Tag Archives: John 15:4-5

Psalm 22, Part 5

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This is a continuing look into Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Psalm 22:13 (Tanakh) Psalm 22:13 (NET) Psalm 21:14 (NETS)

Psalm 21:14 (Elpenor English)
They [strong bulls of Bashan] gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. They [powerful bulls of Bashan] open their mouths to devour me like a roaring lion that rips its prey. they [fat bulls] opened their mouth at me, like a lion that ravens and roars. They [fat bulls] have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion.

The strong or fat bulls became like a roaring lion.  I used the Greek of the Septuagint to cross reference with the New Testament.  The Greek word translated They have opened was ἤνοιξαν (a form of ἀνοίγω).  They opened their mouths “to disclose, bring into the open, reveal” their hatred for God, the same hatred that lives in all sinful flesh (Revelation 13:6 NET):

So the beast opened (ἤνοιξεν, a form of ἀνοίγω) his mouth to blaspheme[1] against God—to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place (σκηνὴν, a form of σκηνή), that is,[2] those who dwell (σκηνοῦντας, a form of σκηνόω) in heaven.

The Greek word translated roaring was ὠρυόμενος (a form of ὠρύομαι).  Peter wrote (1 Peter 5:8 NET):

Be sober and alert.  Your enemy the devil, like a roaring (ὠρυόμενος, a form of ὠρύομαι) lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.

The tongue is a small part of the body, James wrote, yet it has great pretensions.[3]  Think how small[4] a flame sets a huge forest ablaze.  And the tongue is a fire!  The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing[5] among the parts of our bodies.  It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence—and is set on fire by hell.[6]

The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, Jesus told his disciples, and these things defile a person.  For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are the things that defile a person…[7]

Paul listed θυμοί (a form of θυμός; NET: outbursts of anger) among the works of the flesh (τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκός): Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.  I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God![8]

The Greek word translated ravening was ἁρπάζων, a form of ἁρπάζω.  This particular form of ἁρπάζω doesn’t occur in the New Testament.  As I scanned the other forms, standing as a spectator among the strong/fat bulls blaspheming as a ravening and roaring lion, looking up to Jesus as He endured the cross and this cacophony of sin while making music in his heart with Psalm 22, I heard his word with the same faithfulness that sustained Him (John 10:11-13 NET).

I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The[9] hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does[10] not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away.  So the wolf attacks (ἁρπάζει, another form of ἁρπάζω) the sheep and scatters them.[11]  Because[12] he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, he runs away.

The Greek word translated good was καλός: “beautiful (in appearance), fair; good and pleasing in appearance, beautiful; good, useful; conducive to pleasure and enjoyment; advantageous, beneficial, desirable; free from defects, fine, precious; morally good, honest, noble, praiseworthy, contributing to salvation; blameless, excellent, unobjectionable; free from defects, fine, precious; pleasant, desirable, advantageous.”  I’ve considered this beautiful good elsewhere.

The Greek words translated his life were the very familiar ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ.  After the earlier study in Isaiah I am fully primed to hear Jesus’ soul/life as functionally equivalent to ζωὴν αἰώνιον (eternal life).

The Greek word translated lays down (KJV: giveth) was τίθησιν, an active voice, indicative mood, 3rd person singular form of τίθημι in the present tense.  Here I’ll spend some time meditating on some of the ways Jesus’ lays down his soul/life for (ὑπὲρ) the sheep.

The first definition of τίθημι in the Koine Greek Lexicon online is: “to put, place, lay, lay aside.”  Paul wrote believers in Philippi (Philippians 2:5-8 NET):

You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had [Table], who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature [Table].  He humbled himself by becoming obedient (ὑπήκοος) to the point of death—even death on a cross!

The Greek word translated emptied was ἐκένωσεν (a form of κενόω).  I began to understand his “laying aside” of this soul/life of God when I began to believe that יהוה (Yehovah) became a human being (John 1:1-5, 14).

The next definition is: “to cause to be, render.”  Paul wrote believers in Ephesus (Ephesians 2:1-7 NET):

And although you were dead in your offenses and sins [Table], in which you formerly lived according to this world’s present path, according to the ruler of the domain of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were[13] by nature children of wrath even as the rest…

But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved!—and he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth[14] of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The next definition of τίθημι is: “to set (something), place (something).”  Jesus promised his disciples (John 14:16, 17 NET Table):

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept because it does not see him or know him.  But you know him because he resides (μένει, a form of μένω) with you and will be in you.

The next definition is: “to lay (something) (e.g., to lay stones for a building or road, thus to construct, make).”  Paul continued his letter to believers in Ephesus (Ephesians 2:17-22 NET):

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace[15] to those who were near, so that through him we both have access in one Spirit (Romans 8:26, 27) to the Father.  So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are[16] fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.  In him the whole building,[17] being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place (κατοικητήριον) of God in the Spirit.

The next definition of τίθημ is: “to pitch (a tent).”  Paul wrote believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 5:1-5 NET):

For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.  For in this earthly house we groan, because we desire to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed,[18] after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked.  For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because[19] we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life (ζωῆς, a form of ζωή).  Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave[20] us the Spirit as a down payment.

The next definition is: “to establish, institute, decree, ordain, appoint (e.g., to appoint a law for the land).”  Jesus told his disciples (John 15:16, 17 NET):

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  This I command you—to love one another.

The next definition of τίθημι is: “to give a name to (something or someone).”  In his vision on Patmos John scribed Jesus’ letter To the angel of the church in Philadelphia[21] (Revelation 3:11, 12 NET):

I[22] am coming soon.  Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away your crown.  The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it.  I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down[23] out of heaven from my God), and my new name as well.

The Greek word translated conquers was νικῶν (a form of νικάω).  A loud voice in heaven exclaimed in John’s vision, describing how one conquers (Revelation 12:10, 11 NET):

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser[24] of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them[25] day and night before our God, has been thrown down[26] (Luke 10:17-20).  But they overcame (ἐνίκησαν, another form of νικάω) him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die (Romans 6:1-23).

The next definition of τίθημι is: “to designate as, categorize as.”  Paul wrote believers in Rome (Romans 8:1-4 NET):

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[27]  For the law of the life-giving Spirit (τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς) in Christ Jesus has set you[28] free from the law of sin and death.  For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh.  By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Apparently (NET note 1) on two separate occasions in the past, scribes added the final phrases of verse 4—μὴ κατὰ σάρκα περιπατοῦσιν (who do not walk according to the flesh) and ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα (but according to the Spirit)—as appositive phrases to ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ (in Christ Jesus) in verse 1.  I don’t doubt this is what Paul and the Holy Spirit meant by the phrase in Christ Jesus.  It only becomes problematic if one ignores the hard-won experience by which Paul confirmed that There is therefore now no condemnation, and is led in the name of Christ away from the Holy Spirit back to one’s own efforts to obey the law in the flesh.

