Tag: protithemi

Romans 1:13 – Focused Zeal

Posted on by Will

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that I often planned to come to you (but was held back until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other nations.

Truth to Learn

Paul had intended to visit Rome several times, but it wasn’t yet part of God’s plan for Paul.

 

Behind the Words

The word “ignorant” is translated from agnoeō, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and noeō, meaning “to perceive” or “to understand.” Therefore, we can see that agnoeō means “ignorant or unaware.”

“Planned” is from the Greek word protithēmi, composed of pro, meaning “before, in time or location” and tithēmi, meaning “to place.” It means “to place before, in the mind.” In other words, it means “to give thought to ahead of time, to intend, or to plan ahead of time.”

The words “held back” are from the Greek verb kōluō, meaning “to hinder, weaken, prevent, or restrain.”

 

Meaning Explained

I really enjoy the tenderness that Paul shows toward other believers. He could easily have started off this verse with, “You, brothers and sisters, are ignorant of the fact that I have often intended to come visit you …” but in such matters he is much kinder. He says, “I do not want you to be ignorant.” The implication is very clear, they were ignorant, and he didn’t want that to be the case.

Paul had wanted to visit Rome for some time, and apparently had made plans to do so on numerous other occasions, but he was prevented from doing so. We don’t know specifically what hindered Paul. It is likely that it simply wasn’t God’s timing.

His reason for wanting to be with the Roman Christians, as we said earlier, was to share a spiritual gift, probably a message of strengthening and encouragement. He elaborates a little more on his reason for wanting to come in today’s verse, “that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among other nations.” Paul was not looking to share a plate of dried figs with them, that’s not the type of fruit that he is talking about. He’s talking about the fruit that comes about as a result of the Spirit of God working in people’s hearts.

You will notice that Paul’s objective is to do that which will ultimately bring praise to God, not what will ultimately bring praise to Paul. This Paul is dramatically different from Saul of Tarsus, who persecuted Christians for personal gain and because of personal zeal. He is still a zealot, but now that zeal is focused on the work of God rather than on the work of Paul.

 

Application

Are you a zealot today? Is there something that you are so totally committed to that you place it above all else in your life? If so, what is it? Is it your children? Is it your business? Is it your husband or your wife? Is it your health? Is it your retirement? These are all good things to be zealous about, but they are all the wrong things if you’re not first zealous about serving God, and doing so His way.

It’s good to be committed to a cause but don’t let that commitment take you in a direction other than where God wants you to go!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 1:11 – His Free Will

Posted on by Will

In Him, in whom we also obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Truth to Learn

All of the aspects of our salvation have come about because God determined them of His own free will.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “we … obtained an inheritance” is klēroō. Literally, it means “to cast lots.”  By application it means “to allot” or “to assign something.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense (a completed action in the past) and the passive voice (something done to the subject). Thus, it refers to something that was allotted to us; that is, an inheritance which was assigned to us at a point in time in the past.

“Being predestined” is from the Greek word prooridzō, which we saw back in verse five. There we learned that it means “to establish or determine something beforehand.”

“The purpose” is from protithēmi, meaning “something put in place beforehand.”

The word “works” is from energeō, which means “to be active, to make something happen, to do something, or to work.”

The phrase “the counsel of His will” is from tēn boulēn tou thelēmatos autou. The two key words are boulēn, meaning “a wish or a desire” and thelēmatos, meaning “a determination.” We could paraphrase this as “The desire of His determination.” Thus, this expression indicates something that God determined to do simply because He wanted to do it.

 

Meaning Explained

Back in verse two we noted that the content and meaning of these verses is sort of like drinking from a fire hose. Paul has packed a lot of doctrine (teaching) into each of these verses.

Here he tells us that “In Him,” that is, in Christ, we obtained (past completed action) an inheritance from God. This is not something that we earned, but something that is freely given to us simply because we have been adopted into God’s family (see verse five). Paul also tells us that this inheritance (our adoption), our redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins were all put in place beforehand. All of this goes back to His choosing us before He created anything. This is the point in time (actually before time) when God determined the plan of salvation and set it in place. For those of you who believe that we can somehow lose our salvation, how can we possibly lose something that God put in place before the world was created?

The last phrase of this verse is a powerful statement of how our God operates. It says that God does everything He does simply because He wants to. He is not constrained to do anything. Nobody can force or even entice God to do anything. So what Paul is telling us here is that the entire plan of salvation, from His choosing us, to His adopting us, to His paying the ransom for our sins, to His casting our sins far, far away, to granting us an inheritance, is all done simply because He wanted to do it. In other words, God did not do all these things because we chose to believe the gospel message and get saved. That would be us telling God what to do. The entire plan of salvation is all His doing and only His doing.

 

Application

As hard as it is for many of us to believe, our salvation is all God’s doing. That shouldn’t make us complacent, it should make us eternally grateful and humbled before Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will! Praise God!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 1:9 – Lord Over All

Posted on by Will

having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

Truth to Learn

God is completely sovereign. He does according to His own will.

 

Behind the Words

The words “having made known” are from gnoridzō, which means “to make known” or “to certify.” It is expressed here as an explanatory participle tied to the phrase “which He made to abound toward us.”

“Mystery” is a transliteration (a word from one language spelled with the letters of another) of the Greek word mustērion. There are two trains of thoughts on the derivation of this word. Some believe that it is based on the verb muō, meaning “to shut the mouth.” Thus, it is something kept secret. Others believe that it is based on the verb mueō, meaning “to initiate;” that is, “to learn a secret.” Therefore, both schools of thought see mustērion as meaning “something kept secret.” In the New Testament it always refers to a truth which has previously been kept secret but that is now revealed.

“Will” is from the Greek word thelēma, which we learned back in verse five means “a determination” as opposed to “a desire.”

The Greek word translated “purposed” is protithēmi, which is made up of pro, meaning “before, in position or time” and tithēmi, meaning “to place.” It is expressed here in the middle voice (action done by the subject to itself.) So, protithēmi literally means “to set before oneself.” By application it means “to purpose” or “to determine for oneself.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the opening verses of this letter Paul proclaimed a blessing on God because He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, He chose us before He created anything, and He predestined us to be adopted into His family. All this, we learned, was done to showcase God’s marvelous grace, through which we have redemption and forgiveness. Now he tells us that through this grace God makes known to us a truth about His will (His determined plan). He calls this truth a mystery.

The Apostle Paul talks about mysteries no fewer than seventeen times in his New Testament letters. These mysteries include: the mystery of the rapture (1Corinthians 15:51), the mystery of Israel’s spiritual blindness (Romans 11:25), the mystery of the gospel message (Romans 16:25, Ephesians 6:19, Colossians 4:3), the mystery of the church being the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:32), the mystery of Christ indwelling presence (Colossians 1:26, 27), the mystery of lawlessness in the end times (2Thessalonians 2:7), the mystery of the faith (1Timothy 3:9), and the mystery spoken of here. So what is this mystery of God’s will? Paul tells us more completely in Ephesians 3:3-6 where he says: “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.”

Why has He revealed the truth of this mystery to us? Paul says it is simply because God thought it was a good thing to do; therefore, He decided to do it.

 

Application

This is yet another example of God’s sovereignty. God is not constrained to do or not do anything. He acts as He determines to and is answerable to no one. He is Lord over all!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 1:11 – His Free Will

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 1:11  – His Free Will

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Truth to Learn

All of the aspects of our salvation have come about because God determined them of His own free will.

Behind the Words

The word translated “we have obtained an inheritance” is klēroō. Literally, it means “to cast lots.”  By application it means “to allot” or “to assign something.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense (a completed action in the past) and the passive voice (something done to the subject). Thus, it refers to something that was allotted to us; that is, an inheritance which was assigned to us at a point in time in the past.

“Being predestined” is from the Greek word prooridzō, which we saw back in verse five. There we learned that it means “to establish or determine something beforehand.”

“The purpose” is from protithēmi, meaning “something put in place beforehand.”

The word “works” is from energeō, which means “to be active, to make something happen, to do something, or to work.”

