Tag Archives: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Atonement, Part 2

Posted on by

The next occurrence of כפר (kâphar), translated atonement, I want to consider on this pilgrimage is found in yehôvâh’s (יהוה) instruction to Moses (Exodus 29:33 NET):

[Aaron and his sons[1]] are to eat those things by which atonement was made to consecrate and to set them apart, but no one else may eat them, for they are holy.

In the Septuagint כפר (kâphar) was translated ἡγιάσθησαν (a form of ἁγιάζω).  Though ἡγιάσθησαν doesn’t occur in the New Testament, other forms of ἁγιάζω do.  I’ll try to be mindful of similarities between old covenant and new covenant atonement as well as differences.  So many concepts appear in this verse—to consecrate and to set them apart…they are holy—I want to back up and take a run at it.

The Hebrew word translated to set them apart was לקדש (qâdash). It was translated ἁγιάσαι (another form of ἁγιάζω) in the Septuagint.  “Now this is what you are to do for them to consecrate them,” yehôvâh instructed Moses, “so that they may minister as my priests.”[2]  The Hebrew word translated to consecrate was also לקדש, the very same form of qâdash as to set them apart above.  And in the Septuagint it was also translated ἁγιάσαι.  The new covenant is quite similar.

1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 (NET)

1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 (KJV)
Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy (ἁγιάσαι, another form of ἁγιάζω) and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the very God of peace sanctify (ἁγιάσαι, another form of ἁγιάζω) you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this (ποιήσει, a form of ποιέω). Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Both ἁγιάσαι and τηρηθείη (a form of τηρέω; translated may…be kept [NET] and I pray God…be preserved [KJV]) are in the optative mood, the “mood of possibility.”  Both verbs recognize that one’s actual state may be far removed from holiness, sanctification and blamelessness at a given moment.  But ποιήσει (translated he will in fact do [NET] and who also will do [KJV]) is in the indicative mood, “a statement of fact” based on the trustworthiness or faithfulness of God in Christ.  Even more precious to me, ποιήσει is future tense in the active voice.

I was one who misunderstood the “finished work of Christ” as an invitation to a do-it-yourself works religion.  Since Christ was finished working, I reasoned, the rest of the distance between my current condition and his holiness and blamelessness was up to me, a race for me to run.  I don’t think my pastor intended to enroll me in a works religion, except…I wonder if I, sitting idly “trusting” Jesus, could ever have understood the word of God.  Or was it the desire to do his will combined with my failure to do his will that opened my mind to it?  Jesus said, If anyone wants to do God’s will, he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority.[3]

This epistemological aspect intrigues the philosophical bent of my mind.  I earn a living on the fringes of a conference industry that, viewed economically or technologically, shouldn’t exist.  Gathering in one location wastes human resources, both time and money, now that the technology exists to meet virtually.  But viewed epistemologically conferences are extremely valuable.  A group of people pressed together, smelling one another, espousing the same or similar opinions can more easily convince themselves that their opinions are true.  The larger the group the “truer” their opinions are until that critical moment when the group fractures into disparate opinions.

I was born into evangelicalism as an established group, revealed truth.  But it grew to prominence in the U.S. from many streams:

According to religion scholar, social activist, and politician Randall Balmer, Evangelicalism resulted “from the confluence of Pietism, Presbyterianism, and the vestiges of Puritanism.  Evangelicalism picked up the peculiar characteristics from each strain – warmhearted spirituality from the Pietists (for instance), doctrinal precisionism from the Presbyterians, and individualistic introspection from the Puritans”.[40]  Historian Mark Noll adds to this list High Church Anglicanism, which contributed to Evangelicalism a legacy of “rigorous spirituality and innovative organization”.[41]

In the 1730s, Evangelicalism emerged as a distinct phenomenon out of religious revivals that began in Britain and New England.  While religious revivals had occurred within Protestant churches in the past, the evangelical revivals that marked the 18th century were more intense and radical.[48]  Evangelical revivalism imbued ordinary men and women with a confidence and enthusiasm for sharing the gospel and converting others outside of the control of established churches, a key discontinuity with the Protestantism of the previous era.[49]

It was developments in the doctrine of assurance that differentiated Evangelicalism from what went before.

Before his conversion to evangelicalism, which we evangelicals assume to be synonymous with a conversion to Christ, John Wesley wrote, “I hope he has died to save me.”[60]  “About a quarter before nine,” Wesley recalled his conversion, “while [the speaker] was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.  I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone[4] for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”[61]

Evangelical preachers emphasized personal salvation and piety more than ritual and tradition.  Pamphlets and printed sermons crisscrossed the Atlantic, encouraging the revivalists.[64]  The Awakening resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of deep personal revelation of their need of salvation by Jesus Christ.  Pulling away from ritual and ceremony, the Great Awakening made Christianity intensely personal to the average person by fostering a deep sense of spiritual conviction and redemption, and by encouraging introspection and a commitment to a new standard of personal morality.  It reached people who were already church members.  It changed their rituals, their piety and their self-awareness.

