passion – Ministry of Grace Church

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Romans 7:5 – Fruit of Death

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Will

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

Truth to Learn

Trying to live by a set of laws or rules produces spiritual death, not life.

Behind the Words

The word translated “flesh” in this verse is sarx, which means “the flesh, or muscle, of a living animal.” This is a contrasting word to kreas, which refers to “the flesh of a dead animal,” also sometimes translated as “meat.” Paul is using the word “flesh” here as a metonym, that is, a word used to represent something else. An example of a metonym is the use of the word “Washington” to refer to the U.S. Government. Paul uses “flesh” as a metonym for our sin nature.

“Passions” is from pathēma, which is a form of paschō, meaning “to experience strong feelings.” It is often translated “suffer,” although it can refer to strong feelings whether they are good or bad (or somewhere in between). The ending “ma” gives it the meaning “that which is felt strongly.”

The word “aroused” is energeō, from which we get our English word “energy.” It refers to “that which is active, effectual, or mighty.” We could easily translate the opening phrase of this verse as, “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were energized by the law …”

Meaning Explained

What does the Apostle Paul mean by the opening part of this verse, “For when we were in the flesh”? Aren’t we always in our flesh, at least until we die? Yes, but that’s not the kind of flesh Paul is talking about. In order to understand what he’s talking about we need to look at a verse in the next chapter of this letter where Paul says,

And those being in the flesh are not able to please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this one is not His. (Romans 8:8-9)

In these verses Paul is contrasting being “in the flesh” and “in the Spirit.’ What he means is being controlled by the flesh, the sin nature, versus being controlled by the Spirit of God. Paul has already told us that before we were saved, we were in bondage to sin, or controlled by our sin nature. Now, in the current verse he is telling us that when we were controlled by our sin nature the passions, or overwhelming desires, of sin were not subdued but energized through the Law to bring forth fruit that resulted in death. I think Paul is talking about spiritual death or separation from fellowship with God, not physical death. And in the previous verse Paul told us that we should bring forth fruit to God by being married to Christ.

So, when we were controlled by our sin nature we produced fruit that resulted in spiritual death, but now that we have been saved and freed from the Law, we have become the bride of Christ, and the fruit that we produce should be fruit that is worthy of being brought to God.

Application

Now, the question is, what kind of fruit are you bringing to God? Are you allowing the desires of your flesh to control your actions? Or are you so tuned-in to God and walking so close to Him that your fleshly desires are easily resisted? The type of fruit that you produce will answer these questions for you.

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 4:5 – Uncontrolled Desires?

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Will

not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Truth to Learn

Uncontrolled passion is bad for a marriage and Christian faith.

Behind the Words

The word translated “passion” is pathos, which is derived from the verb paschō, meaning “to suffer.” In general usage it refers to strong emotion, either as suffering or as passionate emotion. In the New Testament it is used twice with epithumia (strong desire), and once with atimia (dishonorable).

“Lust” is from the Greek word epithumia, which is made up of epi, meaning “on” or “over,” used as an intensifier, and thumos, meaning “an violent action of the mind” such as anger or strong desire. Thus epithumos refers to overly strong desire or lust.

Ethnos is the Greek word translated “Gentiles.” It refers to “a nation” or “a race of people.” In Hebrew writing it generally refers to all non-Jews. When Paul used the term he often means all peoples who are neither Christian nor Jewish. In the current verse he makes it clear that he is talking about non-Christians.

Meaning Explained

In the first three chapters of this letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Paul put considerable time and energy into addressing the concerns of the church there. They were under considerable persecution and some believed that Paul had deserted them, fleeing from the same persecution they were suffering. In response, he expressed in very tender terms how much he loved them and was concerned about their welfare. He also informed them that he had tried to return to them but was hindered. Therefore, he had sent Timothy to them to help them grow in their faith. Upon Timothy’s return, Paul learned that the Thessalonians had a strong faith and had as much fondness for Paul as he did for them.

Paul then began the doctrinal teaching portion of this letter. The first subject that he addressed head-on was that of sexual promiscuity, which seems to have crept into the church. This is not surprising, since Macedonia and Achaia (all of modern day Greece) were dominated by paganism. The practices of these pagan religions frequently involved acts of sexuality. In fact, many of these religions employed temple prostitutes as part of their “religious” observances.

