Use Your Mind, Don't Empty It: 1 Peter 1:13

For the most part, this blog is written under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Please understand, I am not saying I have any new revelation. I don't. All I have are the Holy Scriptures and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as I attempt to study and share what is within them (within the Scriptures). The reason I share this point is that this entry is no different to any other; ie. I am sharing what God is showing me but with a small difference. This scripture just happens to be a personal favourite, so I am pleased to be led to share it. It's always good when this happens, don't you agree? :-)

 "Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13).

As usual, I strongly urge you to read this verse in context, so let us assume you have at least read all of chapter 1.

Lets begin by 'unpacking' this verse. "Prepare your minds for action". Quite literally the Greek verb this clause is based upon  means to "gird up" (KJV has "gird up the loins of your mind"). It was used in relation to the habit of binding up ones robes in preparation for work or perhaps a journey. Hence here it used in a metaphorical sense for "getting your mind ready for action". It is also interesting to note that the verb we are discussing is an imperative participle in the Greek, so it carries the weight of a command, not a suggestion. Now there is even more to this verb in Greek (eg. because it is also an aorist participle, it could be translated as "having bound up") but I think we have enough here to understand the main point.

This exhortation by Peter to the reader is the antithesis (click here for a description of the word and its use. It's a great word derived from the Greek) to various mystical teachings both within and outside of the Church. Some argue that to come closer to God, we first need to 'empty our minds'. Well I disagree with that assertion. We have been given minds to use them, not disengage them, and we don't need to go a lot further than the next part of the verse to bolster the argument (Here are just a few other verses you could look at that could also support the argument: 1 Peter 5:8, Mark 13:33, 1 Corinthians 16:13).

So the verse continues "be self controlled" (NIV) or "be sober" (KJV). The Greek verb that this is based upon is also an imperative so we know it carries the weight of a command to  "be well balanced, self-controlled" (BDAG p.672).

Next lets look at the Greek adverb that "completely" is based upon. Now some versions have "completely" or "fully". Both of these are acceptable as it could also be translated "perfectly" or "altogether" as well (BDAG p.997). So we are to set or fix our hope completely on this grace that we will receive at the Revelation of our Lord Jesus (see also verse 7 which also ends in identical fashion which in Greek is "at the revelation of Jesus Christ").

So to finish then, we can say that it is God's intention for us to use our minds and to stay in control. We are not to switch off our brains because in my opinion, that could lead to loss of self-control, which is the opposite of what Peter has exhorted believers to do.

Greek Spot 6: Acts 26:20 Repent And Turn To God

"First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their
repentance by their deeds". Acts 26:20.

This weeks entry is a little 'deeper' than most, but I hope you stay with it as we will be mining gold in the Word of God and that is always rewarding. Lets examine Acts 26:20.

The background to this verse sees Paul before King Agrippa and the Governor Festus. You should take the time to read it, perhaps from Chapter 21 as there is so much going on in an historical sense that it is better than any drama you might see presented on your television. Anyway, Paul is giving his defense and this involves his description of his activities leading up to his arrest. So we come to the verse we are examining today; Acts 26:20.

In a sense, this verse encapsulates Paul's ministry since his 'Damascus Road' encounter and is summed up in these few words "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prover their repentance by their deeds". Many of us would do well to emulate this; to both repent and preach repentance (See our earlier entry on repentance here).

So lets dig a little deeper into this...

The word used for preached in the Greek is 'apagello" (pronounced apangello). Here it is used in the imperfect sense so it could legitimately be translated "I kept declaring", which is how it is translated in the NASB version. Next we have the word repent, which in the Koine is 'metanoeo' which means to change one's mind, feel remorseful, repent (BDAG p. 640). In this instance it is an infinitive verb, present active, so it means to repent, therefore as most translations have it "they should repent" is accurate within the context of the sentence.

Next we have turn, which is from the Greek word 'epistrepho' which means to change one's mind or course of action, for better or worse, turn, return (BDAG p. 382). I personally like the idea that perhaps (this is indeed a 'perhaps') we could use the word 'return' here since it reminds me of Paul's discussion regarding the "Ministry of Reconciliation' "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God" 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. Nevertheless, the majority of English Bibles use the word turn and I certainly agree with the translation. (the Bible In Basic English [BBE] version has it as 'being turned' which is a possibility since one resource I examined has the word as an aorist verb [Analytical Greek New Testament, UBS3, p. 460]). So we have "I preached that they should repent and turn to God".