By the time I arrived on the scene those new rituals, piety and self-awareness were nothing more than the ritual and tradition of a bygone era.  And the critical epistemological moment had passed: evangelicalism had already fractured into many disparate opinions.  Though Berger and Luckmann denied[5] it for adults, the teachings of any given religious sect are as much a part of the paramount reality[6] for children who grew up in it as anything an adult does at work.[7]

Though the relatively mindless taken-for-granted-ness[8] of the reality of everyday life shares some of the same blindness (Isaiah 42:18-25) to alternatives as religious faith, it was not faith in Christ in my case.  And apparently, part of my attempt to reinsert myself into the church I had abandoned and the mindless-taken-for-granted-ness of my youth, what I have called “fighting my way back from atheism,”[9] was like Cypher’s (Joe Pantoliano) attempt to be reinserted into The Matrix.  When my pastor lamented that most people came to Christ as children rather than as adults I nodded my “Amen” despite my anomalous personal history.

Now it seems obvious that there is no intrinsic reason that God would be merciful to children but not to adults.  An eternal life knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent,[10] living his own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,[11] should be more appealing to those who have been around awhile and have had their fill of sin than to those for whom everything is still new and interesting.  I don’t doubt the accuracy of my pastor’s reflections on his experience.  But the truth behind that actuality seems to be that nearly three centuries of dumbing eternal life down to gaining heaven (or its corollary, escaping hell) has blunted the effectiveness of the gospel presented by evangelicalism.

“Evangelical revivalism” may have “imbued ordinary men and women with a confidence and enthusiasm for sharing the gospel” in its early days.  But by the time I was born into it “sharing the gospel” had become a necessary condition for belonging to the group.  As such, there were many aids, tips, tricks and techniques to make it easier for any Peter, Paul and Mary to “share the gospel.”  So we drowned the voices of God-gifted apostles and evangelists (Ephesians 4:11-16) in a sea of gospel peddlers promoting Jesus as a means to an end.  Even that end is now largely imaginary.  What is heaven, after all, but knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent, face to face, living his own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,  forever?

In an opinion piece on Fox News Chris Sonksen cited Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s concept of a “wish dream” from his book Life Together:

Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive.  He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

Bonhoeffer’s wish dream intrigues me because of my own running feud with “the pursuit of happiness.”  Pegging my happiness to a fantasy of my own mind—I will be happy if…—was at best nonsensical and at worst a diabolical prescription for unhappiness.  Even when I have achieved my goals happiness was no longer-lived than that which one should expect from such achievement.  It has proven far better to pursue Christ (Philippians 3:8-11) and his righteousness, and let happiness float freely with the ups and downs of life.  Now I’m mostly happy.

Pastor Sonksen’s point was:

God did not wire us to be alone.  We are truly better together.  It’s in community that we grow, are challenged, stretched, and inspired to truly live for Jesus.  It’s messy, difficult, and at times frustrating…but it’s so worth it.

All true, though I would tend to credit the Holy Spirit, filling me with God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control toward others, over the mere fact of being in community with them.  Pastor Sonksen wasn’t referring to the communities most of us actually live and work in, however.  (Admittedly, my community is more transient and geographically dispersed than most.)  His plea was to the once a week, twice a week, thrice a week meetings (ἐπισυναγωγὴν, a form of ἐπισυναγωγή) of a contemporary church for the purpose of encouraging (παρακαλοῦντες, a form of παρακαλέω), inciting (παροξυσμὸν) one another on to love and [beautiful] (καλῶν, a form of καλός) works.[12]

One hopes that a pastor lives in that eternal life of knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent, buoyed up in God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control by the Holy Spirit and his own immersion in scripture.  As such, he may be the last to recognize that the church he pastors enforces—by its rituals and traditions, by the way things are done, by the relatively mindless taken-for-granted-ness of the reality of everyday life within its walls—a lesser form of spirituality than being led by the Holy Spirit.

I don’t know Pastor Sonksen or South Hills Church.  I can’t say this is the case there.  I’m recognizing the possibility from my own past.  But it is the wish dream of every pastor that God will make his congregation completely holy and keep their spirit and soul and body entirely blameless through the well-ordered operation of the church he pastors.

The similarity between the atonement of Aaron and his sons to consecrate and to set them apart and our atonement is that it required no work on Aaron’s part or of his sons, only submission to God’s word (Exodus 29) and Moses’ ministry of that word (Leviticus 8).  The difference is clearly stated in the text (Exodus 29:1b-3 NET):

Take a young bull and two rams without blemish; and bread made without yeast, and perforated cakes without yeast mixed with oil, and wafers without yeast spread with oil – you are to make them using fine wheat flour.  You are to put them in one basket and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams.

