Tag Archives: Romans 1:17

Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 2

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Instruct these people as follows, yehôvâh had said to Moses: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives the descendants of Esau [Jacob’s brother], who inhabit Seir.  They will be afraid (yârêʼ, וייראו; Septuagint: φοβηθήσονται, afraid) of you, so watch yourselves carefully.’[1]

The rabbis who translated the Septuagint understood the last phrase, καὶ εὐλαβηθήσονται ὑμᾶς σφόδρα (“and they will be very cautious,” of you; i.e., of Israel).  Either works in context.  The origin of this fear was the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea: The nations will hear, Moses and the Israelites sang to yehôvâh.  Israel by contrast overflowed with confidence (Exodus 15:13 NET):

By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.

The Hebrew word translated By your loyal love was chêsêd (בחסדך).  Below is a table of forms of chêsêd and their translations in Genesis to the giving of the law.

chêsêd

 Hebrew KJV NET Tanakh

Septuagint
Genesis 19:19 חסדך mercy kindness mercy δικαιοσύνην
Genesis 20:13 חסדך kindness loyalty kindness δικαιοσύνην
Genesis 21:23 כחסד kindness loyalty kindness δικαιοσύνην
Genesis 24:12 חסד kindness Be faithful kindness ἔλεος
Genesis 24:14 חסד kindness you have been faithful kindness ἔλεος
Genesis 24:27 חסדו mercy faithful mercy δικαιοσύνην
Genesis 24:49 חסד kindly faithful kindly ἔλεος[2]
Genesis 32:10 החסדים mercies faithful mercies δικαιοσύνης
Genesis 39:21 חסד mercy kindness kindness ἔλεος
Genesis 40:14 חסד kindness kindness kindness ἔλεος
Genesis 47:29 חסד kindly kindness kindly ἐλεημοσύνην
Exodus 15:13 בחסדך mercy By your loyal love in Thy love δικαιοσύνῃ
Exodus 20:6 חסד mercy covenant faithfulness mercy ἔλεος

This equation of mercy, kindness, faithfulness, loyalty and loyal love with δικαιοσύνῃ, righteousness, is a profound lesson in itself for one who neglected what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness: the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous (δίκαιος) by faith will live.”[3]  Paul quoted Habakkuk 2:4.  The Tanakh reads, Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just (tsaddı̂yq, וצדיק) shall live by his faith.  The Septuagint translated into English reads, “If it draws back, my soul is not pleased in it, But the just shall live by my faith.”  The first part was translated, if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him[4] in the New Testament.

NET Parallel Greek

Septuagint
if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him.

Hebrews 10:38b

 ἐὰν ὑποστείληται, οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ

Hebrews 10:38b

 ἐὰν ὑποστείληται οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ

Habakkuk 2:4a Table
The righteous by faith will live

Romans 1:17b

 ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται

Romans 1:17b

 ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεώς μου ζήσεται

Habakkuk 2:4b


The nations will hear and tremble,[5] the song Moses and the Israelites sang continued.  The Hebrew word translated tremble was râgaz (ירגזון).  As Joseph sent his brothers back to Canaan to bring their father and their families to Egypt, He said to them, “As you travel don’t be overcome with fear.”[6]  The Hebrew word translated be overcome with fear was also râgaz (תרגזו) but a footnote (31) acknowledged:

The verb means “stir up.” Some understand the Hebrew verb רָגָז (ragaz, “to stir up”) as a reference to quarreling (see Prov 29:9, where it has this connotation), but in Exod 15:14 and other passages it means “to fear.” This might refer to a fear of robbers, but more likely it is an assuring word that they need not be fearful about returning to Egypt. They might have thought that once Jacob was in Egypt, Joseph would take his revenge on them.

The rabbis who translated the Septuagint did not agree.  They chose ὀργίζεσθε (a form of ὀργίζω) in Genesis 45:24.  Be angry (ὀργίζεσθε) and do not sin,[7] Paul quoted the Psalm[8] in his letter to the Ephesians.

NET

 Parallel Greek

Septuagint
Be angry and do not sin…

Ephesians 4:26a

 ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε

Ephesians 4:26a

 ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε

Psalm 4:4a

And in Exodus 15:14 they chose ὠργίσθησαν (another form of ὀργίζω).  The nations were enraged[9] (τὰ ἔθνη ὠργίσθησαν) is nearer the rabbis’ understanding in the Septuagint ἤκουσαν ἔθνη καὶ ὠργίσθησαν.

The song continued, anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.[10]  The Hebrew word translated anguish was chı̂yl (חיל).  It was translated pain (בחילה) in Job 6:10 and writhing (חיל) like a woman in childbirth in Psalm 48:6.  That is what the translators of the Septuagint picked up on with ὠδῖνες (a form of ὠδίν): Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” Paul wrote believers in Thessalonica, then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains (ὠδὶν) on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.[11]

Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified,[12] Moses’ song continued.  The Hebrew word translated terrified was bâhal (נבהלו).  It was also translated terrified (נבהל) in 1 Samuel 28:21, but they were dumbfounded (נבהלו) in Genesis 45:3 and panicked (ויבהל) in Judges 20:41.  That hasty confused state of mind seemed to be what the rabbis responded to in the Septuagint with ἔσπευσαν (a form of σπεύδω).  Hurry (σπεῦσον, another form of σπεύδω), Jesus said to Saul [Paul] in a vision, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.[13]

The song continued, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab.[14]  Here the Hebrew word translated trembling was raʽad (רעד).  It was translated shake uncontrollably (רעדה) in Psalm 48:6 and panic (רעדה) in Isaiah 33:14.  It was translated τρόμος in the Septuagint.  Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and ran from [Jesus’] tomb, for terror (τρόμος) and bewilderment had seized them.[15]

Moses and the people sang, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.[16]  The Hebrew word translated will shake was mûg (נמגו).  It was translated are cringing (נמגו) in Joshua 2:9 and seemed to melt (נמוג) in 1 Samuel 14:16.  This was the sense the rabbis understood in the Septuagint: “all those inhabiting Canaan melted away” (ἐτάκησαν, a form of τήκω), whether by death, defection or fleeing as refugees.  Peter prophesied, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away (τήκεται, another form of τήκω) in a blaze![17]

Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom you have bought pass by.[18]  In the Septuagint this was understood as a request for more supernatural fear and trembling: “May fear and trembling fall upon them.”[19]  The Hebrew word translated fear (ʼêymâh, אימתה) was translated my terror in yehôvâh’s promise: I will send my terror (ʼêymâh, אימתי) before you, and I will destroy all the people whom you encounter.[20]  This terror was associated with an angel: For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely.[21]  Fear was φόβος in the Septuagint.   And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear (φόβος).[22]  The Hebrew word translated dread was pachad (ופחד), which was translated τρόμος in the Septuagint.