So here is another important designation or category (Romans 7:14-20 NET):

For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual,[29] sold into slavery to sin.  For I don’t understand what I am doing.  For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate.  But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good (καλός).  But now it is no longer me doing it, but[30] sin that lives (οἰκοῦσα, a form of οἰκέω) in me.  For I know that nothing good lives (οἰκεῖ, another form of οἰκέω) in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.  For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives (οἰκοῦσα, a form of οἰκέω) in me [Table].

The next definition of τίθημι is: “to appoint (someone) (e.g., to make him a prophet, put a king on a throne).”  Paul wrote to believers in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 NET):

For God did not destine us for wrath (Romans 1:18-32) but[31] for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep, we will come to life (ζήσωμεν, a form of ζάω; KJV: live) together with him.  Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.

The next definition is: “to direct (someone) to do (something).”  Jesus commanded his disciples (John 15:4, 5 NET):

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains[32] in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain[33] in me [Table].

“I am the vine; you are the branches.  The one who remains (John 15:9-17) in me—and I in him—bears much fruit (Galatians 5:16-26) because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.

The next definition of τίθημι is: “to entrust (something) to (someone).”  Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:11-14):

For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher.[34]  Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do.  But I am not ashamed because I know the one in whom my faith is set and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day.  Hold to the standard of sound words that you heard from me and do so with the faith and love (Galatians 5:22, 23) that are in Christ Jesus.  Protect that good thing (καλὴν, a form of καλός) entrusted to you,[35] through the Holy Spirit who lives (ἐνοικοῦντος, a form of ἐνοικέω) within us.

The next definition is: “to allow (something to happen).”  Jesus said (Matthew 5:15, 16 NET):

People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good (καλὰ, another form of καλός) deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

The next definition of τίθημι is: “to make a name for (someone).”  Paul expounded to believers in Philippi the result of Jesus’ obedience to the point of death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:9-11 NET):

As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The final definition is: “to put (someone) in (a place) (e.g., to put him in jail).”  Paul wrote to believers in Colossae (Colossians 1:13, 14 NET):

He [God, the Father] delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins [Table].

So who are the sheep for whom the good shepherd lays down (KJV: giveth) his soul/life?  My sheep listen[36] to my voice, Jesus said (John 10:27-30 NET):

and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life (ζωὴν αἰώνιον), and they will never perish; no one will snatch (ἁρπάσει, another form of ἁρπάζω) them from my hand.  My Father, who[37] has given them to me, is greater[38] than all, and no one can snatch (ἁρπάζειν, another form of ἁρπάζω) them from my[39] Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.

