Romans, Part 30

Posted on October 30, 2012 by admin

So then, brothers and sisters, Paul continued, we are under obligation (ὀφειλέται, a form of ὀφειλέτης), not to the flesh (σαρκὶ, a form of σάρξ), to live according to the flesh (σάρκα, another form of σάρξ)…¹ The word translated obligation above is also found in Matthew’s version of the Lord’s prayer, and forgive us our debts (ὀφειλήματα, a form of ὀφείλημα), as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors (ὀφειλέταις, another form of ὀφειλέτης).² This is a powerful concept, but first I want to focus on what the flesh is not.

The flesh as Paul used it is not the body. Be careful, he warned, not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.³ If⁴ you have died with Christ⁵ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings. Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship⁶ and false humility achieved by an unsparing treatment⁷ of the body (σώματος, a form of σῶμα) – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly (σαρκός, another form of σάρξ) indulgence (πλησμονὴν, a form of πλησμονή).⁸

In other words, “I self-flagellate three times a day and only eat bread and water,” is the same pride and religious thinking that got us into this mess in the first place. It is the religious impulse of the flesh of Adam.

The flesh is not sexual desire. A husband should give to his wife her sexual rights (ὀφειλὴν, a form of ὀφειλή), and likewise a wife to her husband. It is not the wife who has the rights (ἐξουσιάζει, a form of ἐξουσιάζω) to her own body (σώματος, a form of σῶμα), but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights (ἐξουσιάζει, a form of ἐξουσιάζω) to his own body (σώματος, a form of σῶμα), but the wife [Table]. Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer [Table].⁹ While the believer in Christ is not obligated (ὀφειλέται, a form of ὀφειλέτης) or a debtor to the flesh, husband and wife are indebted (ὀφειλὴν, a form of ὀφειλή) to each other sexually.

Interestingly, neither the wife nor the husband possesses the ἐξουσιάζει (a form of ἐξουσιάζω; authority, power) over her or his own body. That belongs to the spouse. This is the same authority that Gentile kings lorded over their subjects as Jesus told his disciples, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority (ἐξουσιάζοντες, another form of ἐξουσιάζω) over them are called ‘benefactors.’ Not so with you; instead the one who is greatest among you must become¹⁰ like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves.”¹¹ It is the same control Paul would not allow anything to have over him: “All things are lawful for me” – but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me” – but I will not be controlled (ἐξουσιασθήσομαι, another form of ἐξουσιάζω) by anything.¹² I think I’ll go the long way around and circle back to this.

While sex (and sexual desire) in and of itself is not the flesh, if I set my sights on another’s wife (or a prostitute) that is the flesh. (Or do you not know that anyone who is united [κολλώμενος, a form of κολλάω] with a prostitute [πόρνῃ, a form of πόρνη] is one body with her?¹³) Here is where the power I spoke of earlier comes into play. If I believe that I delight in the law of God in my inner being,¹⁴ then the desire for another’s wife or a prostitute, which is clearly contrary to God’s law, is not my desire: Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.¹⁵ It is like a distant early warning system, sounding the alarm which I is asserting control.

This distinction may not be so obvious for the young, the virginal, or the single. I should know. I’ve spent most of my adult life single. But I want to address that in a separate essay.

Now not everyone lumps the old man, flesh, sin personified, desire of the flesh and so on together as one thing. But I have read a lot of Nietzsche, and out of deference, I suppose, for the help he has been to me I try to keep what he would call “imaginary causes and effects”¹⁶ to a minimum. I can posit all of this sin and rebellious desire in an old man born of Adam (as well as the credited righteousness of God and the fruit of his Spirit in a new creation born from above in the image of Christ) without feeling that any of this is my imagination. And the quantum leap (there is no time or space between energy quanta) between the old and new I describes my experience with chilling accuracy, especially in outbursts of anger.¹⁷

Even as I rant I wonder, “Who are you?” For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want – instead, I do what I hate.¹⁸ That’s how my father used to act! And there have been times when that brought me back from the brink. (But there have also been times when that did not bring me back from the brink and I reveled in the sensual pleasure of rage.)

The main theological objection to lumping the old man, flesh, sin personified, desire of the flesh and so on together is that our old man was crucified with¹⁹ Jesus. It is therefore dead (and presumably gone). I take the death of Adam as my key here. God said, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.²⁰ Something died in Adam when he became knowledgeable of evil.

