Tag Archives: John 3:16-18

Westworld, Part 3

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“What is a person but a collection of choices?” the Man in Black (Ed Harris) asks rhetorically.  “Where do those choices come from?  Do I have a choice?  Were any of these choices ever truly mine to begin with?”[1]

The Man in Black had cut himself off from the guidebook for the real world, the knowledge of God revealed in the Bible.  He did not believe all that [God] had made…was very good.[2]  He did not believe what happened to humankind when the first people rejected God’s word for the serpent’s (Genesis 3:1-7 NET).

Now the serpent was shrewder than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” [Table]  The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”  The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die [Table], for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” [Table].  When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it.  She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves [Table].

[S]in entered the world through one man, Paul explained, and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned.[3]  Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him,[4] You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.[5]  Granted, it’s all too easy for Gentiles to believe that Jews are from [their] father the devil.  It takes us a little longer to realize that Jews are Everyman in the Gospel narratives.

The Man in Black despite cutting himself off from the knowledge of God revealed in the Bible recognized the effect of being from his father the devil.  His wife Juliet (Sela Ward) asked him to tell her one true thing.  Thinking she was passed out drunk, he confessed:

No one else sees it: this thing in me.  Even I didn’t see it at first.  And then one day, it was there: a stain I had never noticed before, tiny fleck of darkness…invisible to everyone.  Yet, I could see nothing else, ‘til finally I understood that the darkness wasn’t some mark from something I’d done, or some regrettable decision I’d made.  I was shedding my skin.  The darkness was what was underneath.  It was mine all along.  And I decided how much of it I let into the world.  I tried to do right.  I was faithful, generous…kind, at least in this world.  That has to count for something, right?[6]

The Man in Black didn’t believe that [w]e are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in [God’s] sight.[7]  The Man in Black didn’t believe God.  And so a confession that may seem like the prelude to receiving God’s salvation through Jesus Christ turns hollow and bitter as he fulfills the rest of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 64:6b, 7 NET):

We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.  No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you.  For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins [Table].

The Man in Black’s confession to his wife continued:

I built a wall and tried to protect you and Emily.  But you saw right through it, didn’t you?  You’re the only one.  And for that I am truly sorry.  Because…everything you feel is true.  I don’t belong to you or this world.  I belong to another world.  I always have.[8]

He refers here to Westworld.   What follows is a spoiler for the first season.  The “gee whiz” factor of this particular plot twist is far outweighed in my opinion by the benefit of having a temporal landmark to recognize the first season’s double helix story arc: The Man in Black (Ed Harris) is William (Jimmi Simpson) older.

He explains to Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood):

Black William: Remember, you’re the one who said this is the only world that matters, and you were right.  So, I took your advice and I bought this world.

Dolores: This world doesn’t belong to you.

Black William: Oh, but it does by a majority share.  And business is booming.  And you wanna know why?  Because this place feels more real than the real world.[9]

I don’t mean to imply that a fictional character was influenced by the devil.  It was the true-to-life crafting of this character (among others) as written and acted that caught my attention in the first place, how well his words and actions displayed the same inner turmoil revealed in the Bible.

“I’m a god,” Black William (Ed Harris) tells Teddy (James Marsden), “titan of industry, philanthropist, family man, married to a beautiful woman, father to a beautiful daughter.  I’m the good guy…”

Teddy: Did you hurt them, too?

Black William: Never.  They never saw anything like the man I am in here.  But she knew anyway.  She said if I stacked up all my good deeds, it was just an elegant wall I built to hide what’s inside from everyone, and from myself.[10]

William oversaw the implementation of a program to use the technology of Westworld to create a sinister imitation of eternal life for his dead Father-in-law Jim (Peter Mullan), a virtual immortality that leaves the sin nature “alive” and fully functioning, cynically called “fidelity.”  But the android facsimiles of Jim all went insane eventually.  Black William explains to his latest facsimile:

Another year or two, they might crack it, get a version of you that’s viable long-term.  But the thing is, we’re not so sure anymore.  I’m beginning to think that this whole enterprise was a mistake.  People aren’t meant to live forever….World is better off without you, Jim.  Possibly without me….Now, took me a long time to learn this, but some men are better off dead.[11]

It struck me how close and how far William was from the truth.  For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God, Paul wrote to believing Galatians.  I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.[12]

Paul didn’t think of this blessing as something exclusively for him alone.  He explained in some detail how all men and women are “better off dead” to sin (Romans 6:1-7 NET):

What shall we say then?  Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? [Table]  Absolutely not!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.