We are no longer made holy, consecrated or set apart by bulls or rams or bread or cakes or wafers without yeast, mixed with oil or spread with oil (Hebrews 10:1-10 NET).

For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality (εἰκόνα, a form of εἰκών) itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect (τελειῶσαι, a form of τελειόω) those who come to worship.  For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have no further consciousness (συνείδησιν, a form of συνείδησις) of sin?  But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.  For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away (ἀφαιρεῖν, a form of ἀφαιρέω) sins.  So when he came into the world, he said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

“Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.

“Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’”

When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” (which are offered according to the law), then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.”  He does away (ἀναιρεῖ, a form of ἀναιρέω) with the first to establish (στήσῃ, a form of ἵστημι) the second.  By his will we have been made holy (ἡγιασμένοι, another form of ἁγιάζω) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

So the finished work of Christ is that we have been made holy through the offering of [his] body…once for all.  The ongoing work the God of peace…will in fact do because He is trustworthy seems to be the breaking down of my resistance (Hebrews 12:5-13) to Him and his will and the truth of his word, filling me instead with faith in Him and his word, so that the holiness I have been made through the offering of his body once for all is manifest to me, and to others, here and now.  That God will do (ποιήσει, a form of ποιέω) this is quite evocative of the doer (ποιηταὶ, a form of ποιητής) of the law and of the one who practices the truth [who] comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done (εἰργασμένα, a form of ἐργάζομαι) in God.[13]

A table comparing Hebrews 10:1-10 in the NET and KJV follows.  If the parallel Greek of the NET differs from the Stephanus Textus Receptus or the Byzantine Majority Text I broke the table to highlight that difference.

Hebrews 10:1-9 (NET)

Hebrews 10:1-9 (KJV)
For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have no further consciousness of sin? For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
So when he came into the world, he said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
“Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
“Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’” Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” (which are offered according to the law), Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;

Net Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀνώτερον λέγων ὅτι θυσίας[14] καὶ προσφορὰς[15] καὶ ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἠθέλησας οὐδὲ εὐδόκησας (αἵτινες κατὰ νόμον προσφέρονται) ανωτερον λεγων οτι θυσιαν[16] και προσφοραν[17] και ολοκαυτωματα και περι αμαρτιας ουκ ηθελησας ουδε ευδοκησας αιτινες κατα τον νομον προσφερονται ανωτερον λεγων οτι θυσιαν και προσφοραν και ολοκαυτωματα και περι αμαρτιας ουκ ηθελησας ουδε ευδοκησας αιτινες κατα τον νομον προσφερονται
then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.”  He does away with the first to establish the second. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

Net Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
τότε εἴρηκεν· ἰδοὺ ἥκω τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημα σου. ἀναιρεῖ τὸ πρῶτον ἵνα τὸ δεύτερον στήσῃ τοτε ειρηκεν ιδου ηκω του ποιησαι ο θεος το θελημα σου αναιρει το πρωτον ινα το δευτερον στηση τοτε ειρηκεν ιδου ηκω του ποιησαι ο θεος το θελημα σου αναιρει το πρωτον ινα το δευτερον στηση
Hebrews 10:10 (NET)

Hebrews 10:10 (KJV)
By his will we have been made holy (ἡγιασμένοι,[18] another form of ἁγιάζω) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Net Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐν ᾧ θελήματι ἡγιασμένοι ἐσμὲν διὰ τῆς προσφορᾶς τοῦ σώματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐφάπαξ εν ω θεληματι ηγιασμενοι εσμεν οι[19] δια της προσφορας του σωματος του[20] ιησου χριστου εφαπαξ εν ω θεληματι ηγιασμενοι εσμεν οι δια της προσφορας του σωματος ιησου χριστου εφαπαξ

[1] Exodus 28:43 (NET)

[2] Exodus 29:1a (NET)

[3] John 7:17 (NET)

[4] “Christ alone” is so much better an expression than “faith alone” with its scriptural association to dead faith: But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?  You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected (ἐτελειώθη, a form of τελειόω) by works.  And the scripture was fulfilled (ἐπληρώθη, a form of πληρόω) that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.  And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way?  For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead [Table] (James 2:20-26 NET).

[5] “All finite provinces of meaning are characterized by a turning away of attention from the reality of everyday life. While there are, of course, shifts in attention within everyday life, the shift to a finite province of meaning is of a much more radical kind. A radical change takes place in the tension of consciousness. In the context of religious experience this has been aptly called ‘leaping’. It is important to stress, however, that the reality of everyday life retains its paramount status even as such ‘leaps’ take place.”

Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, “The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge,” 1966, p. 39

[6] “Compared to the reality of everyday life, other realities appear as finite provinces of meaning, enclaves within the paramount reality marked by circumscribed meanings and modes of experience. The paramount reality envelops them on all sides, as it were, and consciousness always returns to the paramount reality as from an excursion.”

Ibid., p. 39

[7] “Closest to me is the zone of everyday life that is directly accessible to my bodily manipulation. This zone contains the world within my reach, the world in which I act so as to modify its reality, or the world in which I work. In this world of working my consciousness is dominated by the pragmatic motive, that is, my attention to this world is mainly determined by what I am doing, have done or plan to do in it. In this way it is my world par excellence.”

Ibid., p. 36

[8] “The reality of everyday life is taken for granted as reality. It does not require additional verification over and beyond its simple presence. It is simply there, as self-evident and compelling facticity. I know that it is real. While I am capable of engaging in doubt about its reality, I am obliged to suspend such doubt as I routinely exist in everyday life. This suspension of doubt is so firm that to abandon it, as I might want to do, say, in theoretical or religious contemplation, I have to make an extreme transition. The world of everyday life proclaims itself and, when I want to challenge the proclamation, I must engage in a deliberate, by no means easy effort.”

Ibid., p. 37

[9] Solomon’s Wealth, Part 4; A Monotonous Cycle, Part 2; A Monotonous Cycle, Part 3; A Monotonous Cycle, Part 5; Who Am I? Part 1; Torture, Part 4

[10] John 17:3 (NET)

[11] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[12] Hebrews 10:24, 25 (NET)

[13] John 3:21 (NET)

[14] Accusative plural feminine  form of θυσία

[15] Accusative plural feminine form of προσφορά

[16] Accusative singular feminine form of θυσία

[17] Accusative singular feminine form of προσφορά

[18] Perfect passive participle nominative plural masculine form of ἁγιάζω

[19] https://greekdoc.github.io/lexicon/oi.html

[20] https://greekdoc.github.io/lexicon/to.html#tou

To Make Holy, Part 1

Posted on by

Paul wrote the church at Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 5:12-18 NET):

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work.  Be at peace among yourselves.  And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all.  See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.  Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks.  For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

At first glance it seems that Paul has written a fairly long list of “works” for believers to do.  But I want to break it down a little bit.

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge (εἰδέναι, a form of εἴδω; to see, to notice)… …those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you…because of their work.
…and to esteem (ἡγεῖσθαι, a form of ἡγέομαι) them most highly (ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ) in love (ἀγάπῃ, a form of ἀγάπη)… But the fruit of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη).

So how hard is it really for me to notice those—who labor for my benefit, preside over me in the Lord and admonish me—because of their work?  And then, once I have noticed, to take the love that wells up in me from the Holy Spirit and to esteem (or, lead) them [who labor so diligently on my behalf] most highly in love?  I see only two things that make this difficult or even impossible: 1) I am not led by the Spirit of God and so I do not have this love for those who benefit me so greatly nor do I have eyes to see them; or, 2) they do not admonish me to live by the Spirit of God yet still expect me to love them in my own strength according to a rule Paul commanded.  You will recognize them by their fruit,[1] Jesus said.

Be at peace (εἰρηνεύετε, a form of εἰρηνεύω) among yourselves. But the fruit of the Spirit is…peace (εἰρήνη, a form of εἰρήνη).

So how hard is really to be at peace with others?  Again, I see only two things that make this difficult or even impossible: 1) I am not led by the Spirit of God and so I do not have this peace to share with others; or, 2) they do not live by the Spirit of God but try to make peace in some arbitrary way according to a rule Paul commanded.

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish (νουθετεῖτε, a form of νουθετέω) the undisciplined…

Paul used another form of νουθετέω earlier, those who…admonish (νουθετοῦντας) you.  Admittedly, I don’t see a simple one-to-one correspondence with some aspect of the fruit of the Spirit here.  But Paul believed that he did this in the power of the Holy Spirit: God wanted to make known to them, Paul wrote the Colossians, the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  We proclaim him by instructing (νουθετοῦντες, another form of νουθετέω) and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ.  Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me.[2]

If someone isn’t up to the task of instructing and teaching the undisciplined, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting (νουθετοῦντες, another form of νουθετέω) one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.[3]  Just be sure those psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs proclaim the grace of God and the indwelling Spirit of Christ in you, the hope of glory rather than rules commanded by Paul or your church or your own imagination.

I’ll admit to being a bit gun-shy and perhaps even a little unfaithful about too many people attempting to instruct and teach as Paul did.  But he wrote Roman believers, I myself am fully convinced [in the God of hope…by the power of the Holy Spirit] about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct (νουθετεῖν, another form of νουθετέω) one another.[4]  This goodness (ἀγαθωσύνης, a form of ἀγαθωσύνη) flowed from the Hoy Spirit: But the fruit of the Spirit is…goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη).

Paul wrote about how to admonish one another: if anyone does not obey (ὑπακούει, a form of ὑπακούω) our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed.  Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish (νουθετεῖτε, a form of νουθετέω) him as a brother.[5]  Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them.  Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning (νουθετῶν, another form of νουθετέω) each one of you with tears.  And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace.  This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified (ἡγιασμένοις, another form of ἁγιάζω).[6]

…comfort (παραμυθεῖσθε, a form of παραμυθέομαι) the discouraged (ὀλιγοψύχους, a form of ὀλιγόψυχος)… But the fruit of the Spirit is…kindness (χρηστότης).