There was a lot of anger, pain, panic, trembling and defection among the people who heard about the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea.  There was fear and dread of supernatural origin besides.  The fear (yirʼâh, יראת; Septuagint: φόβος) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.[23]  I heard that often with no trace of irony.  Apparently the NET translators heard it the same way for they went a step farther and translated yirʼâh to obey: To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living.[24]

An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked, David penned, There is no fear (pachad, פחד; Septuagint: φόβος) of God before his eyes.[25]  I didn’t hear this simply as a factual diagnosis but as a prescription for more fear.  I don’t think I’m entirely alone in this.  I had a pastor once who took No Fear sportswear as a personal insult.  Perhaps he was considering the quotation credited to Albert Camus: “Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.”

I didn’t find the context for this quote online so I’m just guessing, but I suppose that Camus didn’t know many French citizens who became committed NAZIs during the occupation out of fear, only resistance fighters and collaborators.  We see the same phenomenon in the Old Testament if we will see it: some rebelled against God, others adopted a hypocritical religiosity.  What is born of the flesh is flesh[26] and the works of the flesh[27] erupt eventually through the hypocritical veneer of any religion (Romans 3:10-18 NET).

“There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.”

“Their throats are open graves, they deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips.”

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

This is the diagnosis.  The prescription is given in Jesus’ summary of Israel’s history: You must all be born from above,[28] not more fear but more God, the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe,[29] more of our daily bread, more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and Holy Spirit control, not pumped up artificially by some virtue of mine like some little engine that could, but flowing freely and continuously from those rivers of living water,[30] his Holy Spirit.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.[31]

If I may assume that yehôvâh’s instruction, how to behave[32] in Edom, implies yehôvâh’s intent that Israel pass through Edom, then the result of all of this anger, pain, panic, trembling, defection, fear and dread was exactly what one believing Jesus’ summary of Israel’s history would expect: Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border.[33]  Edom said to [Israel], “You will not pass through me, or I will come out against you with the sword.”[34]  Fear (φόβος), John explained, has to do with punishment.[35]

Though fear did not supply Esau’s descendants with enough faith in yehôvâh to allow Israel to cross through their land of Edom, it kept them from attacking Israel and being destroyed by yehôvâh.  Fear can produce collaborators.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom if the collaborators don’t settle down to live in it (1 John 4:15-19).  In that case they may have been better off as resistance fighters (Revelation 3:14-22).

Back to Who Am I? Part 4

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 5

[1] Deuteronomy 2:4 (NET)

[2] Here ʼemeth (ואמת) was translated δικαιοσύνην.

[3] Romans 1:17 (NET)

[4] Hebrews 10:38b (NET)

[5] Exodus 15:14a (NET)  Also in the Tanakh, tremble

[6] Genesis 45:24b (NET) In the Tanakh, fall not out

[7] Ephesians 4:26a (NET)

[8] Psalm 4:4 Also râgaz (רגזו) in Hebrew, translated Stand in awe in the Tanakh and Tremble with fear in the NET.

[9] Revelation 11:18 (NET)

[10] Exodus 15:14b (NET)

[11] 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (NET)

[12] Exodus 15:15a (NET)

[13] Acts 22:18b (NET) Table

[14] Exodus 15:15b (NET)

[15] Mark 16:8a (NET)

[16] Exodus 15:15c (NET)

[17] 2 Peter 3:12b (NET)

[18] Exodus 15:16 (NET)

[19] Exodus 16:16a (NETS)

[20] Exodus 23:27a (NET)

[21] Exodus 23:23 (NET)

[22] Luke 1:12 (NET)

[23] Psalm 111:10a (NKJV)

[24] Psalm 111.10a (NET)

[25] Psalm 36:1 (NKJV)

[26] John 3:6a (NET)

[27] Galatians 5:19-21 (NET)

[28] John 3:7b (NET)

[29] Romans 3:22a (NET)

[30] John 7:37-39 (NET)

[31] Romans 8:14 (NET)

[32] Deuteronomy 2:4-7 (NET)

[33] Numbers 20;21a (NET)

[34] Numbers 20:18 (NET)

[35] 1 John 4:18b (NET)

Romans, Part 70

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I’ll continue to consider Contribute (κοινωνοῦντες, a form of κοινωνέω) to the needs (χρείαις, a form of χρεία) of the saints, pursue hospitality.[1]  And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, Paul wrote, when I left Macedonia, no church shared (ἐκοινώνησεν, another form of κοινωνέω) with me in this matter (λόγον, a form of λόγος) of giving (δόσεως, a form of δόσις) and receiving (λήμψεως, a form of λῆψις) except you alone.  For even in Thessalonica on more than one occasion you sent something for my need (χρείαν, another form of χρεία).[2]

Here I begin to investigate contribute / shared in and the needs of the saints simultaneously.  Paul began this section of his letter with the words, I have great joy (Ἐχάρην, a form of χαίρω) in the Lord because now at last you have again expressed your concern for me.[3]  He didn’t say, I was really pissed off because you haven’t sent me any money in a long time.  Young’s Literal Translation is clunkier in style but probably carries the tone better:  And I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at length ye flourished again in caring for me, for which also ye were caring, and lacked opportunity…[4]

Was Paul worried about them?  It’s very likely: there is the daily pressure on me of my anxious concern (μέριμνα) for all the churches,[5] He wrote the Corinthians.  The Philippians had shared with him in the past, but then lacked opportunity.  Could it imply something more than lack of opportunity?  Thankfully, no.  Now I know you were concerned (ἐφρονεῖτε, a form of φρονέω) before but had no opportunity to do anything.[6]

Paul (and the NET translators) went out of his (their) way to say that he shared the joy (χαρὰ) of the Holy Spirit greatly (μεγάλως) in the Lord, because the Lord had kept the Philippians in Paul’s absence, and when the opportunity presented itself again the Lord’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in and through the Philippians expressed itself in tangible concern (φρονεῖν, another form of φρονέω) for Paul.