For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.  We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)

None of this meant anything to Black William.  He was obsessed with his own creation.  Though he claims that Westworld “feels more real than the real world,” he also acknowledges to Dolores that “it isn’t because you can’t really fight back and the guests can’t really lose, which means all this is a lie.  But we can make it true.  Don’t you want that, Dolores, one true thing?”[13]

The devil isn’t the only one impacting people’s choices in the real world.  And perhaps I should make it explicit that I mean the real world, not the fictional “real world” of Westworld (John 3:16-18 NET).

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him [Table].  The one who believes in him is not condemned.  The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

True to form I misunderstood Jesus’ words translated into English.  I thought the way God loved the world was to send his one and only Son to be the ultimate Shibboleth of eternal consequence (Judges 12:5, 6 NET):

The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Ephraim.  Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?”  If he said, “No,” then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’”  If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan.  On that day 42,000 Ephraimites fell dead.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him,[14] sounded like fairly typical CYA language.  God washed his hands, as it were, and said, “I am innocent of [your] blood.  You take care of it yourselves!”[15]  Clearly, I did not believe that God is holy.

My Pastor described the holiness of God in a sermon:[16]

Well, holiness is a very complex idea within Scripture, a very rich idea within Scripture.  It describes the perfection of moral purity.  It describes the perfection of goodness.  It also describes the magnificent otherness of God: That He is not like us, that his nature, his character is greater, bigger, different than anything else within creation.  That He is separate from creation, over creation, more significant, more important, better than creation.  All these ideas are consumed within this idea of God’s holiness.

My diminished view of God went hand in hand with my diminished view of his salvation: that He had very little to do with salvation, practically speaking.  Salvation had everything to do with the individual who believed, or claimed to believe.  But Jesus’ saying—No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws (ἑλκύσῃ, a form of ἑλκύω) him[17] called my do-it-yourself salvation into serious question.

The Greek words translated to condemn and should be saved in John 3:17 above were κρίνῃ and σωθῇ respectively.  Both are verbs in the subjunctive mood: “The subjunctive mood indicates probability or objective possibility.  The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances.”  So, technically, κρίνῃ should have been translated “that he should condemn” or judge rather than as an infinitive to condemn.  But the definition of the subjunctive mood continues:

However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him, is quite clearly both the purpose and the result of, For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  In other words, that God will not condemn the world but save the world is predicated upon the love of God and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.  It is about as certain as anything can be expressed in Koine Greek.

Jesus said: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth (he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die[18]), will draw (ἑλκύσω, another form of ἑλκύω) all people to myself.[19]  This powerful drawing, pulling, dragging is a promise made by the Son of God.  It, too, is about as certain as anything can be expressed in Koine Greek.  And it impacts our choices in the real world.

The question for any individual doesn’t boil down to some internal inventory: what do I believe? can I believe?  Count on God to supply the requisite faith.  The question becomes: will I quit listening to the devil?  Am I done yet hurting [myself] by kicking against the goads?[20]

Tables comparing Genesis 3:2; 3:3; 3:6; Isaiah 64:6; Judges 12:5 and 12:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Genesis 3:2; 3:3; 3:6; Isaiah 64:6; Judges 12:5 and 12:6 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Genesis 3:2 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:2 (KJV)

Genesis 3:2 (NET)
And the woman said unto the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;

Genesis 3:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ὄφει ἀπὸ καρποῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου φαγόμεθα καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ὄφει· ἀπὸ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου φαγούμεθα,