This comfort was consolation in John’s Gospel narrative: many of the Jewish people of the region had come to Martha and Mary to console (παραμυθήσωνται, another form of παραμυθέομαι) them over the loss of their brother.[7]  And people who were with Mary in the house consoling (παραμυθούμενοι, another form of παραμυθέομαι) her…followed her[8] to her brother’s tomb.  As you know, Paul wrote the Thessalonians, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, exhorting and encouraging (παραμυθούμενοι, another form of παραμυθέομαι) you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory.[9]  The Greek word ὀλιγοψύχους, translated discouraged was only used this once.  It is a compound of ὀλίγος (puny) and ψυχή (breath, spirit).  The kindness of the Holy Spirit flows from the wealth of his kindness (χρηστότητος, a form of χρηστότης), forbearance, and patience…God’s kindness (χρηστὸν, a form χρηστός) leads you to repentance.[10]

…help (ἀντέχεσθε, a form of ἀντέχομαι) the weak (ἀσθενῶν, a form of ἀσθενής)… But the fruit of the Spirit is love (ἀγάπη).

The help (ἀντέχεσθε, a form of ἀντέχομαι) we are to be to the weak was translated he will be devoted (ἀνθέξεται, another form of ἀντέχομαι) in Matthew 6:24 (NET) and Luke 16:13 (NET).  An elder must hold firmly (ἀντεχόμενον, another form of ἀντέχομαι) to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation (παρακαλεῖν, a form of παρακαλέω) in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.[11]

Any and all of us in the flesh qualify as the weak (ἀσθενῶν, a form of ἀσθενής): The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (ἀσθενής).[12]  For while we were still helpless (ἀσθενῶν, a form of ἀσθενής), at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (ἀσεβῶν, a form of ἀσεβής) [Table].  (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.)  But God demonstrates his own love (ἀγάπην, a form of ἀγάπη) for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[13]  And apart from his love (ἀγάπη) flowing through us from his Holy Spirit we will continue to be the weak, those who live according to the flesh rather than those who live according to Spirit (Romans 8:5-14 NET).

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.  For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness.  Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.

So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh (for if you live according to the flesh, you will die), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

 

…be patient (μακροθυμεῖτε, a form of μακροθυμέω) toward all. But the fruit of the Spirit is…patience (μακροθυμία, a form of μακροθυμία).
See that no one pays back (ἀποδῷ, a form of ἀποδίδωμι) evil (κακὸν, a form of κακός) for evil (κακοῦ, another form of κακός) to anyone… But the fruit of the Spirit is…faithfulness (πίστις).

Surely, that we will be patient toward all with the patience that comes from the Holy Spirit requires no additional explanation from me.  As for faith or faithfulness restraining us from paying back evil for evil: The Greek word translated evil was κακός, intrinsically evil, not πονηρός.  I don’t mean to imply that if someone gives me a complicated list of rules to obey to make myself righteous that I am then free to do unto him as he has done unto me because Paul didn’t use πονηρός here.  I mean that when someone does κακός, real intrinsic evil, to me I am inclined even as a Christian, perhaps especially as a Christian, to think all bets are off.

But Jesus said, the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward (ἀποδώσει, another form of ἀποδίδωμι) each person according to what he has done.[14]  The Greek words ἀποδώσει, translated he will reward and ἀποδῷ, translated pays back, are both forms of ἀποδίδωμι.  Jesus’ faithfulness flowing into me through his Holy Spirit can restrain my fists and my tongue, soothe my anger, in time cause me to forgive and pray mercy for the one who wronged me.  My faith will accomplish none of this.  For through the Spirit, by faith (πίστεως, another form of πίστις), we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith (πίστις) working through love (ἀγάπης, another form of ἀγάπη).[15]

This is a good place to remind myself that I’m doing something very arbitrary in this essay, dividing the fruit of the Spirit into constituent parts.  It is one, indivisible.  In crisis moments that “water cannon” eroding away my ungodliness becomes fully that fountain of water springing up to eternal life , making me buoyant, lifting me above and beyond myself, flooding me with God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[16]  Clearly, I might have written about ἐγκράτεια here.  The main reason I did not is that pesky self in the NET translation.

…but always pursue what is good (ἀγαθὸν, a form of ἀγαθός) for one another and for all. But the fruit of the Spirit is…goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη).
Always rejoice (χαίρετε, a form of χαίρω)… But the fruit of the Spirit is…joy (χαρὰ).

Our pursuit of what is good is both directed and energized by God’s goodness flowing from his Holy Spirit.  I’ve written elsewhere about relying on his joy.[17]

…constantly pray (προσεύχεσθε, a form of προσεύχομαι)… In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray (προσευξώμεθα, another form of προσεύχομαι), but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.[18]

Prayer is intimately bound up with being led by the Spirit.  I would like to accentuate that we do not know how we should pray because the Spirit helps us in our weakness as opposed to our arrogance.  The Greek words translated how we should were καθὸ δεῖ, according to necessity.  From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must (δεῖ) go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.[19]  Let me chase that immediately with a somewhat out of context but completely applicable verse: For if the eagerness is present, the gift itself is acceptable according to (καθὸ, a form of καθό) whatever one has, not according to (καθὸ, a form of καθό) what he does not have.[20]  Don’t be scared off by insufficient knowledge.  I feel like a single guy telling married couples how they must have sex.  This must is important enough even to do badly—and often.

Something that has helped me with both prayer and Bible study is a line from James: Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters!  Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.[21]  But again, that may be personal for me.  I have a sharp tongue and a quick temper.  Shutting up and listening in prayer brought me face to face so to speak with the virtually bottomless insanity of my own mind.  But I won’t get into that here.  Pray with the Holy Spirit rather than on your own.

…in everything give thanks (εὐχαριστεῖτε, a form of εὐχαριστέω). But the fruit of the Spirit is…faithfulness (πίστις).

I returned again to faith.  It seems like a good place to end.  If I, for instance, hear everything Paul has written above as rules I must obey to prove that I am a Christian, I am weary, frightened and not very grateful.  For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus, Paul concluded this list.  By faith I can hear this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus as this is what his Holy Spirit is doing in and through you moment by moment.  And suddenly I’m not so weary, much less frightened and filled with gratitude.  Paul continued writing about the Spirit, if we have ears to hear it (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NET).

Do not extinguish the Spirit.  Do not treat prophecies with contempt.  But examine all things; hold fast to what is good (καλὸν, a form of καλός).  Stay away from every form of evil (πονηροῦ, a form of πονηρός).

And sometime I would do well to go through these in detail.  But this essay has gone long and I need to get to the point.  Paul concluded his remarks with the assurance that all of this is God’s work and not our own (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 NET):

Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy (ἁγιάσαι, a form of ἁγιάζω; KJV, sanctify you wholly) and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.

[1] Mathew 7:16a (NET)

[2] Colossians 1:27-29 (NET)

[3] Colossians 3:16 (NET)

[4] Romans 15:14 (NET)

[5] 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 15 (NET)

[6] Acts 20:30-32 (NET)

[7] John 11:19 (NET)

[8] John 11:31 (NET)

[9] 1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 (NET)

[10] Romans 2:4 (NET)

[11] Titus 1:9 (NET)

[12] Matthew 26:41b, Mark 14:38b

[13] Romans 5:6-8 (NET)

[14] Matthew 16:27 (NET)

[15] Galatians 5:5, 6 (NET)

[16] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[17] Romans, Part 60; Paul in Corinth; Romans, Part 52; Romans, Part 53; My Reasons and My Reason, Part 6; Romans, Part 68; Romans, Part 70

[18] Romans 8:26, 27 (NET)

[19] Matthew 16:21 (NET)

[20] 2 Corinthians 8:12 (NET)

[21] James 1:19 (NET)

Romans, Part 86

Posted on by

But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, Paul continued, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.[1]  Though it may sound as if Paul commended Roman believers for their peculiar goodness and knowledge, I will maintain that his confidence was in the God of hope and the power of the Holy Spirit: Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.[2]

The Greek word translated am fully convinced was Πέπεισμαι (a form of πείθω).  For I am convinced (πέπεισμαι, a form of πείθω), Paul wrote, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.[3]  I know the one in whom my faith is set, he wrote Timothy, and I am convinced (πέπεισμαι, a form of πείθω) that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day.[4]  And he characterized himself as one who put no confidence (πεποιθότες, another form of πείθω) in the flesh, Roman or otherwise: For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh (καὶ οὐκ ἐν σαρκὶ πεποιθότες)…[5]

The goodness Paul was fully convinced that Roman believers were full of was ἀγαθωσύνης (a form of ἀγαθωσύνη) in Greek.  Again, it was not that Romans were peculiarly full of goodness in Paul’s estimation while citizens of Thessalonica needed to rely on God: we pray for you always, Paul wrote believers in Thessalonica, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness (ἀγαθωσύνης, a form of ἀγαθωσύνη)…[6]  Walk as children of the light, he wrote believers in Ephesus, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness (ἀγαθωσύνῃ), righteousness, and truth…[7]  And, of course, goodness is delivered daily to believers as an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη), faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[8]

The knowledge with which believers in Rome were filled was γνώσεως (a form of γνῶσις) in Greek.  Once again, I don’t think Paul meant that Romans were peculiarly filled with all knowledge.  He didn’t even claim knowledge for himself or the other apostles beyond what was given by God: For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” he wrote believers in Corinth, is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge (γνώσεως, a form of γνῶσις) of God in the face of Christ.[9]  My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, he wrote the Colossians, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge (ἐπίγνωσιν, a form of ἐπίγνωσις) of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (γνώσεως, a form of γνῶσις).[10]  Christ’s love, in fact, surpasses knowledge: to know (γνῶναι, a form of γινώσκω) the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (γνώσεως, a form of γνῶσις), so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.[11]  For Paul the value of knowing (γνώσεως, a form of γνῶσις) Christ Jesus my Lord was far greater than all human honor.[12]

But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, Paul continued his letter to believers in Rome, because of the grace given to me by God to be a minister (λειτουργὸν, a form of λειτουργός) of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.[13]  Paul had not yet been to Rome.  His self-consciousness about all that he had written to believers there intrigues me.  I can easily see this letter as the culmination of Paul’s working through his own issues, from the Jerusalem Council to Athens to Corinth and on to Ephesus.  Did he recognize the importance the Roman Church would assume once the Jerusalem Church was scattered?  Surely the Holy Spirit did.

I don’t think Paul intended to write a treatise on the Gospel but a letter to Roman believers.  Still, by the Holy Spirit a Gospel treatise is what he wrote.  Without altering a word Paul wanted to explain his boldness (τολμηρότερον; translated more boldly).  I serve the gospel of God like a priest, he continued, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.[14]  So that the Gentiles may be sanctified by their own obedience or by adding their own works to their faith?  No, so that the Gentiles may be sanctified by the Holy Spirit (ἡγιασμένη ἐν πνεύματιἁγίῳ).

The Greek word translated sanctified was ἡγιασμένη (a form of ἁγιάζω).  Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy (ἁγιάσαι, another form of ἁγιάζω), Paul wrote believers in Thessalonica, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.[15]  Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify (ἁγιάσῃ, another form of ἁγιάζω) her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.[16]  Sanctify (ἁγίασον, another form of ἁγιάζω) them by the truth, Jesus prayed to his Father, your word is truth.[17]  For them, Jesus continued in prayer, I sanctify (ἁγιάζω) myself, that they too may be truly sanctified (ἡγιασμένοι, another form of ἁγιάζω).[18]

For indeed he who makes holy (ἁγιάζων, another form of ἁγιάζω) and those being made holy (ἁγιαζόμενοι, another form of ἁγιάζω) all have the same origin, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters…[19]  As I’ve written before,[20] it is axiomatic to me that Jesus’ holiness was from the Holy Spirit rather than his own divine nature.  Otherwise, his command and invitation, Follow me, would be meaningless to sinful human beings.  I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, Jesus promised Paul, to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified (ἡγιασμένοις, another form of ἁγιάζω) by faith in me.[21]

Luther/Graebner called the religious mind “that monster called self-righteousness”:[22]

This is the principal purpose of the Law and its most valuable contribution. As long as a person is not a murderer, adulterer, thief, he would swear that he is righteous. How is God going to humble such a person except by the Law? The Law is the hammer of death, the thunder of hell, and the lightning of God’s wrath to bring down the proud and shameless hypocrites. When the Law was instituted on Mount Sinai it was accompanied by lightning, by storms, by the sound of trumpets, to tear to pieces that monster called self-righteousness. As long as a person thinks he is right he is going to be incomprehensibly proud and presumptuous. He is going to hate God, despise His grace and mercy, and ignore the promises in Christ. The Gospel of the free forgiveness of sins through Christ will never appeal to the self-righteous.

This monster of self-righteousness, this stiff-necked beast, needs a big axe. And that is what the Law is, a big axe. Accordingly, the proper use and function of the Law is to threaten until the conscience is scared stiff.

The awful spectacle at Mount Sinai portrayed the proper use of the Law…

The Law is meant to produce the same effect today which it produced at Mount Sinai long ago. I want to encourage all who fear God, especially those who intend to become ministers of the Gospel, to learn from the Apostle the proper use of the Law.

This could explain Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”  It was not based on his own experience of eternal life, knowing God, but on a preaching technique derived from a metaphorical reading of the events at Sinai.  But when I approach those events with Jesus’ key to understanding the Old Testament I can’t hear it as a metaphor, only as a literal demonstration of the absolute limits of fear-based righteousness.  With theatricality and pyrotechnics beyond any human preacher’s bellicose pulpit pounding yehôvâh got forty days of obedience to the law out of fear.

To be fair Luther/Graebner didn’t expect preaching designed “to threaten until the conscience is scared stiff” to produce righteousness (or even obedience to the law) directly, but to foster a hunger and thirst for righteousness:[23]

The proverb has it that Hunger is the best cook [Fames est optimus coquus]. The Law makes afflicted consciences hungry for Christ. Christ tastes good to them. Hungry hearts appreciate Christ. Thirsty souls are what Christ wants. He invites them: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Christ’s benefits are so precious that He will dispense them only to those who need them and really desire them.

I understand precious here as scarce and conclude that this last statement is essentially false.  Christ’s benefits are not scarce.  They are as omnipresent[24] as the Holy Spirit.  Everyone needs them: Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’[25]  And God Himself provides the desire for them as well as their accomplishment: for the one bringing forth (ἐνεργῶν, a form of ἐνεργέω) in you both the desire (θέλειν, a form of θέλω) and the effort (ἐνεργεῖν, another form of ἐνεργέω) – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.[26]  There is no cause to add conditions to sanctification beyond faith in Christ.  Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.[27]  But how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?[28]  Or how are we to hear if preachers preach something other than the truth that we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit?

On the one hand Luther/Graebner seemed to grasp this:[29]

…the Holy Ghost is sent forth into the hearts of the believers, as here stated, “God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts.” This sending is accomplished by the preaching of the Gospel through which the Holy Spirit inspires us with fervor and light, with new judgment, new desires, and new motives. This happy innovation is not a derivative of reason or personal development, but solely the gift and operation of the Holy Ghost.

Though they did a yeoman’s job demonstrating that justification is by faith in Christ apart from the works of the law, any law, when it came to sanctification Luther/Graebner let the whole wretched works religion in through the back door:[30]

If we think of Christ as Paul here depicts Him, we shall never go wrong. We shall never be in danger of misconstruing the meaning of the Law. We shall understand that the Law does not justify. We shall understand why a Christian observes laws: For the peace of the world, out of gratitude to God, and for a good example that others may be attracted to the Gospel.

First, I want to be perfectly clear that a believer in Christ merely appears to observe laws.  That appearance does not result from attempting to “observe laws” but from hearing with faith and receiving the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the love that is the fulfillment the law.  The peace of the world, my gratitude to God and desire that others may be attracted to the Gospel is not up to the task of righteousness.

At times Luther/Graebner seemed to comprehend the fruit of the Spirit:[31]

The Word of God falling from the lips of the apostle or minister enters into the heart of the hearer. The Holy Ghost impregnates the Word so that it brings forth the fruit of faith.

Yet when Luther/Graebner addressed the “fruit of faith” directly it reads:[32]

FAITH

In listing faith among the fruits of the Spirit, Paul obviously does not mean faith in Christ, but faith in men. Such faith is not suspicious of people but believes the best. Naturally the possessor of such faith will be deceived, but he lets it pass. He is ready to believe all men, but he will not trust all men. Where this virtue is lacking men are suspicious, forward, and wayward and will believe nothing nor yield to anybody. No matter how well a person says or does anything, they will find fault with it, and if you do not humor them you can never please them. It is quite impossible to get along with them. Such faith in people therefore, is quite necessary. What kind of life would this be if one person could not believe another person?

In fact every detail of every aspect of the fruit of the Spirit in the Luther/Graebner commentary reads like a definition of a virtue, an ideal or a rule to be pursued by my desire for “the peace of the world, out of gratitude to God, and for a good example that others may be attracted to the Gospel.”  In contrast I will quote Paul once again (Romans 15:15, 16 NET):

But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.  I serve the gospel of God like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Anything less than being sanctified by the Holy Spirit is a human attempt to be perfected by the flesh.  Are you so foolish? Paul asked struggling believers in Galatia.  Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort (σαρκὶ, a form of σάρξ)?[33]  We of this generation risk being judged by skeptics or some future apostle of some future dispensation with the words:

For if grace had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by  grace.

[1] Romans 15:14 (NET)

[2] Romans 15:13 (NET)

[3] Romans 8:38, 39 (NET)

[4] 2 Timothy 1:12b (NET)

[5] Philippians 3:3 (NIV) Table

[6] 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NET)

[7] Ephesians 5:8b, 9 (NET)

[8] Galatians 5:22, 23a (NET)

[9] 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NET)

[10] Colossians 2:2, 3 (NET)

[11] Ephesians 3:19 (NET); See: Ephesians 3:14-21

[12] Philippians 3:3-11, cf. verse 8

[13] Romans 15:15, 16a (NET)

[14] Romans 15:16b (NET)

[15] 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 (NET)

[16] Ephesians 5:25b-27 (NET)

[17] John 17:17 (NIV)

[18] John 17:19 (NIV)

[19] Hebrews 2:11 (NET)

[20] The Righteousness of God; Romans, Part 50

[21] Acts 26:17, 18 (NET)

[22] Commentary on Galatians 3:19, “The Twofold Purpose of the Law”

[23] Commentary on Galations 3:21

[24] Psalm 139:1-18 (NET)

[25] John 3:7 (NET)

[26] Philippians 2:13 (NET)

[27] Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

[28] Romans 10:14b (NET)

[29] Commentary on Galatians 4:6

[30] Commentary on Galatians 4:4, 5

[31] Commentary on Galatians 4:19

[32] Commentary on Galatians 5:22, 23

[33] Galatians 3:3 (NET)