Am I adding words here?  Yes, I am, but I believe I have the heart of Paul and the Holy Spirit.  In Greek χαρὰ (joy) comes from χαίρω (rejoice).  But in the fruit of the Holy Spirit our χαίρω comes from his χαρὰ.  I tried (and failed, I think) to express a similar joy to my daughter when she picked me up at the airport.

I’ve known her since she was six-years-old, too small to drive.  I remember helping her learn how to drive.  I shared her anxiety when she failed her first driver’s test, and her elation when she passed the second.  But there is no way her mother or I would have been comfortable asking her to navigate airport traffic then.  I remember taking a taxi from the airport to the hospital where she lay pathetically, helplessly in a hospital bed after a stroke.

I remember what it was like when she and her brother and her mother greeted me at the airport.  And I remember when their greetings became more and more infrequent, until there were none at all.  And I certainly know what it is like now to land at the airport and make my own way home to a dark, empty apartment.

When she pulled up to me, waiting at the curb at the airport, yes, my daughter saved me some taxi fare (though I may have spent as much or more filling her empty gas tank).  But the money had nothing to do with my joy.  I lacked the presence of mind to say to her, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, though it’s clear to me now that’s what I meant.

I am not saying this because I am in need (ὑστέρησιν, a form of ὑστέρησις), Paul continued, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance.[7]  And this is the context of an often misquoted verse (Philippians 4:12, 13 NET Table):

I have experienced times of need (ταπεινοῦσθαι, a form of ταπεινόω) and times of abundance.  In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing.  I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.

This last verse came up out of context in the movie Soul Surfer.  There will be spoilers here for those who haven’t seen it.  And please remember I’m not saying anything about the real Bethany Hamilton.  I don’t know Bethany Hamilton.  I’ve never even read her book.  I’m writing about a character in a movie named Bethany.

In the hospital after a shark attack, Bethany (AnnaSophia Robb) asks her father Tom (Dennis Quaid), “When can I surf again?”

“Soon,” Tom answers.

“How do you know?”

“Because [you] can do all things,” Tom prompts her.

“Through Him who gives me strength,” Bethany finishes the quote from Philippians 4:13 (ESV/NIV).

She trains hard with this hope and learns to surf again on a very small board.  But when she tries to compete she discovers, “I can’t do this anymore!…I don’t understand.  What happened to ‘I can do all things’?”  Thus Philippians 4:13 is laid to rest in Soul Surfer.

It’s not a big deal if one knows what Philippians 4:13 actually means.  Earlier in the film she won graciously.  Here she lost; she failed.  It was one of those times of need Paul wrote about.  The Greek word translated times of need was ταπεινοῦσθαι, to depress, to humiliate, to make low, bring low.  And Bethany did learn to be content when she was depressed, humiliated, made low.

She returns to competition and has a tremendous ride that would have assured her win if it were not disqualified for starting past the allotted time of the final heat.  With a peace and joy that surpasses even Tom’s understanding Bethany is as gracious in defeat at the end of the movie as she was in victory near the beginning.

“Are you upset you didn’t win today?” a reporter asks.

“I didn’t come to win.  I came to surf,” Bethany answers.

She can do all this—be content in times of need and times of abundance as it related to losing and winning surfing competitions—through him who gives her strength.[8]  Conversely, if one doesn’t already know what Philippians 4:13 actually means, it probably won’t be gleaned from Soul Surfer.  After the hard-work montage preceding the final competition the message of the film on that count is something like he-who-gives-me-strength is not as good at making one a world class surfer as hard work.  This is a true message by the way.  People become world class surfers by training hard, irrespective of their faith in Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, if your goal is to share in the righteousness of God, the best your hardest work can achieve is hypocrisy.  You will be an actor, play-pretending at righteousness.  AnnaSophia Robb is one of the best young actors in the business, but Bethany Hamilton and Alana Blanchard did the difficult surfing scenes.  Hard working actors don’t become doers (poets) of the law either.  For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”[9]

Nevertheless, you did well to share with (συγκοινωνήσαντες, a form of συγκοινωνέω) me in my trouble,[10] Paul continued.  And again, he emphasized, I do not say this because I am seeking a gift (δόμα).[11]  And, For I have received everything, and I have plenty.  I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus what you sent – a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God.[12] Rather, I seek the credit (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός) that abounds to your account (λόγον, a form of λόγος).[13]  I’m not so sure about translating fruit (καρπὸν) credit here.  The account, of course, is the λόγον each of us will give to God.  Who wouldn’t want to be able to say, I shared with Paul in his trouble?

My point, however, is that we trust God to work in us and through us by his Spirit, rather than second-guess Him by trying to establish our own works.  For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.[14]  And my God will supply your every need (χρείαν, another form of χρεία) according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.[15]  There is no quid pro quo here: Send money to Paul and his God will supply your every need.  Paul’s God supplies the desire and wherewithal to contribute as surely as He supplies every other need.  May glory be given to God our Father forever and ever.  Amen.[16]

In Soul Surfer when Bethany is depressed, humiliated and made low, Tom attempts to encourage his daughter.  Cheri (Helen Hunt), Bethany’s mother, effectively shuts him down.  “Listen to her,” she says.  But when Bethany is ready to compete again, she comes to her father, working in his surfboard shed, saying, “Hey, Dad, I need your help.”

