Tag: machaira

Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Posted on by Will

What will separate us from the love of Christ, tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Truth to Learn

No matter what happens to you, remember that God loves you!

 

Behind the Words

“What” is from the Greek interrogative pronoun tis, meaning “who, which, or what.” In light of the remainder of this verse, I think the best translation here is “what.”

The verb “separate” is translated from the Greek word chōridzō, which is based on the adverb chōris, which means “separately, by itself, apart from.” Hence, chōridzō means “to put distance between” or “to make things separate from one another.”

“Love” is from the Greek word agapē, which refers to a self-sacrificing love in which the lover is focused on the ultimate goodness and benefit of the loved one.

Paul now gives us a number of descriptions of things that can’t separate us from the love of Christ. They are:

  • thlipsis, meaning “pressure, anguish, tribulation, trouble, or affliction.” It refers to troubles pressing from the outside.
  • stenochōria, literally meaning “narrow space.” It is different from thlipsis in that it refers to internal distress or “anguish.”
  • diōgmos, which is derived from the verb diōkō, meaning “to relentlessly pursue or persecute.”
  • limos refers to “a scarcity of food.” It is most often translated as “hunger or famine.”
  • gumnotēs, meaning “nudity or nakedness.”
  • kindunos, meaning “peril or danger.” It refers to someone who is constantly moving because of imminent danger.
  • machaira, meaning “a sword used for warfare and slaughter.”

 

Meaning Explained

Paul has already made several declarations about those of us who are the chosen ones of God including:

  • If God is for us, who can possibly be against us.
  • He who gave His Son for our salvation will freely give us all things that we need for life and peace.
  • No one can get away with charging us with any wrong, and if they do (that is, when Satan does) we have Christ as our defense attorney interceding for us.

Now Paul begins the final declaration of this chapter (although it will take several verses to finish the idea). He starts this verse off with, “What will separate us from the love of Christ?”

The answer to this question doesn’t appear until verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine, but a number of candidates are offered by Paul in this verse. Though he never does directly answer this question, the ultimate answer is, “None of these things can separate us from the love of Christ.”

He will go on to provide an ever greater example of how strong Christ’s love for us is in a few verses.

 

Application

No matter what happens to us, God will always love us as His children (those whom He has chosen, redeemed, and justified).

Always!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 6:17 – The Sword, The Word

Posted on by Will

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

Truth to Learn

Christians have a sword to use in our spiritual battle.

Behind the Words

“Take” is translated from the Greek verb dechomai, meaning “to deliberately and readily accept what is offered.” It is different from the word lambanō, which means “to take as a self-prompted action.” Thus, we could more accurately translate this word as “receive.”

The word “helmet” is from perikephalaia, which is made up of peri, meaning “around” and a form of kephalē, meaning “head.” Hence, we see that perikephalaia means something that goes “around the head.”

Sōtērion is the word translated “salvation.” This is derived from the verb sōdzō, meaning “to save,” “to deliver,” or “to preserve safe from danger.”

The word “sword” is from machaira, which is derived from machē (from which we get the word machete). Machē refers to “a knife.” Machaira refers to a short sword (a knife) used in close hand-to-hand combat. It is used in a thrusting or slicing manner. A different Greek word, rhomphaia, refers to a longer “broadsword.”

Meaning Explained

For a Roman soldier, the large shield (thureos) protected most of his body, but during actual hand-to-hand combat, the head had to protrude above the shield. Therefore, the helmet became a crucial piece of his armor. It was typically made of iron or brass, often adorned with a horsehair crest, dyed red. The helmet was so crucial that a soldier might continue to fight (and win) while missing any other part of his armor, but without his helmet he was as good as dead.

Paul said ours is a “helmet of salvation.” Like a Roman soldier in the physical world, any person is spiritually dead without salvation. In this metaphor a Christian is never without his or her helmet, but it must be worn to protect us in our battle. In other words, we must always be aware that salvation by grace, through faith, guarantees us forgiveness of all our sins and it secures for us the promise of eternal life. Notice that Paul tells us to receive (dechomai) this salvation. It’s not something we can take or earn; it is a gift that we can only receive by faith.

The final piece of our armor is the sword. This is the only offensive weapon in the arsenal. The Greek machaira was shorter than the romphaia, being slightly curved and having a single sharp edge designed for slicing. Paul tells us that our machaira is “the word of God.” Knowledge of Scripture is of vital importance in fending off attacks from our enemy. It is what Jesus Himself used against the temptations of Satan. It is good and useful to memorize Scripture, but it is even more important to read and study the Bible on a regular and consistent basis. I always encourage new believers to read their Bible daily, even if they think they’re not getting anything out of it. The Holy Spirit will direct our use of the Sword.

Application

Fifteen minutes a day is about 1/100th of your life, yet fifteen minutes a day spent reading the Bible can make your life 100% better. Are you willing to devote 1/100th of your day, every day, so that you can wield your sword in battle?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Posted on by Will

Romans 8:35 – Faithful Loving God

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Truth to Learn

No matter what happens to you, remember that God loves you!

Behind the Words

“Who” is from the Greek interrogative pronoun tis, meaning “who, which, or what.” In light of the remainder of this verse, I think the best translation here is “what.”

The verb “separate” is translated from the Greek word chōridzō, which is based on the adverb chōris, which means “separately, by itself, apart from.” Hence, chōridzō means “to put distance between” or “to make things separate from one another.”

“Love” is from the Greek word agapē, which refers to a self-sacrificing love in which the lover is focused on the ultimate goodness and benefit of the loved one.

Paul now gives us a number of descriptions of things that can’t separate us from the love of Christ. They are:

  • thlipsis, meaning “pressure, anguish, tribulation, trouble, or affliction.” It refers to troubles pressing from the outside.
  • stenochōria, literally meaning “narrow space.” It is different from thlipsis in that it refers to internal distress or “anguish.”
  • diōgmos, which is derived from the verb diōkō, meaning “to relentlessly pursue or persecute.”
  • limos refers to “a scarcity of food.” It is most often translated as “hunger or famine.”
  • gumnotēs, meaning “nudity or nakedness.”
  • kindunos, meaning “peril or danger.” It refers to someone who is constantly moving because of imminent danger.
  • machaira, meaning “a sword used for warfare and slaughter.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has already made several declarations about those of us who are the chosen ones of God including:

  • If God is for us, who can possible be against us.
  • He who gave His Son for our salvation will freely give us all things that we need for life and peace.
  • No one can get away with charging us with any wrong, and if they do (that is, when Satan does) we have Christ as our defense attorney interceding for us.

Now Paul begins the final declaration of this chapter (although it will take several verses to finish the idea). He starts this verse off with, “What shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

The answer to this question doesn’t appear until verses thirty-eight and thirty-nine, but a number of candidates are offered by Paul in this verse. Though he never does directly answer this question, the ultimate answer is, “None of these things can separate us from the love of Christ.”

He will go on to provide an ever greater example of how strong Christ’s love for us is in a few verses.

Application

No matter what happens to us, God will always love us (those whom He has chosen, redeemed, and justified) as His children.

Always!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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