Oh Happy day.............

It has been said that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Some of you who have been reading my blogs probably are thinking "thank the Lord." However, after I have said "I love those kids..." I can't resist telling you that the Greek word for family affection is storge. Authorities tell us that the word was used to tell of the love of parents for children and the love of children for parents.
Sometime maybe I will have a chance to tell you how proud I am of each one of them. They are so special in their own individual ways. I love them all. And I give thanks for such times as depicted in the pictures above...

The Excellent Way #10

One Of The Many Bathing Pools In Israel

There were 3000 converts to the church at its miraculous inception.(Acts 2:2; Acts 2:17; Acts 2:41) And at its beginning there was true unity.(Acts 2:44) Soon there was to be a multitude of converts added to the church.(Acts 4:4; Acts 5:14) There was still to be unity.(Acts 4:32) The gospel was eventually preached and spread to the entire world.(Rom. 15:19; Col. 1:6) And numerous churches were established throughout the Roman Empire.

What as the glue that was binding the people of God together in unity? Some would say doctrine or items of worship or decorum of all sorts. But what did Paul give us through inspiration as the cause of our true unity? He said it was love. And lest the Corinthians mistake his meaning, he simply defined it for them.

It is interesting how he did this, though not surprising. He did it with words, specific words. I wonder if they tired of that method. Some do today. It is too meticulous, to wearisome to deal with words in that way. Yet they are so inconsistent. For words are very important to them. How about dinner, golf, ballgames, fishing, vacation, payday, health, grandchildren. Excuse me if that is too preachy.

Paul dealt with many churches with many people with various strengths and weaknesses and backgrounds and preferences. What would mold such people together. He was not about to let them misunderstand his meanings about love. So he used their vernacular and he did it with specific words about love. They understood well enough baptism, belief, repentance, confession, church, etc. But did they understand the true meaning of love. He would not take that chance. For it truly was and is the glue that was intended to protect and enhance their relationships with one another and thus their unity as the people of God.

Paul would say to the Romans "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law." "The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." "Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."(Rom. 13:8-10)

Jesus taught that love is the basis of everything spiritual. To the question "...which is the greatest commandment..." Jesus answered that one should "Love the Lord your God with all your heart..." and "...Love your neighbor as yourself."(Mt. 22:36-40) "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."(Jn. 15:12)

How this all important word has eluded us. So many of us have great understanding of baptizo(to baptize), homologeo(to confess), metanoeo(to repent), pisteuo(to believe), ekklesia(church), but when it comes to agapao(to love) our thinking is a little fuzzy. I think I know why. Agapao demands something of us daily. It is more than a written handbook of polity; it is more than a philosophical display; it is more than a good sermon or a great speech. It is a lifestyle. And I am afraid all the rest will make very little difference without it...For Jesus said everything is summed up in this word...What glue it is...

Paul's next word study about love is found in I Cor. 13:5..."...it is not rude..."

Patch and Grandkids

Scott and Tanner went fishing with me the other day and we had a wonderful time. We spent more time talking and catching up because the fish were not cooperating. It was a great day, the sky was clear, a cool breeze blowing perfect for everything except fishing. I truly enjoy spending time with my grandchildren and this was certainly a special day for me. Just wanted to share some of the pictures so you could see how much they have grown.