Tables comparing Psalm 22:13 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Psalm 22:13 (21:14) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Revelation 13:6; James 3:5, 6; John 10:12, 13; Ephesians 2:3; 2:7; 2:17; 2:19; 2:21; 2 Corinthians 5:3-5; Revelation 3:7; 3:11-12; 12:10; Romans 8:1, 2; 7:14; 7:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; 2 Timothy 1:11; 1:14; John 10:27; 10:29 and Matthew 6:10 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 22:13 (Tanakh) Psalm 22:13 (KJV) Psalm 22:13 (NET)
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. They open their mouths to devour me like a roaring lion that rips its prey.
Psalm 22:13 (Septuagint BLB) Psalm 21:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἤνοιξαν ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ τὸ στόμα αὐτῶν ὡς λέων ὁ ἁρπάζων καὶ ὠρυόμενος ἤνοιξαν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ τὸ στόμα αὐτῶν ὡς λέων ἁρπάζων καὶ ὠρυόμενος
Psalm 21:14 (NETS) Psalm 21:14 (English Elpenor)
they opened their mouth at me, like a lion that ravens and roars. They have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion.
Revelation 13:6 (NET) Revelation 13:6 (KJV)
So the beast opened his mouth to blaspheme against God—to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, that is, those who dwell in heaven. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἤνοιξεν τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ εἰς βλασφημίας πρὸς τὸν θεὸν βλασφημῆσαι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ, τοὺς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ σκηνοῦντας και ηνοιξεν το στομα αυτου εις βλασφημιαν προς τον θεον βλασφημησαι το ονομα αυτου και την σκηνην αυτου και τους εν τω ουρανω σκηνουντας και ηνοιξεν το στομα αυτου εις βλασφημιαν προς τον θεον βλασφημησαι το ονομα αυτου και την σκηνην αυτου τους εν τω ουρανω σκηνουντας
James 3:5, 6 (NET) James 3:5, 6 (KJV)
So, too, the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions.  Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
οὕτως καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα μικρὸν μέλος ἐστὶν καὶ μεγάλα αὐχεῖ. ἰδοὺ ἡλίκον πῦρ ἡλίκην ὕλην ἀνάπτει ουτως και η γλωσσα μικρον μελος εστιν και μεγαλαυχει ιδου ολιγον πυρ ηλικην υλην αναπτει ουτως και η γλωσσα μικρον μελος εστιν και μεγαλαυχει ιδου ολιγον πυρ ηλικην υλην αναπτει
And the tongue is a fire!  The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies.  It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence—and is set on fire by hell. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα πῦρ· ὁ κόσμος τῆς ἀδικίας ἡ γλῶσσα καθίσταται ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν, ἡ σπιλοῦσα ὅλον τὸ σῶμα καὶ φλογίζουσα τὸν τροχὸν τῆς γενέσεως καὶ φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης και η γλωσσα πυρ ο κοσμος της αδικιας ουτως η γλωσσα καθισταται εν τοις μελεσιν ημων η σπιλουσα ολον το σωμα και φλογιζουσα τον τροχον της γενεσεως και φλογιζομενη υπο της γεεννης και η γλωσσα πυρ ο κοσμος της αδικιας ουτως η γλωσσα καθισταται εν τοις μελεσιν ημων η σπιλουσα ολον το σωμα και φλογιζουσα τον τροχον της γενεσεως και φλογιζομενη υπο της γεεννης
John 10:12, 13 (NET) John 10:12, 13 (KJV)
The hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away.  So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ μισθωτὸς καὶ οὐκ ὢν ποιμήν, οὗ οὐκ ἔστιν τὰ πρόβατα ἴδια, θεωρεῖ τὸν λύκον ἐρχόμενον καὶ ἀφίησιν τὰ πρόβατα καὶ φεύγει – καὶ ὁ λύκος ἁρπάζει αὐτὰ καὶ σκορπίζει ο μισθωτος δε και ουκ ων ποιμην ου ουκ εισιν τα προβατα ιδια θεωρει τον λυκον ερχομενον και αφιησιν τα προβατα και φευγει και ο λυκος αρπαζει αυτα και σκορπιζει τα προβατα ο μισθωτος δε και ουκ ων ποιμην ου ουκ εισιν τα προβατα ιδια θεωρει τον λυκον ερχομενον και αφιησιν τα προβατα και φευγει και ο λυκος αρπαζει αυτα και σκορπιζει τα προβατα
Because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep, he runs away. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ὅτι μισθωτός ἐστιν καὶ οὐ μέλει αὐτῷ περὶ τῶν προβάτων ο δε μισθωτος φευγει οτι μισθωτος εστιν και ου μελει αυτω περι των προβατων ο δε μισθωτος φευγει οτι μισθωτος εστιν και ου μελει αυτω περι των προβατων
Ephesians 2:3 (NET) Ephesians 2:3 (KJV)
among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest… Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημεν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν, καὶ ἤμεθα τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί εν οις και ημεις παντες ανεστραφημεν ποτε εν ταις επιθυμιαις της σαρκος ημων ποιουντες τα θεληματα της σαρκος και των διανοιων και ημεν τεκνα φυσει οργης ως και οι λοιποι εν οις και ημεις παντες ανεστραφημεν ποτε εν ταις επιθυμιαις της σαρκος ημων ποιουντες τα θεληματα της σαρκος και των διανοιων και ημεν τεκνα φυσει οργης ως και οι λοιποι
Ephesians 2:7 (NET) Ephesians 2:7 (KJV)
to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ινα ενδειξηται εν τοις αιωσιν τοις επερχομενοις τον υπερβαλλοντα πλουτον της χαριτος αυτου εν χρηστοτητι εφ ημας εν χριστω ιησου ινα ενδειξηται εν τοις αιωσιν τοις επερχομενοις τον υπερβαλλοντα πλουτον της χαριτος αυτου εν χρηστοτητι εφ ημας εν χριστω ιησου
Ephesians 2:17 (NET) Ephesians 2:17 (KJV)
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐλθὼν εὐηγγελίσατο εἰρήνην ὑμῖν τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ εἰρήνην τοῖς ἐγγύς και ελθων ευηγγελισατο ειρηνην υμιν τοις μακραν και τοις εγγυς και ελθων ευηγγελισατο ειρηνην υμιν τοις μακραν και τοις εγγυς
Ephesians 2:19 (NET) Ephesians 2:19 (KJV)
So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
῎Αρα οὖν οὐκέτι ἐστὲ ξένοι καὶ πάροικοι ἀλλὰ ἐστὲ συμπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων καὶ οἰκεῖοι τοῦ θεοῦ αρα ουν ουκετι εστε ξενοι και παροικοι αλλα συμπολιται των αγιων και οικειοι του θεου αρα ουν ουκετι εστε ξενοι και παροικοι αλλα συμπολιται των αγιων και οικειοι του θεου
Ephesians 2:21 (NET) Ephesians 2:21 (KJV)
In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἐν ᾧ πᾶσα οἰκοδομὴ συναρμολογουμένη αὔξει εἰς ναὸν ἅγιον ἐν κυρίῳ, εν ω πασα η οικοδομη συναρμολογουμενη αυξει εις ναον αγιον εν κυριω εν ω πασα οικοδομη συναρμολογουμενη αυξει εις ναον αγιον εν κυριω
2 Corinthians 5:3-5 (NET) 2 Corinthians 5:3-5 (KJV)
if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked. If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
εἴ γε καὶ |ἐνδυσάμενοι| οὐ γυμνοὶ εὑρεθησόμεθα ειγε και ενδυσαμενοι ου γυμνοι ευρεθησομεθα ειγε και ενδυσαμενοι ου γυμνοι ευρεθησομεθα
For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ γὰρ οἱ ὄντες ἐν τῷ σκήνει στενάζομεν βαρούμενοι, ἐφ᾿ ᾧ οὐ θέλομεν ἐκδύσασθαι ἀλλ᾿ ἐπενδύσασθαι, ἵνα καταποθῇ τὸ θνητὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ζωῆς και γαρ οι οντες εν τω σκηνει στεναζομεν βαρουμενοι επειδη ου θελομεν εκδυσασθαι αλλ επενδυσασθαι ινα καταποθη το θνητον υπο της ζωης και γαρ οι οντες εν τω σκηνει στεναζομεν βαρουμενοι εφ ω ου θελομεν εκδυσασθαι αλλ επενδυσασθαι ινα καταποθη το θνητον υπο της ζωης
Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ κατεργασάμενος ἡμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο θεός, ὁ δοὺς ἡμῖν τὸν ἀρραβῶνα τοῦ πνεύματος ο δε κατεργασαμενος ημας εις αυτο τουτο θεος ο και δους ημιν τον αρραβωνα του πνευματος ο δε κατεργασαμενος ημας εις αυτο τουτο θεος ο και δους ημιν τον αρραβωνα του πνευματος