Bethany has analyzed her problem.  With only one arm she can’t duck dive under the big waves paddling out to the line.  She gets caught, tumbling under water, in the impact zone.  Her father smiles, reaches up into the rafters and retrieves a surfboard, already prepared for her, with a handle in the center of the board she can grasp with one hand to duck dive.

The first of the needs (χρείαις, a form of χρεία) of the saints listed in the New Testament comes from the mouth of John, baptizing in the Jordan River.  Jesus came to him to be baptized but John protested, “I need (χρείαν, another form of χρεία) to be baptized by you…”[17] He had already described Jesus’ baptism by contrast to his own: I baptize you with (ἐν, or, in) water, for repentance…He will baptize you with (ἐν, or, in) the Holy Spirit and fire.[18]

As an introduction to how we should pray Jesus promised, your Father knows what you need (χρείαν, another form of χρεία) before you ask him.[19]  Are we afraid to approach Him?  When religious people questioned Jesus’ disciples, why he ate with sinners, He answered, “Those who are healthy don’t need (χρείαν, another form of χρεία) a physician, but those who are sick do.  Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[20]

Jesus vigorously defended his followers from the judgment of the religious: “Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?”[21] they said as his disciples walked through the field plucking grain to eat.  “Have you never read what David did when he was in need (χρείαν, another form of χρεία) and he and his companions were hungry,” Jesus asked them, “how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?”[22] But Jesus didn’t let it drop there.  He took it one massive step further, saying, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.  For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”[23]

And finally, I come to a tale of two sisters, Martha and Mary.  It is particularly interesting to me because I think I was a Martha who wants to be a Mary (Luke 10:38-42 NET):

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.  She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened (ἤκουεν, a form of ἀκούω) to what he said.  But Martha was distracted (περιεσπᾶτο, a form of περισπάω) with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work (διακονεῖν, a form of διακονέω) alone?  Tell her to help me.”  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed (χρεία).  Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

[1] Romans 12:13 (NET)

[2] Philippians 4:15, 16 (NET)

[3] Philippians 4:10a (NET)

[4] Philippians 4:10 (YLT)

[5] 2 Corinthians 11:28 (NET)

[6] Philippians 4:10b (NET)

[7] Philippians 4:11 (NET)

[8] Philippians 4:13 (NIV) Table

[9] Romans 1:17 (NET)

[10] Philippians 4:14 (NET)

[11] Philippians 4:17a (NET)

[12] Philippians 4:18 (NET)

[13] Philippians 4:17b (NET)

[14] Ephesians 2:10 (NET)

[15] Philippians 4:19 (NET) Table

[16] Philippians 4:20 (NET)

[17] Matthew 3:14b (NET)

[18] Matthew 3:11 (NET)

[19] Matthew 6:8b (NET)

[20] Matthew 9:12, 13 (NET)

[21] Mark 2:24 (NET)

[22] Mark 2:25, 26 (NET)

[23] Mark 2:27, 28 (NET)

Romans, Part 61

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I’m continuing to look at Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer,[1] as a description of love rather than as rules to obey.  I’m still focusing on the injustice (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία) love is not glad (or, does not rejoice)[2] about.  Two different things are revealed (ἀποκαλύπτεται, a form of ἀποκαλύπτω) in the first chapter of Romans.

Two Revelations
For the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God is revealed in the gospel…

Romans 1:17a (NET)

 For the wrath (ὀργὴ, a form of ὀργή) of God is revealed from heaven…

Romans 1:18a (NET)
…from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous (δίκαιος) by faith will live.”

Romans 1:17b (NET)

 …against all ungodliness and unrighteousness (ἀδικίαν, a form of ἀδικία) of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ, a form of ἀδικία)…

Romans 1:18b (NET)

But I didn’t always think of these as two different things.  As I became an atheist, though I doubt that I actually thought through these particular verses, I believed that God’s righteousness was God’s wrath, at least it was the nexus where his righteousness impacted human beings.

I returned from atheism to a semblance of faith believing that the wrath (e.g., God’s righteousness) I had not experienced had been deferred to a later time, the end, the Revelation (Ἀποκάλυψις, a form of ἀποκάλυψις).  With this idea in mind I thought the wrath of God…revealed from heaven was some unspecified vengeance against every kind of unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ), wickedness, covetousness, malice.  They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility.  They are gossips [Table], slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless [Table].[3]

No matter what the Scripture said I wouldn’t or couldn’t hear that God’s wrath revealed from heaven was that God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.[4]  It was beyond my powers of comprehension that He did this so that they are filled with every kind of unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ), wickedness, covetousness, malice.  They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility.  They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.

As long as I refused to believe that it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy,[5] I couldn’t fathom the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God;[6] namely, that God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.[7]  I couldn’t reason that if in his wrath He hands people over to every kind of ἀδικίᾳ, in his non-wrathful state he keeps us from that same ἀδικίᾳ.  And I didn’t perceive that the true nexus of the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel is his love in us,[8] the love that is the fulfillment of the law,[9] the fruit of his Spirit.[10]

Half a millennium or so before Paul penned his letter to the Romans ἀδικίᾳ was a Greek goddess.  “There is also a chest made of cedar, Pausanias wrote, “with figures on it, some of ivory, some of gold, others carved out of the cedar-wood itself.  It was in this chest that Cypselus, the tyrant of Corinth, was hidden by his mother when the Bacchidae were anxious to discover him after his birth.  In gratitude for the saving of Cypselus, his descendants, Cypselids as they are called, dedicated the chest at Olympia.”[11]  Carved on the chest are the figures of a “beautiful woman…punishing an ugly one, choking her with one hand and with the other striking her with a staff.  It is Justice [δίκη] who thus treats Injustice [ἀδικίᾳ].”[12]

I’ll explore some sayings about δίκη (Dike) as a revelation of the religious mind, making no attempt to distinguish the creative reasoning of human beings from lying spirits.[13]  “Next he [Zeus] led away bright Themis (Divine Law),” Hesiod wrote, “who bare the Horai (Horae, Seasons), and Eunomia (Good Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who mind the works of mortal men.”[14]  “[S]he sits beside her father, Zeus the son of Kronos (Cronus), and tells him of men’s wicked heart, until the people pay for the mad folly of their princes who, evilly minded, pervert judgement and give sentence crookedly.”[15]

The latter saying sounds more like Satan the accuser than justice (Revelation 12:7-10 NET):

Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels.  So that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan (Σατανᾶς), who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth,[16] and his angels along with him.  Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser (κατήγωρ, a form of κατηγορέω) of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses (κατηγορῶν, another form of κατηγορέω) them day and night before our God, has been thrown down.”