I heard you moving about in the orchard, Adam said to God, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid,²¹ yet Adam had been naked all along. The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed,²² not with God, not with each other, and not with the animals. In a similar sense something has died in me, too. The old man no longer has my absolute unquestioned allegiance as me. And that is all Paul said, We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.²³ The entire lifetime of Adam was 930 years, and then he died.²⁴ And in a similar way I await that ultimate condemnation of sin in the flesh,²⁵ the death of this body.

I promised I would circle back via the long way. Why would Paul counsel Corinthian husbands and wives to treat each other sexually in ways that Jesus did not want his disciples to treat each other at all, and under a control that Paul himself would not allow anything to have over him? So, here goes.

If the flesh got the wild idea to seek out a prostitute I wouldn’t know where to begin to look for one. Add to that, I know me. If I had sex with a pretty young prostitute I would fall in love with a pretty young prostitute. About a decade after my first divorce it took several days for me to get the pretty nurse who administered a barium enema out of my mind. I can be a silly old fool, no doubt about it. But chasing a pretty young prostitute, saying, “I love you, I love you, let me take you away from all of this,” is a sillier old fool than I can be. I live in the Midwest. I am working class all the way. I grew up in a fundamentalist church. There is something unseemly about visiting a prostitute.

Though the Roman government had apparently put a damper on the sexual worship of goddesses (and gods) in other places, this practice still flourished in Corinth at the time Paul wrote. Visiting a temple prostitute was good and in some cases necessary for good fortune. Highly skilled sex slaves, both male πόρνοι (a form of πόρνος) and female πόρνης (a form of πόρνη), were readily available, and Paul counseled husbands and wives, because of this πορνείας (a form of πορνεία), to be that for each other. He never repented of it. He never gave it a different spin that I have found. So I assume that even that degree of sensual and sexual commitment between husband and wife was not living according to the flesh²⁶ in Paul’s understanding of the term he appropriated to describe the situation of the one born of the flesh and of the Spirit.

I want to leave the pelvic sins (as I heard a clever wag call them) to ponder the wider scope of opposition of the flesh to the Spirit of God. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality (πορνεία), impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.²⁷ There is a world of sin less than a hair’s breadth and a nanosecond away from me (there is no time or space between quantum states) at every moment of my life here in this body. But I say, Paul wrote the Galatians, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.²⁸ So then, brothers and sisters, Paul wrote the Romans, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh…²⁹

Addendum: May 31, 2024
Tables comparing Genesis 5:5 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Genesis 5:5 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Colossians 2:20; 2:23 and Luke 22:26 in the KJV and NET follow.

Genesis 5:5 (Tanakh)	Genesis 5:5 (KJV)	Genesis 5:5 (NET)
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.	And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.	The entire lifetime of Adam was 930 years, and then he died.

Genesis 5:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 5:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐγένοντο πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι Αδαμ ἃς ἔζησεν ἐννακόσια καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτη καὶ ἀπέθανεν	καὶ ἐγένοντο πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι ᾿Αδάμ, ἃς ἔζησε, τριάκοντα καὶ ἐννακόσια ἔτη, καὶ ἀπέθανεν
Genesis 5:5 (NETS)	Genesis 5:5 (English Elpenor)
And all the days of Adam, that he lived, amounted to nine hundred thirty years, and he died.	And all the days of Adam which he lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

Colossians 2:20 (NET)	Colossians 2:20 (KJV)
If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?	Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

Colossians 2:20 (NET Parallel Greek)	Colossians 2:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Colossians 2:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Εἰ ἀπεθάνετε σὺν Χριστῷ ἀπὸ τῶν στοιχείων τοῦ κόσμου, τί ὡς ζῶντες ἐν κόσμῳ δογματίζεσθε	ει ουν απεθανετε συν τω χριστω απο των στοιχειων του κοσμου τι ως ζωντες εν κοσμω δογματιζεσθε	ει απεθανετε συν χριστω απο των στοιχειων του κοσμου τι ως ζωντες εν κοσμω δογματιζεσθε

Colossians 2:23 (NET)	Colossians 2:23 (KJV)
Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and humility achieved by an unsparing treatment of the body—a wisdom with no true value—they in reality result in fleshly indulgence.	Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