One of the difficulties for recent converts to Christianity was, and is, separating themselves from the pleasurable (though sinful) practices that they had previously thought to be normal and acceptable. One of the major differences between religion and Christianity, however, is the fact that God does not want religious observance from us, He wants a relationship. He wants more than a casual relationship, He wants an intimate relationship, and promiscuity destroys intimacy, whether it occurs before marriage or within a marriage. He tells them here that the way to avoid the desire for extra-marital affairs is for a man to nurture and care for his wife (or wife-to-be), developing an intimate relationship with her, not based on passionate lust.

Marriage is a picture of our relationship with God. It is one of submissive fellowship and genuine love. Clinging to and putting your faith in anything other than God is like infidelity in a marriage, it damages the relationship and fellowship.

Application

You may not have a problem with uncontrolled passion and lust in your marriage, but do you have a problem with selfish desires and unfaithfulness in your relationship with God?

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 4:5 – Uncontrolled Desires?

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Will

not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Truth to Learn

Uncontrolled passion is bad for a marriage and Christian faith.

Behind the Words

Meaning Explained

One of the difficulties for recent converts to Christianity was, and is, separating themselves from the pleasurable (though sinful) practices that they had previously thought to be normal and acceptable. One of the major differences between religion and Christianity, however, is the fact that God does not want religious observance from us, He wants a relationship. He wants more than a casual relationship, He wants an intimate relationship, and promiscuity destroys intimacy. He tells them here that the way to avoid the desire for extra-marital affairs is for a man to nurture and care for his wife, developing an intimate relationship with her, not based on passionate lust.

Application

You may not have a problem with uncontrolled passion and lust in your marriage, but do you have a problem with selfish desires and unfaithfulness in your relationship with God?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 1:26 – Disgraceful Passions

Posted on August 23, 2009 by admin

Romans 1:26

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.

Truth to Learn

Paul makes it very clear that homosexuality is sinful.

Behind the Words

The phrase “gave them up” is from paredoken, meaning “to give up to” or “to surrender something to.” This is the same word found in verse 24 and verse 28.

“Vile” is from the Greek word atimios, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of timaō, which means “to give honor.” Hence, atimios means “dishonorable” or “disgraceful.”

The word translated “women” is thēlus. This is the word which is used in expressing a sexual gender distinction from men. The usual word for woman or wife is gunē.

The expression “natural use” is from the Greek words psukikēn krēsin. Psukikēn refers to the natural, or physical, body. Krēsin is from the verb chraomai, meaning “to use.” Hence, krēsin refers to the use of something. Together, we see these words refer to the natural physical use. Its predominant use is in reference to sexual activities.

The expression “against nature” is from the Greek words para psusin. The word para means “beside, alongside, or against” and psusin means “to bring forth as in child birth.” Hence, these two words refer to that which is “against the natural use for reproduction.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is talking about those who have rejected the evidence of the one true God and have decided to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. In verse 24 Paul said because they exchanged the glory of God for idols, God “gave them up” (He surrendered them) to the uncleanness that is in their hearts, driving them to dishonor their bodies between themselves.

Now, because they refuse to acknowledge their creator, God surrendered them to unnatural and disgraceful passions. And what are these disgraceful passions? One of them is, “their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.” What Paul is saying is that these women gave up normal sexual intercourse within the confines of marriage for a form of sex that is contrary to that which would produce children.

Paul is saying that these women developed a view of sex that is simply a physical act rather than an expression of deep devotion between a husband and a wife. With this unnatural view of sex, all kinds of perversion become possible to the depraved mind of Godless people. Based on the specific words used here and what Paul says in the verse that follows, it is quite certain that he is referring to female homosexuality.

Paul will get even more graphic, though tastefully so, in the next verse about what the men have done.

Application

God is very clear in this series of verses that homosexuality is wrong. It is sinful! But we need to be careful that we Christians learn to love the sinner even though we hate their sin. Someone engaged in this sinful practice can be saved, but once saved they must reject their sinful ways.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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