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1 Peter 3:12 – Blessing Eyes, Condemning Face

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Will

Because the eyes of the lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the lord is against those who do evil."

Truth to Learn

God is watching over and listening to His righteous children, but He frowns on those who aren’t.

Behind the Words

“Eyes” is from the Greek word ophthalmos, meaning “eye.” It is derived from the verb optanomai, meaning “to see.”

The Greek word epi, meaning “on, over, or upon” appears twice in this verse. The first time it is translated “on” and the second time it is translated “against.” The reason for this is explained below.

The word translated “righteous” is dikaios, which means “one who does right” or “one who is just.”

“Prayers” is from the Greek word dēomai, meaning “to make known one's particular need.”

The word “face” is translated from prosōpon, which is made up of pros, meaning “toward” and ōps (derived from optanomai, “to see”), referring to the area of the face around the eyes. Prosopon is nearly always translated “face.”

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse and the previous two verses are taken from the book of Psalms where it says:

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil … (Psalms 34:12-16a)

This demonstrates that even this common fisherman (Peter) had studied and memorized the scriptures of his day. Let us not use the excuse that the Bible is too complicated or too difficult to understand as our reason for not studying and memorizing it, since this common, uneducated fisherman was able to do it!

Isn’t it interesting that the Greek translation of this Old Testament passage used the same word (epi) for the eyes of the Lord being “on” the righteous and the face of the Lord being “against” evil doers. Here’s why. The Hebrews of that day believed that having God’s eyes on you indicated the presence of His blessing whereas having God’s face on (or over) you was an indication of His condemnation and coming wrath.

If you study the book of Romans, you will find that it is because of our faith in the blood of Jesus that we have been declared righteous by God. We have this righteousness credited to us the same way Abraham was declared righteous, because he believed God. Because we believe God’s message about His Son (He died in the cross to pay for our sins, and He arose from the grave), His eyes of blessing are on us. But those who reject God’s message regarding His Son will suffer His wrath because His face is over them watching all their faithless sin.

Application

Are God’s eyes on you or is his face against you? It all depends on your position in Christ. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, His eyes are on you. Otherwise …

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 2:17 – Orphaned Christians

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Will

But we, brothers, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in spirit, were all the more eager with great desire to see your face.

Truth to Learn

Persecution of Christians occurs world-wide today.

Behind the Words

The words “having been taken away” are translated from the Greek verb aporphanidzō. This word is made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and orphanos (from which we get our English word orphan). Orphanos means “obscure” or “dark,” like an orphan who, without parents, was often forced to wander in obscurity and darkness. Thus, aporphanidzō means to be made alone and helpless, without parents.

“For a short time” is from the Greek words kairon horas. Kairon refers to a period of time or “a season,” and horas means “an hour.” Therefore, kairon horas literally means “a season of an hour.” Metaphorically, it means “for a short time.”

The word “more” is translated from perissōs, which means “abundantly” or “exceedingly.” It implies a much greater amount than just “more.”

“Eager” is from spoudadzō, which is based on spoudē, meaning “speed, haste, or diligence.” Spoudadzō, therefore, means “to be eager, diligent, or earnest.”

Both of the words “presence” and “face” are translated from prosōpon, which literally means “before your eyes.” It is the word that refers to a person’s face, but it also means “in someone’s presence” (just as we might refer to close proximity as “being in your face”).

Meaning Explained

In the last few verses Paul has been telling the Christians in Thessalonica how he, and they, have been persecuted by their fellow countrymen. They were hindered from witnessing the Gospel truth because of it. Paul and his companions even suffered physical persecution. In fact, the opposition was so great that Paul and Silas had to be scurried out of town at night:

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. (Acts 17:10a)

Paul has used the personal family metaphors of a nursing mother and a father to describe his relationship with, and love for, the Thessalonians. Now he uses even more emotional words to describe his separation from these dear people. He says, “having been taken away from you,” that is, “having been orphaned from you.” This is very descriptive of the heart wrenching pain of their sudden separation from each other.

However, Paul informs his children in the Lord that this separation is only for a short time. We don’t know for sure how long he had been gone from Thessalonica when he wrote this letter; it may have only been a few months. And we will learn in this verse and the next verse that Paul had already tried to return to Thessalonica, but he wasn’t able to. He tells his readers that he had tried very hard to return to them so that he could at least see their faces again.