For the sake of simplicity we will examine the last part of the sentence as a whole; this is because of the way the last part of the sentence is constructed in the Koine.

Here are just a few examples of well known translations:

• NASB: "performing deeds appropriate to repentance".
• NIV: "prove their repentance by their deeds".
• NLT: "prove they have changed by the good things they do".

This part of the sentence uses these main words. They are not used in this order in the text but for the sake of English translation I have presented them in the following manner:

• Prasso: Practice, exercise, do
• Ergon: Deeds, works
• Axios: Worthy, deserving
• Metanoia: Repentance (noun)

 So for the second part of this verse (and the part we are concentrating on here), my 'raw' translation from the Greek goes something like "repent and turn to God, practicing works worthy of repentance".

So what have learned here? Well we can agree that the major translations have got this verse right, with a shade of nuance here or there. Another thing we have learned is that this simple verse encapsulates Paul's ministry up to his meeting with Agrippa. We can also see that Paul's preaching involved a recommendation (repent and turn to God) and a required response if accepted (prove your repentance by what you do). I think this verse also raises two important questions for us;

1/ What does it mean for us?

2/ What does it mean for the people we want to reach with the Gospel?

Please leave a comment in the comments section and use the archive to the right to see our earlier entries. God bless!

Doctrine Is Not A Dirty Word

Welcome to our first post for 2012. We hope you had a happy and safe holiday season.

Have you ever had conversations about scripture with Christian brothers & sisters where at some point in the discussion someone says "well that's just a matter of doctrine"? I have. One brother I was talking to popped out this little gem to let me know that somehow the scriptures I was talking about were not that important to him since they were just 'a matter of doctrine'. I have heard from others that this is not an uncommon occurrence so I thought it worthwhile to dig into the Word of God to see what He thinks.

To gain a more thorough understanding of this weeks blog, you might like to read 1 Timothy chapter 4 for some background.

For the most part, when the New Testament mentions doctrine or teaching, it is based up the Greek word 'Didasko' which basically means 'to tell, to teach, to instruct' in a formal or informal setting (The Greek word for teacher is 'didaskalos' and the word for the activity of teaching is 'didache') [BDAG pp.240-241].

The Bible is quite clear that doctrine is important. Paul wrote to Timothy and said "Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you" (1 Timothy 4:16.). We can see from this verse just how critical proper teaching (doctrine) can be. Did you realise that your salvation and that of others depends on it? I am certain many of you reading this will realise this and you probably won't need to read further because you understand the gravity of the argument being proposed here. However, some people will argue that once someone has made a decision for Christ, they don't need to do much more, let alone be concerned with doctrine. Right? Well Paul says "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude" (Colossians 2:6-7). So receiving Christ is just the beginning. We need to continue in him, being strengthened and established, as instructed (doctrine).

So far in our brief investigation here we have been discussing biblical doctrine. Are there doctrines other than that contained in the Bible that we need to be aware of? While writing to Timothy, Paul warned of two types of unsound teaching; that of false teachers and that of spiritual entities, demonic beings. We see his warnings in the following:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires" (2 Timothy 4:3).

"But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1)


It is clear from just the few scriptures offered here that there are both good and bad teachings. So how do we know what is Godly doctrine and what is not? By studying God's Word, which states: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work". (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We must know what the Bible says so we know what to believe, how to live and to avoid being led astray. This is acheived with sound biblical doctrine.

A major hindrance to the understanding of God's Word today is the cult of personality. Many in the Post Modern Church have become followers of personalities, instead of Jesus and His teachings (Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me" John 14:23-24). Too often people listen to the most popular personalities and celebrities in present day "Christendom' and swallow everything they preach without being a good Berean and checking if it is so (Acts 17:10-13).

I have personally shown brothers and sisters the Biblical error of some of these people but they still follow them because they "love them". I suppose some people cannot/will not see past the 'cult of the peronality' to see the truth, even if it is plainly presented. However, this is not what God wants for us. We are not supposed to be following after these preachers and teachers and their doctrines; "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming" (Ephesians 4:14). Also see Mark 7:7.


I hope we have covered enough here to perhaps encourage to investigate concept of doctrine a little further. On a personal note, I do not wish to give the impression here or anywhere within this blog that I 'have it all together'. I do not. I just hope I offer enough here to encourage you to dig into God's Word and to be a follower of Jesus and not of man.