Perhaps δίκη gives a glimpse into how Satan perceives himself.  It certainly gives me a different impression of Plato’s eulogy:  “With [Zeus],” Plato wrote in Laws, “followeth Dike (Justice), as avenger of them that fall short of the divine law; and she, again, is followed by every man who would fain be happy, cleaving to her with lowly and orderly behavior…”[17]  It sounds like a revelation of Satan’s own longing and ambition.  “To thee revenge the punishment belong, chastising every deed unjust and wrong” says the Orphic Hymn 62 to Dike.[18]  This is essentially the meaning of δίκη in the New Testament (Acts 28:3, 4 NET).

When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.  When the local people saw the creature hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer!  Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice (δίκη; KJV: vengeance) herself has not allowed him to live!”

Even when the goddess is forgotten the noun δίκη retains her meaning and purpose (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10a; Jude 1:6, 7 NET).

With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will undergo the penalty (δίκην, a form of δίκη; KJV: punished) of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed…

You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgment of the great Day.  So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring towns, since they indulged in sexual immorality (ἐκπορνεύσασαι, a form of ἐκπορνεύω) and pursued unnatural desire in a way similar to these angels, are now displayed as an example by suffering the punishment (δίκην, a form of δίκη; KJV: vengeance) of eternal fire.

Philostratus tired of δίκη or the inability of vengeance to produce righteousness in, or secure justice among, human beings: “I am sure that Dike (Justice) will appear in a very ridiculous light; for having been appointed by Zeus and by the Moirai (Fates) to prevent men being unjust to one another, she has never been able to defend herself against injustice.”  In the New Testament δίκη has nothing to do with overcoming ἀδικία in human beings.  Rather, God’s mercy and his love in us through faith in Jesus’ faithfulness crucifies our ἀδικίαν (a form of ἀδικία) and resurrects our new lives into his righteousness through the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 7:5, 6 NET).

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.  But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.

For this reason we also, Paul wrote the Colossians, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.  He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves…[19]

The word translated righteousness in—the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel—is δικαιοσύνη (Dikaiosyne), not a goddess but a daimona (δαίμων[20]).  “In the ancient Greek religion, daimon designates not a specific class of divine beings, but a peculiar mode of activity: it is an occult power that drives humans forward or acts against them: since daimon is the veiled countenance of divine activity, every deity can act as daimon…”[21]  The Orphic Hymn 63 says, “O blessed Dikaiosyne, mankind’s delight, the eternal friend of conduct just and right: abundant, venerable, honoured maid, to judgements pure dispensing constant aid, and conscience stable, and an upright mind…”[22]

To the religious mind Dikaiosyne merely dispenses “aid.”  Of course in the New Testament the daimon does not merely “aid” but possesses and takes control, not for anything resembling righteousness: two demon-possessed (δαιμονιζόμενοι, a form of δαιμονίζομαι) men coming from the tombs met [Jesus].  They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.[23]  As Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man from the town met him who was possessed[24] by demons (δαιμόνια, a form of δαιμόνιον).  For a long time this man had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among the tombs.[25]

Ancient Greeks were not unaware of these phenomena, they attributed them to κακοδαίμων: “The Hellenistic Greeks divided daemons into good and evil categories: agathodaimōn (ἀγαθοδαίμων “noble spirit”), from agathós (ἀγαθός “good, brave, noble, moral, lucky, useful”), and kakódaimōn (κακοδαίμων “malevolent spirit”), from kakós (κακός “bad, evil”).”[26]  I assume this determination was made according to how well the daemons’ activities corresponded to the determiner’s own desires: the κακοδαίμων thwarted as the ἀγαθοδαίμων aided those desires.  The derivation of δαίμων is “From δαίω daiō (to distribute fortunes)” according to Strong’s Concordance.

To the religious mind Dikaiosyne dispenses “aid” to those who make pure judgments.  I’m reminded of Peter’s surprise that Cornelius summoned him because an angel appeared and told him to do so: I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him.[27]  That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,[28] –I have not come to call the righteous (δικαίους, a form of δίκαιος), but sinners to repentance,[29] –is a difficult truth for the religious mind to accept.

It is the truth suppressed by unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ).  The religious mind jealously guards its own righteousness as its own peculiar possession.  In my opinion Paul experienced a theological crisis[30] over this trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance, and we read the Holy Spirit’s solution to that crisis when we read his letter to the Romans (Romans 3:5-9 NKJV).

But if our unrighteousness (ἀδικία) demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust (ἄδικος) who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)  Certainly not!  For then how will God judge the world?  For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?  And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.  What then?  Are we better than they?  Not at all.  For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

All unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ) is sin…[31]  God will reward each one according to his works…wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness (ἀδικίᾳ).[32]  The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders, and with every kind of evil (ἀδικίας, another form of ἀδικία) deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.  Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.  And so all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil (ἀδικίᾳ) will be condemned.[33]  

What shall we say then?  Is there injustice (ἀδικία) with God?  Absolutely not!  For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.[34]

For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.  Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.  For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.[35]

This gives me a fairly extensive idea of the truth love rejoices about and the ἀδικία it does not.  Love is not glad about injustice (ἀδικίᾳ), but rejoices in the truth.[36]  Do not extinguish the Spirit,[37] Paul wrote the Thessalonians.  I will suggest that the quickest way to extinguish the Spirit is to take credit for his fruit or to believe that his fruit is anything but the gift of righteousness.[38]  [W]hen the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior.[39]

I’ll continue in the next essay.

Romans, Part 62

Back to Romans, Part 65

[1] Romans 12:12 (NET)

[2] 1 Corinthians 13:6 (NASB)

[3] Romans 1:29-31 (NET)

[4] Romans 1:28b (NET)

[5] Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

[6] Romans 11:33a (NET)

[7] Romans 11:32 (NET)

[8] John 17:26 (NET)

[9] Romans 13:10b (NET)

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

[11] Pausanias’ description of the Chest of Kypselos and other items at Olympia

[12] Pausanias’ description of the Chest of Kypselos and other items at Olympia

[13] 1 Kings 22:19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4; Ephesians 2:1-3 (NET)

[14] http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/HoraDike.html

[15] ibid

[16] I am very confused whether this is still future are already past: Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”  So he said to them, “I saw Satan (σατανᾶν, a form of Σατανᾶς) fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:17, 18 NET)

[17] http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/HoraDike.html

[18] ibid

[19] Colossians 1:9-13 (NET)

[20] Then the demons (δαίμονες, a form of δαίμων) begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” (Matthew 8:31 NET)

[21] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(classical_mythology)

[22] http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Dikaiosyne.html

[23] Matthew 8:28 (NET)

[24] ἔχων [2192] δαιμόνια (literally, “had demons”)

[25] Luke 8:27 (NET)

[26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(classical_mythology)

[27] Acts 10:34, 35 (NET)

[28] 1 Timothy 1:15 (NET)

[29] Luke 5:32 (NET)

[30] https://religiousmind.net/2012/10/07/romans-part-23/; https://religiousmind.net/2012/08/04/romans-part-7/; https://religiousmind.net/2012/06/12/pauls-religious-mind/; https://religiousmind.net/2013/04/17/romans-part-42/

[31] 1 John 5:17a (NET)

[32] Romans 2:6, 8 (NET)

[33] 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NET)

[34] Romans 9:14-16 (NET)

[35] Romans 11:29-32 (NET)

[36] 1 Corinthians 13:6 (NET)

[37] 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NET)

[38] Romans 5:17 (NET)

[39] Titus 3:4-6 (NET)

Romans, Part 26

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Therefore, Paul continued, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey1 (ὑπακούειν, a form of ὑπακούω) its desires (ἐπιθυμίαις, a form of ἐπιθυμία).2  This is clearly Step #2 how to experience the credited righteousness of God apart from the law,3 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) of Jesus Christ for all who believe (πιστεύοντας, a form of πιστεύω).4  I think the next verse amplifies how one goes about not letting sin reign in one’s mortal body, and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as5 those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.6  So I am picturing something like this:

Step #2 to experience the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.
…do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.

Romans 6:12 (NET)

By…
…not present(ing) your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness…

Romans 6:13a (NET)

 …present(ing) yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.

Romans 6:13b (NET)

It sounds so simple, but there is no door marked “sin” beside a door marked “God” where I might present myself for service.  This transaction, if you will, takes place in the deepest, darkest places of an individual born from above, born of flesh and born of the Spirit,7 moment by moment.  In fact, Paul described this individual as a house divided, For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.8  So then, Paul concluded in Romans 7, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.9

There is a cartoon image of a human being with a little devil i on one shoulder whispering in one ear and a little angel i whispering in the other.  In the center between them am I, writ large, the Master of My Fate, choosing sin or righteousness.  With this self-image I discounted the value of Step #1—to consider (λογίζεσθε, a form of λογίζομαι) [myself] dead (νεκροὺς, a form of νεκρός) to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus10—as I magnified the importance of Step #2, not to let sin reign in [my] mortal body so that [I] obey[ed] its desires.  So I set out not to break, or to keep, the laws that define sin, and unwittingly played directly into sin’s strength: the power (δύναμις) of sin is the law.11  Had I paid more attention to faith I might have grasped Paul’s next point sooner.  For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law (ὑπὸ νόμον) but12 under grace (ὑπὸ χάριν).13

This personification of sin was not magical thinking on Paul’s part.  What he was writing about actually becomes clearer in Romans 7.  The sin that will not master the one who believes in Jesus is nothing other than the old man that was crucified with him so that the body (σῶμα) of sin would no longer dominate us.14  I am not refereeing a battle of wills between a little devil i and a little angel i.  I am the old man of sin, or I am the new man of the Spirit.  Both are in this body (σῶμα).  Both want control.  The old man was crucified by faith in Jesus Christ.  The new man was created out of nothing through faith in Jesus Christ.  Believing in Jesus Christ is far more important than anything either I, the dead and dying old man or the initially alien new man, might do. [Addendum April 15, 2024: While I don’t want to minimize the importance of faith in Christ, recognizing the union between Christ and this new man causes me to wonder if I have overstated this a bit.] And I am persuaded that the illusion that I am a third something choosing between them is nothing more than the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17 NKJV).

Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but15 is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

What then? Paul continued.  Shall we sin16 because we are not under law (ὑπὸ νόμον) but17 under grace (ὑπὸ χάριν)?  Absolutely not!18  Paul’s reasoning here was a truism, a simple matter of definition.  Do you not know (οἴδατε, a form of εἴδω; i.e., know by seeing) that if you present yourselves as obedient (ὑπακοήν, a form of ὑπακοή) slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey (ὑπακούετε, another form of ὑπακούω), either of sin [the desire of the old man] resulting in death, or obedience (ὑπακοῆς, another form of ὑπακοή) [the desire of the new man] resulting in righteousness?19

I am convinced that words like obey, obedient, and obedience with their insistent emphasis on doing are part of the things of this world, the pride of life where I am the Master of My Fate, choosing to do the good or to do the evil.  In Greek the word translated obey is ὑπακούω, to hear under, in other words to trust.  The word translated obedient or obedience is ὑπακοή, attentive hearkening, in other words to believe.  These are other words, perhaps even better words, for faith and believe than πίστις and πιστεύω, for no one could mistake them for πίστεως μόνον (faith alone), or dead faith.  And again, this makes perfect sense if one is interested in experiencing the righteousness of God…revealed in the gospel from faith (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) to faith (πίστιν, another form of πίστις), just as it is written, “The righteous by faith (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) will live.”20

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed (ὑπηκούσατε, another form of ὑπακούω) from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.21  So I ὑπακούω, hear under, trust, the word of God rather than becoming ὑπακοή to, hearkening attentively to, believing, the promptings and desires of the old man, the man of sin created in the image of Adam.  Of course I will do things.  But now those things, rather than being the acts of an actor, will flow naturally from who I hear under (trust, hearken attentively to, believe) through who I am (the new man born of the Spirit in the image and likeness of God) and then out into the world.

The writer of Hebrews described it this way: Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God.  For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.22  Even the law comes into sharper focus: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,23 not for a day of the week but for the remainder of a lifetime.  And Jesus’ word is fulfilled: But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.24  It also explains Jesus’ rather obstinate insistence on doing good on the Sabbath day, despite the bitterness and resentment it aroused: So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.25

The writer of Hebrews continued with the following warning (Hebrews 4:11-13 NET):

Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience [i.e., fearfully refusing to enter the promised land].  For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart [Table].  And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

Paul realized he had not yet explained what would be explained in the next chapter.  He recognized that his readers may misunderstand his words (Romans 6:19-23 NET).

(I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.)  For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.  So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of?  For the end of those things is death.  But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.  For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Addendum: April 15, 2024
Tables comparing Romans 6:12; 6:13; 6:14; 1 John 2:16 and Romans 6:15 in the NET and KJV follow.

Romans 6:12 (NET)

Romans 6:12 (KJV)
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Romans 6:12 (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 6:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 6:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Μὴ οὖν βασιλευέτω ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θνητῷ ὑμῶν σώματι εἰς τὸ ὑπακούειν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις αὐτοῦ μη ουν βασιλευετω η αμαρτια εν τω θνητω υμων σωματι εις το υπακουειν αυτη εν ταις επιθυμιαις αυτου μη ουν βασιλευετω η αμαρτια εν τω θνητω υμων σωματι εις το υπακουειν αυτη εν ταις επιθυμιαις αυτου

Romans 6:13 (NET)

Romans 6:13 (KJV)
and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 6:13 (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 6:13 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 6:13 (Byzantine Majority Text)
μηδὲ παριστάνετε τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν ὅπλα ἀδικίας τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἀλλὰ παραστήσατε ἑαυτοὺς τῷ θεῷ ὡσεὶ ἐκ νεκρῶν ζῶντας καὶ τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν ὅπλα δικαιοσύνης τῷ θεῷ μηδε παριστανετε τα μελη υμων οπλα αδικιας τη αμαρτια αλλα παραστησατε εαυτους τω θεω ως εκ νεκρων ζωντας και τα μελη υμων οπλα δικαιοσυνης τω θεω μηδε παριστανετε τα μελη υμων οπλα αδικιας τη αμαρτια αλλα παραστησατε εαυτους τω θεω ως εκ νεκρων ζωντας και τα μελη υμων οπλα δικαιοσυνης τω θεω

Romans 6:14 (NET)

Romans 6:14 (KJV)
For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace. The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Romans 6:14 (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 6:14 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 6:14 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἁμαρτία γὰρ ὑμῶν οὐ κυριεύσει· οὐ γάρ ἐστε ὑπὸ νόμον ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ χάριν αμαρτια γαρ υμων ου κυριευσει ου γαρ εστε υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν αμαρτια γαρ υμων ου κυριευσει ου γαρ εστε υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν

1 John 2:16 (NET)

1 John 2:16 (KJV)
because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:16 (NET Parallel Greek)

1 John 2:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

1 John 2:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ (ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἡ ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου) οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀλλὰ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἐστίν οτι παν το εν τω κοσμω η επιθυμια της σαρκος και η επιθυμια των οφθαλμων και η αλαζονεια του βιου ουκ εστιν εκ του πατρος αλλ εκ του κοσμου εστιν οτι παν το εν τω κοσμω η επιθυμια της σαρκος και η επιθυμια των οφθαλμων και η αλαζονεια του βιου ουκ εστιν εκ του πατρος αλλ εκ του κοσμου εστιν

Romans 6:15 (NET)

Romans 6:15 (KJV)
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Romans 6:15 (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 6:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 6:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τί οὖν; ἁμαρτήσωμεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐσμὲν ὑπὸ νόμον ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ χάριν; μὴ γένοιτο τι ουν αμαρτησομεν οτι ουκ εσμεν υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν μη γενοιτο τι ουν αμαρτησομεν οτι ουκ εσμεν υπο νομον αλλ υπο χαριν μη γενοιτο

1 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτη εν (KJV: it in) following obey. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

2 Romans 6:12 (NET)

3 Romans 3:21 (NET)

4 Romans 3:22 (NET) Table

6 Romans 6:13 (NET)

8 Galatians 5:17 (NET) Table

9 Romans 7:25b (NKJV) Table

10 Romans 6:11 (NET) Table

11 1 Corinthians 15:56b (NET)

13 Romans 6:14 (NET)

14 Romans 6:6 (NET)

18 Romans 6:15 (NET)

19 Romans 6:16 (NET)

20 Romans 1:17 (NET)

21 Romans 6:17, 18 (NET)

22 Hebrews 4:9-10 (NET)

23 Exodus 20:8 (NKJV) Table

24 John 3:21 (NET)

25 Matthew 12:12b (NET)

Romans, Part 25

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What shall we say then? Paul continued.  Are we to remain (ἐπιμένωμεν, a form of ἐπιμένω) in sin so that grace (χάρις) may increase (πλεονάσῃ, a form of πλεονάζω)?1 This is a reasonable question considering what Paul wrote earlier: Now the law (νόμος) came in so that the transgression (παράπτωμα) may increase (πλεονάσῃ, a form of πλεονάζω), but where sin (ἁμαρτία) increased (ἐπλεόνασεν, another form of πλεονάζω), grace multiplied (ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν, a form of ὑπερπερισσεύω) all the more…2 If grace rose to meet the challenge posed by the law (increased transgression and a superabundance of sin), is remaining or continuing in sin the new way of grace?

Absolutely not! Paul continued.  How can we who died (ἀπεθάνομεν, a form of ἀποθνήσκω) to sin still live in it?3  Death still has a value and necessity to it, just not the value and necessity I learned in science, history or government classes in school.  Or do you not know (ἀγνοεῖτε, a form of ἀγνοέω) that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death (θάνατον, a form of θάνατος)?4  I spent some time calling Paul, and by extension Jesus who called him, a liar over this, because I didn’t find anything in myself at first that I recognized as dead to sin.  I didn’t get anywhere until I turned around and was willing to believe.

Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death (θάνατον, a form of θάνατος), in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead (νεκρῶν, a form of νεκρός) through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.5  So I see the first value of this death, perhaps even a necessity.  Then Paul made a couple of comparisons of the believer’s relationship to Christ’s death and resurrection.

Christ’s death

Christ’s resurrection
For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death…

Romans 6:5a (NET)

 …we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.

Romans 6:5b (NET)

The word translated united in Romans 6:5a above is σύμφυτοι (a form of σύμφυτος).  It is only used once in the Bible, but is a compound of a form of σύν (a primary preposition denoting union) and φύω (to germinate or grow).  I am reminded of Jesus when He was told that Greeks wanted to see him (John 12:23-28 NET).

Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified [Table].  I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone (μόνος).  But if it dies, it produces much grain (καρπὸν, a form of καρπός; literally “fruit”).  The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life [Table].  If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him [Table].  Now my soul is greatly distressed.  And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’?  No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name.”

These are encouraging words to follow Jesus in this death, where following is simply believing.  For what can a kernel of wheat buried in the dirt do, but believe?  It doesn’t know how to germinate or grow.  We know (γινώσκοντες, a form of γινώσκω) that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, Paul continued, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  (For someone who has died [ἀποθανὼν, another form of ἀποθνήσκω] has been freed from sin.)6  Here is a second value for this death, and perhaps even a necessity.  But I only knew this at first by faith.  This particular kernel of wheat buried in the dirt was still walking around, still working,7 that is to say still doing some (perhaps many) of the sinful things he did before he was a dead kernel of wheat buried in the dirt.

Christ’s death

Christ’s resurrection
Now if we died (ἀπεθάνομεν, a form of ἀποθνήσκω) with Christ…

Romans 6:8a (NET)

 …we believe (πιστεύομεν, a form of πιστεύω) that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8b (NET)

We know (εἰδότες, a form of εἴδω), Paul continued, that since Christ has been raised from the dead (νεκρῶν, a form of νεκρός), he is never going to die (ἀποθνῄσκει, another form of ἀποθνήσκω) again; death (θάνατος) no longer has mastery (κυριεύει, a form of κυριεύω) over him.  For the death he died (ἀπέθανεν, another form of ἀποθνήσκω), he died (ἀπέθανεν, another form of ἀποθνήσκω) to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.8  I could see that in regard to Jesus.  So you too consider (λογίζεσθε, a form of λογίζομαι) yourselves9 dead (νεκροὺς, another form of νεκρός) to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.10

This for me is where Romans becomes a how-to book, how to experience the credited righteousness of God apart from the law,11 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) of Jesus Christ for all who believe (πιστεύοντας, another form of πιστεύω).12  Step #1 is to believe something, not entirely unexpected if one remembers that this is the righteousness of God…revealed in the gospel from faith (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) to faith (πίστιν, another form of πίστις), just as it is written, “The righteous by faith (πίστεως, a form of πίστις) will live.”13  So no matter how I appear to others, or how I appear to myself, I consider (reason, count, credit) myself dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  As Paul said (Galatians 2:20, 21 NET):

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness (πίστει, another form of πίστις) of the Son of God, who loved (ἀγαπήσαντος, a form of ἀγαπάω) me and gave (παραδόντος, a form of παραδίδωμι) himself for me.  I do not set aside (ἀθετῶ, a form of ἀθετέω) God’s grace (χάριν, a form of χάρις), because if righteousness could come through the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), then Christ died (ἀπέθανεν, another form of ἀποθνήσκω) for nothing!

 

Addendum: April 4, 2024
A table comparing the Greek of Romans 6:11 in the NET and KJV follow.

Romans 6:11 (NET)

Romans 6:11 (KJV)
So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:11 (NET Parallel Greek)

Romans 6:11 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Romans 6:11 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς λογίζεσθε ἑαυτοὺς νεκροὺς μὲν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ζῶντας δὲ τῷ θεῷ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ουτως και υμεις λογιζεσθε εαυτους νεκρους μεν ειναι τη αμαρτια ζωντας δε τω θεω εν χριστω ιησου τω κυριω ημων ουτως και υμεις λογιζεσθε εαυτους νεκρους μεν ειναι τη αμαρτια ζωντας δε τω θεω εν χριστω ιησου τω κυριω ημων

1 Romans 6:1 (NET) Table

2 Romans 5:20 (NET)

3 Romans 6:2 (NET)

4 Romans 6:3 (NET)

5 Romans 6:4 (NET)

6 Romans 6:6, 7 (NET)

8 Romans 6:9, 10 (NET)

9 The Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA28 had the verb εἶναι (KJV: to be) here. The NET parallel Greek text did not.

10 Romans 6:11 (NET) The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τω κυριω ημων (KJV: our Lord) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

12 Romans 3:22 (NET) Table

13 Romans 1:17 (NET)