Tag: ge

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 4:9 – Jesus In Hades

Posted on by Will

(And that, He ascended, what is it except that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Truth to Learn

Our Lord experienced physical death for us.

 

Behind the Words

The word “first” is translated from prōton, which is based on the superlative of pro (toward or forward). Thus, prōton refers to “that which is the forward-most, or first.” It can refer to “first in time” or “first in position.”

 “Descended” is from the Greek verb katabainō, which is made up of kata, meaning “down” and bainō, meaning “to come” or “to go.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense, indicative mood which indicates an act that occurred at a point in time in the past.

“Lower” is translated from katōteros, which is the comparative of katō, which means “below.” Therefore, we see that lower is an accurate translation of this word.

The word “parts” is from meros, which refers to “a part” or “a share.”

The word “earth” is the translation of the Greek word gē, which refers to “soil,” “dirt,” or “ground.” It is also used to refer to a country, a region, a territory, a land, or the earth.

 

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse is a continuation of a subject that Paul introduced in the previous verse. In that verse he was quoting from Psalms 68:18:

You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there. (Psalms 68:18)

In order to fully grasp what is being said in these verses we need to understand a little about one of the customs of the times in which these verses (both Old and New Testament) were written. It was common for a conquering king to distribute gifts to his subjects upon his return from conquering his enemy. Here we have a picture of our King of Kings returning from His victory over Satan and death. Upon His return to His land (Heaven) He distributed gifts to His subjects.

In today’s verse Paul is making a point that He who ascended had to first descend. In his gospel account, John quoted our Lord saying essentially the same thing:

And no one has ascended into heaven but the One having came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. (John 3:13)

Some have argued that the expression “descended into the lower parts of the earth” is a reference to Christ having left Heaven and having come to earth as a lowly servant. However, a literal reading of the verse says that “He descended into the lower parts of the ground.” That can only be a description of His descent into Paradise (within hades/sheol) immediately after having given up his life on the cross.

 

Application

Jesus Christ did not simply pass-out on the cross. He experienced physical death and was taken to the place where all souls go upon death. The glorious news is that He didn’t stay physically dead. He rose from the dead! He is now enthroned in heaven. Hellelujah!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 3:2 – Administrator of Grace

Posted on by Will

if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,

Truth to Learn

All Christians are commissioned to preach the Gospel.

 

Behind the Words

The word “if” is translated from ei. This is a conditional particle which introduces a conditional clause. In New Testament Greek (Koinē Greek) there are four types of conditional clauses, although only three of them appear in the Bible. The first class condition assumes the “if” clause to be true. The second class condition assumes the “if” clause to be false and the third class condition makes no assumption. In today’s verse we see a first class condition, so Paul assumes that his readers have heard of the dispensation.

“Indeed” is from ge, which is a particle of emphasis or qualification. It serves to strengthen or render more emphatic the word to which it is appended (if). It can be variously translated as “besides, doubtless, indeed, at least, or yet.”

The word translated “dispensation” is oikonomia, which is made up of oikos, meaning “house” and a form of nemō, meaning “to distribute or apportion.” In the first century, it was not uncommon for a land owner to have one slave who was steward (in charge) of his household. The word oikonomia refers to this position of household administrator, the work done by an administrator, or the process of administration. In today’s verse it refers to the “administration” or “stewardship” of the grace of God.

The word “for” is from the Greek word eis, which literally means “into” or “toward.” In this verse it refers to a direction of the mind. In other words, this information was given to Paul to relay it to us. In this sense, it was given to him “for” us.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul, like every believer in Jesus Christ, has been the recipient of God’s grace as he described it in the previous chapter:

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)

However, that’s not what he is specifically referring to in today’s verse. Here he is talking about “the dispensation of the grace of God” or the administration of the grace of God. God chose the Apostle Paul to be the administrator of His grace for the Gentiles. What he means by this is that God has entrusted him with the message of salvation by grace, through faith, and it is his responsibility to deliver it to the Gentiles. In Acts chapter twenty-six Paul described to King Agrippa how he received this responsibility directly from the Lord, who said:

But rise up and stand on your feet; for it is for this reason I appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness both of the things which you saw and of the things which I will yet reveal to you, delivering you from the Jewish people, and the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, (Acts 26:16, 17)

In fact, he told the believers in Corinth that he now has no choice but to preach the Gospel message:

For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Paul recognized his responsibility to administer the grace of God by proclaiming the Good News to people throughout the known world, and he performed that task until the day he died.