Revelation 3:7 (NET) Revelation 3:7 (KJV)
“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the Holy One, the True One, who holds the key of David, who opens doors no one can shut, and shuts doors no one can open: And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Φιλαδελφείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἅγιος, ὁ ἀληθινός, ὁ ἔχων τὴν κλεῖν Δαυίδ, ὁ ἀνοίγων καὶ οὐδεὶς κλείσει καὶ κλείων καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀνοίγει και τω αγγελω της εν φιλαδελφεια εκκλησιας γραψον ταδε λεγει ο αγιος ο αληθινος ο εχων την κλειδα του δαβιδ ο ανοιγων και ουδεις κλειει και κλειει και ουδεις ανοιγει και τω αγγελω της εν φιλαδελφεια εκκλησιας γραψον ταδε λεγει ο αγιος ο αληθινος ο εχων την κλειν του δαυιδ ο ανοιγων και ουδεις κλεισει αυτην ει μη ο ανοιγων και ουδεις ανοιξει
Revelation 3:11, 12 (NET) Revelation 3:11, 12 (KJV)
I am coming soon.  Hold on to what you have so that no one can take away your crown. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἔρχομαι ταχύ· κράτει ὃ ἔχεις, ἵνα μηδεὶς λάβῃ τὸν στέφανον σου ιδου ερχομαι ταχυ κρατει ο εχεις ινα μηδεις λαβη τον στεφανον σου ερχομαι ταχυ κρατει ο εχεις ινα μηδεις λαβη τον στεφανον σου
The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never depart from it.  I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God), and my new name as well. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Ὁ νικῶν ποιήσω αὐτὸν στῦλον ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ θεοῦ μου καὶ ἔξω οὐ μὴ ἐξέλθῃ ἔτι καὶ γράψω ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ μου καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς πόλεως τοῦ θεοῦ μου (τῆς καινῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἡ καταβαίνουσα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ μου), καὶ τὸ ὄνομα μου τὸ καινόν ο νικων ποιησω αυτον στυλον εν τω ναω του θεου μου και εξω ου μη εξελθη ετι και γραψω επ αυτον το ονομα του θεου μου και το ονομα της πολεως του θεου μου της καινης ιερουσαλημ η καταβαινουσα εκ του ουρανου απο του θεου μου και το ονομα μου το καινον ο νικων ποιησω αυτον στυλον εν τω ναω του θεου μου και εξω ου μη εξελθη ετι και γραψω επ αυτον το ονομα του θεου μου και το ονομα της πολεως του θεου μου της καινης ιερουσαλημ η καταβαινει εκ του ουρανου απο του θεου μου και το ονομα μου το καινον
Revelation 12:10 (NET) Revelation 12:10 (KJV)
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before our God, has been thrown down. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν μεγάλην ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ λέγουσαν ἄρτι ἐγένετο ἡ σωτηρία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐβλήθη ὁ κατήγωρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν, ὁ κατηγορῶν αὐτοὺς ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός και ηκουσα φωνην μεγαλην λεγουσαν εν τω ουρανω αρτι εγενετο η σωτηρια και η δυναμις και η βασιλεια του θεου ημων και η εξουσια του χριστου αυτου οτι κατεβληθη ο κατηγορος των αδελφων ημων ο κατηγορων αυτων ενωπιον του θεου ημων ημερας και νυκτος και ηκουσα φωνην μεγαλην εν τω ουρανω λεγουσαν αρτι εγενετο η σωτηρια και η δυναμις και η βασιλεια του θεου ημων και η εξουσια του χριστου αυτου οτι εβληθη ο κατηγορος των αδελφων ημων ο κατηγορων αυτων ενωπιον του θεου ημων ημερας και νυκτος
Romans 8:1, 2 (NET) Romans 8:1, 2 (KJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Οὐδὲν ἄρα νῦν κατάκριμα τοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. ουδεν αρα νυν κατακριμα τοις εν χριστω ιησου μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα ουδεν αρα νυν κατακριμα τοις εν χριστω ιησου μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα
For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ γὰρ νόμος τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἠλευθέρωσεν σε ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου ο γαρ νομος του πνευματος της ζωης εν χριστω ιησου ηλευθερωσεν με απο του νομου της αμαρτιας και του θανατου ο γαρ νομος του πνευματος της ζωης εν χριστω ιησου ηλευθερωσεν με απο του νομου της αμαρτιας και του θανατου
Romans 7:14 (NET) Romans 7:14 (KJV)
For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
Οἴδαμεν γὰρ ὅτι ὁ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστιν, ἐγὼ δὲ σάρκινος εἰμι πεπραμένος ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν οιδαμεν γαρ οτι ο νομος πνευματικος εστιν εγω δε σαρκικος ειμι πεπραμενος υπο την αμαρτιαν οιδαμεν γαρ οτι ο νομος πνευματικος εστιν εγω δε σαρκικος ειμι πεπραμενος υπο την αμαρτιαν
Romans 7:17 (NET) Romans 7:17 (KJV)
But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
νυνὶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζομαι αὐτὸ ἀλλὰ ἡ |οἰκοῦσα| ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία. νυνι δε ουκετι εγω κατεργαζομαι αυτο αλλ η οικουσα εν εμοι αμαρτια νυνι δε ουκετι εγω κατεργαζομαι αυτο αλλ η οικουσα εν εμοι αμαρτια
1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NET) 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (KJV)
For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ὅτι οὐκ ἔθετο ἡμᾶς ὁ θεὸς εἰς ὀργὴν ἀλλὰ εἰς περιποίησιν σωτηρίας διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ |Χριστοῦ| οτι ουκ εθετο ημας ο θεος εις οργην αλλ εις περιποιησιν σωτηριας δια του κυριου ημων ιησου χριστου οτι ουκ εθετο ημας ο θεος εις οργην αλλ εις περιποιησιν σωτηριας δια του κυριου ημων ιησου χριστου
2 Timothy 1:11 (NET) 2 Timothy 1:11 (KJV)
For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην ἐγὼ κῆρυξ καὶ ἀπόστολος καὶ διδάσκαλος εις ο ετεθην εγω κηρυξ και αποστολος και διδασκαλος εθνων εις ο ετεθην εγω κηρυξ και αποστολος και διδασκαλος εθνων
2 Timothy 1:14 (NET) 2 Timothy 1:14 (KJV)
Protect that good thing entrusted to you, through the Holy Spirit who lives within us. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
τὴν καλὴν παραθήκην φύλαξον διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος ἐν ἡμῖν την καλην παρακαταθηκην φυλαξον δια πνευματος αγιου του ενοικουντος εν ημιν την καλην παραθηκην φυλαξον δια πνευματος αγιου του ενοικουντος εν ημιν
John 10:27 (NET) John 10:27 (KJV)
My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούουσιν, καγὼ γινώσκω αὐτὰ καὶ ἀκολουθοῦσιν μοι τα προβατα τα εμα της φωνης μου ακουει καγω γινωσκω αυτα και ακολουθουσιν μοι τα προβατα τα εμα της φωνης μου ακουει καγω γινωσκω αυτα και ακολουθουσιν μοι
John 10:29 (NET) John 10:29 (KJV)
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ πατήρ μου ὃ δέδωκεν μοι πάντων μεῖζον ἐστιν, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται ἁρπάζειν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ πατρός ο πατηρ μου ος δεδωκεν μοι μειζων παντων εστιν και ουδεις δυναται αρπαζειν εκ της χειρος του πατρος μου ο πατηρ μου ος δεδωκεν μοι μειζων παντων εστιν και ουδεις δυναται αρπαζειν εκ της χειρος του πατρος μου
Matthew 6:10 (NET) Matthew 6:10 (KJV)
may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
NET Parallel Greek Stephanus Textus Receptus Byzantine Majority Text
ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημα σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ελθετω η βασιλεια σου γενηθητω το θελημα σου ως εν ουρανω και επι της γης ελθετω η βασιλεια σου γενηθητω το θελημα σου ως εν ουρανω και επι της γης

[1] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had βλασφημίας here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βλασφημιαν (KJV: blasphemy).

[2] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had και (KJV: and) here.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.  So them that dwell in heaven was translated in the KJV as a third item to blaspheme rather than as an appositive phrase of his dwelling place; e.g., may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10b NET).

[3] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μεγάλα αὐχεῖ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μεγαλαυχει (KJV: boasteth great things).

[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἡλίκον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ολιγον (KJV: a little).

[5] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτως (KJV: so) following wrongdoing (KJV: iniquity).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[6] James 3:5, 6 (NET)

[7] Matthew 15:18-20a (NET)

[8] Galatians 5:19-21 (NET) Table

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

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

[11] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τα προβατα (KJV: the sheep) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[12] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο δε μισθωτος φευγει (KJV: The hireling fleeth) preceding this clause.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἤμεθα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ημεν.

[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τον υπερβαλλοντα πλουτον (KJV: the exceeding riches).

[15] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἰρήνην here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐστὲ here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[17] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article η preceding building.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[18] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἴ γε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειγε (KJV: If so be that).

[19] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐφ᾿ ᾧ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had επειδη (KJV: for that).

[20] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: also) preceding gave (KJV: hath given).  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[21] Revelation 3:7a

[22] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had ιδου (KJV: Behold) at the beginning of this clause.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[23] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Stephanus Textus Receptus had καταβαίνουσα here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had καταβαινει.

[24] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had κατήγωρ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κατηγορος.

[25] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had αὐτοὺς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτων.

[26] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐβλήθη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had κατεβληθη (KJV: is cast down).

[27] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μη κατα σαρκα περιπατουσιν αλλα κατα πνευμα (KJV: who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[28] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had σε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had με (KJV: me).

[29] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had σάρκινος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had σαρκικος (KJV: carnal).

[30] The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA28 had ἀλλ’.

[31] The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA28 had ἀλλ’.

[32] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μένῃ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μεινη (KJV: abide).

[33] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μένητε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Tex had μεινητε (KJV: abide).

[34] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εθνων (KJV: of the Gentiles) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[35] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had παραθήκην here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had παρακαταθηκην (KJV: which was committed unto thee).

[36] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀκούουσιν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Tex had ακουει (KJV: hear).

[37] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὃ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ος (KJV: which).

[38] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μεῖζον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μειζων.

[39] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μου here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

He Takes Away, Part 3

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In 1882 George Matheson wrote:

O Love, that wilt not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

I quote it here—especially “O Love, that wilt not let me go” —as the testimony of two witnesses.  One witness, the author of this verse, is the epitome of the righteous as I understand it, according to a comment on hymnal.net by Ana Lara, March 27, 2020.  George Matheson struggled to serve God against the undeserved evils of blindness and loneliness.  The other witness is a sinner who has struggled against almost every sin of the flesh and most sins of doubt and confusion.

I, that sinner, further affirm that God is patient, God is kind, He is not envious.  He does not brag, He is not puffed up.  He is not rude, He is not self-serving, He is not easily angered or resentful.  He is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth.

The Bible is translated into English by committees of the righteous, not by committees of sinners.  I don’t have a lot of personal experience to know what it feels like to be the righteous.  I have Jesus’ word (Luke 15:11-32) that they may feel that God has treated them unfairly when He shows mercy to a sinner like me.

Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, Jesus said, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.[1]

I’m led to examine the Greek.

John 6:37
 NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus
πᾶν ὃ δίδωσιν μοι ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς ἐμὲ ἥξει, καὶ τὸν ἐρχόμενον πρὸς |ἐμὲ| οὐ μὴ ἐκβάλω ἔξω παν ο διδωσιν μοι ο πατηρ προς εμε ηξει και τον ερχομενον προς με ου μη εκβαλω εξω

NET

KJV
Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

The Greek word translated Everyone (KJV: All) is πᾶν (a form of πᾶς).  It is listed as an adjective that may be in the nominative case or the accusative case, but stands as the subject of this clause in both translations.  It is singular and neuter while πᾶς is singular and masculine. But πᾶν (everyone or all) is limited and specified by what follows.

The next word is the relative pronoun ὃ, a singular neuter form of ὅς, translated whom in the NET signaling the translators’ choice of the accusative case over the nominative case.  The KJV translators’ choice, that, is more difficult to ferret out.  The verb δίδωσιν, a form of δίδωμι in the present tense, active voice and indicative mood follows this relative pronoun.  Jesus makes a factual statement here as opposed to proposing a hypothetical situation.

The personal pronoun μοι, a first person singular form of ἐγώ in the dative case follows the verb.  So I have: “Everyone whom [an as yet unspecified third person singular] gives me” or gives “to me.”  Then the giver is specified: ὁ πατὴρ, the Father, unequivocally in the nominative case.  “Everyone whom the Father gives me…”

The preposition πρὸς is next, followed by the personal pronoun ἐμὲ, the first person form of ἐγώ in the accusative case.  This signifies that ἐμὲ is the direct object of πρὸς, and that the meaning of πρὸς is selected from the following pool: “to; toward, in the direction of; beside; against; with; at; toward daybreak.”  So I have: “Everyone whom the Father gives me, to me…”

The verb ἥξει, a third person singular form of ἥκω, completes this clause.  It is in the future tense, active voice and indicative mood.  This remains a factual statement through and through: “Everyone whom the Father gives me, to me will come.”

Frankly, my knowledge of Greek is insufficient to see why—other than word order—this wasn’t translated: “the Father gives me everyone who will come to me.”  The grammarian in my head actually prefers it.  Of course my grammarian is still more familiar with American English than Koine Greek.  The logician in my head hears “everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me” and “the Father gives me everyone who will come to me” as logically equivalent, so long as I’m not confused by will.

The English word will in the NET doesn’t refer to any forms of the Greek verbs θέλω or βούλομαι (to will), or any forms of the nouns θέλημα or βουλή (the will).  It was simply half of the two word phrase, will come, the NET translators chose for the Greek verb ἥξει.  And though both verbs, δίδωσιν and ἥξει, are in the active voice, I hear no cause and effect between them here necessarily.

Yes, one could argue that, No one can come to me (ἐλθεῖν πρός με) unless the Father who sent me draws him,[2] adds a sense of cause and effect to this clause retrospectively.  But in context it’s not yet the point of this clause.  The logical equivalence of the one the Father gives Jesus with the one who will come to Jesus is really leaping off the page at me.

Imprisoned in time as I am, I’m unqualified to use this clause to judge another negatively.  In other words, I can’t say, it appears to me that you have not come to Jesus yet, therefore the Father has not given you to Jesus.  I may have a limited qualification to judge positively: It appears to me that you have come to Jesus, therefore the Father has given you to Jesus.  But it seems to me, as one who will stand before Jesus to give an account, that the best understanding of this clause is that anyone who appears to me to have come to, toward, in the direction of, beside, with, even against Jesus, should be recognized as at least potentially a precious gift of God the Father to God the Son.

The next clause begins with the conjunction καὶ.  This is followed by τὸν ἐρχόμενον.  Apparently, placing a definite article before a verb (a form of ἔρχομαι here) transforms it into something like a gerund, a verb functioning as a noun, “the coming one,” translated the one who comes (NET) or him that cometh (KJV).  Since τὸν and ἐρχόμενον are both in the accusative case, the one who comes is the direct object of this clause.

The prepositional phrase πρὸς |ἐμὲ| in the NET parallel Greek text or προς με in the Stephanus Textus Receptus follows ἐρχόμενον.  So I have: “and the one who comes to me…”

The negation which follows is οὐ μὴ.  It is nothing like a double negative in English.  Rather, it is an emphatic negation.  The verb it negates is ἐκβάλω, a 2nd aorist tense form of ἐκβάλλω in the active voice and subjunctive mood.   Though it is not the future tense ἐκβαλῶ, it was translated as a potential future event, I will…send away (NET) or I will…cast out (KJV), relative to the time one comes to Jesus.

Here is Justin Alfred again on the emphatic negation of a future event in the aorist tense.[3]

However, when these two Greek negative particles are combined in the form of οὐ µή (ou mē) with reference to a future event, what results is an intensified form of the negative: “οὐ µή (ou mē) is the most decisive way of negativing something in the future.” Thayer adds, “The particles οὐ µή in combination augment the force of the negation, and signify not at all, in no wise, by no means; . . .”

However, when this combination is attached to an Aorist Subjunctive, what occurs is what has been termed the Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation. As was pointed out above, the Subjunctive Mood indicates the probability of an event, and the Aorist Tense emphasizes an action as simply occurring, without any specific reference to time, apart from the use of an adverbial modifier (e.g., that which would describe when, where, how much, or how often). Thus, when you have οὐ µή (ou mē) in combination with the Aorist Subjunctive, what occurs is the absolute and unequivocal denial of the probability of an event EVER OCCURING at any moment or time in the future.

The Greek word ἔξω, translated away (NET) or out (KJV), may be an adverb or a preposition.  I’ll assume that it’s an adverb here modifying ἐκβάλω, since no object of the preposition is present.  I don’t think it diminishes the power of the “Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation” as described by Mr. Alfred above.

The Father and I are one,[4] Jesus said: ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν.

I’ve already encountered ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ, “I and the Father.”  The adjective ἕν (a form of εἷς) is the number one.  And ἐσμεν is a 1st person plural form of εἰμί in the present tense, active voice and indicative mood: “I and the Father one are.”  In other words, God the Father and God the Son exist as one God.  He is not divided against Himself.

So I have “the absolute and unequivocal denial of the probability” that one God will “EVER…at any moment or time in the future” send away the one who comes to Jesus, as a fact before I even come to the metaphor in John 15:1-8.  This fact must be the basis for any assumptions I make when translating that metaphor into English.

When Jesus said to his disciples, I am the vine; you are the branches,[5] he clarified the meaning of a metaphor.  He didn’t transform human beings into the branches of a vine.  Human beings they remained, fully capable of autonomous motion, with agile minds, easily bored, easily captivated by other people and other concepts than Jesus and his word.  Such a hypothetical human being “[is] not one remaining in [Jesus], [and is] like a branch [that] was thrown out and dried up, they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and it burns.”  This is a description of this hypothetical human being’s present condition, not a prophecy necessarily of this hypothetical human beings’ future.

On the contrary, Jesus’ point was: Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me [Table]…The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing,[6] as far as bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit is concerned.

Don’t be fooled.  To other human beings imprisoned in time the human being not remaining in Jesus may appear exceptionally accomplished professionally, politically, academically, artistically, commercially, even, dare I say it, religiously as a “soul winner.”  But as far as the fruit of the Spirit of God is concerned, this one can accomplish nothing, “like a branch [that] was thrown out and dried up, they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and it burns.”

On the other hand, when Jesus spoke of “every branch in me that does not bear fruit,” He speaks of a human being in Jesus, captivated by Him and his word.  And here I’ll mix Jesus’ and Paul’s metaphors: This one participates in the richness of the olive root;[7] this one is continuously filled with God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[8]  But what proceeds out of this one is not very loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle or self-controlled at present.

I’ll take me for an example, talking politics.  God help me I’m neither Democrat nor Republican but a bomb-throwing anarchist at heart.  And I in this area, even as a branch in Jesus that does not yet bear the fruit that is so generously supplied, can be assured that the gardener, God our Father, will lift us up, move us upward, raise us to a higher level, carry us along, bear with us, endure with us until He causes his fruit to emerge through us.

We can know this for certain by faith in Jesus Christ, who said takes away ain’t no option in Greek for an English translation of αἴρει in John 15:2 concerning the One true God regarding the one who remains in Jesus.  My Father is honored by this, Jesus said, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples.[9]

A table comparing John 6:44 in the NET and KJV follow.

John 6:44 (NET)

John 6:44 (KJV)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με ἐὰν μὴ ὁ πατὴρ ὁ πέμψας με ἑλκύσῃ αὐτόν, καγὼ ἀναστήσω αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ουδεις δυναται ελθειν προς με εαν μη ο πατηρ ο πεμψας με ελκυση αυτον και εγω αναστησω αυτον τη εσχατη ημερα ουδεις δυναται ελθειν προς με εαν μη ο πατηρ ο πεμψας με ελκυση αυτον και εγω αναστησω αυτον εν τη εσχατη ημερα

My Deeds, Part 3

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There is a table representing my unstudied view of the relationship of the clauses of Revelation 2:26-29.  I’m considering the clause, who continues in my deeds until the end, because it tugs the hardest at me to return to my own works.  I’ve begun to try to understand τὰ ἔργα μου, translated my deeds, with a study of τηρῶν (a form of τηρέω), translated who continues.  The most basic understanding of τηρῶν is: Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose (τηρῶν, a form of τηρέω) his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked…[1]  It means to keep, not to lose or discard.

To review, the NET translation of John 14:21 confirms both my initial belief and practice, that obeying Jesus’ commands was the path to loving Him, knowing Him and being loved by Him and his Father.  Refining the translation obeys to keeps lowers the standard a bit but doesn’t alter the order of events, that Jesus and his Father loved me because I first loved Jesus (by keeping his commandments, not losing or discarding them).  But this argument was preceded by another, outlined below:

If you love Me…

John 14:15a (NASB)

 …you will keep (τηρήσετε, another form of τηρέω) My commandments.

John 14:15b (NASB)
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides (μένει, a form of μένω; present tense) with you and will be (ἔσται, a form of εἰμί; future tense) in you.

John 14:16, 17 (NASB)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…

Galatians 5:22, 23a (NASB)
I have not come to abolish [the law or the prophets] but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5:17b (NET)

 …love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:10b (NET)
He who has My commandments and keeps (τηρῶν, a form of τηρέω) them…

John 14:21a (NASB)

 …is the one who loves Me…

John 14:21b (NASB)

I will love Jesus and keep his commandments by the Holy Spirit who abides with me and will be in me.  If I concede to the old man (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-11), fighting for its own survival by attempting to lose or discard Jesus’ commandments, though it may not alter God’s love for me, I have ceased to love Him with the love that is the fruit of his Spirit, the love that is the fulfillment of the law, no matter what I tell myself and no matter how much emotion I feel for Him.

In this essay I’ll consider John’s explanation, And the person who keeps (τηρῶν, a form of τηρέω) his commandments resides in God, and God in him,[2] but I’ll back up first to take a run at it (1 John 2:28, 29 NET):

And now, little children, remain (μένετε, a form of μένω) in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back.  If you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) righteousness has been fathered by him.

The Greek word translated fathered was γεγέννηται (a form of γεννάω).  John didn’t leave us wondering what he meant by it: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered (γεγέννηται, a form of γεννάω) by God…[3]  He had a unique understanding of the word μένετε as one of the twelve Jesus sent out with the following instruction (I’ve included Luke 10:7 though it was addressed to the seventy-two others Jesus appointed and sent on ahead of Him).

Mark 6:10 (NET)

Luke 9:4 (NET)

Luke 10:7 (NET)
[Jesus] said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay (μένετε, a form of μένω) there until you leave the area.” Whatever house you enter, stay (μένετε, a form of μένω) there until you leave the area. Stay (μένετε, a form of μένω) in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay.  Do not move around from house to house.

I understand what it means to stay in a house, to not move around from place to place.  But what does it mean to stay in God?  A few verses prior to this John wrote (1 John 2:24 NET):

As for you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain (μενέτω, another form of μένω) in you.  If what you heard from the beginning remains (μείνῃ, another form of μένω) in you, you also will remain (μενεῖτε, another form of μένω) in the Son and in the Father.

So I remain in the Son and in the Father if Jesus’ teaching remains in me.  Here is Jesus’ teaching on the subject (John 15:4, 5a NET):

Remain (μείνατε, another form of μένω) in me, and I will remain in you.  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains (μένῃ, another form of μένω) in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain (μένητε, another form of μένω) in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  The one who remains (μένων, another form of μένω) in me – and I in him – bears much fruit…

In other words, remaining in Jesus (and his Father) by remaining in the teaching I have heard from the beginning of my new life in Christ (assuming that teaching was the Gospel of Christ) brings forth the fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that is the fulfillment of the law.  Jesus continued, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.[4]  I don’t think He meant that I couldn’t become a hypocrite, an actor playing at righteousness more or less skillfully.  Jesus warned, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.[5]  But I can’t do the righteousness that fulfills the law apart from remaining in Jesus by remaining in his teaching.

Jesus continued teaching his disciples (John 15:6 NET):

If anyone does not remain (μένῃ, another form of μένω) in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up.

He listed some impediments either to hearing in the beginning or to what was heard from the beginning remaining (Luke 8:11-15 NET):

Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God (ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ).  Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.  Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root.  They believe for a while, but in a time of testing fall away (ἀφίστανται, a form of ἀφίστημι).  As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked (συμπνίγονται, a form of συμπνίγω) by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.  But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing the word, cling (κατέχουσιν, a form of κατέχω) to it with an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance.

If you remain (μείνητε, another form of μένω) in me and my words remain (μείνῃ, another form of μένω) in you, Jesus continued, ask whatever you want, and it will be done (γενήσεται, a form of γίνομαι) for you.  My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are (γένησθε, another form of γίνομαι) my disciples.[6]  The words if and whatever are the same Greek word ἐὰν.  I understand this request as related to, and bracketed by, bearing fruit.  I’m unsure about translating ἐὰν whatever.  In my case it led to unbelief while—ask [if] you want, and it will be done (or, become) for you—has led to some faith-confirming results.  Jesus continued (John 15:9, 10 NET):   

Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain (μείνατε, another form of μένω) in my love.  If you obey (τηρήσητε, another form of τηρέω) my commandments, you will remain (μενεῖτε, another form of μένω) in my love, just as I have obeyed (τετήρηκα, another form of τηρέω) my Father’s commandments and remain (μένω) in his love.

This is how I understood this passage even when the Bible I read translated τηρήσητε keep and τετήρηκα kept.  “Jesus promises to love the disciples if they obey his commandments,” reads the sermon notes for John 15:9-17 on Sermon Writer online.  Here, and other places like it, I turned from being led by the Holy Spirit, especially if my behavior was too embarrassing too often to confess any longer, to take charge of my own righteousness in my own strength.

See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children,[7] John continued.  The note (1) in the NET reads:

The ἵνα (Jina) clause is best understood (1) as epexegetical (or explanatory), clarifying the love (ἀγάπην, agapen) that the Father has given to believers. Although it is possible (2) to regard the ἵνα as indicating result, the use of ποταπήν (potapen, “what sort of”) to modify ἀγάπην suggests that the idea of “love” will be qualified further in the following context, and this qualification is provided by the epexegetical ἵνα clause.

I think option (2) is the better understanding.  The sort of love the Father has given to us is not the Father’s feeling for us, but a very practical gift: It is the love that is patient, the love that is kind, the love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.[8]  This love may be shared in.  It is the fruit of his Spirit, the fulfillment of the law.  This love may be remained in or may be left behind.  If I leave God’s love behind to run ahead in my own strength God’s love has not and does not change.  If I do not remain in his love I strive way too hard to become a highly-skilled hypocrite rather than receiving the love he has given us.  He gave us this sort of love in order that we should be called God’s children.  Paul concurred with John (Romans 5:5b; 7:6b; 8:3, 4, 14 NET):

…the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us…

…so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.

For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh.  By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

“To remain in Jesus’ love,” the entry in SermonWriter reads, “suggests being immersed in Jesus’ love—surrounded by Jesus’ love—comforted by Jesus’ love—empowered by Jesus’ love.  Imagine a swimming pool filled, not with water, but with Jesus’ love.”  All analogies have their problems but this one isn’t too bad.  Ordinarily one tries not to drown in a swimming pool.  A pool of Jesus’ love is really only threatening to the old man (Ephesians 4:25-5:5; Colossians 3:12-17).  The believer lives and breathes in its environs, in fact, only in its environs.  This pool travels with the believer, but the believer can leave the pool.  A believer leaving the pool of God’s love does not change God’s love at all.  Leaving only changes the believer’s access to, and appreciation of, God’s love.  Jesus’ and John’s point was, don’t get out of God’s love.

Here is John again (1 John 3:1-10 NET):

(See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children – and indeed we are!  For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know him.  Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed.  We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.  And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure).

Everyone who practices (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) sin also practices (ποιεῖ, another form of ποιέω) lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness.  And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away (ἄρῃ, a form of αἴρω) sins, and in him there is no sin.  Everyone who resides (μένων, another form of μένω) in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him.  Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous.  The one who practices (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil.  Everyone who has been fathered (γεγεννημένος, another form of γεννάω) by God does not practice (ποιεῖ, another form of ποιέω) sin, because God’s seed resides (μένει, another form of μένω) in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered (γεγέννηται, a form of γεννάω) by God.  By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice (ποιῶν, a form of ποιέω) righteousness – the one who does not love his fellow Christian (ἀδελφὸν, a form of ἀδελφός) – is not of God.

Now if I do what I do (ποιῶ, another form of ποιέω) not want, Paul wrote believers in Rome, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.[9]  It is better to greet John’s and Paul’s explanations with faith than with fear or mockery.  But the Spirit of God relentlessly dragged me back when my default position was to “chuck this whole religion thing.”  He was kind and patient when my default position became do-it-myself sanctification, when I said in so many words, “I can’t trust You with something as important as MY righteousness.”  Jaco Gericke had a very different testimony.  I rationalize this difference with Paul’s conclusion: So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.[10]  Others rationalize it as individual free will.

When I was young righteousness was a matter of good habits developed through willpower because Jesus had saved me.  Now I can see this as a childish misunderstanding of potentially good teaching.  But at the time I saw Jesus’ salvation only as a reason, why I should do righteousness, never as a cause, how I could do righteousness.  My willpower proved to be unequal to the task.  I am weak-willed vis-à-vis righteousness.  So I tend to minimize the effect of my will and magnify the effect of God’s mercy.   Now that I understand that Jesus’ salvation causes righteousness I have replaced willpower with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Of course, I still don’t recognize any habit in me toward the good apart from that daily infusion of his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

On the other hand, I proved to be quite willful, stubborn, rebellious and stiff-necked regarding my sin.  So I tend to see free will as more useful, or more conducive, to sinning.  I don’t tend to argue the point because I can see how one who had more success than I did could regard willpower as helpful in the pursuit of righteousness.  Still, I keep my mind open to the possibility that the preachers of free will may have taken more credit for that righteousness than they deserve.

Little children, John continued, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth.[11]  As Jesus tried to teach me about the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe,[12] I got tripped up here quite often.  I thought, especially if my performance was less than perfect when I had attempted to trust Him, that his teaching was not his teaching but me playing word games, loving with word (λόγῳ, a form of λόγος) or with tongue (γλώσσῃ, a form of γλῶσσα).  “No, you really have to do it,” I heard many times from my elders if I tried to share what I thought I had been learning.  How I ever thought that obeying rules in my own strength might become loving in deed (ἔργῳ, a form of ἔργον) and truth (ἀληθείᾳ, a form of ἀλήθεια), I can’t explain apart from being willful, stubborn, rebellious and stiff-necked.  Now I assume that loving with word or with tongue corresponds to my hypocrisy, while loving in deed and truth corresponds to being led by his Holy Spirit.

John continued (1 John 3:19-24 NET):

And by this we will know that we are of the truth (ἀληθείας, another form of ἀλήθεια) and will convince our conscience in his presence, that if (ἐὰν) our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience and knows all things.  Dear friends, if (ἐὰν) our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God, and whatever (ἐὰν; or if) we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him.  Now this is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he gave us the commandment.  And the person who keeps his commandments resides (μένει, another form of μένω) in God, and God in him.  Now by this we know that God resides (μένει, another form of μένω) in us: by the Spirit he has given us.

I want to conclude this essay by addressing one of the statements in the entry in Sermon Writer directly:

The emphasis is love.  Love begins with the Father and flows through the Son to the disciples (v. 9).  It is contingent on obedience…Jesus promises to love the disciples if they obey his commandments.

The demonstrably false statement—“Jesus promises to love the disciples if they obey his commandments”—mischaracterizes God’s love and remaining in his love.  First, consider Jesus’ teaching on the nature of the Father’s love (Matthew 5:43-48 NET):

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they?  And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do?  Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they?  So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus’ love for me is not equivalent to, or contingent upon, my remaining in his love.  Jesus loves me because God is love and Jesus remains in his Father’s love.  If and only if I remain in his love I will bear the fruit of his Spirit, the love which is the fulfillment of the law, and obey him thereby.  It is not that his love, or even remaining in his love, is contingent upon some open-ended obedience of mine but that my obedience is contingent upon his love and my remaining in his love.

Here the misdirection of translating forms of τηρέω with forms of obey becomes evident.  To keep Jesus’ commandments, not to lose or discard them, has much more in common with his words remaining in us than it does with any form of obey.  Even as I write this I hear the quibble in my head: “But you have obeyed: you have remained in his love by clinging to his teaching.”  I write this quibble off to the religious mind.

I acknowledged the religious mind as nothing more than the carnal mind or the outlook of the flesh, but the term still serves a useful purpose for me.  I expect the carnal mind or the outlook of the flesh to be focused directly on sin.  The pretense of the religious mind is its focus on righteousness, albeit a righteousness of its own derived from the law with a keen desire to justify itself by law.  Consider Jesus’ teaching on the subject (Luke 17:10 NET):

“So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.’”

As I’ve written before, we have this attitude not because we are in some wretched social condition but because our deeds have been done in (or, by) God[13]…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.[14]

[1] Revelation 16:15b (NET)

[2] 1 John 3:24a (NET)

[3] 1 John 5:1a (NET)

[4] John 15:5b (NET)

[5] Matthew 5:20 (NET)

[6] John 15:7, 8 (NET) Table

[7] 1 John 3:1a (NET)

[8] 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NET)

[9] Romans 7:20 (NET)

[10] Romans 9:18 (NET)

[11] 1 John 3:18 (NET)

[12] Romans 3:22a (NET)

[13] John 3:21b (NET)

[14] Philippians 2:13 (NET)