Monday, November 24, 2014

In depth study of...

This morning I was studying 1 Cor 16:13, and examining the Greek words in the verse. It says:

1 Cor 16:13 HCSB
"Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, and be strong."

Here are the notes I have regarding each part of this verse.

Be alert: Stay awake, watchful in the sense of being responsible. (HELPS: 1127 grēgoreúō – literally, "stay awake"; (figuratively) be vigilant (responsible, watchful).) It is also used in the context of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane praying just before the crucifixion and the disciples are nodding off while Jesus is praying in agony.

Stand firm: Be persistent, persevere. [Thayer's Greek lexicon says:  to stand firm; tropically, to persist, persevere (A. V. stand fast)]
  (note from me: I don't think they meant tropically, possibly topically?)

In the faith: Pistis, faith (thorough convincing of God about God for God in you) see http://biblehub.com/greek/4102.htm This is possibly the best discourse on faith I have ever read. It defines what is faith, what it isn't, and how it is slightly different than belief.

Act like a man: Grow up, take responsibility and act like a man. This is the phrase that caught my attention in the first place, because in the King James it says, "Quit you like men". I saw that and I was wondering just what the Greek meant when it said that. I looked it up and most other, more modern translations have a better grip on this than the KJV. But in the Greek, which if you were wondering is the word ἀνδρίζομαι or andrizó, it states "andrízomai (from 435 /anḗr, "man") – properly, "to act as a man," i.e. as a full-grown, mature man; (figuratively) to be responsible and courageous by taking the initiatives God reveals through faith (used only in 1 Cor 16:13). Accordingly, 407 (andrízomai) is directly associated with 4102 /pístis ("faith"). (HELPS word studies). Note: I am not a man, but found this quite interesting. I think from a woman's perspective, we can think of it as "putting on our big girl pants" or "act like a grown-up". 

Be strong: (from HELPS word-studies) Cognate: 2901 krataióō (from 2904 /krátos) – to prevail by God's dominating strength, i.e. as His power prevails over opposition (gains mastery). See 2904 (kratos). For the believer, 2901 /krataióō ("attain mastery, the upper-hand") operates by the Lord inworking faith (His persuasion, 4102 /pístis).

In all, this has been enlightening to me, in that the exhortations that are given here are relevant and reminds me of the absolute gift faith is. For that I give thanks to my Lord. Now to grab some coffee... :)