To finish then, it is my contention that doctrine is not a dirty word. Without sound doctrine, how can we understand things like the trinity, who Jesus is, how to conduct ourselves, how to conduct a church service and the list goes on. We must discuss doctrine and we are duty bound to understand the doctrines of our faith. We also must understand what the doctrines of error are if we are to avoid being deceived and the only way to achieve this is to have a thorough understanding of the Scriptures.


If you have been edified by this study you can read more by using the month by month archive on the right or you can sign up for emails updates. Also, please be sure to leave a comment. God bless.

Greek Spot 5 Hebrews 4:18 Hard Heart Porosis

It's been a little while since we have 'done' a little Greek'. This is because we have been busy with our other Postmodern Church type entries.

For some background to this entry, please open your Bible and read Ephesians chapter 4.

Let's look at Ephesians 4:18. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. We are going to focus on just one word here: 'hardening', or in some translations, 'hardness'. This word is translated from the Greek root 'porosis'.

For the use of this term in the ancient world, outside of the New Testament, we can look to both Hippocrates 5th/4th century BC physician, and Galen the 2nd/3rd century AD physician and surgeon (Greek English Lexicon BDAG). In a literal sense it means 'the covering with a callus' & 'the formation of a callus in repair of a fractured bone'. However it is used here in Ephesians (and other parts of the Bible) in a figurative sense to mean; dullness, obstinacy, having a blunted mind, or simply hardened.

So what can we take from this? Let us not allow our hearts to become so calloused that we become like the World around us, thereby being at risk of succumbing to evil passions and greediness. And how do we stop our hearts becoming hardened? Go back and read Ephesians verses 4:1-3 & 14-16, and keep your thoughts on Jesus (Hebrews 3:1).

Like some further reading on this topic? See Hebrews chapter 3 & Psalm 95, (where the term concerning hardened hearts is from a different Greek word. You can look it up in Strongs concordance number: 4645).

Koine Greek Spot 4 Romans 12:2 Part 2 Transformers

Welcome to another Greek Spot. We will continue our brief look at Romans 12:2. If you haven't yet seen our earlier post on this topic please go back and read it here: http://likeflint.blogspot.com/2011/09/koine-greek-spot-3-romans-122-be.html

Lets take another look at the verse: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

So Paul is telling the Romans not to be molded into the fashion of this age, but change form by renewing their minds. Now, I would like to focus your attention to just one word represented in English by the term "by the renewing". At its root in Greek, this word is "anakainosis"" (See the graphic above for the highlighted word as it appears in Greek in Romans 12:2). This word simply means "renewal". The Greek-English Lexicon (BDAG) says it can refer to the "spiritual rebirth". Interestingly, I found another reference which states that this is also a word that can be used in terms of renovation, like when one renovates their home.

So we could say that part of the new life in Christ involves renovating your mind like you might "reno" your house. Why? So you can test and approve what the will of God is, that which is good, pleasing and perfect. For me, this says we have an active role to perform in our new life. It's not a matter of "set & forget" it's a matter of running the race to win (1 Corinthians 9:24). I hope this might encourage you to dig further into His Word. It is full of wondrous blessings for us as we renew our minds and strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:14).

Koine Greek Spot 3 Romans 12:2 Be A Transformer

We often hear among Christians, discussions concerning the new life we have in Christ. These discussions usually send me searching God's Word for information as to what this might mean. Romans 12:2 can help us with part of our enquiry (this is not the whole picture so be sure to be a Good Berean [Acts 17:11] and search the Scriptures for yourself). Lets take a look.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).

 

I would like to pull just two words out of this verse for us to examine further (and as per usual, I have to say there is so much more we could examine with just one word here, let alone a verse/chapter/book so this will only be a part of what is possible to learn from a word) . The Greek used for "be conformed" is from the root "suschametizo"  (highlighted in green above). It means to form according to a pattern or mold. The way Paul uses the word here (those with an understanding of the Koine will know this is  most likely a Passive, Imperitive) it is with the power of a command, not a suggestion. So do not be formed in the pattern of this world. I think another aspect of this part of this verse is that it highlights the fact that we can be molded in a worldly fashion. I would suggest some of us have not been aware of this conformity. We are now.

