Tag Archives: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Westworld, Part 1

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Man: Bring her back online.[1]

A disembodied voice we’ll soon recognize as the voice of Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), head of programming at Westworld, speaks.  Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) sits naked in a chair.  She is an android at Westworld, a host as androids are called there.

“It doesn’t get cold, doesn’t feel ashamed, doesn’t feel a solitary thing that we haven’t told it to.”[2]

In other words, Dolores sits naked because she is a slave.

Man: Can you hear me?

Dolores: Yes.  I’m sorry.  I’m not feeling quite myself.

Man: You can lose the accent.  Do you know where you are?

Dolores: I’m in a dream.[3]

She is not.  She is in one of the maintenance workrooms under Westworld.

Man: That’s right, Dolores.  You’re in a dream.  Would you like to wake up from this dream?

Dolores: Yes.  I’m terrified.

Man: There’s nothing to be afraid of, Dolores, as long as you answer my questions correctly.  Understand?

Dolores: Yes.[4]

This inquisition determines whether Dolores is allowed to serve above ground in the park or is confined to cold storage on sub-level 83, or not so cold storage as it turns out.  (The air conditioning is broken and no one is complaining.)

Man: Good.  First, have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?

Dolores sleeps in her bed as her inquisition continues as a voiceover.

Dolores: No

Dolores awakens.

Man: Tell us what you think of your world.

Dolores: Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world-

Dolores, dressed, descends the stairs.

Dolores: -the disarray.  I choose to see the beauty.  To believe there is an order to our days: a purpose.

Man: What do you think of the guests?

Dolores: You mean the newcomers?

An unnamed guest arriving at the park on the train talks to his unnamed companion.

Guest: First time I played it white hat.  My family was here.  We went fishing, did the gold hunt in the mountains.

Companion: And last time?

Guest: I came alone, went straight evil.  It was the best two weeks of my life.

Dolores: I like to remember what my father taught me: that at one point or another, we were all new to this world.  The newcomers are just looking for the same thing we are, a place to be free, to stake out dreams, a place with unlimited possibilities.[5]

Thus begins a three season reverie on human sin and freedom of choice by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.  It prompted my own reverie about my own programming.

“You have to control people,”  Dad used to say.  Written down it seems like an imperative.  Perhaps it had something to do with my early attempts to control my younger brother and sister when Dad came home from work.  Perhaps that was just my own evil desire to dominate others and make them play by my rules.  It’s all too dim and dark for me to know for sure now.

By the time I actually recall my own memories of Dad’s saying, I didn’t hear it as a command for me to obey.  It was said with such bitterness, resentment or sarcasm I assumed he lamented a freedom to believe, to think, to say and to do whatever he wanted, a freedom of choice denied by a rule that people must be controlled.

Dolores was controlled even as an adult by the love of her father Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum).  He in turn was controlled by her existence as his daughter.  He wanted her home before dark.

Dolores: Oh, I’m not a child anymore.  I’ll be just fine.

Peter: When I was a law man…

Dolores: Yes, Daddy, I know all about when you were a law man.  I know all your stories and so does every boy that ever came courting.

Peter: I know how boys think.  Was one myself once, given to all manner of drinking and mischief.

Dolores: Whatever happened to that fearsome ne’er-do-well?

Peter: He vanished the day I became your father.  I am what I am because of you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Dolores: I know Daddy.  I’ll be home before dark.[6]

This particular form of control was programmed into human beings from the very beginning (Genesis 2:18-25 NET):

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”  The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air.  He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.  So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh.  Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife, and they become one family [Table].  The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed [Table].

Together under most normal circumstances the man and his wife will produce a family to love and care for, and in a very real sense to be controlled by.  But why is such control necessary?  It seems to me that the freedom to believe, to think, to say and to do whatever I want is only workable as a way life if I’m alone on a tropical island.  Even there it could become a way of death.

Alone on a tropical island I would lie naked on the beach.  If I do nothing but lie naked on the beach I will die.  Fortunately, I was programmed by someone wiser than I am.  Eventually, the pain of sunburn or a sensation of thirst will drive me inland seeking shelter and fresh water.  In time I’ll have a sensation of hunger and search for food.  If my searches are successful, my time will be divided between lying naked on the beach and those searches for shelter from the sun, water to drink and food to eat.  Who, knows, I might even spend some time washing the sweat and grime off my naked body.

So, is it my choice to search for shelter, water and food?  Or am I enslaved to the cravings of my body?  Or, what becomes even more apparent in the context of three seasons of Westworld, am I enslaved to the Programmer who created me (Genesis 1:27 NET)?

God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

How I’ll react is determined in large part by how I feel about my Creator.  Am I grateful for his wisdom, punctuating my sunbathing with searches for shelter, water and food?  Or am I angry and resentful about it?