Application

In some countries of the world today Christians are under heavy persecution, being imprisoned or even killed because of their desire to be obedient to God. Let’s all take a few minutes right now to pray to our Heavenly Father for protection and comfort for Christians everywhere who suffer for their faith.

In God's service, for His glory,

James 1:23 – Studious Reflection

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Will

Because, if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man studying his natural face in a mirror;

Truth to Learn

We can learn a lot about God and about ourselves by looking intently into the Word of God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “studying” is a form of the Greek word katanoeō, which is a compound word made up of kata, which means “down” but is used here as an intensifier and noeō, which means “to perceive with thought.” So, this word means “to intensely observe” or “to visually study.”

“Face” is translated from the Greek word prosōpon. This word is made up of pros, which means “toward” or “in the vicinity of” and a form of ops which literally refers to the “eyes.” Hence, this word refers to that which is in the vicinity of the eyes. It is the Greek word generally used to refer to the face.

The word translated “mirror” is a form of esoptron, made up of eis, meaning “into or unto” and a form of optomai, which means “to look” or “to perceive.” So, quite literally it is “a look-into thing.” Early English translations of the Bible translated this as “looking glass” which we refer to today as “a mirror.”

Meaning Explained

James has just instructed us to be doers (performers) of the word, not just hearers and he is now going to explain by way of example in the form of a simile. He says that if you hear the word and do not put it into practice, you are like a person who is studying himself (or herself) in a mirror. Do you ever do that? No, I don’t mean simply looking at yourself, but studying yourself. You know, checking out the blemishes, trying to decide what color your eyes really are, surveying the new laugh-lines that seem to have recently appeared, or perhaps counting the gray hairs.

The person who is not a hearer of the word doesn’t do that. They see someone else in the mirror. Instead of thinking, “Wow, God’s talking about me in that passage, I better listen up,” he or she thinks, “I wish so-and-so could hear this, they really need to hear what the Bible says about them.”

How many times have you walked out of church not remembering a thing about what the preacher just said? We’re all guilty of that at times. But how many times have you walked out of church thinking what a great message you just heard, that God was speaking directly to you? Hopefully, that happens to you on a regular basis. If so, then you are a hearer of the Word. If not, before you start church hopping in search of a better preacher, you might want to spend more time in prayer asking God to make you a better listener.

But, just because you regularly hear good preaching based solidly on what the Bible teaches, doesn’t mean that you put it into action. James is talking about a “put it into action” person.

Application

The Bible is like a mirror, indeed. It lets us see ourselves more clearly the way God sees us. And, fortunately, He is a God of grace and mercy. But the Bible also reveals to us what God wants us to be. When was the last time you saw yourself in the mirror of the Word? Do you remember what you looked like? How does that compare with what God wants you to look like?

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 2:17 – Orphaned Christians

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Will

But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.

Truth to Learn

Persecution of Christians occurs world-wide today.

Behind the Words

“Endeavored” is from spoudadzō, which is based on spoudē, meaning “speed, haste, or diligence.” Spoudadzō, therefore, means “to be eager, diligent, or earnest.”

The word “more” is translated from perissōs, which means “abundantly” or “exceedingly.” It implies a much greater amount than just “more.”

Meaning Explained

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. (Acts 17:10a)

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Peter 3:12 – Blessing Eyes, Condemning Face

Posted on January 20, 2009 by admin

1 Peter 3:12

For the eyes of the lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the lord is against those who do evil.”

Truth to Learn

God is watching over and listening to His righteous children, but He frowns on those who aren’t.

Behind the Words

“Eyes” is from the Greek word ophthalmos, meaning “eye.” It is derived from the verb optanomai, meaning “to see.”

The word translated “righteous” is dikaios, which means “one who does right” or “one who is just.”

“Prayers” is from the Greek word dēomai, meaning “to make known one’s particular need.”

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse and the previous two verses are taken from the book of Psalms where it says:

Application

Are God’s eyes on you or is his face against you? It all depends on your position in Christ. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, His eyes are on you. Otherwise …

In God’s service, for His glory,

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