleeo

Romans 11:30 – Believe It or Not

Posted on by Will

For as you previously did not believe in God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief,

Truth to Learn

We can obtain mercy from God when we believe Him.

 

Behind the Words

The grammatical construction that ties this verse with the following one is the use of the Greek word kai in both these verses. This word is most often translated as “and” or “also.” But in the case of these two verses, the use of kai in both verses represents a construction called “correlative conjunction.” That means that the ideas in the two verses are tied together. This is sometimes translated as “both … and …” Paul is going to show us that our ability to believe is a direct result of the Jews’ lack of belief.

The word translated “did not believe” is apeitheō, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and the verb peithō, meaning “to persuade.” So, literally, this word means “not to persuade.” When used in the passive voice, as it is in this verse, it means “not willing to be persuaded, not willing to believe, or unbelieving.” This really gives a different meaning to this verse. It could be translated as:

For as you were once unbelieving in God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unwillingness to believe.

“Mercy” is translated from eleeō, meaning “to have compassion” or “to show mercy.” This word is also expressed in the passive voice, so it means “to be shown compassion or mercy.”

 

Meaning Explained

In this verse and the next, Paul is going to show that the Jews who are now alienated from God will one day be restored. And, in a similar manner, we Gentiles were once alienated from God and are now under God’s blessing through the gospel message.

Let’s look at what the correlation is between these two verses. Paul says “For as you previously did not believe in God.” This refers to a time when the truths about God were delivered to and held by the Jews, and we Gentiles did not have the truth. And, since we didn’t have the truth, we didn’t believe in it. In the book of Acts, Paul and Barnabas expressed it in these words,

(God) who in past generations allowed all nations to go their own ways, (Acts 14:16)

In other words, there was a time when we Gentiles did not believe in the one true God, therefore we walked in our own ways instead of God’s ways. The second half of the current verse goes on to say, “yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief,” that is, we who previously did not believe in God now can believe in God and walk in His ways. And our belief is a direct result of the unbelief of the Jews who rejected the Messiah when He first came.

In the next verse we will see the conclusion of how Paul is correlating these two verses.

 

Application

God has shown His mercy to us because the Jewish people did not believe the Messiah when He came. Now that He has come and paid for your sins with His blood, do you believe in Him? If so, does your lifestyle demonstrate it to others?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:18 – God and God Alone

Posted on by Will

So, then, He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

Truth to Learn

God makes the decisions regarding whom He shows mercy to.

 

Behind the Words

The word “mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in verse fifteen. It refers to God’s action of showing mercy, not just His feeling of compassion.

“Determines” is translated from the Greek verb thelō, which we looked at in verse sixteen. It refers to God’s determined will and so we translated it as “determine.”

The Greek verb translated “hardens” is sklērunō, which is based on the noun sklēros, meaning “hard.” In reference to a person, it carries the idea of being “stubborn, unyielding, or unmoved by persuasion.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul now makes his second summary statement regarding God’s sovereignty and his purpose in election. He has just shown that it was God who controlled the heart of Pharaoh after he had hardened his own heart against the Israelites and their God. And, Paul has shown in the previous verses that God chooses whom He will love and whom He will hate. Paul has quoted the Old Testament where God said,

I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Exodus 33:19b)

Paul then used Pharaoh as his example of this declaration. He now restates it as a summary statement of fact:

Therefore He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.

If you read the previous verse explanation and all the verses quoted, you will see that it was Pharaoh who initially hardened his own heart out of his own sinful and prideful nature. But eventually, God took over and caused him to harden his heart even more. There are two principles to understand here. The first is that we are all sinful, and left to our own devices we will commit sinful acts against God. The second is that God is overall sovereign and will, at His own choosing, either pardon that sinfulness and declare us righteous through the blood of Christ, or He will allow our sinfulness to send us to everlasting punishment in Hell, which is what we all deserve.

“But what about man’s free will?” you may ask. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that unregenerate man has a free will. That is a concept of theologians and others who don’t think it is fair for God to make all the decisions regarding our eternal future. The only free will that is spoken of in the New Testament is the free will that born-again Christians have regarding how they behave after salvation. As children of God, Christians can choose to obey God or to obey their sin nature.