 

Application

We, too, have been given a commission to preach the Gospel message. Are you carrying out that commission? Are you sharing the Good News with those around you?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 4:9 – Jesus In Hades

Posted on by Will

(Now this, "He ascended"—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Truth to Learn

Our Lord experienced physical death for us.

Behind the Words

The word “first” is translated from prōton, which is based on the superlative of pro (toward or forward). Thus, prōton refers to “that which is the forward-most, or first.” It can refer to “first in time” or “first in position.”

“Descended” is from the Greek verb katabainō, which is made up of kata, meaning “down” and bainō, meaning “to come” or “to go.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense, indicative mood which indicates an act that occurred at a point in time in the past.

“Lower” is translated from katōteros, which is the comparative of katō, which means “below.” Therefore, we see that lower is an accurate translation of this word.

The word “parts” is from meros, which refers to “a part” or “a share.”

The word “earth” is the translation of the Greek word gē, which refers to “soil,” “dirt,” or “ground.” It is also used to refer to a country, a region, a territory, a land, or the earth.

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse is a continuation of a subject that Paul introduced in the previous verse. In that verse he was quoting from Psalms 68:18:

You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there. (Psalms 68:18)

In order to fully grasp what is being said in these verses we need to understand a little about one of the customs of the times in which these verses (both Old and New Testament) were written. It was common for a conquering king to distribute gifts to his subjects upon his return from conquering his enemy. Here we have a picture of our King of Kings returning from His victory over Satan and death. Upon His return to His land (Heaven) He distributed gifts to His subjects.

In today’s verse Paul is making a point that He who ascended had to first descend. In his gospel account, John quoted our Lord saying essentially the same thing:

No one has ascended to [into] heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. (John 3:13)

Some have argued that the expression “descended into the lower parts of the earth” is a reference to Christ having left Heaven and having come to earth as a lowly servant. However, a literal reading of the verse says that “He descended into the lower parts of the ground.” That can only be a description of His descent into Paradise (within hades/sheol) immediately after having given up his life on the cross.

Application

Jesus Christ did not simply pass-out on the cross. He experienced physical death and was taken to the place where all souls go upon death. The glorious news is that He didn’t stay physically dead. He rose from the dead! Hellelujah!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

Ephesians 3:2 – Administrator of Grace

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 3:2  – Administrator of Grace

if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,

Truth to Learn

All Christians are commissioned to preach the Gospel.

Behind the Words

The word “if” is translated from ei. This is a conditional particle which introduces a conditional clause. In New Testament Greek (Koinē Greek) there are four types of conditional clauses, although only three of them appear in the Bible. The first class condition assumes the “if” clause to be true. The second class condition assumes the “if” clause to be false and the third class condition makes no assumption. In today’s verse we see a first class condition, so Paul assumes that his readers have heard of the dispensation.

“Indeed” is from ge, which is a particle of emphasis or qualification. It can be variously translated as “besides, doubtless, indeed, at least, or yet.”

The word translated “dispensation” is oikonomia, which is made up of oikos, meaning “house” and a form of nemō, meaning “to distribute or apportion.” Oikonomia can refer to the position of administrator, the work done by an administrator, or of the process of administration. In today’s verse it refers to the “administration” or “stewardship” of the grace of God.

Meaning Explained

Paul, like every believer in Jesus Christ, has been the recipient of God’s grace as he described it in the previous chapter:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)

However, that’s not what he is specifically referring to in today’s verse. Here he is talking about “the dispensation of the grace of God” or the administration of the grace of God. God chose the Apostle Paul to be the administrator of His grace for the Gentiles. What he means by that is that God has entrusted him with the message of salvation by grace, through faith, and it is his responsibility to deliver it to the Gentiles. In Acts chapter twenty-six Paul described to King Agrippa how he received this responsibility directly from the Lord, who said:

But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, (Acts 26:16, 17)

In fact, he told the believers in Corinth that he now has no choice but to preach the Gospel message:

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Paul recognized his responsibility to administer the grace of God by preaching the Good News to people throughout the known world, and he performed that task until the day he died.

Application

We, too, have been given a commission to preach the Gospel message. Are you carrying out that commission? Are you sharing the Good News with those around you?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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