The Excellent Way #9

The ninth in our attempts to study Paul's description of love brings us to another statement he made about what love is not. When this negative exists love does not exist. Paul wrote: "...it is not proud..."(I Cor. 13:4)
The Greek word here is phusioutai. The Interlinear translates this "...is not puffed up..." W.E. Vine defines this as "...being puffed up with pride..." Arndt and Gingrich define the word as "puff up, make proud or arrogant..." Zodhiates
tells us, speaking of this word, "...in the NT spoken of only figuratively of pride or self-conceit..."
-
A derivative noun form of the word is phusiosis. It means, according to Zodhiates, "a swelling of pride or ambition, arrogance, haughtiness."
Synonyms of these words mean, according to Zodhiates,: "pride, haughtiness, bragging, boasting, empty glory, vain glory, to inflate with pride, to be high-minded, to exalt, to exalt above, to elevate above others, to be vain".
-
Tuphoo is one such synonym. Paul uses it with reference to qualifications of overseers when he says that he "...must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited..."(tuphotheis)(I Tim. 3:6) And Paul lists conceit as one of the conditions existing during the "...terrible times in the last days..."(II Tim. 3:4)
-
Hupselophroneo is another synonym. It means to be high-minded, proud, arrogant. Paul uses it with reference to some in I Tim. 6:17: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant(hupselophronein) nor to put their hope in wealth..."
-
Another listed synonym by Zodhiates is epairo. "Metaphorically, to lift up or exalt oneself." Paul spoke to the gullibility of the Corinthians in II Cor. 11:20. He told them "...you..." "...put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward..."(epairetai)
-
Other words akin to the one Paul uses in I Cor. 13:4 are huperairo, huperupsoo, and huperphroneo. These words project the ideas of "to exalt above" "to elevate above others" "to be vain or arrogant."
-
Such passages as II Thess. 2:4 where the context is that of the second coming of Christ and Paul is discussing events that will precede it. He speaks of the man of lawlessness doomed to destruction and he describes him as the one who "...exalts(huperairomenos) himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped..." He "...even sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God." My, my, the lengths to which some would go to declare their preeminence.
-
William Barclay called this collection of words "The Words of Contempt." He made some very interesting comments about them. "...usually translated pride, arrogant." "...included by Paul in his terrible list of the sinners of this world..."(Ro. 1:30) "...included among the sinners of the last days..."(II Tim. 3:2) "God...resists the proud..."(Ja. 4:6)
-
Barclay indicated that this one "shows himself above others..." "...looks down..." "...on everyone else..." "...secure in his own arrogant self-conceit..."
As one delves further into Barclay's description of such a person one discovers he projects two distinct ideas of such a person. The attitude "...and wealth were apt to go hand in hand..." And the attitude "...despises men and lifts itself arrogantly against God." "Huperephanos has erected an altar to himself within his own heart, and worships there."
-
One other word closely related to this idea of self-conceit and pride is alazoneia. It too is a sin of the last days.(II Tim. 3:1-2) And it is also in the list of despicable sins of Ro. 1:30. John uses the word in I Jn. 2:16 when he presents the three main areas of sins. One of them, according to John, is "...the pride of life..."(alazoneia)The Interlinear has it "...pride about...life's possessions..."
Barclay goes to great length to reveal the seriousness of this sin. He quotes the usage of this word by such men as Plutarch, Aristotle, Plato, etc. and the conclusion from their writings is that this word defines quacks who plied their cure-alls on unsuspecting people. He said that in the NT this refers to false teachers who taught others and claimed to teach truth, and did not know truth themselves and found arguments to justify about anything.
-
Zodhiates gives an interesting distinction between alazoneia and huperephania, even though they both are related to pride and arrogance. Zodhiates says that alazonea is a "...sin against truth itself, to think more of oneself in spite of the fact that one knows what the truth is about himself..." He goes on to say that huperephania is a sin against love which would be aware of the needs of others and be involved in the fulfilling of those needs.
-
Love "...is not proud..." And when one runs the gamut of words referring to pride and comprehends the deep, dark, selfish lifestyle some live with respect to others, it is no wonder that Paul outlines this attribute as a detriment to Christian unity. None can be had among the proud and conceited for ultimately they are not interested in others at all.

The Excellent Way #8

Matthew 5:5

"Blessed are the humble, for they will

inherit the earth."

Another negative Paul gave in his description of love in I Cor. 13:4 was "...it does not boast..."(NIV) The Interlinear says "...does not brag..." The Amplified reads "...is not boastful or vainglorious..."

As far as I can tell the Greek word here (perpereuomai) is not used in any other place in the Bible. The noun form from which the word comes, (poneros), according to Zodhiates, is not found in scripture. It means "braggert."

Zodhiates lists several synonyms for perpereuomai but they are also listed as synonyms for the next negative Paul uses in I Cor. 13:4 "...love..." "...is not proud...".

The World Book Dictionary defines "brag" as "to praise oneself in what one has," and it defines "boast" as "to speak highly of oneself."

It is a fact that if one majors in selfism then time for others is limited; the feelings of others are ignored; the needs of others are overlooked; and the only attention others are apt to get is destructive criticism. No wonder unity cannot thrive in such an atmosphere. The passage that tells it all is found in Luke 18.