 

Application

God is ruling all of creation, including you and me. If you are a born-again Christian, do you choose to submit to Him, or do you want to be in control?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:16 – All His Doing

Posted on by Will

So then it is not of the one willing, nor of the one running, but of God who shows mercy.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all the praise and glory for our salvation.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “willing” is a form of the Greek word thelō, which we have looked at before. It refers to a person’s will. But there is another Greek word which also refers to a person’s will. That word is boulomai. Thelō refers to a person’s determined will, whereas boulomai refers to a person’s desirous will. It is like a child being sent into a candy store with a limited amount of money. His (or her) desirous will is to have everything in the store. But the child determines (decides) to purchase what can be acquired with the money he or she has; this is the child’s determined will. The current verse uses thelō indicating that it is not the one deciding (determined will).

The word translated “running” is the Greek word trechō, which means “to run” or “to walk hastily.” By implication it means “to run a course in an effort to achieve an objective.”

“Shows mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in yesterday’s verse. It refers to the act of showing mercy.

 

Meaning Explained

In the preceding few verses Paul talked about God’s loving some people and hating others, about God having mercy on some and not on others. He has made the point that God does so in complete righteousness because He is a holy and a righteous God who can do no evil. Paul now makes his first summary of these points. He says that the choosing is not about the one willing, nor the one running, but of God, the one showing mercy. It’s not about the person who determines or decides to get saved. Neither is it about the one who works hard to keep all the rules. It’s all about God determining who He will show mercy to.

In other words Paul is saying that salvation is not based on someone choosing to be saved nor is it about someone keeping all the rules or completing a course of action to earn righteousness. You see, both of these imply that a person deserves salvation because they did something to earn it. Instead, according to Paul, it is based on God showing mercy on someone who does not deserve it.

Here’s what Albert Barnes said about this:

Salvation in its beginning, its progress, and its close, is of him. He has a right, therefore, to bestow it when and where he pleases. All our mercies flow from his mere love and compassion, and not from our deserts. The essential idea here is, that God is the original fountain of all the blessings of salvation.

But Paul does not stop here. In the next verse he will use Pharaoh as an example of someone whose heart God hardened so that He could demonstrate His power.

 

Application

What we need to see in these verses is that God chooses some and not others so that He alone will get the glory. If salvation is in any way our doing, then we can take some credit for it. If we did something to obtain it, then we should get at least part of the credit. But God says that He wants to get all the credit. He wants all the glory and all the praise. Let’s give it all to Him!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 9:15 – Sovereign Over All

Posted on by Will

For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

Truth to Learn

God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all.

 

Behind the Words

“I will have mercy” is translated from the verb eleeō, which means “to have compassion or mercy on a person in wretched circumstances.” The emphasis of this verb is on the intent to take action. It refers to the showing of mercy rather than the feeling of compassion.

The Greek verb translated “I will have compassion” is oikteirō. This verb also refers to having compassion or mercy, but the emphasis is on the tender feeling of compassion rather than the intent to take action.

 

Meaning Explained

By way of further explanation of his current rhetorical question (Is there unrighteousness with God?), Paul is going to show a few examples of God’s sovereignty over mankind demonstrated through His actions. The first example involves the Israelites and Moses.

Allow me to set the background for today’s quotation from the book of Exodus. God has led the people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and up to Mount Sinai. There, Moses was called by God to come up the mountain where he remained for forty days to receive the Law.

While Moses was up on the mountain, however, the Israelites got impatient with him and his God. They demanded that Aaron, Moses’ brother, create a golden calf for them to worship. On coming down from the mountain, Moses saw the golden calf and the people celebrating and worshipping their false god. He became so angry that he broke the tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments.

After this, Moses went before God and confessed the sins of the Israelites asking that they be forgiven. As he met with God in the tabernacle in the wilderness, a pillar of smoke appeared before the door of the tabernacle. Moses was speaking to God face to face but could not see him because of the smoke. God proclaimed that Moses had found favor in His sight (Moses was chosen) so he pleaded

Please, show me Your glory. (Exodus 33:18)

This is the point at which God proclaimed that it was His choice alone to show mercy to whomever He chose, and that He would feel compassion on whomever He chose.

The Jewish Christians in Rome would have recognized this quotation of the Old Testament as a proclamation of God’s righteousness and His sovereignty over all of mankind, to do as He pleases without violating anyone’s righteousness. He was refusing to show mercy to all the Jews but was expressing his feeling of compassion toward Moses by His own choice and thus allowed Moses to behold some of His glory.

 

Application

Before we put God in a box and expect Him to do whatever we ask (or tell) Him to do, let’s recognize that God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Romans 11:30 – Believe It or Not

Posted on by Will

Romans 11:30 – Believe It or Not

For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,

Truth to Learn

We can obtain mercy from God when we believe Him.

Behind the Words

The grammatical construction that ties this verse with the following one is the use of the Greek word kai in both these verses. This word is most often translated as “and” or “also.” But in the case of these two verses, the use of kai in both verses represents a construction called “correlative conjunction.” That means that the ideas in the two verses are tied together. This is sometimes translated as “both … and …” Paul is going to show us that our ability to believe is a direct result of the Jews’ lack of belief.

The word translated “disobedient” is apeitheō, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and the verb peithō, meaning “to persuade.” So, literally, this word means “not to persuade.” When used in the passive voice, as it is in this verse, it means “not willing to be persuaded, not willing to believe, or unbelieving.” This really gives a different meaning to this verse. It could be translated as:

For as you were once unbelieving in God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unwillingness to believe.

“Mercy” is translated from eleeō, meaning “to have compassion” or “to show mercy.” This word is also expressed in the passive voice, so it means “to be shown compassion or mercy.”

Meaning Explained

In this verse and the next, Paul is going to show that the Jews who are now alienated from God will one day be restored. And  in a similar manner, we Gentiles were once alienated from God and are now under God’s blessing through the gospel message.

Let’s look at what the correlation is between these two verses. Paul says “For as you were once disobedient to God.” As we just learned, this means, “For as you were once unbelieving in God,” which refers to a time when the truths about God were delivered to and held by the Jews, and we Gentiles did not have the truth. And, since we didn’t have the truth, we didn’t believe in it. In Acts 14:16, Paul and Barnabas expressed it in these words,

(God) who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.

In other words, there was a time when we Gentiles did not believe in the one true God, therefore we walked in our own ways instead of God’s ways. The second half of the current verse goes on to say, “yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief;” that is, we who previously did not believe in God now can believe in God and walk in His ways. And our belief is a direct result of the unbelief of the Jews who rejected the Messiah when He first came.

In the next verse we will see the conclusion of how Paul is correlating these two verses.

Application

God has shown His mercy to us because the Jewish people did not believe the Messiah when He came. Now that He has come and paid for your sins with His blood, do you believe in Him? If so, does your lifestyle demonstrate it to others?

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:

Romans 9:18 – God and God Alone

Posted on by Will

Romans 9:18 – God and God Alone

Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

Truth to Learn

God makes the decisions regarding whom He shows mercy to.

Behind the Words

The word “mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in verse fifteen. It refers to God’s action of showing mercy, not just His feeling of compassion.

“Wills” is translated from the Greek verb thelō, which we looked at in verse sixteen. It refers to God’s determined will and could be translated as “determine.” Hence, this verse could read, “Therefore He has mercy on whom He determines, and whom He determines He hardens.”

The Greek verb translated “hardens” is sklērunō, which is based on the noun sklēros, meaning “hard.” In reference to a person, it carries the idea of being “stubborn, unyielding, or unmoved by persuasion.”

Meaning Explained

Paul now makes his second summary statement regarding God’s sovereignty and his purpose in election. He has just shown that it was God who controlled the heart of Pharaoh after he had hardened his own heart against the Israelites and their God. And, Paul has shown in the previous verses that God chooses whom He will love and whom He will hate. Paul has quoted the Old Testament where God said,

I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Exodus 33:19b)

Paul then used Pharaoh as his example of this declaration. He now restates it as a summary statement of fact:

Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

If you read the previous verse explanation and all the verses quoted, you will see that it was Pharaoh who initially hardened his own heart out of his own sinful, prideful nature. But eventually, God took over and caused him to harden his heart even more. There are two principles to understand here. The first is that we are all sinful, and left to our own devices we will commit sinful acts against God. The second is that God is overall sovereign and will, at His own choosing, either pardon that sinfulness and declare us righteous through the blood of Christ, or He will allow our sinfulness to send us to everlasting punishment in Hell, which is what we all deserve.

“But what about man’s free will?” you may ask. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that unregenerate man has a free will. That is a concept of theologians and others who don’t think it is fair for God to make all the decisions regarding our eternal future. The only free will that is spoken of in the New Testament is the free will that born-again Christians have regarding how they behave after salvation. As children of God, Christians can choose to obey God or to obey their sin nature.

Application

God is ruling all of creation, including you and me. If you are a born-again Christian, do you choose to submit to Him, or do you want to be in control?

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:

Romans 9:16 – All His Doing

Posted on by Will

Romans 9:16 – All His Doing

So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all the praise and glory for our salvation.