Colossians 2:23 (NET Parallel Greek)	Colossians 2:23 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Colossians 2:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἅτινα ἐστιν λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας ἐν ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος, οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι πρὸς πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός	ατινα εστιν λογον μεν εχοντα σοφιας εν εθελοθρησκεια και ταπεινοφροσυνη και αφειδια σωματος ουκ εν τιμη τινι προς πλησμονην της σαρκος	ατινα εστιν λογον μεν εχοντα σοφιας εν εθελοθρησκεια και ταπεινοφροσυνη και αφειδια σωματος ουκ εν τιμη τινι προς πλησμονην της σαρκος

Luke 22:26 (NET)	Luke 22:26 (KJV)
Not so with you; instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves.	But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

Luke 22:26 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 22:26 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 22:26 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ μείζων ἐν ὑμῖν γινέσθω ὡς ὁ νεώτερος καὶ ὁ ἡγούμενος ὡς ὁ διακονῶν	υμεις δε ουχ ουτως αλλ ο μειζων εν υμιν γενεσθω ως ο νεωτερος και ο ηγουμενος ως ο διακονων	υμεις δε ουχ ουτως αλλ ο μειζων εν υμιν γενεσθω ως ο νεωτερος και ο ηγουμενος ως ο διακονων

Romans, Part 31

Back to Young, Virginal, or Single

Back to Romans, Part 32

Back to Conclusion

Back to Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 3

Back to Father, Forgive Them, Part 3

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 6

¹ Romans 8:12 (NET)

² Matthew 6:12 (NET) Table

³ Colossians 2:8 (NET)

⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had ουν (KJV: Wherefore) here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article τω preceding Christ. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐθελοθρησκίᾳ in the dative case here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εθελοθρησκεια (KJV: will worship) in the nominative case.

⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had καὶ preceding by an unsparing treatment (KJV: neglecting). The NET parallel Greek text did not (NET note 46).

⁸ Colossians 2:20-23 (NET)

⁹ 1 Corinthians 7:3-5a (NET)

¹⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γινέσθω in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had γενεσθω (KJV: let him be) in the 2nd aorist tense.

¹¹ Luke 22:25, 26 (NET)

¹² 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NET)

¹³ 1 Corinthians 6:16 (NET)

¹⁴ Romans 7:22 (NET)

¹⁵ Romans 7:20 (NET) Table

¹⁶ Friedrich Nietzsche: The Antichrist (part 2)

¹⁷ Galatians 5:20 (NET) Table

¹⁸ Romans 7:15 (NET)

¹⁹ Romans 6:6 (NET)

²⁰ Genesis 2:17 (NKJV) Table

²¹ Genesis 3:10 (NET) Table

²² Genesis 2:25 (NET) Table

²³ Romans 6:6 (NET)

²⁴ Genesis 5:5 (NET)

²⁵ Romans 8:3 (NET)

²⁶ Romans 8:12 (NET)

²⁷ Galatians 5:19-21a (NET) [Table] There is no note explaining why, but adultery (μοιχεία) which heads this list in the KJV does not even appear in the Greek text from which the NET was translated. It does begin the list in the textus receptus (received text).

²⁸ Galatians 5:16 (NET)

²⁹ Romans 8:12 (NET)

Peter’s Way?

Posted on October 27, 2012 by admin

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, Jude and the writer of Hebrews managed to expound on the Gospel without recourse to Areté (ἀρέτη),¹ Greek virtue. Paul used it once in a way that seems to question its existence or value: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue (ἀρέτη) and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.² But Peter commanded me to add ἀρετήν (a form of ἀρέτη) to faith (πίστει, a form of πίστις): giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue.³

“There is a tale that Arete (Virtue) dwells on unclimable rocks and close to the gods tends a holy place; she may not be seen by the eyes of all mortals, but only by him on whom distressing sweat comes from within, the one who reaches the peak of manliness.”⁴ In other words, Areté (ἀρέτη) is Gerard Butler as King Leonidas in the movie “300,” straining, leaping, crawling, clawing, dragging himself by brute strength up a sheer cliff face to reach an oracle. That Peter had this imagery of a slow, painful ascent in mind is obvious (2 Peter 1:5-7 NKJV):

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

And if such a manly man may imagine virtue at the pinnacle of his arduous climb as something like King Leonidas found in the movie—a beautiful, half-naked woman, writhing in ecstasy—that’s all for the better. Peter’s letters, the only ones preserved in the New Testament, were addressed to people temporarily residing abroad,⁵ presumably in the churches founded by Paul, probably after Paul’s execution in Rome. I don’t really believe that Peter held any ill will toward Paul or his teaching. I believe that Peter was Peter, “Ready! Fire! Aim!” A fisherman by trade, Peter was ready to take on soldiers in the garden the night Jesus was arrested.⁶ But I do want to compare and contrast Paul’s and Peter’s How-To writings, because Peter’s writing spoke to me long before Paul’s made any sense at all.

At the time I was ready to believe Jesus again I was more than willing to make every effort to add to [my] faith excellence.⁷ Excellence is a contemporary attempt to rekindle some Greek fire in Areté (ἀρέτη), since virtue has become an old scold. I set out, discounting the Gospel as something I’d already tried and found wanting, to obey the law, excellently, virtuously. And I saw my efforts as the only sure way of escaping the worldly⁸ corruption that is produced by evil desire (ἐπιθυμίᾳ, a form of ἐπιθυμία).⁹ After I escaped the worldly corruption produced by evil desire by making every effort to keep the law, then I may become [a partaker] of the divine nature.¹⁰ But that wasn’t what Peter said, not really. Or if it is was, it wasn’t exactly what he meant.

Peter’s point was that God’s divine power (δυνάμεως, a form of δύναμις) has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence (ἀρετῇ, another form of ἀρέτη).¹¹ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, Paul wrote, for it is God’s power (δύναμις) for salvation to everyone who believes.¹²

Through these things, Peter continued, [through God’s divine power that has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence] he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises (ἐπαγγέλματα, a form of ἐπάγγελμα).¹³ Abraham, according to Paul, did not waver in unbelief about the promise (ἐπαγγελίαν, a form of ἐπαγγελία) of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully convinced that what God promised (ἐπήγγελται, a form of ἐπαγγέλλω) he was also able to do.¹⁴

Peter continued, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.¹⁵ To become partakers of the divine nature by believing what was promised sounds exactly like Paul, but only after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire? The translators of the American Standard Version rendered it, having escaped from the corruption that is in that world by lust.¹⁶ This, according to Paul, was achieved by God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.¹⁷ Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?¹⁸ Paul continued, our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.¹⁹

The translators of the New International Version rendered Peter’s explanation, so that through [his very great and precious promises] you may participate in the divine nature and [emphasis added] escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.²⁰ But a note (20) in the NET justifies the translation after escaping as follows: “The aorist participle ἀποφυγόντες (apophugontes) is often taken as attendant circumstance to the preceding verb γένησθε (genesthse). As such, the sense is ‘that you might become partakers…and might escape…’ However, it does not follow the contours of the vast majority of attendant circumstance participles (in which the participle precedes the main verb, among other things). Further, attendant circumstance participles are frequently confused with result participles (which do follow the verb). Many who take this as attendant circumstance are probably viewing it semantically as result (‘that you might become partakers…and [thereby] escape…’). But this is next to impossible since the participle is aorist: Result participles are categorically present tense.”

Reading this makes me wonder, did a fisherman who could change from first person plural to second person plural in mid-thought (he has bestowed on us…so that…you) know this subtle nuance of the Greek language? The alternative—that Peter actually meant to say that God had bestowed his precious and most magnificent promises on Apostles only (or Jews only), so that the laity (or Gentiles) may become partakers of the divine nature, after making every effort to escape the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire—seems untenable to me given his opening salutation. From Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness (δικαιοσύνῃ, a form of δικαιοσύνη) of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, have been granted a faith just as precious as ours. May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!²¹

If, however, I accept that Peter was not the writer, not the literary man or learned man, that Paul was, I can make some sense of this. The Areté (ἀρέτη) Peter wanted me to add to my faith was nothing less than the Areté (ἀρέτη) of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence (ἀρετῇ, a form of ἀρέτη) who by his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness.²² Even the rabbis who translated the Septuagint used ἀρέτη for God’s virtue as Peter alluded to Isaiah 43:21: you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues (ἀρετὰς, another form of ἀρέτη) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.²³

NET

Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint)

NET Bible (Greek parallel text)

…you may proclaim the virtues…

1 Peter 2:9 (NET)

τὰς ἀρετάς μου διηγεῖσθαι

Isaiah 43:21

τὰς ἀρετὰς ἐξαγγείλητε

1 Peter 2:9

Peter changed the word from διηγεῖσθαι²⁴ to ἐξαγγείλητε, something more than mere telling. It is only used once in the Bible, but is a compound of two words that would literally be from an angel (messenger). It was translated show forth in the KJV. [Addendum 5/23/2024: According to the Koine Greek Lexicon online διηγεῖσθαι is a form of διηγέομαι, “to set out in detail, fully describe, show; to explain, report; to narrate, tell, relate fully, declare, recite, proclaim,” while ἐξαγγείλητε is a form of ἐξαγγέλλω, “to proclaim, report, tell out, make known; to give public, vocal expression to.”] It seems that ἀρέτη (ἀρετάς above) served the same function for Peter that δικαιοσύνη served for Paul: But now apart from the law the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe [Table].²⁵

There are really only two ways for me to add virtue or moral excellence to my faith. I can trust in Christ, relying on the credited righteousness of God through the fruit of the Holy Spirit, or I can strive to keep the law, relying on myself. Had I like Saul achieved the status of blameless according to the righteousness stipulated in the law,²⁶ I still wouldn’t have qualified as a Pharisee. And Jesus said, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.²⁷ Though the love that fulfills the law, the credited righteousness of God by the fruit of his Spirit, seems a long way off from Areté (ἀρέτη) in Peter’s arduous climb, it is an appropriate distance between self-acquired blamelessness according to the righteousness stipulated in the law and the righteousness of God. Of course, I didn’t see it this way before I grasped what Paul was saying in Romans.

I thought I was trusting Christ and striving to keep the law, even that by striving to keep the law I was trusting Christ, as I misunderstood James, Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by MY WORKS.²⁸ I added the emphasis here to indicate how full of the pride of life²⁹ I was. Thankfully, I can’t satisfy my God-given hunger and thirst for righteousness³⁰ by striving to keep rules. And I also thank God that Jesus made a special appearance to call a wayward Pharisee named Saul, transformed him into Paul the Apostle, and gave him the words that make up the bulk of the Gospel commentary in the New Testament.

Addendum: May 23, 2024
Tables comparing Isaiah 43:21 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 43:21 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 2 Peter 1:4 and 1:3 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 43:21 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 43:21 (KJV)	Isaiah 43:21 (NET)
This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.	This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.	the people whom I formed for myself, so they might praise me.

Isaiah 43:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 43:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
λαόν μου ὃν περιεποιησάμην τὰς ἀρετάς μου διηγεῖσθαι	λαόν μου, ὃν περιεποιησάμην τὰς ἀρετάς μου διηγεῖσθαι
Isaiah 43:21 (NETS)	Isaiah 43:21 (English Elpenor)
my people whom I have acquired to set forth my excellences.	my people whom I have preserved to tell forth my praises.

2 Peter 1:4 (NET)	2 Peter 1:4 (KJV)
Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.	Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 Peter 1:4 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 Peter 1:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 Peter 1:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)
δι᾿ ὧν τὰ τίμια καὶ μέγιστα ἡμῖν ἐπαγγέλματα δεδώρηται, ἵνα διὰ τούτων γένησθε θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως ἀποφυγόντες τῆς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ φθορᾶς	δι ων τα μεγιστα ημιν και τιμια επαγγελματα δεδωρηται ινα δια τουτων γενησθε θειας κοινωνοι φυσεως αποφυγοντες της εν κοσμω εν επιθυμια φθορας	δι ων τα τιμια ημιν και μεγιστα επαγγελματα δεδωρηται ινα δια τουτων γενησθε θειας κοινωνοι φυσεως αποφυγοντες της εν κοσμω εν επιθυμια φθορας

2 Peter 1:3 (NET)	2 Peter 1:3 (KJV)
I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.	According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

2 Peter 1:3 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 Peter 1:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 Peter 1:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ὡς πάντα ἡμῖν τῆς θείας δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ τὰ πρὸς ζωὴν καὶ εὐσέβειαν δεδωρημένης διὰ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ καλέσαντος ἡμᾶς \|ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ\| καὶ \|ἀρετῇ\|	ως παντα ημιν της θειας δυναμεως αυτου τα προς ζωην και ευσεβειαν δεδωρημενης δια της επιγνωσεως του καλεσαντος ημας δια δοξης και αρετης	ως παντα ημιν της θειας δυναμεως αυτου τα προς ζωην και ευσεβειαν δεδωρημενης δια της επιγνωσεως του καλεσαντος ημας δια δοξης και αρετης

Romans, Part 30

Back to Romans, Part 31

Back to Romans, Part 34

Back to Son of God – 1 John, Part 3

Back to Sowing to the Flesh, Part 1

Back to Cobwebs

¹ Addendum: May 22, 2019
The Greek word ἀρέτη was used in the Septuagint. In an article titled “Are There Traces of Greek Philosophy in the Septuagint?” [The Jewish Quarterly Review Vol. 2, No. 3 (Apr., 1890), pp. 205-222] J. Freudenthal wrote:

“Aρέτη, as is well known, originally signifies man’s power and capacity; hence the term serves to denote all bodily and mental excellences, and, though more rarely, their effects or ‘great achievements,’ or the ‘glory,’ or ‘fame’ acquired in consequence…In philosophical language these usages fall into the background, and the abstract sense of ‘virtue’ preponderates. But it is precisely this ethical meaning, which afterwards became universal, that is never found in the Septuagint.”

Mr. Freudenthal wrote that ἀρέτη was only used in the Septuagint “in the sense of ‘praise,’ ‘glory,’ ‘honour,’ ‘excellence,’ ‘quality worthy of honour.’” He offered the following examples:

Reference	NET Parallel Hebrew	Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint (BLB)	Septuagint (Elpenor)
Isaiah 42:8	ותהלתי (t^ehillâh)	וּתְהִלָּתִ֖י	praise	praise	ἀρετάς	ἀρετάς
Isaiah 42:12	ותהלתו (t^ehillâh)	וּתְהִלָּת֖וֹ	praise	praise his deeds	ἀρετὰς	ἀρετὰς
Zechariah 6:13	הוד (hôd)	ה֔וֹד	the glory	splendor	ἀρετὴν	ἀρετὴν
Isaiah 43:21	תהלתי (t^ehillâh)	תְּהִלָּתִ֖י	praise	praise	ἀρετάς	ἀρετάς
Isaiah 63:7	תהלת (t^ehillâh)	תְּהִלּ֣וֹת	praises	praiseworthy deeds	ἀρετὰς	ἀρετὰς

It is worth considering whether Peter meant praise rather than excellence or the virtue of Greek philosophy. Mr. Freudenthal, however, wrote: “Only in one passage does the word seem used in the philosophical sense, viz. : in 2 Pet. i. 5…”

² Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

³ 2 Peter 1:5 (NKJV)

⁴ Simonides, Fragment 579 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric III) (Greek lyric C6th to 5th B.C.) ARETE PERSONIFICATION OF VIRTUE

⁵ 1 Peter 1:1 (NET)

⁶ John 18:1-10 (NET)

⁷ 2 Peter 1:5a (NET)

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τῷ preceding worldly. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁹ 2 Peter 1:4b (NET)

¹⁰ 2 Peter 1:4a (NET)

¹¹ 2 Peter 1:3 (NET) The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had |ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ| καὶ |ἀρετῇ| here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δια δοξης και αρετης (KJV: to glory and virtue).

¹² Romans 1:16 (NET) Table

¹³ 2 Peter 1:4a (NET)

¹⁴ Romans 4:20, 21 (NET)

¹⁵ 2 Peter 1:4b (NET)

¹⁶ 2 Peter 1:4b (ASV) A note 21 in the NET acknowledges that the Greek is, “the corruption in the world (in/because of) lust.”

¹⁷ Romans 8:3 (NET)

¹⁸ Romans 6:3 (NET)

¹⁹ Romans 6:6 (NET)

²⁰ 2 Peter 1:4b (NIV)

²¹ 2 Peter 1:1, 2 (NET)

²² 2 Peter 1:3 (NET)

²³ 1 Peter 2:9 (NET)

²⁴ Translated tell in Gregory the Theologian Bilingual Anthology: Principles of Theology

²⁵ Romans 3:21, 22 (NET)

²⁶ Philippians 3:6b (NET) Table

²⁷ Matthew 5:20 (NET)

²⁸ James 2:18b (NET) Table

²⁹ 1 John 2:16 (NKJV) Table

³⁰ Matthew 5:6 (NET)

Romans, Part 26

Posted on October 16, 2012 by admin

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