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like all other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all my income." But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."(NIV)(Lk. 18:9-14)

#7 The Excellent Way

The Mount Of Beatitudes

-

On this mount Jesus said "...love your enemies..." It was a given that we love our brethren. How sad it is that just a few years later Paul was writing about unity and love to a church that was divided.

The reason unity is difficult for some is because they don't have agape for one another. It is just as simple as that. It was very easy for the church at Corinth to find fault. There were so many faults for them to find. And if one did not love then dwelling on the obvious faults of others was easy. Paul knew that so he presented to them "...The Excellent Way..." to unity.

At this point in our study of his discussion of the Way he turns to some negatives about love. And he teaches everyone that love is not characterized by certain attributes. If they exist love does not.

In I Cor. 13:4 he wrote that love "...does not envy..."(NIV) The RSV reads "...love is not jealous..." The Amplified says "...love is never envious nor boils over with jealousy..."

In the Bible there are two basic Greek words for envy. They are phthonos and zelos. Paul refers to zelos in I Cor. 13:4. Each word can be destructive of proper human relations and therefore destroy unity.

W.E. Vine says that phthonos is "the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others..." Spiros Zodhiates says of the word that it is "...always used with an evil meaning..." Vine agrees and adds that the difference between the words is that zelos desires the have the same things as others and phthonos would seek to deprive others of what they have.

Zelos can have a positive sense where phthonos is never used in a positive way according to lexicographers. Zelos can also be like phthonos, negative, and that is the way Paul uses it here.

They both are works of the flesh in this sense. In Gal. 5 Paul lists them both among a motley crew of works that he says will keep one from entering the kingdom of heaven if persisted in. They are called "...the acts of the sinful nature..."(NIV)(Gal. 5:19) The list includes: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy(zelos), fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy(phthonoi), drunkeness, orgies.

Paul lists phthonos in Ro. 1:29-31 along with another catalog of sins that will cause God to turn away from folks if they are persisted in. Interesting that so many Christians practice jealousy and look down their self-righteous noses at other sinners in the list.

Paul even speaks of himself and other Christians in Titus 3:3-5 as having practiced phthonos. "At one time we too were foolishly disobedient, deceived and enslaved to all kinds of passions and pleasures..." "We lived in malice and envy(phthonos), being hated and hating one another..." But something changed all that "...but when the kindness and love of God appeared, he saved us."

Isn't it interesting that in all the various lists of sins Paul lists envy and jealousy as being equally a sin as the others and we don't see it that way?

Peter concurred with Paul. "...rid yourselves of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and slander of every kind.'(I Pet. 2:1)

Zodhiates says of zelos that it can "...make war on the good it sees in another..." Indeed this word is not just an emotional state. It displays itself in the way we treat others.

Stephen illustrated this for us in his speech to the Sanhedrin. He said "Because the patriarchs were jealous(zelosantes) of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt."(Acts 7:9)

The apostles experienced the same effects of ill will from the Jewish leaders of the day. "...the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy."(zelos)(Acts 5:17) "They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail."(Acts 5:18)

On another occasion during one of Paul's successful missionary tours he ran into the same ill will. "When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy(zelou)and talked abusively against what Paul was saying."(Acts 13:45) No wonder Paul encouraged the Christians at Corinth not to be jealous and envious of one another. He knew first hand the harshness and hardness of such folks. And of course later these attitudes would cause his imprisonment and ultimate death.

Paul had earlier written to the Corinthians "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy(zelos) and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?"(I Cor. 3:3) And a few months later he would write: "...I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be..." "...I fear that there may be..." "...quarreling..." "...jealousy..."(zelos) "...outbursts of anger..." "...factions..." "...slander..." "...gossip..." "...arrogance and disorder..."(II Cor. 12:20)

Isn't it sad that this tendency can cause disunity in the church? God help us to have love for one another and we won't be envious and jealous for love "...does not envy..."

The Excellent Way #6

The picture accompanying this blog is one of the entrance way to En-gedi where David wrote many of the Psalms. David was aware of the mercy, the compassion, the kindness of God. It is not unusual then that as we come to the New Testament and we hear from another inspired writer that kindness is mentioned as being a key ingredient of Christian love and unity.

In I Cor. 13:4 Paul continues with the distinguishing attributes of agape by writing "...love is kind..." That is an expression of the Christian will, kindness. And if Christian love exists then kindness is present.