Genesis 3:2 (NETS)

Genesis 3:2 (English Elpenor)
And the woman said to the snake, “We shall eat of the fruit of the tree of the orchard, And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,

Genesis 3:3 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:3 (KJV)

Genesis 3:3 (NET)
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G-d hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”

Genesis 3:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπὸ δὲ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου εἶπεν ὁ θεός οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ ἅψησθε αὐτοῦ ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνητε ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου, εἶπεν ὁ Θεός, οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, οὐ δὲ μὴ ἅψησθε αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνητε

Genesis 3:3 (NETS)

Genesis 3:3 (English Elpenor)
but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard, God said, ‘You shall not eat of it nor shall you even touch it, lest you die.’” but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Genesis 3:6 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 3:6 (KJV)

Genesis 3:6 (NET)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it.  She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

Genesis 3:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστὸν τοῗς ὀφθαλμοῗς ἰδεῗν καὶ ὡραῗόν ἐστιν τοῦ κατανοῆσαι καὶ λαβοῦσα τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς μετ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ ἔφαγον καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνή, ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν καὶ ὡραῖόν ἐστι τοῦ κατανοῆσαι, καὶ λαβοῦσα ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγε· καὶ ἔδωκε καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς μετ᾿ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔφαγον

Genesis 3:6 (NETS)

Genesis 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful to contemplate, and when she had taken of its fruit she ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and they ate. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate.

Isaiah 64:6 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 64:6 (KJV)

Isaiah 64:6 (NET)
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.  We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.

Isaiah 64:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 64:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐγενήθημεν ὡς ἀκάθαρτοι πάντες ἡμεῗς ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν καὶ ἐξερρύημεν ὡς φύλλα διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν οὕτως ἄνεμος οἴσει ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐγενήθημεν ὡς ἀκάθαρτοι πάντες ἡμεῖς, ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν· καὶ ἐξερρύημεν ὡς φύλλα διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν, οὕτως ἄνεμος οἴσει ἡμᾶς

Isaiah 64:6 (NETS)

Isaiah 64:6 (English Elpenor)
And we have all become like unclean people; all our righteousness is like the rag of a woman who sits apart.  And we have fallen off like leaves because of our acts of lawlessness; thus the wind will take us away. and we are all become as unclean, and all our righteousness as a filthy rag: and we have fallen as leaves because of our iniquities; thus the wind shall carry us [away].

Judges 12:5 (Tanakh)

 Judges 12:5 (KJV)

Judges 12:5 (NET)
And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite?  If he said, Nay; And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite?  If he said, Nay; The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?”  If he said, “No,”

Judges 12:5 (Septuagint BLB)

Judges 12:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προκατελάβοντο ἄνδρες Γαλααδ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ Ιορδάνου τοῦ Εφραιμ καὶ ἐγενήθη ὅτι εἶπαν οἱ διασεσῳσμένοι τοῦ Εφραιμ διαβῶμεν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῗς οἱ ἄνδρες Γαλααδ μὴ ὑμεῗς ἐκ τοῦ Εφραιμ καὶ εἶπαν οὔκ ἐσμεν καὶ προκατελάβετο Γαλαὰδ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου τοῦ ᾿Εφραίμ, καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς οἱ διασωζόμενοι ᾿Εφραίμ· διαβῶμεν, καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς οἱ ἄνδρες Γαλαάδ· μὴ ᾿Εφραθίτης εἶ; καὶ εἶπεν· οὔ

Judges 12:5 (NETS)

Judges 12:5 (English Elpenor)
And the men of Galaad quickly seized the fords of the Jordan of Ephraim.  And it came about that the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let us pass over,” and the men of Galaad said to them, “Are you not from Ephraim?”  And they said, “We are not.” And Galaad took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim; and they that escaped of Ephraim said to them, Let us go over: and the men of Galaad said, Art thou an Ephrathite? and he said, No.

Judges 12:6 (Tanakh)

 Judges 12:6 (KJV)

Judges 12:6 (NET)
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’”  If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan.  On that day 42,000 Ephraimites fell dead.

Judges 12:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Judges 12:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῗς εἴπατε δὴ σύνθημα καὶ οὐ κατηύθυναν τοῦ λαλῆσαι οὕτως καὶ ἐπελάβοντο αὐτῶν καὶ ἔσφαξαν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐξ Εφραιμ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ δύο τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάδες καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· εἶπον δὴ Στάχυς· καὶ οὐ κατεύθυνε τοῦ λαλῆσαι οὕτως. καὶ ἐπελάβοντο αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔθυσαν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου, καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἀπὸ ᾿Εφραὶμ δύο καὶ τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάδες

Judges 12:6 (NETS)

Judges 12:6 (English Elpenor)
And they said to them, “Then say: Password,” and they did not keep straight so as to say it like that.  And they seized them and slew them at the fords of the Jordan.  And forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell at that time. Then they said to him, Say now Stachys; and he did not rightly pronounce it so: and they took him, and slew him at the fords of Jordan; and there fell at that time of Ephraim two and forty thousand.

[1] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”

[2] Genesis 1:31a (NET) Table

[3] Romans 5:12 (NET)

[4] John 8:31a (NET)

[5] John 8:44a (NET) Table

[6] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”

[7] Isaiah 64:6a (NET)

[8] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”

[9] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 10, “The Bicameral Mind”

[10] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 8, “Trace Decay”

[11] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 4, “The Riddle of the Sphinx”

[12] Galatians 2:19, 20 (NET)

[13] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 10, “The Bicameral Mind”

[14] John 3:17 (NET)

[15] Matthew 27:24b (NET) Table

[16] Adam Sanftner, Covenant Bible Church, Farmington MO 63640, August 15, 2021

[17] John 6:44a (NET) Table

[18] John 12:33 (NET)

[19] John 12:32 (NET)

[20] Acts 26:14 (NET) Table

A Door of Hope, Part 1

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The essay Jedidiah, Part 1 was written days before I began to compare Old Testament quotations in the New Testament to the Septuagint, and years before I checked all of the Masoretic text against the Septuagint.  I thought of Achan’s confession as the door or opportunity of/for hope promised in Hosea, and related it to John’s letter (1 John 1:5-2:2 NET Table):

Now this is the gospel (NET note 13) message (NET note 14) we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.  But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess (ὁμολογῶμεν, a form of ὁμολογέω) our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

(My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.)  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, and he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.

Revisiting the essay to make Old Testament comparison tables I discovered that the Septuagint was a bit different.

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Hosea 2:15 (Tanakh) Hosea 2:15 (NET) Hosea 2:15 (NETS)

Hosea 2:17 (Elpenor English)
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the “Valley of Trouble” into an “Opportunity for Hope.”  There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt. And from there I will give her her estates and the valley of Achor, to open up her understanding.  And there she will be brought low as in the days of her infancy and as in the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt. And I will give her possessions from thence, and the valley of Achor to open her understanding: and she shall be afflicted there according to the days of her infancy, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.

As I began the word studies for this essay I heard a sermon (Hebrews 6:4-6 NET):

For it is impossible (Ἀδύνατον, a form of ἀδύνατος) in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.

The preacher wanted to comfort his hearers, persuading them they were not of this kind.  He described the kind of person the writer intended.  It was a fairly accurate description of my life, except that I can’t recall having tasted…the miracles of the coming age before I became an atheist.  I realized, especially in retrospect, that the Holy Spirit wanted to focus my attention on the fact that I had been renewed again to repentance, but I began to wonder if that renewal might be suspect.

I imagined standing before Jesus.  He determined that for the sake of the veracity of Hebrews 6:4-6 it would be best if I spent eternity in the lake of fire.  I was disappointed but willing that his word be true: Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail[1] when you are judged.”[2]  That reaction, so uncharacteristic of the old human (παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον; Ephesians 4:22-24), calmed my suspicions about my renewed repentance for the moment.  I also recalled, but didn’t study, for God all things are possible.  I will consider it more thoroughly here (Matthew 19:23-26 NET):

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!  Again I say, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”  The[3] disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and said, “Then who can be saved?”  Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible (ἀδύνατον, a form of ἀδύνατος) for mere humans, but for God all things are[4] possible (δυνατά, a form of δυνατός).”

And again (Mark 10:27 NET):

Jesus[5] looked at them and replied, “This is impossible (ἀδύνατον, a form of ἀδύνατος) for mere humans, but not for God;[6] all things are[7] possible (δυνατὰ, a form of δυνατός) for God.”

Though my main concern is the contrast between human ἀδύνατον and God’s δυνατὰ, I’ll consider the context here a moment.  My Dad told me the story of a small night gate in Jerusalem called “The Needle’s Eye,” but he never showed me any pictures of it.  The NET note (32) explained:

The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle. (Although the story of a small gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” has been widely circulated and may go back as far as the middle ages, there is no evidence that such a gate ever existed.) Jesus was saying rhetorically that it is impossible for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom, unless God (v. 26) intervenes.

The difficulty a camel would have passing through The Needle’s Eye—“stooped and…its baggage removed”—reinforces Jesus’ point about divesting oneself of (excess?) possessions (ὑπάρχοντα), while the fantastical image of a camel passing through the eye of a sewing needle distracts the rich (and anyone else) from taking Him seriously.  Others disagree.  But no one of means wants to hear, If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the[8] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.[9]  Then come, follow me.[10]

Anyway, I left on a road trip without studying the problem that nagged at me directly.  As I drove I began to think about the preacher who taught on Hebrews 6:4-6.  In another sermon he had made a fairly serious interpretation mistake, making his own point rather than that of the Scripture.  My mind began to argue against his right to confront me with Hebrews 6:4-6.  I turned on the radio to drown out my thoughts.  Aside from being unloving and unkind, ad hominem arguments aren’t an effective bolster to faith.

What little time I had for study I devoted to לפתח (pethach), translated διανοῖξαι (a form of διανοίγω) in the Septuagint (Table2 below).  I was a little embarrassed that it had just occurred to me to search forms of διανοίγω in the Septuagint to see what Hebrew words they translated in the Masoretic text.  I wanted to finish the table and move on.  The unattended challenge of Hebrews 6:4-6 continued to fester.

While the idea of spending eternity in the lake of fire was unpleasant, it was made bearable if I could face it with Jesus, sustained by his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  But I define the lake of fire as the place where the omnipresent God is not.  If Jesus ripped his Holy Spirit from me, though I wouldn’t be left with anything I care very much about, I realized in a long sleepless night that I really didn’t want to spend eternity there.  I began to question the nature and validity of my renewed repentance again.

In the morning it all seemed like a trick to get me frustrated or angry so I would run off, abandon Jesus and live in sin.  Heaven or hell aside, I want to be done with sin.  It’s not good for me or anyone around me.  I began to wonder if my renewed repentance was part of God’s eternal punishment for crucifying the Son of God for [myself] all over again and holding him up to contempt: He gave me this brief taste of eternal life only to snatch his Spirit away at the most inopportune moment.

I deserve it, no question about that, but it doesn’t sound like God to me (John 3:16-18 NET):

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his[11] one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his[12] Son into the world to condemn (κρίνῃ, a form of κρίνω) the world, but that the world should be saved through him.  The one who believes in him is not condemned (κρίνεται, another form of κρίνω).  The one who does not believe has been condemned (κέκριται, another form of κρίνω) already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

To think of God’s love (ἠγάπησεν, a form of ἀγαπάω) as primarily a feeling,[13] a kind of affection for the world, confuses the Scripture.  God’s feeling for the world is very clear from the beginning, in the Masoretic text (Table3 below) at least:[14] The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.[15]  Unlike the Billy Joel song God doesn’t pretend to “want you just the way you are.”[16]

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  He delivered us [who have faith in Christ Jesus] from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves (ἀγάπης, a form of ἀγάπη), in whom we have redemption,[17] the forgiveness of sins.[18]  For this is the way God loved the world: those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image (εἰκόνος, a form of εἰκών) of his Son,[19] that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.[20]  “Sit at my right hand,” He promised the Son he loves, “until I put your enemies under your feet”’?[21]  All of this is the grace of God received through faith, the faith (πίστις) that is an aspect of the fruit of his Holy Spirit; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.[22]

Jesus is the way God loved the world, not because of a positive emotion but because God is love (ἀγάπη).[23]  God (ἀγάπη) is patient, God (ἀγάπη) is kind, He is not envious.  God (ἀγάπη) 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.  He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  He (ἀγάπη) never ends.[24]  For this is the way God loved—and demonstrated his joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control[25] to—the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 

I had a week between work assignments.  It was more convenient to drive to my mother’s house than all the way back to my own home.  On the drive I began to wonder: if Jesus snatched his Spirit from me, would the new human (καινὸν ἄνθρωπον; Ephesians 4:22-24) cling to his Holy Spirit and bid the chaff of the old human godspeed and good riddance into the lake of fire?  I finally decided that this obsession with Jesus snatching his Holy Spirit from me needed to be confronted directly.  I planned to look into ἀδύνατον, the Greek word translated impossible in Hebrews 6:4, during the week I spent with my mother.

For God achieved what the law could not (ἀδύνατον, a form of ἀδύνατος) do, Paul wrote believers in Rome, because it was weakened (ἠσθένει, a form of ἀσθενέω) 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.[26]

In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible (ἀδύνατον, a form of ἀδύνατος) for God to lie.[27]

This proved to be the dull spot in my sword of the Spirit.  I was uncertain whether the infinitive ἀνακαινίζειν (to renew) was impossible for God as well as for human beings.  That’s why I had difficulty resting even as the Holy Spirit drew me back to the fact that I had been renewed to repentance.  But the writer of Hebrews was not shy about stating explicitly that something was impossible for God when the Holy Spirit meant that something was impossible for God.  What is impossible (ἀδύνατα, another form of ἀδύνατος) for mere humans, Jesus said according to Luke’s Gospel narrative, is possible (δυνατὰ, a form of δυνατός) for God.[28]

I’ll quote the final occurrences of ἀδύνατον for completeness: For it is impossible (ἀδύνατον, a form of ἀδύνατος) for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.[29]  Now without faith it is impossible (ἀδύνατον, a form of ἀδύνατος) to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.[30]

It would have been much easier to have taken the few moments this study required in the first place rather than face a week of nagging uncertainty.  I’ll trust that this essay will serve as a preface to the word studies to come in A Door of Hope.

Tables comparing Hosea 2:15 and Genesis 6:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Hosea 2:15 (2:17) and Genesis 6:6 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.  Following those are tables comparing Romans 3:4; Matthew 19:25, 26; 19:21; Mark 10:27; John 3:16, 17; Colossians 1:14 and 1 Corinthians 13:8 in the NET and KJV.

Hosea 2:15 (Tanakh)

 Hosea 2:15 (KJV)

Hosea 2:15 (NET)
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the “Valley of Trouble” into an “Opportunity for Hope.”  There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.

Hosea 2:15 (Septuagint BLB)

Hosea 2:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ δώσω αὐτῇ τὰ κτήματα αὐτῆς ἐκεῗθεν καὶ τὴν κοιλάδα Αχωρ διανοῗξαι σύνεσιν αὐτῆς καὶ ταπεινωθήσεται ἐκεῗ κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας νηπιότητος αὐτῆς καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἀναβάσεως αὐτῆς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ δώσω αὐτῇ τὰ κτήματα αὐτῆς ἐκεῖθεν καὶ τὴν κοιλάδα ᾿Αχὼρ διανοῖξαι σύνεσιν αὐτῆς, καὶ ταπεινωθήσεται ἐκεῖ κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας νηπιότητος αὐτῆς καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἀναβάσεως αὐτῆς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου.

Hosea 2:15 (NETS)

Hosea 2:17 (English Elpenor)
And from there I will give her her estates and the valley of Achor, to open up her understanding.  And there she will be brought low as in the days of her infancy and as in the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt. And I will give her possessions from thence, and the valley of Achor to open her understanding: and she shall be afflicted there according to the days of her infancy, and according to the days of her coming up out of the land of Egypt.

Genesis 6:6 (Tanakh)

 Genesis 6:6 (KJV)

Genesis 6:6 (NET)
And it repented HaShem that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended.

Genesis 6:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 6:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐνεθυμήθη ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἐποίησεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ διενοήθη καὶ ἐνεθυμήθη ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι ἐποίησε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ διενοήθη

Genesis 6:6 (NETS)

Genesis 6:6 (English Elpenor)
then God considered that he had made humankind on the earth, and he thought it over. then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered [it] deeply.

Romans 3:4 (NET)

Romans 3:4 (KJV)
Absolutely not!  Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.” God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
μὴ γένοιτο· γινέσθω δὲ ὁ θεὸς ἀληθής, πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης, |καθὼς| γέγραπται ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου καὶ νικήσεις ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαι σε μη γενοιτο γινεσθω δε ο θεος αληθης πας δε ανθρωπος ψευστης καθως γεγραπται οπως αν δικαιωθης εν τοις λογοις σου και νικησης εν τω κρινεσθαι σε μη γενοιτο γινεσθω δε ο θεος αληθης πας δε ανθρωπος ψευστης καθως γεγραπται οπως αν δικαιωθης εν τοις λογοις σου και νικησης εν τω κρινεσθαι σε

Matthew 19:25, 26 (NET)

Matthew 19:25, 26 (KJV)
The disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and said, “Then who can be saved?” When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ ἐξεπλήσσοντο σφόδρα λέγοντες· τίς ἄρα δύναται σωθῆναι ακουσαντες δε οι μαθηται αυτου εξεπλησσοντο σφοδρα λεγοντες τις αρα δυναται σωθηναι ακουσαντες δε οι μαθηται αυτου εξεπλησσοντο σφοδρα λεγοντες τις αρα δυναται σωθηναι
Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible.” But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐμβλέψας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τοῦτο ἀδύνατον ἐστιν, παρὰ δὲ θεῷ πάντα δυνατά εμβλεψας δε ο ιησους ειπεν αυτοις παρα ανθρωποις τουτο αδυνατον εστιν παρα δε θεω παντα δυνατα εστιν εμβλεψας δε ο ιησους ειπεν αυτοις παρα ανθρωποις τουτο αδυνατον εστιν παρα δε θεω παντα δυνατα εστιν

Matthew 19:21 (NET)

Matthew 19:21 (KJV)
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.” Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι, ὕπαγε πώλησον σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δὸς [τοῖς] πτωχοῖς, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, καὶ δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοι εφη αυτω ο ιησους ει θελεις τελειος ειναι υπαγε πωλησον σου τα υπαρχοντα και δος πτωχοις και εξεις θησαυρον εν ουρανω και δευρο ακολουθει μοι εφη αυτω ο ιησους ει θελεις τελειος ειναι υπαγε πωλησον σου τα υπαρχοντα και δος πτωχοις και εξεις θησαυρον εν ουρανω και δευρο ακολουθει μοι

Mark 10:27 (NET)

Mark 10:27 (KJV)
Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but not for God; all things are possible for God.” And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει· παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἀδύνατον, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ παρὰ θεῷ· πάντα γὰρ δυνατὰ παρὰ |τῷ| θεῷ εμβλεψας δε αυτοις ο ιησους λεγει παρα ανθρωποις αδυνατον αλλ ου παρα τω θεω παντα γαρ δυνατα εστιν παρα τω θεω εμβλεψας δε αυτοις ο ιησους λεγει παρα ανθρωποις αδυνατον αλλ ου παρα θεω παντα γαρ δυνατα εστιν παρα τω θεω

John 3:16, 17 (NET)

John 3:16, 17 (KJV)
For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ᾿ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον αυτου τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις αυτον μη αποληται αλλ εχη ζωην αιωνιον ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον αυτου τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις αυτον μη αποληται αλλ εχη ζωην αιωνιον
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ου γαρ απεστειλεν ο θεος τον υιον αυτου εις τον κοσμον ινα κρινη τον κοσμον αλλ ινα σωθη ο κοσμος δι αυτου ου γαρ απεστειλεν ο θεος τον υιον αυτου εις τον κοσμον ινα κρινη τον κοσμον αλλ ινα σωθη ο κοσμος δι αυτου

Colossians 1:14 (NET)

Colossians 1:14 (KJV)
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν εν ω εχομεν την απολυτρωσιν δια του αιματος αυτου την αφεσιν των αμαρτιων εν ω εχομεν την απολυτρωσιν δια του αιματος αυτου την αφεσιν των αμαρτιων

1 Corinthians 13:8 (NET)

1 Corinthians 13:8 (KJV)
Love never ends.  But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε πίπτει· εἴτε δὲ προφητεῖαι, καταργηθήσονται· εἴτε γλῶσσαι, παύσονται· εἴτε γνῶσις, καταργηθήσεται η αγαπη ουδεποτε εκπιπτει ειτε δε προφητειαι καταργηθησονται ειτε γλωσσαι παυσονται ειτε γνωσις καταργηθησεται η αγαπη ουδεποτε εκπιπτει ειτε δε προφητειαι καταργηθησονται ειτε γλωσσαι παυσονται ειτε γνωσις καταργηθησεται

[1] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had νικήσεις in the future tense and indicative mood here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had νικησης in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood (KJV: mightest overcome).  For reference purposes all agree on δικαιωθῇς (NET: will be justified; KJV: mightest be justified) in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood.

[2] Romans 3:4 (NET)

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

[4] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εστιν (KJV: is/are) repeated here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

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

[6] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article τω preceding God.  The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[7] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the verb of being εστιν here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[8] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the article τοῖς here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the plural οὐρανοῖς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the singular ουρανω.

[10] Mathew 19:21 (NET)

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

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

[13] When Jesus met Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, for the first time (Luke 7:36-50), He told his host, Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved (ἠγάπησεν, a form of ἀγαπάω) much; but the one who is forgiven little loves (ἀγαπᾷ, another form of ἀγαπάω) little (Luke 7:47 NET).  There is no way I can look at this story and say that the meaning of ἀγαπάω excludes the complex layering of emotions Mary felt, though Jesus focused primarily on what she did to him (Luke 7:44-46).  Crying over, kissing and anointing, Jesus’ feet may have flowed directly from Mary’s emotions, though Jesus said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (John 6:44a NET).

I thought my love and gratitude for Jesus’ salvation were supposed to lead to a life of obedience.  My love and gratitude weren’t up to the task.  His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, the fruit of his Holy Spirit, received by faith, is turning the tide.  His love [not my emotions] is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10b NET).  Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:20, 21 NET).

[14] The Septuagint is less clear (Table4 above).

[15] Genesis 6:6 (NET)

[16] “Just the Way You Are”

[17] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δια του αιματος αυτου (KJV: through his blood) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.  NET note 26.

[18] Colossians 1:13, 14 (NET)

[19] He is the image (εἰκὼν) of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… (Colossians 1:15 NET)

[20] Romans 8:29 (NET)

[21] Matthew 22:44b (NET) Table

[22] Ephesians 2:9 (NET)

[23] 1 John 4:8b (NET)

[24] 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NET)  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had πίπτει here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εκπιπτει (KJV: faileth).

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

[26] Romans 8:3, 4 (NET) Table

[27] Hebrews 6:17, 18 (NET) Table

[28] Luke 18:27 (NET)

[29] Hebrews 10:4 (NET) Table

[30] Hebrews 11:6 (NET)