Behind the Words

The word translated “wills” is a form of the Greek word thelō, which we have looked at before. It refers to a person’s will. But there is another Greek word which also refers to a person’s will. That word is boulomai. Thelō refers to a person’s determined will, whereas boulomai refers to a person’s desirous will. It is like a child being sent into a candy store with a limited amount of money. His (or her) desirous will is to have everything in the store. But the child determines (decides) to purchase what can be acquired with the money he or she has; this is the child’s determined will. The current verse uses thelō indicating that it is not the one deciding (determined will).

The word translated “runs” is the Greek word trechō, which means “to run” or “to walk hastily.” By implication it means “to run a course in an effort to achieve an objective.”

“Shows mercy” is from eleeō, which we looked at in yesterday’s verse. It refers to the act of showing mercy.

Meaning Explained

In the preceding few verses Paul talked about God’s loving some people and hating others, about God having mercy on some and not on others. He has made the point that God does so in complete righteousness because He is a holy and a righteous God who can do no evil. Paul now makes his first summary of these points. He says that the choosing is not about the one willing, nor the one running, but of God, the one showing mercy. It’s not about the person who determines or decides to get saved. Neither is it about the one who works hard to keep all the rules. It’s all about God determining who He will show mercy to.

In other words Paul is saying that salvation is not based on someone choosing to be saved nor is it about someone keeping all the rules or completing a course of action to earn righteousness. You see, both of these imply that a person deserves salvation because they did something to earn it. Instead, according to Paul, it is based on God showing mercy on someone who does not deserve it.

Here’s what Albert Barnes said about this:

Salvation in its beginning, its progress, and its close, is of him. He has a right, therefore, to bestow it when and where he pleases. All our mercies flow from his mere love and compassion, and not from our deserts. The essential idea here is, that God is the original fountain of all the blessings of salvation.

But Paul does not stop here. In the next verse he will use Pharaoh as an example of someone whose heart God hardened so that He could demonstrate His power.

Application

What we need to see in these verses is that God chooses some and not others so that He alone will get the glory. If salvation is in any way our doing, then we can take some credit for it. If we did something to obtain it, then we should get at least part of the credit. But God says that He wants to get all the credit. He wants all the glory and all the praise. Let’s give it all 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:

Romans 9:15 – Sovereign Over All

Posted on by Will

Romans 9:15 – Sovereign Over All

For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.”

Truth to Learn

God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all.

Behind the Words

“I will have mercy” is translated from the verb eleeō, which means “to have compassion or mercy on a person in wretched circumstances.” The emphasis of this verb is on the intent to take action. It refers to the showing of mercy rather than the feeling of compassion.

The Greek verb translated “I will have compassion” is oikteirō. This verb also refers to having compassion or mercy, but the emphasis is on the tender feeling of compassion rather than the intent to take action.

Meaning Explained

By way of further explanation of his current rhetorical question (Is there unrighteousness with God?), Paul is going to show a few examples of God’s sovereignty over mankind demonstrated through His actions. The first example involves the Israelites and Moses.

Allow me to set the background for today’s quotation from the book of Exodus. God has led the people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and up to Mount Sinai. There, Moses was called by God to come up the mountain where he remained for forty days to receive the Law.

While Moses was up on the mountain, however, the Israelites got impatient with him and his God. They demanded that Aaron, Moses’ brother, create a golden calf for them to worship. On coming down from the mountain, Moses saw the golden calf and the people celebrating and worshipping their false god. He became so angry that he broke the tables of stone containing the Ten Commandments.

After this, Moses went before God and confessed the sins of the Israelites asking that they be forgiven. As he met with God in the tabernacle in the wilderness, a pillar of smoke appeared before the door of the tabernacle. Moses was speaking to God face to face but could not see him because of the smoke. God proclaimed that Moses had found favor in His sight (Moses was chosen) so he pleaded

Please, show me Your glory. (Exodus 33:18)

This is the point at which God proclaimed that it was His choice alone to show mercy to whomever He chose, and that He would feel compassion on whomever He chose.

The Jewish Christians in Rome would have recognized this quotation of the Old Testament as a proclamation of God’s righteousness and His sovereignty over all of mankind, to do as He pleases without violating anyone’s righteousness. He was refusing to show mercy to all the Jews but was expressing his feeling of compassion toward Moses by His own choice and thus allowed Moses to behold some of His glory.

Application

Before we put God in a box and expect Him to do whatever we ask (or tell) Him to do, let’s recognize that God’s compassion and mercy are based on His choice, not ours. He is sovereign over all!

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: