Light From The Greek New Testament

Introduction

By no stretch of the imagination do I consider myself to be a New Testament Greek scholar. However, I have kept up my studies of New Testament Greek, and of the New Testament in Greek, over the more than fifty years since I graduated from seminary. I have learned much about NT Greek and some of my most valuable discoveries in the New Testament have come from my studying it in Greek. I have a number of good resources on NT Greek myself and the internet is full of them, more than anyone could ever exhaust. All this being the case, I have decided to share some of my discoveries in the current brief work. If some of the Lord’s people are helped by these studies and the Lord glorified, my goal will have been reached. I send these studies with the prayer that such will be the case. And since this work is digital, if you spot any typos, please let me know. Thank you.

Asteios (Ah-STEE-os)

In Acts 7.20 and Heb. 11.23 we read of Moses that he was asteios (ἀστεῖος). This word is used only three times in the Greek Old Testament and these two times in the New Testament. It is something of a mystery what this little word means. Ex. 2.2 has the only occurrence in the Old Testament that applies to Moses. My New American Standard version translates asteios as “beautiful” and notes in the center column references that the Hebrew word means “good.” Jud. 3.17 in the Greek Old Testament says that Eglon was “a very handsome man,” “handsome” agreeing with “beautiful” in Ex. 2.2. It is noteworthy that the Hebrew of this verse says that Eglon was “a very fat man.” As the context shows, Eglon was a very fat man. So it appears that the Greek Old Testament has a completely different take on the Hebrew word “fat.” In using asteios to translate the Hebrew it makes the fat man handsome, not to say that a fat man could not be handsome!! Thus it does not seem so relevant. In Num. 22.32 asteios translates a totally different Hebrew word that means “reckless,” so it does not seem relevant either, so we are left with Ex. 2.2, translating the Hebrew word for “good” with asteios.”

Perhaps taking their cue from Ex. 2.2, Acts 7.20 translates asteios as “lovely,” and Heb. 11.23, as “beautiful” in the New American Standard Bible, with both applied to Moses as noted above.

Richard Chenivix Trench, an Anglican archbishop and Greek scholar of the nineteenth century, wrote a very helpful book, Synonyms of the New Testament, in which he compares the shades of meaning of Greek words that are more or less synonymous. He points out that asteios has been translated as “loved of God,” “a proper child in the sight of God,” “acceptable unto God,” and “exceeding fair.” He opts for “a proper child” as the best translation, but he adds that the word “proper” needs explaining.

He points out that the word asteios comes from the word astu, which means “town.” Astu itself is not in the Greek New Testament. Liddell and Scott’s A Greek-English Lexicon says that asteios literally means “of the town.” Trench goes on to show that because a person raised in a town or city is more likely to have more polished manners than someone raised in the country, the meaning of asteios comes to be “urbane,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “notably polite or polished in manner.” [If any of you are offended by this comparison of city and country folk, remember that Trench and Liddell and Scott said it. I didn’t!] Liddell and Scott [is a monumental lexicon of all ancient Greek, not just NT. They say that asteios can mean “refined,” “polite,” “witty,” and so forth, and Trench, that “obliging” and “gracious” “according to the humbler uses of that word,” are examples of the meaning.

Trench points out next that because a city person might be groomed and dressed more for polite society, the aspect of “fair” or “beauty” comes to the fore, thus underlying the translations “beautiful” and “lovely.”

Well – now that I have taken you through the deep weeds of Hebrew and Greek, what is the point? After all, we are looking for the spiritual truth of the Bible, not the intricacies of classical languages. The point, I believe, is that asteios comes from astu, “urban,” and thus basically means “urbane,” “notably polite or polished in manner.” Such a person would be comfortable, confident, moving in society and in urban affairs. It seems to me that when Exodus, Acts, and Hebrews apply this word to Moses, they are saying that Moses was a man who knew the Lord and his ways (Ex. 33.13) to the extent that he did, so that he was comfortable in dealing with spiritual matters, confident is such situations. Not self-confident, to be sure, but confident in God. He was a spiritual man (1 Cor. 2.15, 3.1). He was spiritually urbane, a man whom God could trust to lead his people. He knew his way around in spiritual matters. Oh that we knew more such men and women in our day.

Baros and Phortion (BAR-os and Phor-TEE-on)

There is a passage in the New Testament that would not require investigation based on the modern versions, but in two very old versions, the same English word is used to translate two different Greek words, thus raising a question. The versions are the King James and Young’s Literal. Let us look at the verses in question in these two versions.

King James

Gal. 6.2: Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

6.5: For every man shall bear his own burden.

Young’s

6.2: … of one another the burdens bear ye, and so fill up the law of Christ,

6.5: … for each one his own burden shall bear.