The word Paul used for kindness here was chresteuomai. It means, according to Zodhiates, "to be kind" "obliging" "willing to help or assist." And as one studies this word the forgone conclusion is that kindness is more than just a sentiment or a dormant characteristic. It is a word full of action.

The word comes from chrestos which means "good natured" "useful" "gentle" towards others. It is found in Eph. 4:32 where Paul wrote "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Peter wrote "...you have tasted the kindness of the Lord."(I Pet. 2:3)

Another word related to chresteuomai is chrestotes. It means "profitable" "kindness" "benignity" according to Zodhiates. He says chrestotes is the opposite of cutting something short and quickly. Wow! How the church needs that. Paul admonished the pastors of the church at Ephesus to be kind. Of course, he would not ask other leaders to do what he would not do. So he told the Corinthians that he in every way was willing to show himself to them as a servant of God.(II Cor. 6:4) Then he says as he lists the ways he showed them that "...kindness..." was one of those ways.(II Cor. 6:6) God give us leaders who are kind and who don't jump to conclusions about the flock and cut them short.

Paul uses chrestotes in Eph. 2:7 when he wrote about the way God had expressed his grace to us. He wrote that it was "...expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." And he told us in Col. 3:12 that we ought to be kind. "...as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves..." "...with kindness..." And he told Titus "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy." (Titus 3:4-5)

We serve a kind God. This word chrestotes has been described as a mellowing characteristic that does away with harshness. God give us leaders like that in the church.

The synonyms of chresteuomai give us a deeper and fuller grasp of kindness. Paristemi is a synonym that means "to stand beside." It too is an active word that is translated help. Paul introduced the servant Phoebe to the church at Rome. He told them "...give her any help she may need." It is also used of Phoebe when Paul tells them "...she has been a great help to many people, including me..." (Ro. 16:1-2) The Interlinear translates this word "...stand by..."

Antilambanomai is another synonym of chresteuomai. It also means "to help" "be a partaker of" "to succor" acccording to Zodhiates. Interesting that Paul uses this word in his admonitions to the elders of the church at Ephesus. He says "...we must help the weak...'(Acts 20:35) God give us "...overseers..." that willingly help the weak.

Boetheo is another synonym. It means "to aid." We are told that Boetheo comes from two words: "Boe-"a cry" and "theo" "to run." So Zodhiates says that it means "to run on hearing a cry." This word is seen in action in Mark 9 where the father of the possessed boy said to Jesus "...if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us..."(Mark 9:22) And as one reads on one sees the reaction of a loving person who hears a cry and runs to aid and give assistance to another.

Other synonyms mean "to do good" "to benefit""to be useful" It was said of Jesus "...He went around doing good..."(Acts 10:38)

Jesus was so people minded. He was kind, willing to help, useful, gentle, benign, standing beside others, aiding others, running to help, acting beneficially....

Blapto is an antonym of kindness. It means "to endanger" "to hurt" "to hinder" "to disable" "to weaken" "to impede." And the synonyms of this antonym mean "to act unjustly" "injure" "to do evil" "to harm" "to put in a bad mood against another" "to take away" "to consume" "to destroy." Paul uses one of them in I Cor. 6:8 when he spoke to these very Corinthians and said of them: "...you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers." The Greek language was no foreign language to Paul. He used another of these antomyms of kindness in Gal. 5:15 when he wrote: "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed of each other." Paul described love with a word that was opposite of all the negative ways Christians can treat one another for he said "...love is kind..." A word that helps, stands beside it neighbors, aids them, assists them...

Recently I spent a couple of weeks in the home of two people who epitomize the statement "...love is kind..." Just a few years ago out of the kindness of their hearts they spent thousands of dollars, made two trips overseas, and adopted a little boy who had little hope of any comfortable future whatsoever. Who knows what would have happened to him. And who knows where he would be now. Instead he lives in a Christian home. He loves his Bible his adoptive grandmother gave him. He is healthy and happy.

Christian love is kindness. It is a serving kind of thing. It will bring blessings and unity to not only families but also to churches.

Hope my brother can use some of this as he studies about love. Due to circumstances and a lack of room most of my library is being kept by a kind brother and therefore I do not have ready access to it. I feel a little limited in giving as complete a study as I would like, but hopefully what I can do with the aid of Zodhiates will help....And I am not assuming that you need my help in any way. I know you are quite capable of study. I also know your heart and I thank you for giving me this small part in sharing the gospel...I love you brother....