The phrase “the counsel of His will” is from tēn boulēn tou thelēmatos autou. The two key words are boulēn, meaning “a wish or a desire” and thelēmatos, meaning “a determination.” Thus, this expression indicates something that God determined to do simply because He wanted to do it.

Meaning Explained

Back in verse two we noted that the content and meaning of these verses is sort of like drinking from a fire hose. Paul has packed a lot of doctrine (teaching) into each of these verses.

Here he tells us that “In Him,” that is, in Christ, we obtained (past completed action) an inheritance from God. This is not something that we earned, but something that is freely given to us simply because we have been adopted into God’s family (see verse five). Paul also tells us that this inheritance, our adoption, our redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins were all put in place beforehand. All of this goes back to His choosing us before He created anything. This is the point in time (actually before time) when God determined the plan of salvation and set it in place.

The last phrase of this verse is a powerful statement of how our God operates. It says that God does everything He does simply because He wants to. He is not constrained to do anything. Nobody can force or even entice God to do anything. So what Paul is telling us here is that the entire plan of salvation, from His choosing us, to His adopting us, to His paying the ransom for our sins, to His casting our sins far, far away, to granting us an inheritance, is all done simply because He wanted to do it. In other words, God did not do all these things because we chose to believe the gospel message and get saved. That would be us telling God what to do. The entire plan of salvation is all His doing and only His doing.

Application

As hard as it is for many of us to believe, our salvation is all God’s doing. That shouldn’t make us complacent, it should make us eternally grateful and humbled before Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will! Praise God!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 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:

Ephesians 1:9 – Lord Over All

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 1:9  – Lord Over All

having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

Truth to Learn

God is completely sovereign. He does according to His own will.

Behind the Words

The words “having made known” are from gnoridzō, which means “to make known” or “to certify.” It is expressed here as an explanatory participle tied to the phrase “which He made to abound toward us.”

“Mystery” is a transliteration (a word from one language spelled with the letters of another) of the Greek word mustērion. There are two trains of thoughts on the derivation of this word. Some believe that it is based on the verb muō, meaning “to shut the mouth.” Thus, it is something kept secret. Others believe that it is based on the verb mueō, meaning “to initiate;” that is, “to learn a secret.” Therefore, both schools of thought see mustērion as meaning “something kept secret.” In the New Testament it always refers to a truth which has previously been kept secret but that is now revealed.

“Will” is from the Greek word thelēma, which we learned back in verse five means “a determination” as opposed to “a desire.”

The Greek word translated “purposed” is protithēmi, which is made up of pro, meaning “before, in position or time” and tithēmi, meaning “to place.” It is expressed here in the middle voice (action done by the subject to itself.) So, protithēmi literally means “to set before oneself.” By application it means “to purpose” or “to determine for oneself.”

Meaning Explained

In the opening verses of this letter Paul proclaimed a blessing on God because He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, He chose us before He created anything, and He predestined us to be adopted into His family. All this, we learned, was done to showcase God’s marvelous grace, through which we have redemption and forgiveness. Now he tells us that through this grace God makes known to us a truth about His will (His determined plan). He calls this truth a mystery.

The Apostle Paul talks about mysteries no fewer than seventeen times in his New Testament letters. These mysteries include: the mystery of the rapture (1Corinthians 15:51), the mystery of Israel’s spiritual blindness (Romans 11:25), the mystery of the gospel message (Romans 16:25, Ephesians 6:19, Colossians 4:3), the mystery of the church being the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:32), the mystery of Christ indwelling presence (Colossians 1:26, 27), the mystery of lawlessness in the end times (2Thessalonians 2:7), the mystery of the faith (1Timothy 3:9), and the mystery spoken of here. So what is this mystery of God’s will? Paul tells us more completely in Ephesians 3:3-6 where he says: “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.”

Why has He revealed the truth of this mystery to us? Paul says it is simply because God thought it was a good thing to do; therefore, He decided to do it.

Application

This is yet another example of God’s sovereignty. God is not constrained to do or not do anything. He acts as He wants to and is answerable to no one. He is Lord over all!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 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: