Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 3

We got a reprieve on time, so this is the continuation of my notes from Chapter 4 in a preaching course I’m taking. Unless otherwise indicated all quotations are from the book:

Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, 3rd Edition by Bryan Chapell

Exercises

  1. Indicate how explanation, illustration, and application are used in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) and Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:2-25).

I left off with Matthew 5:48 (ESV) [Table]):

You therefore must be perfect (τέλειοι, a form of τέλειος), as your heavenly Father is perfect (τέλειος).

Where might a Wretched man [such as] I am,1 who finds it to be a law that when I want to do right (τὸ καλόν, a form of καλός; see Maximos), evil (τὸ κακὸν, a form of κακός) lies close at hand,2 find my heavenly Father’s perfection?

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do [Table].3

Walking by God’s Holy Spirit is the very place Jesus promised: I will come to you (John 14:16-18 KJV):

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

But how can a Wretched man [such as] I am,4 who finds it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand,5 learn to walk by the Holy Spirit of God? There is a potent hint hidden in plain sight in the words and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh6 (καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε, a form of τελέω in the subjunctive mood). The phrase οὐ μὴ τελέσητε is called a subjunctive of emphatic negation. Paul meant, walk by the Spirit and you will not, “at any moment or time in the future,” gratify (or, bring to maturity) the desires of the flesh.

If I am gratifying or bringing the desires of the flesh to maturity, I know that I am not then, and probably have not been for some time in the past, walking by the Spirit. Instead, I am, and probably have been for some time, attempting in practice to be my own god, my own savior, to have my own righteousness derived from the law prompted by the evil [that] lies close at hand. Paul’s words become a powerful guardrail and warning when I am not by trial-and-error walking by the Spirit. The fruit of God’s Holy Spirit is the positive indicator that I am by trial-and-error walking by the Spirit:

If Christ’s own love overwhelms the apathy and antipathy toward others (including God) that lies close at hand when I want to do right, I know that I am walking by the Spirit. If his joy burns through the despair, and his peace overcomes the fear and anger and anxiety that lies close at hand when I want to do right, I know that I am walking by the Spirit. When Jesus’ patience subdues the impatience with my circumstances, with others and with Him that lies close at hand when I want to do right, I know that I am walking by the Spirit. When his kindness and goodness trample the selfishness and self-centeredness that lies close at hand under my feet when I want to do right, I know that I am walking by the Spirit. When the faithfulness of God propels me through the lethargy, doubt, confusion and prompting to quit that lies close at hand when I want to do right, I know that I am walking by the Spirit. If Jesus’ gentleness stays the violence and aggression that lies close at hand when I want to do right, I know that I am walking by the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit’s self-control steels my heart against every prompting to evil that lies close at hand when I want to do right, I know that I am walking by the Spirit.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness7 before other people in order to be seen by them,”8 Jesus continued to draw those who would have a righteousness of their own derived from the law into the blessedness of the full knowledge of sin. He explained what they would forfeit: “for then you will have no9 reward from your Father who is in heaven.”10 He illustrated his warning with a specific application (Matthew 6:2 ESV):

Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites (οἱ ὑποκριταὶ, a form of ὑποκριτής) do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

These hypocrites were actors, the original meaning of ὑποκριτής, rather than those who act in “contradiction to” their “stated beliefs or feelings,” the modern meaning of the word. They did the action they claimed to believe. They gave to the needy but required an audience to do so. Doing good for others’ praise was not following the application Jesus gave to those who had gained knowledge of sin through the law: let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.11

Jesus demonstrated the goodness of God with the following application to actors or those who might follow the actors’ example, to draw them into the blessedness of full knowledge of sin (Matthew 6:3, 4 ESV):

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret12 will reward you.13

Can an actor, ὑποκριτής, learn from Jesus’ words and give in secret? My answer is, no, not and remain an actor. That motion, from wanting other people to think that one is righteous to wanting God to know that one is seeking righteousness, is an act of faith. One may still be trying to have a righteousness of one’s own that comes from the law,14 but there is a substantial difference between an actor who plays a doctor on TV and one trying to actually become a doctor.

At first, I didn’t even know that there is a righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness.15 I thought a righteousness of my own that comes from the law16 was the only game in town: justification by faith, sanctification by my own works was what I believed (and what I thought I was taught). I did believe that Jesus’ would help. It took some time for me to recognize that I was on my own, that Jesus refused to help me have my own righteousness derived from the law. He was always right there when I fell on my face. (It’s interesting that a metaphor for abject failure also describes a posture of worship.)

It took Him some time to persuade me that the righteousness of God [that] has been manifested apart from the lawthe righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe [Table]17 is real righteousness, not just a figment of Paul’s (or God’s) imagination, a righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness rather than my faithfulness, which wrought abject failure.

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites,”18 Jesus continued to demonstrate the goodness of God to actors and others who would have a righteousness of their own derived from the law, drawing them into the blessedness of knowledge of sin gained through the law. Jesus illustrated how actors pray (Matthew 6:5b ESV [Table]):

For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

Then He gave his listeners an application that could transform actors, and move any who attempted to have a righteousness of their own derived from the law one step closer to walking by the Spirit (Matthew 6:6 ESV):

But when you pray, go into your room19 and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.20

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do,”21 Jesus continued with another application. The Greek words translated the Gentiles were οἱ ἐθνικοί, a form of ἐθνικός. In the NET parallel Greek text and NA28 this was the same kind of contrast Jesus used when He said (Matthew 5:47, 48 ESV):

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles (οἱ ἐθνικοὶ) do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect [Table].

Here, He explained the error in the Gentiles’ thinking relative to a true knowledge of God: for they think that they will be heard for their many words [Table]. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.22 Then Jesus taught them to pray (Matthew 7:9-13 ESV; 7:13b NKJV).

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven [Table]. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors [Table]. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil [Table]. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Jesus taught them to address the only true God as Our Father ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς: literally, “the person who is in the heavens.” The Greek word translated hallowed be was ἁγιασθήτω, a passive form of the verb ἁγιάζω. In other words, his name is set apart, differentiated, consecrated, sanctified, declared holy, and perhaps most pertinent in this context in contrast to Gentiles: declared as special above all others. Gentiles worshiped stories that were at best fantastically embellished memories of long-dead tribal leaders. At worst such stories were open invitations to malevolent spirits (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20).

After recognizing the God to whom they prayed and their relationship to Him, Jesus’ next instruction was to pray according to God’s purposes on earth: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.23 God’s will (θέλημα) on earth was well understood by those who knew the law (Matthew 22:34-40 ESV):

But when the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him [Table]. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment [Table]. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” [Table].

Then Jesus instructed them to place themselves through prayer in complete dependence upon their heavenly Father for their physical and spiritual needs (Matthew 6:11-13a ESV):

Give us (ἡμῖν) this day our (ἡμῶν) daily bread, and forgive us (ἡμῖν) our (ἡμῶν) debts, as we (ἡμεῖς) also have forgiven our (ἡμῶν) debtors [Table]. And lead us (ἡμᾶς) not into temptation, but deliver us (ἡμᾶς) from evil [Table].

He did not teach them to pray for me, but for us with no specified limit. This is significantly different from a magical prayer where one seeks to use God to work one’s own will. Even as He instructed them what to pray, Jesus incorporated a reason for their complete dependence upon God into the very words He taught them: For Yours (σοῦ, a singular form of σύ in the genitive case; i.e., God’s) is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.24 Seeking a righteousness of one’s own derived from the law or others’ praise for such a “righteousness” is meaningless because of who God is in his holy otherness.

Then Jesus expanded one aspect of this dependence upon God: and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors25 (Matthew 6:14, 15 ESV):

For if you forgive others their trespasses (τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν), your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses [Table].

Such contingent forgiveness should alarm anyone seeking a righteousness of one’s own derived from the law, but again Jesus’ demonstrated, even as He described, the goodness of God, by drawing them into the blessedness of the full knowledge of sin through the law. The importance He placed on forgiving others’ trespasses may not have been immediately apparent from law alone, apart from Jesus’ explicit condition. But later, Paul explained (Romans 5:20, 21 ESV):

Now the law came in to increase the trespass (τὸ παράπτωμα), but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus’ instruction regarding forgiveness sounds a bit like “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy26 to me. I can essentially lift what I wrote elsewhere about being merciful:

While it makes sense that I will need [God’s forgiveness] as I hunger and thirst for a righteousness I do not yet possess, mourning in meekness over my spiritual poverty, while it only seems fair that I should [forgive] those around me suffering as I suffer, to actually [forgive others] seems like that very desire to do what is right that I lack the ability to carryout. Yet, there it sits in Jesus’ saying, a veritable impediment to my own need for [God’s forgiveness]. Do I give up in despair? Or do I see his grace all around me?

And the answer to this dilemma is the same: for it is God who works in [me], both to will and to work for his good pleasure.27 This leads me to another potential hint whether I am walking by the Spirit or not. It’s more personal than Scriptural, so it may or may not be helpful to others.

When I’m walking by the Spirit I take what I’ve called ordinary applications pretty much in stride as fair warnings: what God who works in [me], both to will and to work for his good pleasure is doing. When I’m not walking by the Spirit these very same ordinary applications, especially if presented in a preacher’s sermon, seem like heavy burdens. And my attitude toward that preacher mirrors what Jesus said about the scribes and the Pharisees28 (Matthew 23:4a ESV):

They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders…

There are several options to consider: (1) Was the sermon sloppy, failing to accentuate the grace of God? (2) Was I daydreaming and failed to hear the grace of God? (3) Was the evil that lies close at hand having more sway than usual when I want to do right, prompting me to return to my own vomit, tempting me to have a righteousness of my own derived from the law? Or, (4) had I already slipped back into my old ways of do-it-yourself righteousness and stepped away from walking by the Spirit? In any event, my own reaction prompts me to consider its source with the Lord, or ask Him straight out if my heart is too deep or dark or murky for me to see clearly into it.

“And when you fast,”29 Jesus continued to draw both actors and those who might follow actors into the blessedness of full knowledge of sin through the law with the following application: do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.30 And He expanded on this application with another (Matthew 6:17, 18 ESV):

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret.31 And your Father who sees in secret32 will reward you.33

Is the reward Jesus’ own joy (χαρὰ), the second aspect of the fruit of the Spirit? I’m not entirely comfortable positing any aspect of the fruit of the Spirit as an effect of obedience rather than its cause. But Jesus’ love for his Father flowing in and through one could cause the obedience while his joy flowed in superabundance as a result, like a positive feedback loop, or a snowball gaining mass and momentum as it rolls downhill. The exact dynamics, how God works in [one], both to will and to work for his good pleasure, may elude me until I see Him face-to-face. But that doesn’t inhibit me, or anyone else, from believing Him and receiving what He has promised. Faithfulness (πίστις) is another aspect of the fruit of his Spirit.

Jesus continued to draw his listeners into blessedness, but the treasure He spoke of seems to go even beyond the full knowledge of sin to Jesus Himself (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV):

“Do not lay up (θησαυρίζετε, a form of θησαυρίζω) for yourselves treasures (θησαυροὺς, a form of θησαυρός) on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up (θησαυρίζετε, a form of θησαυρίζω) for yourselves treasures (θησαυροὺς, a form of θησαυρός) in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your34 treasure (θησαυρός) is, there your35 heart will be also.

Paul described this treasure as the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5-7 ESV):

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine36 out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure (θησαυρὸν, another form of θησαυρός) in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Elsewhere he wrote that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ (Colossians 2:1-3 ESV):

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face [Table], that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures (θησαυροὶ, another form of θησαυρός) of wisdom and knowledge [Table].

To understand what Jesus said next one must remember the law. I’ll quote the law first.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Deuteronomy 15:7-10 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 15:7-10 (NET)

Deuteronomy 15:7-10 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 15:7-10 (English Elpenor)

If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which HaShem thy G-d giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition. Now if there is among you anyone of your brothers in need in one of your cities within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not rid your heart of love, neither shall you close up your hand from your needy brother. And if there shall be in the midst of thee a poor [man] of thy brethren in one of thy cities in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, neither shalt thou by any means close up thine hand from thy brother who is in want.
but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth. Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs. By opening, you shall open your hands to him; you shall lend a loan to him whatever he may need, in accord with what he needs. Thou shalt surely open thine hands to him, and shalt lend to him as much as he wants according to his need.
Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand’; and thine eye (עֵֽינְךָ֗) be evil (וְרָעָ֣ה) against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto HaShem against thee, and it be sin in thee. Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude (ʿayin, עינך) be wrong (rāʿaʿ, ורעה) toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be regarded as having sinned. Be careful to yourself, lest a secret word is in your heart, something lawless, saying, “The seventh year, a year of release, is near,” and your eye ( ὀφθαλμός σου) be evil (πονηρεύσηται) towards your needy brother, and you will not give to him, and he will cry out to the Lord against you, and it will be for you a great sin. Take heed to thyself that there be not a secret thing in thine heart, an iniquity, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, draws nigh; and thine eye ( ὀφθαλμός σου) shall be evil (πονηρεύσηται) to thy brother that is in want, and thou shalt not give to him, and he shall cry against thee to the Lord, and there shall be great sin in thee.
Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing HaShem thy G-d will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto. You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt. Giving you shall give to him, and you shall lend him a loan whatever he needs, and you shall not be grieved in your heart when you give to him, because through this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you may put your hand. Thou shalt surely give to him, and thou shalt lend him as much as he wants, according as he is in need; and thou shalt not grudge in thine heart as thou givest to him, because on this account the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works, and in all things on which thou shalt lay thine hand.

I might paraphrase the Lord here: “Be careful, when I want you to do right, evil lies close at hand.” And Jesus observed (Matthew 6:22, 23 ESV):

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

The Greek word translated healthy was ἁπλοῦς, a form of the adjective ἁπλόος: “single, single focused; sincere, without an ulterior motive; clear.” This is what Jesus contrasted to the bad or evil eye, ὀφθαλμός σου πονηρὸς (ESV: your eye is bad). The first definition of πονηρὸς listed in the Koine Greek Lexicon online is “evil.”

God’s solution to the problem of the evil that lies close at hand has always been that one walk by his Spirit. I’ve been slow to recognize this. My conceit, perhaps, over the indwelling Holy Spirit post-Pentecost (Acts 2) may help to explain my slowness. As Jesus promised the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, He would ask his Father to give to his disciples, He said to them (John 14:17b ESV [Table]):

You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Long before God’s Holy Spirit is in (ἐν) people, He dwells with (μένει, a form of μένω) them, drawing them into fellowship with God and into his righteousness. It’s so clear now, as I became an atheist, the Holy Spirit was right there with me, trying to persuade me that my evil eye “had the whole damn thing all wrong.”37 I wrote:

I remember entertaining the notion that God was trying to communicate to me through the words of this song. I even went back to the Bible to see if I could find what I had gotten “all wrong.” But the Bible said the same thing to me it always said: “God’ll getcha if you don’t watch out!”

That was my religion in a nutshell. I don’t necessarily mean my church or the things people at my church attempted to teach me: I mean the religion I believed in my heart when the light in me was darkness. I had nearly eighteen years of experience that God was unable or unwilling to do me much good. That hadn’t wrung any bells with me. I still believed in a god who could do me great harm, a god who needed to be placated but was mostly to be avoided at all costs. In other words, I worshiped an evil spirit, not because I had ever actually encountered one, but because the light in me was darkness.

In the movie Shooter Senator Charles F. Meachum (Ned Beatty) sneers, “The truth is what I say it is,” moments before another truth in the person of Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) ends the Senator’s life. I wrote:

The primary torment of Sartre’s hell in his play “No Exit” is not knowing for certain why, or if, one is there. Knowledge was the hardest thing to give up when I flirted with atheism. To accept that knowledge is either unattainable, or that the verdict of a jury of my peers (or even a cadre of knowledge elites) is the highest form of truth and justice, is a camel I can’t swallow.38

The One with the absolute power and authority to say honestly, “The truth is what I say it is,” is love and demands by law that people love Him and each other.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Deuteronomy 15:11 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 15:11 (NET)

Deuteronomy 15:11 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 15:11 (English Elpenor)

For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.’ There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land. For the needy shall not fail from the earth; I therefore command you to do this thing, saying, “By opening, you shall open your hands to your brother who is poor and to the needy in your land.” For the poor shall not fail off thy land, therefore I charge thee to do this thing, saying, Thou shalt surely open thine hands to thy poor brother, and to him that is distressed upon thy land.

And by grace God supplies the love He demands through his own Holy Spirit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love.39 Jesus concluded with a couple of observations and an explanation (Matthew 6:24 ESV [Table]):

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

And his application demonstrated God’s goodness in response to this fact (Matthew 6:25 ESV).

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or40 what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

He explained with a couple of illustrations, drawing his listeners into a richer knowledge of God (Matthew 6:26, 27 ESV):

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing?41 Jesus continued. And He explained with more illustrations of God’s goodness (Matthew 6:28b-30 ESV).

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:42 they neither toil43 nor spin,44 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Jesus summed up with an application and explanation that made another contrast to the practice of Gentiles versus the goodness of God (Matthew 6:31, 32 ESV):

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles (ἔθνη, a form of ἔθνος) seek after45 all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Jesus concluded this section of his sermon with an application, a promise of God’s provision, a final application with its explanation and an admonition to live one day at a time (Matthew 6:33, 34 ESV):

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ), and all these things will be added to you [Table].

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (κακία).

Jesus continued to demonstrate the goodness of God, drawing his listeners into the full knowledge of sin through the law, with the following application presented as a warning along with a reason as explanation: “Judge (κρίνετε, a form of κρίνω) not, that you be not judged (κριθῆτε, another form of κρίνω).”46 He followed this with another explanation (Matthew 7:2 ESV).

For with the judgment (κρίματι, a form of κρίμα) you pronounce (κρίνετε, a form of κρίνω) you will be judged (κριθήσεσθε, another form of κρίνω), and with the measure you use it will be measured to you [Table].

Jesus further illustrated this with two rhetorical questions, and then summed up the problem of human judgments with an application addressed directly to actors (Matthew 7:3-5 ESV):

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of47 your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Here again, if an actor heeded Jesus’ admonition to take the log out of [his] own eye, to acknowledge his own sin, he would cease to be an actor playing at righteousness and become one actually seeking righteousness, even if that were still a righteousness of his own from the law. In fact, anyone seeking to have [one’s] own righteousness derived from the law48 may have difficulty understanding Jesus’ command: Judge not. Judging others is the distinguishing feature that characterizes the religious mind.

Those who actually experience the truth of Paul’s words—it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure49—are synonymous with those seeking the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness.50 It is much more apparent to them to trust Christ’s faithfulness and God’s work in their brothers as well, to forgo their own judgments regarding their brothers. John wrote of Jesus (John 3:17 ESV):

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn (κρίνῃ, another form of κρίνω) the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him [Table].

Understanding this connection to Jesus’ teaching on judgment makes it possible to paraphrase that teaching: follow me.51 It helped me overcome my penchant to hear Jesus judging, condemning, berating or belittling people almost every time He opened his mouth, particularly when I was striving to have my own righteousness derived from the law.52 It helps me now to understand that Jesus did not encourage his listeners to prejudice in his next application (Matthew 7:6 ESV):

“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample53 them underfoot and turn to attack you.

This is probably best understood in the same way that Jesus said (Matthew 10:23 ESV):

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next,54 for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

At my most rabid and pig-headed my mother, brother and sister didn’t debate me. They loved me and they prayed. It wasn’t a fair fight at all. When Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,55 the Lord didn’t send Peter, James or John to confront him. He did it Himself (Acts 9). And Saul, by the grace of God and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ became Paul the apostle to the Gentiles, who penned by the Holy Spirit (Romans 9:16 ESV [Table]):

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

And (Romans 11:32 ESV):

For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

The Greek word ἐλεήσῃ (ESV: he may have mercy) is a form of ἐλεέω in the subjunctive mood. And the conjunction ἵνα (ESV: that) indicates that ἵνα τοὺς πάντας ἐλεήσῃ (ESV: that he may have mercy on all) is a purpose clause: “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.”56

Jesus continued to show the goodness of God with three applications explained by three promises, and then three illustrations of those three promises (Matthew 7:7, 8 ESV).

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Then Jesus illustrated God’s goodness by comparison and contrast to his listeners’ own care for their children (Matthew 7:9-11 ESV).

Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? [Table] If you then, who are evil (πονηροὶ, a form of πονηρός), know how to give good (ἀγαθὰ, a form of ἀγαθός) gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

“So whatever57 you wish that others would do to you,” Jesus’ summation was another application, “do also to them.”58 And He followed this summation with a reason as explanation: for this is the Law and the Prophets.59 Another application followed: Enter by the narrow gate.”60

Jesus had not yet been crucified: the way into the holy places is not yet opened.61 He had not risen from the dead. As He spoke these words there was no new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.62 The narrow gate (τῆς στενῆς πύλης) was the Law and the Prophets, what we know now as the Old Covenant. If one has ears to hear (not to mention a working knowledge of the letter to the Hebrews), Jesus’ explanation included a reason why the first covenant had [not] been faultless63 (Matthew 7:13b, 14 ESV).

For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many [Table]. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few [Table].

And the writer of Hebrews wrote (Hebrews 8:6-13 ESV):

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises [Table]. For if that first covenant had been faultless (ἄμεμπτος), there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” [Table].64

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

I would have been one of the many who failed to find the narrow gate through the Law and the Prophets when the Holy Spirit dwelt with me. I only began to understand from the Spirit-inspired writings of the apostle Paul (written after the Holy Spirit was in him) after the Holy Spirit was in me (Romans 8:3, 4 ESV).

For God has done what the law, weakened (ἠσθένει, a form of ἀσθενέω) by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation, Jesus said. The spirit indeed is willing (πρόθυμον, a form of πρόθυμος), but the flesh is weak (ἀσθενής).65 Dunderhead that I was, I heard Jesus’ observation as an admonition to strengthen the flesh, rather than an invitation to walk by the Spirit as He walked. The actual situation was that the flesh was all ready too powerful, too persistent, too dominant over my thoughts and actions, so that the Holy Spirit who dwelt with me had little to no sway in my life. No wonder Jesus turned my dunderhead to Paul’s words:

…in order that (ἵνα) the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled (πληρωθῇ, a form of πληρόω) in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The Greek word πληρωθῇ (a form of πληρόω), might be fulfilled (ESV), is in the subjunctive mood and ἵνα (ESV: in order that) makes this a result clause. In other words:

…in order that the righteous requirement of the law [is] fulfilled in us, who walk NOT according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit in me battles the flesh that weakens the law—flesh that is all ready too powerful, too persistent, too dominant over my thoughts and actions—Mano a Mano, so to speak. He will win in the end, and does so more often now than when He merely dwelt with me.

“Beware66 of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves,”67 Jesus warned. And He explained how to recognize them: You will recognize them by their fruits.68 He illustrated by reference to fruits and fruit trees, and concluded with a restatement of his premise (Matthew 7:16b-20 ESV).

Are grapes69 gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit (καρποὺς καλοὺς), but the diseased tree bears bad fruit (καρποὺς πονηροὺς). A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit (καρποὺς πονηροὺς), nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit (καρποὺς καλοὺς). Every tree that does not bear good fruit (καρπὸν καλὸν) is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus70 you will recognize them by their fruits.

The bad fruit (καρποὺς πονηροὺς) of the false prophets was to persuade people to be actors or to attempt to have a righteousness of their own derived from the law. And the good fruit (καρποὺς καλοὺς) would have been to bring them into the blessedness of the full knowledge of sin: poor in spirit,71 having the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out;72 mourning because when [they] want to do right, evil lies close at hand;73 the meek who hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, waiting for the Lord’s salvation.

Did Jesus condemn the false prophets to the lake of fire? He certainly said that fruit trees which bear no good fruit become useful as firewood. For Jesus’ attitude toward false prophets, I’ll turn to a true prophet (Ezekiel 33:11, 12 ESV).

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? [Table]

“And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins [Table].

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus warned any who thought to become worthy by their own works, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.74 And He explained with a prophecy foretelling the future (Matthew 7:22, 23 ESV):

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [Table] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Then they said to him, John recorded at another time and place, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”75 Did He mean that to believe in him whom he has sent was their work, their deed? This is the deed God requires—to believe (πιστεύητε, a form of πιστεύω in the subjunctive mood and present tense) in the one whom he sent (NET). But I notice that the NET translators treated πιστεύητε as an infinitive as they uncharacteristically ignored the subjunctive mood and either dropped the conjunction ἵνα or decided that it was to be understood as a hyphen here.

Or did Jesus mean to correct their premise as He answered their question? No, this is not your work. This is God’s work that (so that, in order that) you may believe in the one whom he sent. This is the work of God, that ye may believe (πιστευσητε, another form of πιστεύω in the subjunctive mood and aorist tense) in him whom He did send (YLT). Since faith as my own work led me to atheism, I clearly favor the latter understanding, where that ye may believe is the result of God’s work.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like76 a wise man who built his house on the rock,”77 Jesus concluded his sermon with a contrast. He explained this part of his contrast with an illustration, declared the opposite half of his contrast and explained that with the opposite of the same illustration (Matthew 7:25-27 ESV).

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on78 that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

And when Jesus finished79 these sayings, Matthew concluded, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their80 scribes.81

According to a note (12) in the NET, Paul alluded to Genesis 1:3 and Isaiah 9:2 in 2 Corinthians 4:6. Tables comparing the Greek of Paul’s allusions to that of the Septuagint follow.

2 Corinthians 4:6b (NET Parallel Greek Text)

Genesis 1:3b (Septuagint BLB) Table

Genesis 1:3b (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψει

γενηθήτω φῶς

γενηθήτω φῶς

2 Corinthians 4:6b (NET)

Genesis 1:3b (NETS)

Genesis 1:3b (English Elpenor)

Let light shine out of darkness

Let light come into being

Let there be light

2 Corinthians 4:6b (NET Parallel Greek Text)

Isaiah 9:2b (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 9:2b (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψει

φῶς λάμψει ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς (e.g., λαὸς πορευόμενος ἐν σκότει)

φῶς λάμψει ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς (e.g., λαὸς πορευόμενος ἐν σκότει)

2 Corinthians 4:6b (NET)

Isaiah 9:2b (NETS)

Isaiah 9:2b (English Elpenor)

Let light shine out of darkness

light will shine on you (e.g., O you people who walk in darkness)

a light shall shine upon you (e.g., O people walking in darkness)

Tables comparing Isaiah 9:2; Deuteronomy 15:7; 15:8; 15:9; 15:10 and 15:11 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Isaiah 9:2; Deuteronomy 15:7; 15:8; 15:9; 15:10 and 15:11 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 6:1; 6:4; 6:6; 6:18; 6:21; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Matthew 6:25; 6:28; 6:32; 7:4; 7:6; 10:23; 7:12; 7:15, 16; 7:20; 7:25 and 7:28, 29 in the KJV and NET follow.

Isaiah 9:2 (Tanakh)

Isaiah 9:2 (KJV)

Isaiah 9:2 (NET)

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.

Isaiah 9:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 9:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὁ λαὸς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐν σκότει ἴδετε φῶς μέγα οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς λάμψει ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐν σκότει, ἴδετε φῶς μέγα· οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου, φῶς λάμψει ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς

Isaiah 9:2 (NETS)

Isaiah 9:2 (English Elpenor)

O you people who walk in darkness, see a great light! O you who live in the country and in the shadow of death, light will shine on you! O people walking in darkness, behold a great light: ye that dwell in the region [and] shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you.

Deuteronomy 15:7 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 15:7 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 15:7 (NET)

If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which HaShem thy G-d giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition.

Deuteronomy 15:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 15:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐὰν δὲ γένηται ἐν σοὶ ἐνδεὴς τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου ἐν μιᾷ τῶν πόλεων σου ἐν τῇ γῇ ᾗ κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι οὐκ ἀποστέρξεις τὴν καρδίαν σου οὐδ᾽ οὐ μὴ συσφίγξῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου τοῦ ἐπιδεομένου ᾿Εὰν δὲ γένηται ἐν σοὶ ἐνδεὴς ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου ἐν μιᾷ τῶν πόλεών σου ἐν τῇ γῇ, ᾗ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι, οὐκ ἀποστέρξεις τὴν καρδίαν σου οὐδ᾿ οὐ μὴ συσφίγξῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου τοῦ ἐπιδεομένου

Deuteronomy 15:7 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 15:7 (English Elpenor)

Now if there is among you anyone of your brothers in need in one of your cities within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not rid your heart of love, neither shall you close up your hand from your needy brother. And if there shall be in the midst of thee a poor [man] of thy brethren in one of thy cities in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, neither shalt thou by any means close up thine hand from thy brother who is in want.

Deuteronomy 15:8 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 15:8 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 15:8 (NET)

but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth. But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs.

Deuteronomy 15:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 15:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἀνοίγων ἀνοίξεις τὰς χεῖράς σου αὐτῷ δάνειον δανιεῖς αὐτῷ ὅσον ἐπιδέεται καθ᾽ ὅσον ἐνδεεῖται ἀνοίγων ἀνοίξεις τὰς χεῖράς σου αὐτῷ καὶ δάνειον δανειεῖς αὐτῷ ὅσον ἐπιδέεται, καθότι ἐνδεεῖται

Deuteronomy 15:8 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 15:8 (English Elpenor)

By opening, you shall open your hands to him; you shall lend a loan to him whatever he may need, in accord with what he needs. Thou shalt surely open thine hands to him, and shalt lend to him as much as he wants according to his need.

Deuteronomy 15:9 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 15:9 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 15:9 (NET)

Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand’; and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto HaShem against thee, and it be sin in thee. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be regarded as having sinned.

Deuteronomy 15:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 15:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ μὴ γένηται ῥῆμα κρυπτὸν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ἀνόμημα λέγων ἐγγίζει τὸ ἔτος τὸ ἕβδομον ἔτος τῆς ἀφέσεως καὶ πονηρεύσηται ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου τῷ ἐπιδεομένῳ καὶ οὐ δώσεις αὐτῷ καὶ βοήσεται κατὰ σοῦ πρὸς κύριον καὶ ἔσται ἐν σοὶ ἁμαρτία μεγάλη πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ, μὴ γένηται ῥῆμα κρυπτὸν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ἀνόμημα λέγων· ἐγγίζει τό ἔτος τὸ ἕβδομον, ἔτος τῆς ἀφέσεως, καὶ πονηρεύσηται ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου τῷ ἐπιδεομένῳ, καὶ οὐ δώσεις αὐτῷ, καὶ καταβοήσεται κατὰ σοῦ πρὸς Κύριον, καὶ ἔσται ἐν σοὶ ἁμαρτία μεγάλη

Deuteronomy 15:9 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 15:9 (English Elpenor)

Be careful to yourself, lest a secret word is in your heart, something lawless, saying, “The seventh year, a year of release, is near,” and your eye be evil towards your needy brother, and you will not give to him, and he will cry out to the Lord against you, and it will be for you a great sin. Take heed to thyself that there be not a secret thing in thine heart, an iniquity, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, draws nigh; and thine eye shall be evil to thy brother that is in want, and thou shalt not give to him, and he shall cry against thee to the Lord, and there shall be great sin in thee.

Deuteronomy 15:10 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 15:10 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 15:10 (NET)

Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing HaShem thy G-d will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt.

Deuteronomy 15:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 15:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)

διδοὺς δώσεις αὐτῷ καὶ δάνειον δανιεῖς αὐτῷ ὅσον ἐπιδέεται καὶ οὐ λυπηθήσῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου διδόντος σου αὐτῷ ὅτι διὰ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο εὐλογήσει σε κύριος ὁ θεός σου ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔργοις καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν οὗ ἂν ἐπιβάλῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου διδοὺς δώσεις αὐτῷ καὶ δάνειον δανειεῖς αὐτῷ ὅσον ἐπιδέεται, καὶ οὐ λυπηθήσῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου διδόντος σου αὐτῷ, ὅτι διά τὸ ρῆμα τοῦτο εὐλογήσει σε Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔργοις καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν, οὗ ἂν ἐπιβάλῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου

Deuteronomy 15:10 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 15:10 (English Elpenor)

Giving you shall give to him, and you shall lend him a loan whatever he needs, and you shall not be grieved in your heart when you give to him, because through this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you may put your hand. Thou shalt surely give to him, and thou shalt lend him as much as he wants, according as he is in need; and thou shalt not grudge in thine heart as thou givest to him, because on this account the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy works, and in all things on which thou shalt lay thine hand.

Deuteronomy 15:11 (Tanakh)

Deuteronomy 15:11 (KJV)

Deuteronomy 15:11 (NET)

For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy poor and needy brother, in thy land.’ For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land.

Deuteronomy 15:11 (Septuagint BLB)

Deuteronomy 15:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)

οὐ γὰρ μὴ ἐκλίπῃ ἐνδεὴς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς διὰ τοῦτο ἐγώ σοι ἐντέλλομαι ποιεῖν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο λέγων ἀνοίγων ἀνοίξεις τὰς χεῖράς σου τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου τῷ πένητι καὶ τῷ ἐπιδεομένῳ τῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς σου οὐ γὰρ μὴ ἐκλίπῃ ἐνδεὴς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς σου. διὰ τοῦτο ἐγώ σοι ἐντέλλομαι ποιεῖν τὸ ρῆμα τοῦτο λέγων· ἀνοίγων ἀνοίξεις τὰς χεῖράς σου τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου τῷ πένητι καὶ τῷ ἐπιδεομένῳ τῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς σου

Deuteronomy 15:11 (NETS)

Deuteronomy 15:11 (English Elpenor)

For the needy shall not fail from the earth; I therefore command you to do this thing, saying, “By opening, you shall open your hands to your brother who is poor and to the needy in your land.” For the poor shall not fail off thy land, therefore I charge thee to do this thing, saying, Thou shalt surely open thine hands to thy poor brother, and to him that is distressed upon thy land.

Matthew 6:1 (NET)

Matthew 6:1 (KJV)

“Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 6:1 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:1 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:1 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Προσέχετε τὴν δικαιοσύνην ὑμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι αὐτοῖς· εἰ δὲ μή γε, μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς προσεχετε την ελεημοσυνην υμων μη ποιειν εμπροσθεν των ανθρωπων προς το θεαθηναι αυτοις ει δε μηγε μισθον ουκ εχετε παρα τω πατρι υμων τω εν τοις ουρανοις προσεχετε την ελεημοσυνην υμων μη ποιειν εμπροσθεν των ανθρωπων προς το θεαθηναι αυτοις ει δε μηγε μισθον ουκ εχετε παρα τω πατρι υμων τω εν τοις ουρανοις

Matthew 6:4 (NET)

Matthew 6:4 (KJV)

so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:4 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὅπως ᾖ σου ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ· καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι οπως η σου η ελεημοσυνη εν τω κρυπτω και ο πατηρ σου ο βλεπων εν τω κρυπτω αυτος αποδωσει σοι εν τω φανερω οπως η σου η ελεημοσυνη εν τω κρυπτω και ο πατηρ σου ο βλεπων εν τω κρυπτω αυτος αποδωσει σοι εν τω φανερω

Matthew 6:6 (NET)

Matthew 6:6 (KJV)

But whenever you pray, go into your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:6 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:6 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:6 (Byzantine Majority Text)

σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ, εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖον σου καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν σου πρόσευξαι τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ· καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι συ δε οταν προσευχη εισελθε εις το ταμιειον σου και κλεισας την θυραν σου προσευξαι τω πατρι σου τω εν τω κρυπτω και ο πατηρ σου ο βλεπων εν τω κρυπτω αποδωσει σοι εν τω φανερω συ δε οταν προσευχη εισελθε εις το ταμιειον σου και κλεισας την θυραν σου προσευξαι τω πατρι σου τω εν τω κρυπτω και ο πατηρ σου ο βλεπων εν τω κρυπτω αποδωσει σοι εν τω φανερω

Matthew 6:18 (NET)

Matthew 6:18 (KJV)

so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:18 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:18 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:18 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὅπως μὴ φανῇς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύων ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ· καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ ἀποδώσει σοι οπως μη φανης τοις ανθρωποις νηστευων αλλα τω πατρι σου τω εν τω κρυπτω και ο πατηρ σου ο βλεπων εν τω κρυπτω αποδωσει σοι εν τω φανερω οπως μη φανης τοις ανθρωποις νηστευων αλλα τω πατρι σου τω εν τω κρυπτω και ο πατηρ σου ο βλεπων εν τω κρυπτω αποδωσει σοι

Matthew 6:21 (NET)

Matthew 6:21 (KJV)

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:21 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὅπου γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρός σου, ἐκεῖ ἔσται |καὶ| ἡ καρδία σου οπου γαρ εστιν ο θησαυρος υμων εκει εσται και η καρδια υμων οπου γαρ εστιν ο θησαυρος υμων εκει εσται και η καρδια υμων

2 Corinthians 4:6 (NET)

2 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV)

For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 Corinthians 4:6 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 Corinthians 4:6 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ὁ εἰπών· ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψει, ὃς ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν πρὸς φωτισμὸν τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ [Ἰησοῦ] Χριστοῦ οτι ο θεος ο ειπων εκ σκοτους φως λαμψαι ος ελαμψεν εν ταις καρδιαις ημων προς φωτισμον της γνωσεως της δοξης του θεου εν προσωπω ιησου χριστου οτι ο θεος ο ειπων εκ σκοτους φως λαμψαι ος ελαμψεν εν ταις καρδιαις ημων προς φωτισμον της γνωσεως της δοξης του θεου εν προσωπω ιησου χριστου

Matthew 6:25 (NET)

Matthew 6:25 (KJV)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Matthew 6:25 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:25 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:25 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν· μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν τί φάγητε [ τί πίητε], μηδὲ τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν τί ἐνδύσησθε. οὐχὶ ἡ ψυχὴ πλεῖον ἐστιν τῆς τροφῆς καὶ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἐνδύματος δια τουτο λεγω υμιν μη μεριμνατε τη ψυχη υμων τι φαγητε και τι πιητε μηδε τω σωματι υμων τι ενδυσησθε ουχι η ψυχη πλειον εστιν της τροφης και το σωμα του ενδυματος δια τουτο λεγω υμιν μη μεριμνατε τη ψυχη υμων τι φαγητε και τι πιητε μηδε τω σωματι υμων τι ενδυσησθε ουχι η ψυχη πλειον εστιν της τροφης και το σωμα του ενδυματος

Matthew 6:28 (NET)

Matthew 6:28 (KJV)

Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

Matthew 6:28 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:28 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:28 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ περὶ ἐνδύματος τί μεριμνᾶτε; καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνουσιν· οὐ κοπιῶσιν οὐδὲ νήθουσιν και περι ενδυματος τι μεριμνατε καταμαθετε τα κρινα του αγρου πως αυξανει ου κοπια ουδε νηθει και περι ενδυματος τι μεριμνατε καταμαθετε τα κρινα του αγρου πως αυξανει ου κοπια ουδε νηθει

Matthew 6:32 (NET)

Matthew 6:32 (KJV)

For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

Matthew 6:32 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 6:32 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 6:32 (Byzantine Majority Text)

πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα τὰ ἔθνη ἐπιζητοῦσιν· οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ὅτι χρῄζετε τούτων ἁπάντων παντα γαρ ταυτα τα εθνη επιζητει οιδεν γαρ ο πατηρ υμων ο ουρανιος οτι χρηζετε τουτων απαντων παντα γαρ ταυτα τα εθνη επιζητει οιδεν γαρ ο πατηρ υμων ο ουρανιος οτι χρηζετε τουτων απαντων

Matthew 7:4 (NET)

Matthew 7:4 (KJV)

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Matthew 7:4 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἢ πῶς ἐρεῖς τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου· ἄφες ἐκβάλω τὸ κάρφος ἐκ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ σου, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ δοκὸς ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ σοῦ η πως ερεις τω αδελφω σου αφες εκβαλω το καρφος απο του οφθαλμου σου και ιδου η δοκος εν τω οφθαλμω σου η πως ερεις τω αδελφω σου αφες εκβαλω το καρφος απο του οφθαλμου σου και ιδου η δοκος εν τω οφθαλμω σου

Matthew 7:6 (NET)

Matthew 7:6 (KJV)

Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Matthew 7:6 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:6 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:6 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσὶν μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν καὶ στραφέντες ρήξωσιν ὑμᾶς μη δωτε το αγιον τοις κυσιν μηδε βαλητε τους μαργαριτας υμων εμπροσθεν των χοιρων μηποτε καταπατησωσιν αυτους εν τοις ποσιν αυτων και στραφεντες ρηξωσιν υμας μη δωτε το αγιον τοις κυσιν μηδε βαλητε τους μαργαριτας υμων εμπροσθεν των χοιρων μηποτε καταπατησωσιν αυτους εν τοις ποσιν αυτων και στραφεντες ρηξωσιν υμας

Matthew 10:23 (NET)

Matthew 10:23 (KJV)

Whenever they persecute you in one town, flee to another! I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

Matthew 10:23 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 10:23 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 10:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Ὅταν δὲ διώκωσιν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ, φεύγετε εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν· ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ τελέσητε τὰς πόλεις |τοῦ| Ἰσραὴλ ἕως |ἂν| ἔλθῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οταν δε διωκωσιν υμας εν τη πολει ταυτη φευγετε εις την αλλην αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν ου μη τελεσητε τας πολεις του ισραηλ εως αν ελθη ο υιος του ανθρωπου οταν δε διωκωσιν υμας εν τη πολει ταυτη φευγετε εις την αλλην αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν ου μη τελεσητε τας πολεις του ισραηλ εως αν ελθη ο υιος του ανθρωπου

Matthew 7:12 (NET)

Matthew 7:12 (KJV)

In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Matthew 7:12 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Πάντα οὖν ὅσα ἐὰν θέλητε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς· οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται παντα ουν οσα αν θελητε ινα ποιωσιν υμιν οι ανθρωποι ουτως και υμεις ποιειτε αυτοις ουτος γαρ εστιν ο νομος και οι προφηται παντα ουν οσα αν θελητε ινα ποιωσιν υμιν οι ανθρωποι ουτως και υμεις ποιειτε αυτοις ουτος γαρ εστιν ο νομος και οι προφηται

Matthew 7:15, 16 (NET)

Matthew 7:15, 16 (KJV)

“Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 7:15 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν, οἵτινες ἔρχονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύμασιν προβάτων, ἔσωθεν δέ εἰσιν λύκοι ἅρπαγες προσεχετε δε απο των ψευδοπροφητων οιτινες ερχονται προς υμας εν ενδυμασιν προβατων εσωθεν δε εισιν λυκοι αρπαγες προσεχετε δε απο των ψευδοπροφητων οιτινες ερχονται προς υμας εν ενδυμασιν προβατων εσωθεν δε εισιν λυκοι αρπαγες
You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Matthew 7:16 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνώσεσθε αὐτούς. μήτι συλλέγουσιν ἀπὸ ἀκανθῶν σταφυλὰς ἢ ἀπὸ τριβόλων σῦκα απο των καρπων αυτων επιγνωσεσθε αυτους μητι συλλεγουσιν απο ακανθων σταφυλην η απο τριβολων συκα απο των καρπων αυτων επιγνωσεσθε αυτους μητι συλλεγουσιν απο ακανθων σταφυλην η απο τριβολων συκα

Matthew 7:20 (NET)

Matthew 7:20 (KJV)

So then, you will recognize them by their fruit. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7:20 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἄρα γε ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνώσεσθε αὐτούς αραγε απο των καρπων αυτων επιγνωσεσθε αυτους αραγε απο των καρπων αυτων επιγνωσεσθε αυτους

Matthew 7:25 (NET)

Matthew 7:25 (KJV)

The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation had been laid on rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Matthew 7:25 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:25 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:25 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι καὶ προσέπεσαν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ οὐκ ἔπεσεν, τεθεμελίωτο γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν και κατεβη η βροχη και ηλθον οι ποταμοι και επνευσαν οι ανεμοι και προσεπεσον τη οικια εκεινη και ουκ επεσεν τεθεμελιωτο γαρ επι την πετραν και κατεβη η βροχη και ηλθον οι ποταμοι και επνευσαν οι ανεμοι και προσεπεσον τη οικια εκεινη και ουκ επεσεν τεθεμελιωτο γαρ επι την πετραν

Matthew 7:28, 29 (NET)

Matthew 7:28, 29 (KJV)

When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching, And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

Matthew 7:28 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:28 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:28 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς λόγους τούτους, ἐξεπλήσσοντο οἱ ὄχλοι ἐπὶ τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ και εγενετο οτε συνετελεσεν ο ιησους τους λογους τουτους εξεπλησσοντο οι οχλοι επι τη διδαχη αυτου και εγενετο οτε συνετελεσεν ο ιησους τους λογους τουτους εξεπλησσοντο οι οχλοι επι τη διδαχη αυτου
because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Matthew 7:29 (NET Parallel Greek)

Matthew 7:29 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Matthew 7:29 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἦν γὰρ διδάσκων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων καὶ οὐχ ὡς οἱ γραμματεῖς αὐτῶν ην γαρ διδασκων αυτους ως εξουσιαν εχων και ουχ ως οι γραμματεις ην γαρ διδασκων αυτους ως εξουσιαν εχων και ουχ ως οι γραμματεις

1 Romans 7:24a (ESV)

2 Romans 7:21 (ESV)

3 Galatians 5:16, 17 (ESV)

4 Romans 7:24a (ESV)

5 Romans 7:21 (ESV)

6 Galatians 5:16b (ESV)

8 Matthew 6:1a (ESV)

10 Matthew 6:1b (ESV)

11 Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

12 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτος (KJV: himself) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

13 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν τω φανερω (KJV: openly) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

14 Philippians 3:9b (ESV)

15 Philippians 3:9c (NET)

16 Philippians 3:9b (ESV)

17 Romans 3:21a, 22a (ESV)

18 Matthew 6:5a (ESV) Table

19 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ταμεῖον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ταμιειον (KJV: closet). These seem to be alternate spellings of the same part of speech.

20 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν τω φανερω (KJV: openly) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

21 Matthew 6:7a (ESV) Table

22 Matthew 6:7b, 8 (ESV)

23 Matthew 6:10 (ESV) Table

24 Matthew 6:13b (NKJV)

25 Matthew 6:12 (ESV) Table

26 Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

27 Philippians 2:13 (ESV) Table

28 Matthew 23:2 (ESV) Table

29 Matthew 6:16a (ESV) Table

30 Matthew 6:16b (ESV) Table

31 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the adjective κρυφαίῳ, a form of κρυφαῖος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the verb κρυπτω.

32 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the adjective κρυφαίῳ, a form of κρυφαῖος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the verb κρυπτω.

36 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had λάμψει here, a form of λάμπω in the indicative mood and future tense, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had λαμψαι (KJV: to shine), an infinitive in the aorist tense.

39 Galatians 5:22a (ESV)

41 Matthew 6:28a (ESV)

42 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had αὐξάνουσιν, a plural form of αὐξάνω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the singular αυξανει.

43 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had κοπιῶσιν, a plural form of κοπιάω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the singular κοπια.

44 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had νήθουσιν, a plural form of νήθω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the singular νηθει.

46 Matthew 7:1 (ESV)

47 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐκ (NET: from) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απο (KJV: out of).

48 Philippians 3:9a (NET)

49 Philippians 2:13 (ESV) Table

50 Philippians 3:9b (NET)

51 Matthew 16:24b (ESV)

52 Philippians 3:9a (NET)

53 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had καταπατήσουσιν (NET: they will trample) here, a form of καταπατέω in the indicative mood and future tense, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had καταπατησωσιν (KJV: they trample), in the subjunctive mood and either the present or aorist tense.

54 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἑτέραν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αλλην (KJV: another).

55 Acts 9:1 (ESV)

57 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὅσα ἐὰν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οσα αν (KJV: whatsoever).

58 Matthew 7:12a (ESV)

59 Matthew 7:12b (ESV)

60 Matthew 7:13a (ESV) Table

61 Hebrews 9:8b (ESV)

62 Hebrews 10:20b (ESV)

63 Hebrews 8:7a (ESV)

64 According to a note (24) in the NET the writer of Hebrews quoted from Jeremiah 31:31-34. Tables comparing the Greek of that quotation to the Septuagint are found in The New Covenant, Part 1.

65 Matthew 26:41 (ESV)

66 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (not translated in the KJV) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

67 Matthew 7:15 (ESV)

68 Matthew 7:16a (ESV)

69 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had σταφυλὰς, a plural form of σταφυλή here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the singular σταφυλην.

70 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἄρα γε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αραγε (KJV: Wherefore).

71 Matthew 5:3a (ESV)

72 Romans 7:18b (ESV) Table

73 Romans 7:21b (ESV)

74 Matthew 7:21 (ESV) Table

75 John 6:28, 29 (ESV) Table

77 Matthew 7:24 (ESV) Table

81 Matthew 7:28, 29 (ESV)

The Day of the Lord, Part 7

This is a continuation of my consideration whether my assumption that Jesus called Judas Iscariot υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας (NET: the one destined for destruction) is like Jesus’ disciples’ discussion about having no bread1 after He said: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”2 In another essay I began to look at John’s description of antichrist and many antichrists because Meyer’s NT Commentary stated that many of the Church Fathers had understood Paul’s description of the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, as the Antichrist.

I highlighted two things he wrote about their insights:3

They correctly agree in considering that by the advent (2 Thessalonians 2:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:8), or the day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2), is to be understood the personal advent of Christ for the last judgment and for the completion of the Messianic kingdom. Also it is correctly regarded as proved, that the Antichrist here described is to be considered as an individual person, in whom sin will embody itself.

Meyer’s NT Commentary continued to elaborate on the “view of the Fathers” regarding “the Antichrist…considered as an individual person” with the following caveat:

Meyer’s NT Commentary

Google Translate

Yet Augustin already remarks, that “nonnulli non ipsum principem, sed universum quodam modo corpus ejus i. e. ad eum pertinentem hominum multitudinem simul cum ipso suo principe hoc loco intelligi Antichristum volunt.” Yet Augustin already remarks, that “some, not the prince himself, but the whole world, in a certain way, his body i. e. The multitude of men belonging to him, together with their own leader, want to be understood in this place as Antichrist.”

Mr. Meyer cataloged many evolving views: “[T]he view, first in the eleventh century, that the establishment and growing power of the Papacy is to be considered as the Antichrist predicted by Paul,”4 is a familiar one. “Yet even before the reference of Antichrist to Popery was maintained, Mohammed[55] was already regarded by the divines of the Greek church…as the Antichrist predicted by Paul.”5

The power which restrained Antichrist evolved as well.

The restraining power by which the appearance of Antichrist is delayed, is usually considered [by the Church Fathers] to be the continuance of the Roman Empire (τὸ κατέχον) and its representative the Roman emperor ( κατέχων). Some, however, as Theodorus Mopsuestius and Theodoret, understand by it τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν ὅρον, i.e. more exactly, the counsel of God to keep back the appearance of Antichrist until the gospel is proclaimed throughout the earth…Chrysostom chooses a third interpretation, that by the restraining power is meant the continuance of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit…

In recent times it has often been considered as objectionable to determine exactly the individual traits of the imagery used by Paul. Accordingly the representation of the apostle has been interpreted in a general, ideal, or symbolical sense. To this class of interpreters belongs Koppe, according to whom Paul, founding on an old national Jewish oracle, supported especially by Daniel, would describe the ungodliness preceding the last day, which already worked, but whose full outbreak was only to take place after the death of the apostle; so that Paul himself was the κατέχων.[57]6

Meyer’s NT Commentary continued:

Meyer’s NT Commentary

Google Translate

Similarly Storr (l.c.), who understands by the ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας [man of sin] “potestas aliqua, deo omnique religioni adversaria, quae penitus incognita et futuro demum tempore se proditura sit,” and by the preventing power the “copia hominum verissimo amore inflammatorum in christianam religionem.” Similarly Storr (l.c.), who understands by the ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας [man of sin] “some power, hostile to God and to all religion, which is completely unknown and will betray itself in the future at the last time,” and by the preventing power the “a multitude of men inflamed with true love into the Christian religion.”

Other opinions were cited: “Nitzsch (l.c.) thinks on the power of atheism first come to have public authority, or the contempt of all religion generally.”7Pelt…sums up his views in the following words”:8

Meyer’s NT Commentary

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Mihi … adversarius illi principium esse videtur sive vis spiritualis evangelio contraria, quae huc usque tamen in Pontificiorum Romanorum operibus ac serie luculentissime sese prodidit, ita tamen, ut omnia etiam mala, quae in ecclesia compareant, ad eandem Antichristi ἐνέργειαν sint referenda. To me… it seems that the opposite principle is a spiritual force contrary to the gospel, which until now has revealed itself most clearly in the works and series of the Roman Pontiffs, so that even all the evils that appear in the church are to be referred to the same Antichrist ἐνέργειαν.
Ejus vero ΠΑΡΟΥΣΊΑ i. e. summum fastigium, quod Christi reditum qui nihil aliud est, nisi regni divini victoria,[59] antecedet, futurum adhuc esse videtur, quum illud tempus procul etiamnum abesse putemus, ubi omnes terrae incolae in eo erunt, ut ad Christi sacra transeant. Κατέχον vero cum Theodoreto putarim esse dei voluntatem illud Satanae regnum cohibentem, ne erumpat, et, si mediae spectantur causae, apostolorum tempore maxime imperii Romani vis, et quovis aevo illa resistentia, quam malis artibus, quae religionem subvertere student, privati commodi et honoris augendorum cupiditas opponere solet. But his ΠΑΡΟΥΣΊΑ i. e. the highest climax, which precedes the return of Christ, which is nothing else but the victory of the divine kingdom, [59] seems to be yet to come, since we think that time is still far off, when all the inhabitants of the earth will be there, to pass to the sacraments of Christ. Κατέχον, with Theodoretus, I think that it is the will of God restraining that kingdom of Satan, lest it break out, and, if we look at the middle causes, in the time of the apostles the power of the Roman government was especially strong, and in every age that resistance, which is usually opposed to the evil arts which seek to subvert religion, the desire to increase private advantage and honor.

According to [Pelt], the chief stress lies on ΤῸ ΜΥΣΤΉΡΙΟΝ ἬΔΗ ἘΝΕΡΓΕῖΤΑΙ Τῆς ἈΝΟΜΊΑς [literally: the mystery already working of lawlessness]. Antichrist is a union of the individuality and spiritual tendency in masses of individuals. The revolt of the Jews from the Romans, and the fearful divine punishment in the destruction of Jerusalem, Nero, Mohammed and his spiritual devastating power, the development of the Papacy in the Middle Ages, the French Revolution of 1789, with the abrogation of Christianity, and the setting up of prostitutes on altars for worship, in the external world, as well as the constantly spreading denial of the fundamentals of all religious truth and morality, of the doctrines of God, freedom, and immortality, and likewise the self-deification of the ego in the internal world,—all these phenomena are the real precursors of Antichrist; but they contain only some of his characteristics, not all; it is the union of all these characteristics which shall make the full Antichrist.9

Ultimately, though I found some of them illuminating, Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer rejected the views developed in recent times:

It is evident that all these explanations are arbitrary. The Pauline description is so definitely and sharply marked, and has for its whole compass so much the idea of nearness for its supposition, that it can by no means be taken generally, and in this manner explained away.

While I’m grateful to Mr. Meyer for painstakingly collecting all of these opinions in one place, I don’t intend to play guess the identity of Antichrist as an individual person. That game scatters in my opinion, rather than gathering with the Lord Jesus: and whoever does not gather (συνάγων, a form of συνέχω) with me scatters (σκορπίζει, a form of σκορπίζω),10 Jesus said. So, I want to approach it differently.

Matthew Poole’s summation from his Commentary of the difficulty of knowing “what whithholdeth” the revelation of the man of lawlessness was very accessible:

And now ye know what withholdeth: the apostle it seems had told them, as of his coming, so of what at present withheld the revealing of him. And what this was is difficult to know now, though it seems these Thessalonians knew it: there are many conjectures about it. This I shall say in general:
1. It was something that the apostle thought not safe openly to declare in writing; else he would not have written of it so obscurely.
2. It was both a thing, and a person; a thing, to katecon, in this verse, that which withholdeth; and a person, as in the next verse, o katecwn, he who letteth.
3. It was also such a thing and such a person as were to be removed out of the way, not totally, but as they were hinderances [sic] of this revelation.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible echoed Mr. Poole’s first point:

It is not known precisely what is referred to by the phrase “what withholdeth,” τὸ κατέχον to katechon. The phrase means properly, something that “holds back,” or “restrains”….Of this, the apostle says, they had had full information; but we can only conjecture what it was.

This seems to be a natural consequence of the assumption that Antichrist is an unknown individual from the future. Rather than assuming that Paul, the Holy Spirit and the New Testament are keeping something from us, I prefer to experiment with the idea that ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας or αμαρτιας (NET: the man of lawlessness; KJV: that man of sin [Table])11 and υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας (NET: the son of destruction; KJV: the son of perdition)12 are other words for οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία (NET: sin that lives in me; KJV: sin that dwelleth in me),13 τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης (NET: the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires; KJV: the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts),14 ἐμοὶ τὸ κακὸν παράκειται (NET/KJV: evilpresent with me)15 and σὰρξ (NET/KJV: the flesh).16 I’ll work backwards through this.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh (σὰρξ) is weak,17 Jesus said of disciples who both believed and followed Him. The Greek word translated willing was πρόθυμον (a form of πρόθυμος): “ready, willing, eager, predisposed.” The Greek word translated weak was ἀσθενής: “weak, powerless; weak and easily defeated; sick, ill, unhealthy; disabled, physically weak, feeble, miserable; morally weak; weak in influence, without influence; structurally weak (e.g., weak stones unable to support).” What is born of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σὰρξ) is flesh (σάρξ),18 He told Nicodemus; in other words, it is weak (ἀσθενής). And again, Jesus said to his disciples, The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature (σὰρξ) is of no help!19

Flesh (σὰρξ) and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,20 Paul wrote the Corinthians. He elaborated on this point in his letter to the Romans (Romans 8:1-8 NET):

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

For those who live according to the flesh (σάρκα) have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh (σαρκὸς), but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. For the outlook of the flesh (σαρκὸς) is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, because the outlook of the flesh (σαρκὸς) is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. Those who are in the flesh (σαρκὶ) cannot please God.

Prior to this, Paul had written, with my flesh (σαρκὶ, another form of σὰρξ) I serve the law of sin.21 [W]hen I want to do good, evil is present with me,22 he lamented as he characterized that evil as a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.23 For the flesh (σὰρξ) has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh (σαρκός, another form of σὰρξ),24 he wrote to the Galatians. To the Ephesians he characterized this flesh as the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.25 He also called this old man simply, sin that lives in me.26 And to the Thessalonians he described all of this as the man of lawlessnessthe son of destruction.27

I’ll continue with this in another essay.


1 Mark 8:16b (NET) Table

2 Mark 8:15b (NET)

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Matthew 12:30b (NET)

11 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Table

12 Ibid.

13 Romans 7:19 Table

14 Ephesians 4:22

15 Romans 7:21

16 Galatians 5:17 Table

17 Matthew 26:41b (NET)

18 John 3:6a (NET)

19 John 6:63a (NET) Table

20 1 Corinthians 15:50b (NET) Table

21 Romans 7:25b (NET) Table

22 Romans 7:21b (NET)

23 Romans 7:23b (NET) Table

24 Galatians 5:17a (NET) Table

25 Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

26 Romans 7:17b (NET) Table, and 7:20b (NET) Table

27 2 Thessalonians 2:3b (NET) Table

To Make Holy, Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[1] Mathew 7:16a (NET)

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

[3] Colossians 3:16 (NET)

[4] Romans 15:14 (NET)

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

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

[7] John 11:19 (NET)

[8] John 11:31 (NET)

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

[10] Romans 2:4 (NET)

[11] Titus 1:9 (NET)

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

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

[14] Matthew 16:27 (NET)

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

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

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

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

[19] Matthew 16:21 (NET)

[20] 2 Corinthians 8:12 (NET)

[21] James 1:19 (NET)