The common word is “burden.” If one read these two verses in the same passage and did not have any other information, he might well ask, Isn’t this a contradiction? V. 2 says to bear one another’s burdens, and v. 5 says to bear one’s own burden. Which is it?

The answer is easily found in the Greek New Testament. There are two different Greek words translated the same way in these two versions. In v. 2, the word is baros (βάρος), which refers to heaviness or weight. The picture is of a person who is burdened down by the cares of life in this age. Our verse in Galatians tells us that he has sinned. His sin and guilt and what led to them have become a weight heavier than he can bear alone. Those who are spiritual are to restore him. The word used here for “restore” is the same as the word in Mt. 4.21 for “mend.” The disciples were mending their nets. Those who are spiritual in Gal. 6.1 are to mend the man who has sinned, help him bear his sinful condition so as to gain victory over it, and thus enable him to bear his own load in v. 5.

There we see that each one is to bear his own load. The Greek word is phortion (φορτίον). This word is used in Acts 27.10 for “cargo.” It can refer to doing our work, just as each one of those who load a ship with cargo will carry his share of the load. We ought to do our share of the work. We have probably all been in a situation in which someone wanted to stand by and watch the others do most or all of the work. V. 4 says that each one should look at his own work to make sure he is doing his share, “for each one will bear his own load.” No one else can bear this load for him, though we can and should pray for one another in carrying our loads.

This bearing of one’s own load in daily work is necessary, but I believe it is only an example and the application here in Galatians is primarily spiritual. V. 1 says that those who are spiritual are to mend the broken man. What does it mean to be spiritual? It means to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be led by him (Rom. 8.14). Just look back a couple of verses to Gal. 5.24-25: “Now those who are of Christ Jesus crucified* the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also march as a soldier by the Spirit.” I am not sure there is any such thing as a mature Christian, but I do believe in maturing Christians. (The closest to maturity would say they are not mature, there is so much farther to go in the Lord – infinity.) A part of our rightful load as Christians is to be spiritual so that we can help those newly born from above, those who are struggling, and those who have sinned and need to be mended. And sometimes there are brothers or sisters who have been wounded in the battle with the world, the flesh and the devil. They also need to be mended. We must be spiritual men and women if we are to bear our own load in the body of Christ, which includes helping others bear their burdens.

So – seek the Lord that you may be a spiritual man or woman, prepared to mend a fallen brother or sister, to help bear the heavy weight of sin and guilt and worry. And be ready to bear your own load, what God has given you as your service to him.

*The Greek tense indicates that the crucifying was a one-time completed act in the past. This would be the point at which one realizes that he has been crucified with Christ and no longer lives, but Christ lives in him (Gal. 2.20). He realizes that he has been buried with Christ through baptism into death and raised up with him in newness of life. He claims these truths as his own, receives them by faith, and trusts God to will and to work in him for his own good pleasure (Phil 2.13). Study Romans 6 prayerfully on this matter. He obeys the command of Eph. 5.18 to be filled with the Spirit, again by claiming this blessing, receiving it by faith, and trusting God to manifest this filling in his own time and way.

In addition to the one-time completed act, there is an ongoing crucifying of the flesh that we all experience in the taking up of our crosses and following the Lord. Crosses are used for death. Thanks be to God that as we yield our flesh to this working of the cross, he raises us up in resurrection life, life that cannot die.

Elengcho (El-ENG-ko)

In Jn. 16.8-11 we read, “And when he [the Holy Spirit] has come he will convict the world concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment; concerning sin because they don’t have faith in me; concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father and you no longer see me; concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

The word for “convict,” elengcho (ἐλέγχω) (pronounced elENGko), can mean to cause someone to be aware of his guilt, or to be found guilty in court, whether the convicted “feels” convicted or not. I believe the usual understanding of “convict” in these verses is the former, to be under conviction, as we say it, aware of one’s sin and feeling it. I am sure we all have had that experience more than once. However, the passage says that the Lord Jesus would convict the world. I believe that very many people who are in the world have no conviction of sin and want little or nothing to with God. Many are basically unaware of God, just being godless. Many have never heard what we would call the good news or the name Jesus.

It seems to me that the second option is the correct one. Whether the world feels convicted by God or not, all those who are of the world will be convicted in God’s court, I suppose at the Great White Throne judgment (Rev. 20.11-15). They will be convicted of sin because they have not had and do not have faith in God. It is a sin not to trust God. Rom. 14.23 reads, “All which is not from faith is sin.” God is pure truth. There is NO falsehood in him and cannot be. “God cannot lie,” we read in Ti. 1.2 and Heb. 6.18.

The Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness because Jesus went to the Father. The world said Jesus was unrighteous and executed him as a criminal. In effect, it said that he was unrighteous and would go to hell. But he went to his Father, proving that he was righteous and the world, unrighteous. He sent the Spirit, and the very presence of the Spirit convicts the world of unrighteousness concerning Jesus because his presence shows that Jesus went to the Father, not to hell, and thus is righteous. The world stands convicted of unrighteousness at the Great White Throne because of its rejection of the Righteous One.

He will convict the world of judgment because Satan, the ruler of this world (Jn. 12.31), has been judged and those who have rejected the Lord Jesus have by default chosen Satan, and therefore stand under judgment with him.

This conviction is like that of a hardened criminal who has committed a heinous crime and feels no remorse because he has seared his conscience (1 Tim. 4.2). He is not under conviction, but he has been convicted and must pay the penalty of his crime to the state, and of his sin to the Righteous Judge.

Let these truths sober all of us as we are aware that a judgment day is coming. If you feel any conviction, turn to the Lord now and make it right with him. Confess your sin and gain God’s forgiveness (1 Jn. 1.9). If you do not feel under conviction but know that you have done things that are not right, turn to God anyway and confess. Don’t run the risk of not feeling convicted, but of being convicted at the Great White Throne. At that point there is no forgiveness and no grace. “Seek the Lord while he may be found” (Is. 55.6). Amen.

Eulabeia, Eulabeomai, Eulabes (Eu-LA-bee-ah, Eu-la-BEH-o-my, Eu-la-BEES)

There is an interesting little word in the Greek language that performs a useful function. It is the word eu (εὖ), pronounced like “you” or “ev.” Its meaning is “well,” as in something being acceptable: “His work was done well.” In English words derived from it, it can also mean “good.” It is used in many words in Greek and English. Some examples are “euphemism” (a nice way of saying something that is not nice), “euphony” (a pleasing sound, as opposed to cacophony), “eulogy” (nice things said about a person, especially one deceased), “euphoria” (a good feeling), “evangelism” (the telling of good news), and “Eugene” (of noble birth, well-born). Ironically, “euthanasia” means “a good killing.”

The group of three words that we will look at in this article includes eulabeia (εὐλάβεια), eulabeomai (εὐλαβέομαι), and eulabes (εὐλαβής). These are made up of two words, eu and lambano, which together literally mean “to take or receive well.” So – what does it mean to take or receive well? Let us look at the uses of this word in the New Testament, which will give the underlying idea of these terms: eulabeia, Heb. 5.7, 12.28; eulabeomai, Heb. 11.7; eulabes, Lk. 2.25, Acts 2.5, 8.2, 22.12.

Heb. 5.7 reads, “In the days of his flesh, offering petitions and supplications to the one able to save him from death, with strong crying and tears, and being heard because of his eulabeia…” a noun. The NASB has “piety,” the NIV, “reverent submission,” as does the NRSV, and the recent ESV and HCSB, “reverence,” and Young’s Literal Version, “fear.”

Hebrews also says, “Since, therefore, we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have gratitude, through which let us worship God pleasingly with eulabeia and awe….” (12.28) All of the versions mentioned in the previous paragraph translate as “reverence.”

Still in Hebrews we read in 11.7, with the one use in the New Testament of this word, eulabeomai, a verb, “By faith Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, being eulabeomai prepared an ark for the salvation of his house….” There are several different translations in the versions we are quoting. The ESV has “in reverent fear;” the HCSB, “in reverence;” the NASB, also “in reverence;” the NIV, “in holy fear;” the NRSV, “respected;” and Young’s, “having feared,” the word he also uses in Heb. 5.7. Three versions use the word “fear,” and this brings out an aspect of the meaning of these words. The Old Testament teaches the fear of God, as does the New. Lev. 25.17 reads, “… you shall fear your God, for I am I AM your God” (NASB, I have substituted “I AM,” the English translation of the Old Testament name of God, Ex. 3.14, for “the Lord”). In Rev. 14.7 we have, “Fear God and give him glory….” Does this mean that we should be afraid of God? We will see.

Now we come to eulabes, an adjective, the word with the most occurrences in the New Testament, and all of them are in books written by Luke, his Gospel and Acts. Luke 2.25: “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem by the name of Simeon, and this man was righteous and eulabes…” – “devout” says the ESV; the HCSB has “devout;” my NASB has “devout;” NIV has “devout;” the NRSV has “devout;” Young’s Literal Translation has “devout.” Pretty unanimous! And it is a very good translation, showing the same full submission to God as we have been seeing.

Acts has three occurrences. The first is 2.5: ”Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, eulabes men from every nation of those under Heaven.” All the versions of the Bible referred to in the previous paragraph have “devout” as their translation. Acts 8.2 reads, “Now eulabes men buried Stephen….” All of the versions except one have “devout” in this verse. The exception is the NIV, which has “godly.” The final use of this word comes in Acts 22.12, when Paul was giving his testimony before the mob in Jerusalem: “Now a certain Ananias, a man eulabes according to the law….” Again all the translations referred to except one have “devout.” The exception is Young’s Literal, which has “pious.” “Devout” means “devoted to God.” Webster’s dictionary has “showing reverence for deity.” There is that word “reverence” again. And Webster’s also uses “expressing … a devout attitude” in defining “pious.” So it all comes down to the same bottom line: these Greek words all have to do with reverence, devotion, and piety toward God according to these versions.

The development of these words sheds much light on them. We noted at the beginning that these words have to with taking or receiving well. The idea of receiving well is caution, and it includes something of the fear of God (Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 36). Trench writes, “The image on which it rests is that of the careful taking hold and wary handling … of some precious yet fragile vessel, which with ruder or less gentle handling might easily be broken….” One does not, or at least, should not, roughly take or handle something valuable that is handed to him. He handles it with caution. Applied to Christian thought, it conveys the idea of handling the things of God carefully. Anything God gives to us is a thing of great value and needs to be handled very carefully by us. Many of his gifts are fragile and can be lost if not properly handled. This caution with the things of God characterized the Lord Jesus. He had this normal human fear of almighty God. He did not live a life of fear, but wanted to please his Father at all times in everything, and he did so, and because of it, God heard him. He did not deliver him from death, but he did raise him from the dead and exalt him to the throne and to the High Priesthood (see Zech. 6.13).

We asked the question about the fear of God, Does this mean that we should be afraid of God? No, of course not. Proverbs tells us that “the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge,” and “the beginning of wisdom” (1.7, 9.10). The fear of God is the fear of displeasing the God we love, of missing out on all that God has for us in his kingdom, and of carelessly mishandling something of spiritual value that God has given us. And who would not tremble a bit at a manifestation of the Almighty in all his glory, such as we see in Mt. 17.6!

My conclusion to all of this is that the words mean “spiritual caution,” and I would translate them that way. The noun: spiritual caution. The verb: be spiritually cautious. The adjective: spiritually cautious. Or we could say “cautious in the things of God.”

May we all have grace to receive well, with caution, the things that God gives to us, especially matters of spiritual import and the personal relationship with him. Let us not handle them carelessly, as did Esau with his birthright, “for you also know that afterwards when he wanted to inherit the blessing he was rejected, for he did not find a place for repentance, even though he sought it with tears” (Heb. 12.17). The things of God have very great value and may be fragile. Handle with care.

Holokleros (Ho-LO-kle-ros)

There is a word used only twice in the New Testament, but it has great meaning. It occurs in 1 Thess. 5.23 and James 1.4. The word is holokleros (ὁλόκληρος). It is made up of two Greek words, holos and kleros. Holos means “whole” and kleros means “lot” or “share,” “lot” in the sense of “casting lots,” and “share” in the sense of “one’s share in something.” Its basic meaning is “complete,” but further, “complete in every part.”

In 1 Thess. 5.23 we read, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be blamelessly kept complete at the presence [visible return] of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse is difficult to translate into good English for grammatical reasons, so I have translated very literally rather than in polished English. The word “complete” is the word we are considering, holokleros. The prayer is that God keep every part of us complete for the return of the Lord Jesus, and do so blamelessly. It is obvious that God does whatever he does blamelessly, so we can be sure that our keeping will be blameless as far as God is concerned. It is up to us, of course, to trust and obey.

And the prayer is that we be kept blamelessly complete. Recall that we said above that our Greek word means “complete in every part.” Spirit, soul, and body.” All three are to be sanctified wholly, kept blamelessly, in every part.

Now we come to James 1.4: “Now let endurance do its perfect work that you may be mature and holokleros, lacking in nothing.” Paul wrote in Rom. 5.3-4, “… but boast in the tribulations, knowing that tribulation works endurance, and endurance, approval….” That is the perfect work of endurance, that we be mature and holokleros, lacking in nothing, and so approved by God. So just what does holokleros mean in this context?

We noted that the kleros part of this word means “a share in something.” That something is just this: one of the key words in the Bible is “inheritance.” All through the Old Testament God promised the Jews an inheritance, which was a lot (kleros), a piece of ground, in the Holy Land, if they were faithful to him. The inheritance can be lost. That Old Testament inheritance is literal for the Jews, but it is also a type of the Lord Jesus. He is our inheritance. We as Christians have a lot, a share (kleros) in him in his kingdom. But that inheritance can be lost (Mk. 9.41, 1 Cor. 3.14-15, 9.27). That does not mean that we could lose salvation, but that we could lose our reward. