Tag: kind

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

James 3:7 – Taming the Beasts

Posted on by Will

For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and creatures of the sea, is subdued and has been subdued by mankind.

Truth to Learn

Some things are hard to tame. Hard, but not impossible!

Behind the Words

The word “kind” is a translation of phusis, which is a derivative of phuō, meaning “to bring forth by natural birth.” It stands in opposition to that which has been created by or assisted by man. In other words, it’s natural. Hence, phusis refers to the nature of things. James is referring to all sorts, or kinds, of animals.

“Beast” is from the Greek word therion, which means a dangerous or venomous animal. It is one term that is used of the antichrist in the book of Revelation, indicating the beastly nature of this person. But, it is sometimes used to refer to any kind of beast including the tame species.

The word translated “creeping things” is herpeton, from herpō, meaning “to creep.” Hence, it refers to a creeping thing which could include insects and reptiles.

The phrase “creatures of the sea” is from enalion, which is made up of en, meaning “in” and a form of hals, meaning “the sea.” Therefore this word literally means “things in the sea.”

“Subdued” is translated from damadzō, which is from an obsolete word meaning “to reduce to stillness or quietness.” The first use of this word in this verse is in the present tense and passive voice meaning that it is something currently being done to something else (is being subdued). The second occurrence is in the perfect tense and passive voice, indicating something that has been done in the past with an ongoing effect in the present.

Meaning Explained

This is the fourth illustration from nature that James has used to help us understand the tongue (horse’s bridle, rudder of great ocean vessels, fast spreading fire, and wild animals). The wild animals, he says, have been tamed by man. He is not saying that every species of animal on earth has been tamed. He describes four classifications of animals, which is intended to show that all kinds of animals have been tamed by man.

Lest we think that we in the twenty-first century have excelled at taming animals above our ancestors, Pliny the Elder in the first century AD identified a list of animals which had been tamed at that time. This list includes: elephants, lions, and tigers, among beasts; the eagle, among birds; snakes and crocodiles among the creeping things; and various fishes, among the inhabitants of the water. Even the Egyptians did some remarkable animal taming, including lions which were used by them both in hunting and in warfare.

James is pointing out that we humans have been able to tame every kind of animal. He does not say that they have been easily tamed. In fact, he implies that it has been done with great difficulty, just as it is very difficult to tame the tongue, as we will see in the next verse.

Application

Do you feel like God, through the writings of James, is talking directly to you? If you do, that’s good. If you don’t, well, you should! Because of our sin nature, we all have a tongue taming challenge. Are you up to it? With God’s help, you are?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

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 told us what it means to live under the influence of this new nature. Yesterday, he instructed us to do away with bitterness, anger, wrath, clamor, blasphemy, 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.

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 © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.