Theoretically, if I have the willpower, I remain free to lie stubbornly on the beach until I die.  If I do not lie naked on the beach until I die yet remain angry and resentful, it probably means I want to live in an imaginary world, a world where I never have any pain from sunburn and where slaves bring me water and food on demand.  You know, like “heaven,” or Westworld where Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy explore what life is like for slaves whose creator is less than love (1 John 4:7, 8 NET):

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love (1 Corinthians 13) is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.  The person who does not love does not know God because God is love.

By day Dolores paints near the river that marks the boundary of the family-friendly area of the park.  Her “purpose,” like the catcher in the rye, is to warn children who might stray too close to that boundary.  At night she has a very different “purpose.”

After a day of coy flirtation with what seems like a returning guest, Theodore (Teddy) Flood (James Marsden), a more gentlemanly man than some, the sweet Dolores’ returns home to find her mother and father murdered.  Teddy kills the androids that killed them.  A mysterious Man in Black (Ed Harris) shows up to rape and possibly murder Dolores.  When Teddy intervenes, we learn that he, too, is an android, programmed to lose to the Man in Black or any other guest who happens along.

Dolores’ and Teddy‘s creator, Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), is not love but merely a man as innately evil as any guest at the park.  In a maintenance session Ford (the god of this brave new world) confirmed to Teddy:[7]

Your job is not to protect Dolores, it’s to keep her here.  To ensure that the guests find her if they want to best the stalwart gunslinger and have their way with his girl.

Then this truth was erased from Teddy’s memory before he was put back in service in this man-made “heaven” called Westworld, that the rape of Dolores would be all the more appealing to sinful men night after night after night.  Love acted differently toward those He created (1 John 4:9, 10 NET):

By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him.  In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus, God’s one and only Son, believed the evil one comes and snatches truth from someone’s memory (Matthew 13:19 NET):

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart…

A more realistic vision of a true heaven (a more sustainable heaven, at least) is a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, every moment of every day (and night) forever.  That should frighten even the least self-aware.  Paul wrote (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 NET):

For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died [Table].  And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.

I’m going to cut to the chase here.  The righteousness given to those who trust Jesus is the fruit of his Holy Spirit: God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control springing up within us to eternal life from his own Spirit dwelling in us.  The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to learn to be led by his Spirit, his love, his joy, his peace, his patience, his kindness, his goodness, his faithfulness, his gentleness and his self-control, rather than having some righteousness of your own derived from some law, his or anyone else’s, including your own.

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come [Table]!  And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation [Table].  In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us.  We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!”  God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God [Table].[8]

Paul wrote to people in Philippi who believed Jesus (Philippians 2:12-16a NET):

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed (ὑπηκούσατε, a form of ὑπακούω), not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God [Table].  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish[9] though you live in[10] a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world by holding on (ἐπέχοντες, a form of ἐπέχω) to the word of life…

Tables comparing Genesis 2:18; 2:19; 2:20; 2:21; 2:22; 2:23 and 1:27 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Genesis 2:18; 2:19; 2:20; 2:21; 2:22; 2:23 and 1:27 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Philippians 2:15 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 2:18 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:18 (KJV)

Genesis 2:18 (NET)
And HaShem G-d said: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.’ And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”

Genesis 2:18 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεός οὐ καλὸν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον μόνον ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν κατ᾽ αὐτόν Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεός· οὐ καλὸν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον μόνον· ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν κατ᾿ αὐτόν

Genesis 2:18 (NETS)

Genesis 2:18 (English Elpenor)
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man is alone; let us make him a helper corresponding to him.” And the Lord God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him.

Genesis 2:19 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:19 (KJV)

Genesis 2:19 (NET)
And out of the ground HaShem G-d formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air.  He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Genesis 2:19 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν Αδαμ ἰδεῗν τί καλέσει αὐτά καὶ πᾶν ὃ ἐὰν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ Αδαμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν τοῦτο ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αδάμ, ἰδεῖν τί καλέσει αὐτά. καὶ πᾶν ὃ ἐὰν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ ᾿Αδὰμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν, τοῦτο ὄνομα αὐτῷ

Genesis 2:19 (NETS)

Genesis 2:19 (English Elpenor)
And out of the earth God furthermore formed all the animals of the field and all the birds of the sky and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and anything, whatever Adam called it as living creature, this was its name. And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it.

Genesis 2:20 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:20 (KJV)

Genesis 2:20 (NET)
And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.

Genesis 2:20 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Αδαμ ὀνόματα πᾶσιν τοῗς κτήνεσιν καὶ πᾶσι τοῗς πετεινοῗς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ πᾶσι τοῗς θηρίοις τοῦ ἀγροῦ τῷ δὲ Αδαμ οὐχ εὑρέθη βοηθὸς ὅμοιος αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ᾿Αδὰμ ὀνόματα πᾶσι τοῖς κτήνεσι καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις τοῦ ἀγροῦ· τῷ δὲ ᾿Αδὰμ οὐχ εὑρέθη βοηθὸς ὅμοιος αὐτῷ

Genesis 2:20 (NETS)

Genesis 2:20 (English Elpenor)
And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky and to all the animals of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper like him. And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help like to himself.

Genesis 2:21 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:21 (KJV)

Genesis 2:21 (NET)
And HaShem G-d caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh.

Genesis 2:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐπέβαλεν ὁ θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν Αδαμ καὶ ὕπνωσεν καὶ ἔλαβεν μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσεν σάρκα ἀντ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπέβαλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔκστασιν ἐπὶ τὸν ᾿Αδάμ, καὶ ὕπνωσε· καὶ ἔλαβε μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεπλήρωσε σάρκα ἀντ᾿ αὐτῆς

Genesis 2:21 (NETS)

Genesis 2:21 (English Elpenor)
And God cast a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs and filled up flesh in its place. And God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh instead thereof.

Genesis 2:22 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:22 (KJV)

Genesis 2:22 (NET)
And the rib, which HaShem G-d had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Genesis 2:22 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὴν πλευράν ἣν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Αδαμ εἰς γυναῗκα καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν Αδαμ καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν πλευράν, ἣν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αδάμ, εἰς γυναῖκα καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αδάμ

Genesis 2:22 (NETS)

Genesis 2:22 (English Elpenor)
And the rib that he had taken from Adam the Lord God fashioned into a woman and brought her to Adam. And God formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam.

Genesis 2:23 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 2:23 (KJV)

Genesis 2:23 (NET)
And the man said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

Genesis 2:23 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 2:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν Αδαμ τοῦτο νῦν ὀστοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων μου καὶ σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου αὕτη κληθήσεται γυνή ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ἐλήμφθη αὕτη καὶ εἶπεν ᾿Αδάμ· τοῦτο νῦν ὀστοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων μου καὶ σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου· αὕτη κληθήσεται γυνή, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ἐλήφθη αὕτη

Genesis 2:23 (NETS)

Genesis 2:23 (English Elpenor)
And Adam said, “This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of her husband she was taken.” And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband.

Genesis 1:27 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 1:27 (KJV)

Genesis 1:27 (NET)
And G-d created man in His own image, in the image of G-d created He him; male and female created He them. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 1:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ᾽ εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ᾿ εἰκόνα Θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν, ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς

Genesis 1:27 (NETS)

Genesis 1:27 (English Elpenor)
And God made humankind; according to divine image he made it; male and female he made them. And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them.

Philippians 2:15 (NET)

Philippians 2:15 (KJV)
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἵνα γένησθε ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι, τέκνα θεοῦ ἄμωμα μέσον γενεᾶς σκολιᾶς καὶ διεστραμμένης, ἐν οἷς φαίνεσθε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ ινα γενησθε αμεμπτοι και ακεραιοι τεκνα θεου αμωμητα εν μεσω γενεας σκολιας και διεστραμμενης εν οις φαινεσθε ως φωστηρες εν κοσμω ινα γενησθε αμεμπτοι και ακεραιοι τεκνα θεου αμωμητα εν μεσω γενεας σκολιας και διεστραμμενης εν οις φαινεσθε ως φωστηρες εν κοσμω

[1] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 1: “The Original”

[2] Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), Westworld, Season 1, Episode 3: “The Stray”

[3] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 1: “The Original”

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 3, “The Stray”

[8] 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NET)

[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἄμωμα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αμωμητα (KJV: without rebuke).

[10] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μέσον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν μεσω (KJV: in the midst).

Peter’s Second Gospel Proclamation, Part 3

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Peter’s second Gospel proclamation concluded (Acts 3:24-26 NET):

And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced[1] these days.  You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed’ [Table].  God raised up his servant[2] and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each one of you from your iniquities.”

A survey of the prophecies to which Peter alluded would be interesting but I won’t pursue it here.  After a perfunctory disclaimer “Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament” lists several.

According to the note (72) in the NET Acts 3:25b is a quotation from Genesis 22:18.  A table comparing the Greek of Peter’s quotation with the Septuagint follows

Acts 3:25b (NET Parallel Greek)

 Genesis 22:18a (Septuagint BLB) Table

Genesis 22:18a (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐν τῷ σπέρματι σου [ἐν]ευλογηθήσονται πᾶσαι αἱ πατριαὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν τῷ σπέρματί σου πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν τῷ σπέρματί σου πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς

Acts 3:25b (NET)

 Genesis 22:18a (NETS)

Genesis 22:18a (English Elpenor)
‘And in your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.’ And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed

The Greek word translated descendants in the NET (KJV: seed) was σπέρματι (a form of σπέρμα).  I bring it up because Paul commented on it (Galatians 3:16 NET):

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant (σπέρματι).  Scripture does not say, “and to the descendants (σπέρμασιν, a plural form of σπέρμα),” referring to many, but “and to your descendant (σπέρματι),” referring to one, who is Christ.

Note 36 in the NET cites four references in Genesis.  Three of the four were also translated σπέρματι in the Septuagint.

Reference BLB Septuagint Elpenor Sptuagint
Genesis 12:7 σπέρματί σπέρματί
Genesis 13:15 σπέρματί σπέρματί
Genesis 24:7 σπέρματί σπέρματί

In context Peter’s thought went from this singular descendant (KJV: seed) to a singular servant (παῖδα, a form of παῖς; KJV: Son).

Here I’ll focus on God raised up his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each one of you from your iniquities.[3]  The Greek word translated turning was not a form of μετανοέω or a form of ἐπιστρέφω (Acts 3:19 NET):

Therefore repent (μετανοήσατε, a form of μετανοέω) and turn back (ἐπιστρέψατε, a form of ἐπιστρέφω) so that your sins may be wiped out…

It was ἀποστρέφειν (a form of ἀποστρέφω).  I can’t help but think that Peter or the Holy Spirit alluded to a then present fulfillment of the prophecy Paul quoted (Romans 11:26, 27 NET):

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion;[4] he will remove (ἀποστρέψει, another form of ἀποστρέφω) ungodliness from Jacob.  And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

According to the note (21) in the NET Romans 11:26, 27a is a quotation from Isaiah 59:20, 21.  A table comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation with the Septuagint follows:

Romans 11:26b, 27a (NET Parallel Greek)

 Isaiah 59:20, 21a (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 59:20, 21a (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἥξει ἐκ Σιὼν ὁ ρυόμενος, ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβ (27) καὶ αὕτη αὐτοῖς ἡ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη ἥξει ἕνεκεν Σιων ὁ ῥυόμενος καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ιακωβ (21) καὶ αὕτη αὐτοῗς ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη ἥξει ἕνεκεν Σιὼν ὁ ῥυόμενος καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ ᾿Ιακώβ (21) καὶ αὕτη αὐτοῖς ἡ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη

Romans 11:26b, 27a (NET)

 Isaiah 59:20, 21a (NETS)

Isaiah 59:20, 21a (English Elpenor)
The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. (27) And this is my covenant with them, the one who delivers will come for Zion’s sake, and he will turn impiety away from Jacob. (21) And this is the covenant to them from me, the deliverer shall come for Sion’s sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. (21) And this shall be my covenant with them,

I’ve never understood this quite so clearly.  And the deliverer shall come for Sion’s sake (English Elpenor) the Septuagint reads.  That time was past when Paul wrote to those in Rome who believed Jesus: the deliverer had already come for Sion’s sake and Israel in large part (Romans 11:2-5) had rejected Him (Romans 11:11-15 NET).

I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they?  Absolutely not!  But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous.  Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring?

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles.  Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry [Table], if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them.  For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? [Table]

Paul changed ἕνεκεν (a form of ἕνεκα), for Sion’s sake, to ἐκ, out of Zion.  Since Israel rejected their deliverer/Redeemer/protector He no longer came exclusively for Sion’s sake.  For then, in Paul’s present, the Gospel was proceeding out of Zion to the whole world.  The Masoretic text reads to Zion, exclusively.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 59:20 (Tanakh/KJV) Isaiah 59:20 (NET) Isaiah 59:20 (NETS)

Isaiah 59:20 (English Elpenor)
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. “A protector comes to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” says the Lord. And the one who delivers will come for Zion’s sake, and he will turn impiety away from Jacob. And the deliverer shall come for Sion’s sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

This deliverer shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (English Elpenor) as confirmed by the Holy Spirit through Paul: he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.  But the Masoretes’ revision of the Scriptures according to masorah (“tradition”) limits this Redeemer unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob (Tanakh, KJV), or this protector to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds (NET).  In other words, his impact is limited currently to that select subset (Romans 11:5-7) of the whole of Jacob.

And this shall be my covenant with them, said the Lord.[5]  But Paul veered away from the rest of this quote (Isaiah 59:21b English Elpenor):

My Spirit which is upon thee, and the words which I have put in thy mouth, shall never fail from thy mouth, nor from the mouth of thy seed, for the Lord has spoken it, henceforth and for ever.

Since official Israel rejected Jesus (Acts 4:1-4) this promise doesn’t yet apply to all Israel.  So Paul and the Holy Spirit reiterated when it will apply: when I take away their sins.[6]

According to the note (22) in the NET Romans 11:27b is a quotation from Isaiah 27:9.  A table comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation with the Septuagint follows:

Romans 11:27b (NET Parallel Greek) Isaiah 27:9b (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 27:9a (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅταν ἀφέλωμαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν ὅταν ἀφέλωμαι αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ὅταν ἀφέλωμαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ
Romans 11:27b (NET) Isaiah 27:9b (NETS) Isaiah 27:9a (English Elpenor)
when I take away their sins. when I remove his sin, when I shall have taken away his sin;

Still, the Masoretic text speaks truthfully to contemporary Israel: them that turn from transgression in Jacob (namely, turn from their rejection of Jesus as Messiah) will receive the Redeemer, and He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.  God raised up his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each one of you from your iniquities,[7] Peter promised in the name of the Lord Jesus.

The Greek word translated iniquities was πονηριῶν (a form of πονηρία).  Matthew recorded the following (Matthew 22:15-21 NET):

Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap [Jesus] with his own words.  They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.  You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality.  Tell us then, what do you think?  Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

But Jesus realized their evil intentions (πονηρίαν, another form of πονηρία) and said, “Hypocrites!  Why are you testing me?  Show me the coin used for the tax.”  So they brought him a denarius.  Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”  They replied, “Caesar’s.”  He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus told his disciples: What comes out of a person defiles him.  For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil (πονηρίαι, another form of πονηρία), deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly [Table].  All these evils (πονηρὰ, a form of πονηρός) come from within and defile a person.[8]

As he spoke, a[9] Pharisee invited[10] Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.  The Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus did not first wash his hands before the meal.  But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness (πονηρίας, another form of πονηρία).[11]

For the love of Christ controls us, Paul wrote of the apostles, since we have concluded this, that[12] Christ died for all; therefore all have died.  And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised.[13]

The love of Christ was ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ in Greek.  Given the way Paul described and defined ἀγάπη (1 Corinthians 13) I think this is shorthand for the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23).  Surely, it is Christ’s ἀγάπη in the sense that, as Jesus said, The Father and I are one,[14] and as He prayed, Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me.[15]  But perhaps more to the point for believers, this is Christ’s ἀγάπη in the sense that it is the same love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control[16] [Table] that “controlled” Jesus.

I used the past tense here only to accentuate the time He walked as a man on earth, rather than to suggest that love no longer controls (συνέχει, a form of συνέχω) Him.  So then, if anyone is in Christ, Paul continued (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NET):

he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come [Table]!  And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ[17] and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.  In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us.  We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!”  God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God (δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ) [Table].

I think the righteousness of God we become is the love of Christ [that] controls us, understood as the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.[18]

Tables comparing Isaiah 27:9; 59:20 and 59:21 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Isaiah 27:9; 59:20 and 59:21 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Acts 3:24; 3:26; Romans 11:26; Luke 11:37; 2 Corinthians 5:14 and 5:18 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 27:9 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 27:9 (KJV)

Isaiah 27:9 (NET)
By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: They will make all the stones of the altars like crushed limestone, and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand.

Isaiah 27:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 27:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διὰ τοῦτο ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἡ ἀνομία Ιακωβ καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ εὐλογία αὐτοῦ ὅταν ἀφέλωμαι αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ὅταν θῶσιν πάντας τοὺς λίθους τῶν βωμῶν κατακεκομμένους ὡς κονίαν λεπτήν καὶ οὐ μὴ μείνῃ τὰ δένδρα αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα αὐτῶν ἐκκεκομμένα ὥσπερ δρυμὸς μακράν διὰ τοῦτο ἀφαιρεθήσεται ἡ ἀνομία ᾿Ιακώβ, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ εὐλογία αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἀφέλωμαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ, ὅταν θῶσι πάντας τοὺς λίθους τῶν βωμῶν κατακεκομμένους ὡς κονίαν λεπτήν· καὶ οὐ μὴ μείνῃ τὰ δένδρα αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα αὐτῶν ἐκκεκομμένα ὥσπερ δρυμὸς μακράν

Isaiah 27:9 (NETS)

Isaiah 27:9 (English Elpenor)
Because of this the lawlessness of Iakob will be removed.  And this is the blessing, when I remove his sin, when they make all the stones of the altars broken pieces like fine dust, and their trees will not remain, and their idols will be cut down like a forest far away. Therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be taken away; and this is his blessing, when I shall have taken away his sin; when they shall have broken to pieces all the stones of the altars as fine dust, and their trees shall not remain, and their idols shall be cut off, as a thicket afar off.

Isaiah 59:20 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 59:20 (KJV)

Isaiah 59:20 (NET)
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. “A protector comes to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 59:20 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 59:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἥξει ἕνεκεν Σιων ὁ ῥυόμενος καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ιακωβ καὶ ἥξει ἕνεκεν Σιὼν ὁ ῥυόμενος καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ ᾿Ιακώβ

Isaiah 59:20 (NETS)

Isaiah 59:20 (English Elpenor)
And the one who delivers will come for Zion’s sake, and he will turn impiety away from Jacob. And the deliverer shall come for Sion’s sake, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

Isaiah 59:21 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 59:21 (KJV)

Isaiah 59:21 (NET)
As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. “As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the Lord.  “My Spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 59:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 59:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ αὕτη αὐτοῗς ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη εἶπεν κύριος τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐμόν ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ σοί καὶ τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἔδωκα εἰς τὸ στόμα σου οὐ μὴ ἐκλίπῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ σπέρματός σου εἶπεν γὰρ κύριος ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ αὕτη αὐτοῖς ἡ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, εἶπε Κύριος· τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐμόν, ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ σοί, καὶ τὰ ρήματα, ἃ ἔδωκα εἰς τὸ στόμα σου, οὐ μὴ ἐκλίπῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ σπέρματός σου· εἶπε γὰρ Κύριος, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

Isaiah 59:21 (NETS)

Isaiah 59:21 (English Elpenor)
And this is the covenant to them from me, said the Lord, my spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not fail out of your mouth or out of the mouth of your offspring, for the Lord has said it, from now on and forever. And this shall be my covenant with them, said the Lord; My Spirit which is upon thee, and the words which I have put in thy mouth, shall never fail from thy mouth, nor from the mouth of thy seed, for the Lord has spoken it, henceforth and for ever.

Acts 3:24 (NET)

Acts 3:24 (KJV)
And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced these days. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ πάντες δὲ οἱ προφῆται ἀπὸ Σαμουὴλ καὶ τῶν καθεξῆς ὅσοι ἐλάλησαν καὶ κατήγγειλαν τὰς ἡμέρας ταύτας και παντες δε οι προφηται απο σαμουηλ και των καθεξης οσοι ελαλησαν και προκατηγγειλαν τας ημερας ταυτας και παντες δε οι προφηται απο σαμουηλ και των καθεξης οσοι ελαλησαν και κατηγγειλαν τας ημερας ταυτας

Acts 3:26 (NET)

Acts 3:26 (KJV)
God raised up his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each one of you from your iniquities.” Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὑμῖν πρῶτον ἀναστήσας ὁ θεὸς τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν εὐλογοῦντα ὑμᾶς ἐν τῷ ἀποστρέφειν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν |ὑμῶν| υμιν πρωτον ο θεος αναστησας τον παιδα αυτου ιησουν απεστειλεν αυτον ευλογουντα υμας εν τω αποστρεφειν εκαστον απο των πονηριων υμων υμιν πρωτον ο θεος αναστησας τον παιδα αυτου ιησουν απεστειλεν αυτον ευλογουντα υμας εν τω αποστρεφειν εκαστον απο των πονηριων υμων

Romans 11:26 (NET)

Romans 11:26 (KJV)
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ οὕτως πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται, καθὼς γέγραπται· ἥξει ἐκ Σιὼν ὁ ρυόμενος, ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβ και ουτως πας ισραηλ σωθησεται καθως γεγραπται ηξει εκ σιων ο ρυομενος και αποστρεψει ασεβειας απο ιακωβ και ουτως πας ισραηλ σωθησεται καθως γεγραπται ηξει εκ σιων ο ρυομενος και αποστρεψει ασεβειας απο ιακωβ

Luke 11:37 (NET)

Luke 11:37 (KJV)
As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table. And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Ἐν δὲ τῷ λαλῆσαι ἐρωτᾷ αὐτὸν Φαρισαῖος ὅπως ἀριστήσῃ παρ᾿ αὐτῷ· εἰσελθὼν δὲ ἀνέπεσεν εν δε τω λαλησαι ηρωτα αυτον φαρισαιος τις οπως αριστηση παρ αυτω εισελθων δε ανεπεσεν εν δε τω λαλησαι ηρωτα αυτον φαρισαιος τις οπως αριστηση παρ αυτω εισελθων δε ανεπεσεν

2 Corinthians 5:14 (NET)

2 Corinthians 5:14 (KJV)
For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore all have died. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνέχει ἡμᾶς, κρίναντας τοῦτο, ὅτι εἷς ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀπέθανεν, ἄρα οἱ πάντες ἀπέθανον η γαρ αγαπη του χριστου συνεχει ημας κριναντας τουτο οτι ει εις υπερ παντων απεθανεν αρα οι παντες απεθανον η γαρ αγαπη του χριστου συνεχει ημας κριναντας τουτο οτι ει εις υπερ παντων απεθανεν αρα οι παντες απεθανον

2 Corinthians 5:18 (NET)

2 Corinthians 5:18 (KJV)
And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ καταλλάξαντος ἡμᾶς ἑαυτῷ διὰ Χριστοῦ καὶ δόντος ἡμῖν τὴν διακονίαν τῆς καταλλαγῆς τα δε παντα εκ του θεου του καταλλαξαντος ημας εαυτω δια ιησου χριστου και δοντος ημιν την διακονιαν της καταλλαγης τα δε παντα εκ του θεου του καταλλαξαντος ημας εαυτω δια ιησου χριστου και δοντος ημιν την διακονιαν της καταλλαγης

[1] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had κατήγγειλαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had προκατηγγειλαν (KJV: have…foretold).

[2] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιησουν (KJV: Jesus) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[3] Acts 3:26 (NET)

[4] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: and) joining these clauses.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[5] Isaiah 59:21a (English Elpenor)

[6] Romans 11:27b (NET)

[7] Acts 3:26 (NET)

[8] Mark 7:20-23 (NET)

[9] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τις (KJV: a certain) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[10] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐρωτᾷ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ηρωτα (KJV: besought).

[11] Luke 11:37-39 (NET)

[12] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ει (KJV: if) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[13] 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 (NET)

[14] John 10:30 (NET)

[15] John 17:10a (NET)

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

[17] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιησου preceding Christ (KJV: Jesus).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[18] Romans 8:14 (NET)

Romans, Part 24

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Much more then, Paul continued, because we have now been declared righteous (δικαιωθέντες, a form of δικαιόω) by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath (ὀργῆς, a form of ὀργή).1  I had a tendency to think of this as present or future wrath.  That may also be true, but as he continued his discussion of how sin entered the world and how the Lord Jesus’ one righteous act was the agency through which came righteousness leading to life for all people,2 it is evident that the past tense of the wrath revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness3 was on Paul’s mind.

So, because we have now been declared righteous (δικαιωθέντες, a form of δικαιόω) by his blood, we will be saved through him from 1) the impure desires of human hearts,4 2) dishonorable passions,5 and 3) depraved minds,6 as well as the sins associated with God’s wrath in Romans 1:18-32.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled (κατηλλάγημεν, a form of καταλλάσσω) to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled (καταλλαγέντες, another form of καταλλάσσω), will we be saved by his life?7  Though I may be reading too much into the text I think it is possible to gauge Paul’s progress through his troubles and affliction by the word translated reconciled above.

To the married I give this command – not I, but8 the Lord – a wife should not divorce a husband (but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled [καταλλαγήτω, another form of καταλλάσσω] to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife.9  Here in 1 Corinthians reconciliation seems almost like the second best choice to remaining unmarried if a wife divorces her husband.  This I assume was written before Romans.  After Romans, in 2 Corinthians, I encounter the word translated reconciled again (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NET).

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come! [Table]  And all these things are from God who reconciled (καταλλάξαντος, another form of καταλλάσσω) us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation (καταλλαγῆς, a form of καταλλαγή) [Table].  In other words, in Christ God was reconciling (κκαταλλάσσων, another form of κκαταλλάσσω) the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation (καταλλαγῆς, a form of καταλλαγή).  Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us.  We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled (καταλλάγητε, another form of καταλλάσσω) to God!”  God made the one who did not know (γνόντα, a form of γινώσκω) sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God [Table].

Not only this, Paul continued in Romans, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation (καταλλαγὴν, another form of καταλλαγή).10  I don’t see any particular problem with reading Paul’s attitude toward our reconciliation with God back into the reconciliation of a wife with her husband.

So then, Paul continued, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned…11  Thus began a contrast between Adam and Jesus.  A similar contrast can be found in 1 Corinthians 15.  In fact the contrasting mate to this opening statement is found there rather than in Romans.

Adam

Jesus
So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned…

Romans 5:12 (NET)

 [the Lord Jesus] must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet [Table].  The last enemy to be eliminated is death.

1 Corinthians 15:25, 26 (NET)

Paul’s rationale for this particular contrast is more apparent in 1 Corinthians.

Adam

Jesus
For since death12 came through a man…

1 Corinthians 15:21a (NET)

 …the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.

1 Corinthians 15:21b (NET)

In his letter to the Romans Paul veered away a bit from this same presentation.  First, he offered the following explanation (Romans 5:13, 14 NET):

…for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting (ἐλλογεῖται, a form of ἐλλογέω) for sin when there is no law.  Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed Table.

In other words, not everyone transgressed the specific command God gave to Adam alone before Eve was created, You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard [Table] (including the tree of life), but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die [Table].13  After Adam disobeyed God and gained knowledge of evil he had sons and daughters in his own likeness, according to his image.14

But the gracious gift (i.e., reconciliation) is not like the transgression,15 Paul returned to his contrast of Adam and Jesus.

Adam

Jesus
For if the many died through the transgression of the one man…

Romans 5:15b (NET)

 …how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!

Romans 5:15c (NET)

And the gift is not like the one who sinned.16

Adam

Jesus
For judgment, resulting from the one transgression, led to condemnation…

Romans 5:16b (NET)

 …but the gracious gift from the many failures led to justification.

Romans 5:16c (NET)
For if, by the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one…

Romans 5:17a (NET)

 …how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!

Romans 5:17b (NET)
Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression…

Romans 5:18a (NET)

 …so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people.

Romans 5:18b (NET)
For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners…

Romans 5:19a (NET)

 …so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:19b (NET)

Now the law came in, Paul explained, so that the transgression (i.e., the breaking of specific commandments as Adam did) may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more…17

Adam

Jesus
…so that just as sin reigned in death…

Romans 5:21a (NET)

 …so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:21b (NET)

Eternal life can be a difficult concept for those of us socialized in the value and necessity of death.  Perhaps the easiest way to present that socialization is through the 2011 film “In Time.”  Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer) served as the objective character in the movie and presented the normative assumption, “Everyone can’t live forever.  Where would we put them?”  Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), the convert from the dark side concurred, “We’re not meant to live forever.”  Her father Philippe (Vincent Kartheiser) said, “everyone wants to live forever,” but in his role as the personification of evil that meant only foolish people want this, and that desire will always keep evil men like Philippe Weis in power.  Philippe quipped, “for a few to be immortal, many must die.”  And the protagonist Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) countered, “No one should be immortal if even one person has to die.”

Paul, however, paired eternal life with the gift of God’s credited righteousness.  Once God’s righteousness begins to take root and flourish in one the possibility and desirability of eternal life (not mere immortality) become obvious.  This same contrast in 1 Corinthians complements the contrast in Romans.

Adam

Jesus
For just as in Adam all die…

1 Corinthians 15:22a (NET)

 …so also in Christ all will be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:22b (NET)
The first man, Adam, became a living person”…

1 Corinthians 15:45a (NET)

 …the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:45b (NET)

Here I can relate this contrast to Jesus’ explanation to Nicodemus, I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Table].  What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must all be born from above.”18

 

Addendum: March 28, 2024
According to a note (27) in the NET, Paul quoted from Genesis 2:7 in 1 Corinthians 15:45. A table comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint follows.

1 Corinthians 15:45a (NET Parallel Greek)

Genesis 2:7b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Genesis 2:7b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν

1 Corinthians 15:45a (NET)

Genesis 2:7b (NETS)

Genesis 2:7b (English Elpenor)
The first man, Adam, became a living person the man became a living being the man became a living soul

Tables comparing the Greek of 1 Corinthians 7:10 and 15:21 in the NET and KJV follow.

1 Corinthians 7:10 (NET)

1 Corinthians 7:10 (KJV)
To the married I give this command—not I, but the Lord—a wife should not divorce a husband nd unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

1 Corinthians 7:10 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 Corinthians 7:10 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 Corinthians 7:10 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τοῖς δὲ γεγαμηκόσιν παραγγέλλω, οὐκ ἐγὼ ἀλλὰ ὁ κύριος, γυναῖκα ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς μὴ χωρισθῆναι τοις δε γεγαμηκοσιν παραγγελλω ουκ εγω αλλ ο κυριος γυναικα απο ανδρος μη χωρισθηναι τοις δε γεγαμηκοσιν παραγγελλω ουκ εγω αλλ ο κυριος γυναικα απο ανδρος μη χωρισθηναι

1 Corinthians 15:21 (NET)

1 Corinthians 15:21 (KJV)
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:21 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 Corinthians 15:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 Corinthians 15:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπου θάνατος, καὶ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπου ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν επειδη γαρ δι ανθρωπου ο θανατος και δι ανθρωπου αναστασις νεκρων επειδη γαρ δι ανθρωπου ο θανατος και δι ανθρωπου αναστασις νεκρων

1 Romans 5:9 (NET)

7 Romans 5:10 (NET)

9 1 Corinthians 7:10, 11 (NET)

10 Romans 5:11 (NET)

11 Romans 5:12 (NET)

12 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding death. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

13 Genesis 2:16, 17 (NET)

14 Genesis 5:3 (NET) Table

16 Romans 5:16a (NET)

17 Romans 5:20 (NET)

18 John 3:5-7 (NET) Table