The next term I would like to examine is "be transformed", from the Greek root "metamorphoo" (see the  word highlighted in yellow above"). It means "be transformed" "transform; change in form" It is the same word that is used in the report of the transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:2) so the word can be used both literally or figuratively. So I think Paul is saying do not be conformed to the things of this age, the worldy/fleshly life, but become something new (think of the metamorphosis of a tadpole to a frog) by renewing your mind.

This change we are being told to make is what I believe to be a part of our new life in Christ. It is something we must do, it is not done for us. I would suggest that if we have been a believer for sometime, and there is no visible change in our lives, we need to examine ourselves as suggested by Paul who says ^"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Take sometime to examine your Christian walk. Has there been change in your life (for the better) from when you first believed? Do you need to renew your mind further or will you allow this present age to fashion you? The choice is yours.

I think we will revisit this verse in our next Koine spot. There is just way too much here to skip over. Check back soon. I think you'll be interested to see where we go with this next.

Koine Greek Spot 2. Philippians 2:12-13

Welcome to our weekly Koine Greek Spot. Lets take a short look at Phillipians 2:12-13. Chapter 2 begins with Paul exhorting the Church at Philippi to be united and to be humble. This is followed by what many consider to be a hymn quoted by Paul (verses 5:11). Then we come to verses 12 & 13. Lets look at them.

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

As is so often the case, there is so much we could draw from these verses but we will limit it to a couple of points here. First, lets take a look at verse 12 and the words "fear" and "trembling".

Sometimes these words are translated as "awe and reverence", which is a fair enough translation when some other uses of these words are taken into consideration. However, when we look at these words in a more literal sense we find that to translate them "fear and trembling" could also be appropriate (see the following verses for other examples of their use in the NT. 2 Cor 5:11, 2 Cor 7:15, Eph 6:5).

So what? Well what I draw from this is that sometimes the more literal translation is best and we as members of the Body really need to examine our attitude toward God. Simple.

Now to finish off I would like to address my inclusion of v.13 in this weeks blog. Its also very simple. In v.12, Paul says to "work out your salvation" and in v.13 he says "for it is God who works in you". It indicates to me that believers are co-workers with God (1 Cor 3:9, 2 Cor 6:1). When we consider the position this put us in, I think we need to approach the Lord with much awe & reverence, or perhaps fear & trembling might be more appropriate. What do you think?

Koine Greek Spot 1. 2 Timothy 3:15

This blog entry dedicated to our new nephew Levi

Welcome to my first Greek spot. I plan to do one of these at least weekly. I won't be covering anything too intense (I'm a student, not a scholar), I just hope to offer something that will encourage you to dig a little deeper into God's Word. Typically I will be covering something I have read that has inspired me to do just that.

We see in 2 Timothy chapter 3 Paul is writing to Timothy and warning him about the difficult times to come. Then he encourages him to continue in the things he has learned, and he says "and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus"  2 Tim 3:15. There is so much we could pull out of this one verse but I want to focus just on three words.

Lets take a quick look the word translated here as "infancy" which is the word "brephos" (see the attached graphic which I chose to do since not everyone will have Greek fonts installed, better suggestions welcomed). This word is only used about 8 times in the NT. Its usual translation, dependant on context, is baby or infant, but I was fascinated to learn it can also mean embryo, foetus, or unborn child (see Luke 1:44).

The next couple of words I'd like to highlight is Paul's use of the term "hiera grammatta", sacred writings, but translated Holy Scriptures in the version used here. The vast majority of times that the Scriptures are mentioned in the NT (John 5:39 for example), the word used in Greek is "graphe" (see the graphic below) and is used in conjunction with the word holy for "Holy Scriptures" (see Rom 1:2). In this instance however, Paul chose to use the words "hiera" (sacred) grammata (writings). The word hieros is used only a couple of times in the NT. The other time it is used (1 Cor 9:13) it is translated "holy things", "sacred services" or "temple" dependent on which translation is being read.

I find it fascinating Paul chose this term to refer to the Scriptures in this instance instead of the more commonly used term graphe. In the very next verse (2 Tim 3:16) Paul refers again to the Scriptures. Guess which term he chose to use there? Did you think graphe? So whats going on? Perhaps the Sacred Wrtings in v15 refer to the Old Testament alone, and the Scriptures mentioned in v16 refers to the writings of what would become the NT and furthermore, perhaps v16 refers to the NT & OT. Something to think about and something to research. I hope it encourages you to do both.