Tag: kai

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 11:36 – It’s All His

Posted on by Will

Romans 11:36 – It’s All His

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all our praise for only He is worthy.

Behind the Words

There is a three-fold expression that Paul uses in the first part of this verse which is very simple and yet profound. In the Greek Paul says ex autou kai di autou kai eis autou ta panta. Let’s look at this in detail.

The word kai simply means “and” and the word autou means “him, that is, in relation to him or with respect to him.” Next, let’s look at the three words ex, di, and eis. All three of these are prepositions. The first, ex is a form of ek, meaning “from” or “out of,” implying that He is the source. The second preposition is di, a contraction of dia, meaning “through, either as movement or as the instrument of action.” Finally, the third preposition is eis, meaning “into” or “unto.” Paul then finishes the first phrase with the two words, ta panta which mean “all things,” or “everything.” Thus, Paul says that all things originate with God, He is the instrument of action for all events, and all things will culminate in Him.

“Glory” is translated from doxa, from which we get our English word doxology. It is derived from the verb dokeō, meaning “thought or opinion, particularly favorable human opinion.” Thus, we see that doxa means “dignity, glory, or honor.” This word is sometimes translated as “praise” or “worship,” since that is the highest possible form of favorable human opinion.

The Greek expression translated “forever” is eis tous aiōnas. This literally means “unto the ages” or “forever.”

Putting this all together we see that this verse says: All things come from God, are created and sustained by God, and ultimately belong to God. Therefore, He alone should receive our praise both now and forever! Amen.

Meaning Explained

Paul ends this chapter of Romans with a doxology that we would all do well to meditate on. He says that everything which exists, both physical and spiritual, has its source in God and God alone. Everything that is, exists through God’s instrumentality, that is, it has come into being as a result of His creative action. Finally, everything that exists belongs to God and will be laid at His feet, and all creatures will give Him the glory. We see this in the heavenly scene painted for us by the Apostle John in the book of the Revelation:

the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:10-11)

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)

Application

Think about that as you celebrate Christmas this year!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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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: