Tag: themelioo

1 Peter 5:10 – Temporary Suffering

Posted on by Will

Now the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Truth to Learn

God will use our suffering to make us complete in Him.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “all” is pas, which as we saw in verse seven means “all” or “the whole.”

 “Perfect” is from the Greek katartidzō, meaning “to complete or repair thoroughly.”

The word translated “establish” is stēridzō, which means “to set securely” or “to turn resolutely in a certain direction.”

The word “strengthen” is from the Greek sthenoō, which means “to give bodily vigor or strength to.”

And the word, “settle” is from the Greek themelioō, which means “to place firmly on a foundation.”

 

Meaning Explained

Now Peter gives us a few more words of encouragement lest we think that we are fighting this battle alone. He tells us that even in the midst of our suffering, the God of all grace will do something for us. He is not simply a gracious God (the God of grace) but the God of all grace. The implication is that there is no grace which does not come from God.

Peter goes on to tell us that not only does He bestow favor on us that we don’t deserve, but he also invites us to approach His eternal glory. Approaching this glory is only possible for us because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This is the glory that James, John, and Peter got a glimpse of at the transfiguration:

And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (Matthew 17:1,2)

God has invited us (called us) to come and see His glory! According to Peter, this same God will complete, securely set, strengthen, and firmly place us after we have suffered a little.”

God will not stop His work until He has absolutely completed what He wants to accomplish in us. God will establish our position in Christ, firmly and securely. God will make us spiritually strong. Our position in Christ will be built “on Christ” as we are used by God to build his church of which Christ is the chief cornerstone.

All of this will be done to us when? Peter says, after you have suffered a while. The word translated “a while” is oligon, which literally means “puny in degree or duration.” That is to say, our suffering here under God’s divine providence will be insignificant when compared with what is promised us in eternity.

 

Application

Though the suffering that you may be undergoing right now seems to be almost more than you can stand, God will use the suffering to bring you to a more Christ-like condition, and He will use it to bring glory to Himself. And … when we reach heaven, we will look back on the suffering and say, “Now, that wasn’t so bad after all!”

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 3:17 – Indwelling Christ

Posted on by Will

that through faith Christ may dwell in your hearts; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Truth to Learn

Christ dwells in the heart of every Christian.

 

Behind the Words

“Dwell” is from the Greek verb katoikeō, which is made up of kata, meaning “down” used here as an intensifier, and oikeō, meaning “to dwell” or “to reside.” Thus, katoikeō means to dwell permanently or to settle down in one place. In Greek it represents a distinct difference from paroikeō, meaning “to dwell temporarily.”

The Greek word translated “hearts” is kardia, from which we get the medical term “cardiac” referring to the heart.

The word “rooted” is from the Greek verb rhidzoō, which is based on the noun rhidza (from which we get the botanical term rhizome, meaning “a root”). It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect, where the emphasis is on the effect.

“Grounded” is translated from themelioō, which is indirectly based on the verb tithemi, meaning “to put in place.” Themelioō means “to put a foundation in place.” Thus, themelioō means “to have a solid foundation.” This word is also expressed in the prefect tense.

 

Meaning Explained

Paul is in the midst of worshipping God through prayer. It is a prayer specifically for the Christians in the church at Ephesus, but in general it is intended for all Christians. As we noted in yesterday’s verse, there are five specific petitions contained in this prayer. The first, which we looked at yesterday, was that God the Father would strengthen our inner man; this is to be done by God the Holy Spirit.

The second petition of Paul’s prayer is for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith. There is some disagreement among Biblical scholars regarding this particular petition. On the surface, it appears that Paul is asking that the Ephesians might be saved (for Christ to dwell in their hearts). However, back in Ephesians 1:1, Paul referred to the Ephesians as “saints.” In other words, they were already saved (a saint is a person who has been set-apart by God because of his or her salvation). According to Greek scholar Dr. Kenneth Wuest,

The personal presence of the Lord Jesus in the heart of the believer is not in view here. That is taken for granted. The word “dwell” is katoikēsai, made up of oikeō, “to live in as a home,” and kata, “down, thus “to settle down and be at home.” The tense is aorist, showing finality. The expanded translation is; “that Christ might finally settle down and feel completely at home in your hearts.”

Notice, also, that from verses fourteen through seventeen Paul is praying to the Father to strengthen by the Holy Spirit and that Christ (the Son) might settle down and feel at home through faith. All three persons of the Godhead are at work together here in the lives of believers. It is particularly important to note that throughout this prayer Paul is asking that the Ephesian Christians (and, by extension, all Christians) might have a deeper commitment and closer fellowship with God.

Based on the Greek grammatical structure of this and the following verse, the second half of this verse is actually part of the next verse, so we will look at it tomorrow.

 

Application

Are you truly saved? Does Christ dwell in your heart? Are you part of God’s family? I hope that is true, but it mustn’t stop there. God wants to have a close personal relationship with you. You are not simply a member of God’s team; you are a member of His family. And, like any loving father or mother, He wants to settle in and get personal with you. Too many Christians today believe that since they have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, they have “punched their ticket into heaven,” and that’s all there is to Christianity. How sad! Even though life as a Christian will have plenty of tribulations and trials, we can walk through this life with peace and joy if we have a close personal relationship with our Heavenly Father. In other words, it’s more than just a saving faith, it’s a living faith! Is that what you have?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 3:17 – Indwelling Christ

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 3:17  – Indwelling Christ

that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Truth to Learn

Christ dwells in the heart of every Christian.

Behind the Words

“Dwell” is from the Greek verb katoikeō, which is made up of kata, meaning “down” used here as an intensifier, and oikeō, meaning “to dwell” or “to reside.” Thus, katoikeō means to dwell permanently. In Greek it represents a distinct difference from paroikeō, meaning “to dwell temporarily.”

The Greek word translated “hearts” is kardia, from which we get the medical term “cardiac” referring to the heart.

The word “rooted” is from the Greek verb rhidzoō, which is based on the noun rhidza (from which we get the botanical term rhizome, meaning “a root”). It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect, where the emphasis is on the effect.

“Grounded” is translated from themelioō, which is indirectly based on the verb tithemi, meaning “to put in place.” Themelioō means “to put a foundation in place.” This word is also expressed in the prefect tense.

Meaning Explained

Paul is in the midst of worshipping God through prayer. It is a prayer specifically for the Christians in the church at Ephesus, but in general it is intended for all Christians. As we noted in yesterday’s verse, there are five specific petitions contained in this prayer. The first, which we looked at yesterday, was that God the Father would strengthen our inner man; this is to be done by God the Holy Spirit.

The second petition of Paul’s prayer is for Christ to dwell in our hearts through faith. In translating from any language into another language there are situations where the exact meaning of the source language is difficult to express in the target language. This is the case here. It appears from the translation that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith, but then again, He may not. That is NOT what the Greek text says. In fact, in the Greek the verb translated “dwell” is expressed as an infinitive, so a literal translation might be “that Christ to dwell in your hearts …” but that doesn’t make sense in English. This particular infinitive is an aorist infinitive which indicates completed action, so we could actually translate this as “that Christ dwells in your hearts …” Paul is praying to the Father for all those in Ephesus to be born-again Christians.

Notice, also, that from verses fourteen through seventeen Paul is praying to the Father to strengthen by the Holy Spirit and to indwell the believer with Christ (the Son) through faith. All three persons of the Godhead are at work together here in the lives of believers.

Based on the Greek grammatical structure of this and the following verse, the second half of this verse is actually part of the next verse, so we will look at it tomorrow.

Application

Does Christ dwell in your heart (a completed action)? If you have accepted His blood, through faith, as payment for your sins, then He does. This indwelling is not a process; it doesn’t gradually happen. It happened once and for all the moment you believed the gospel message.

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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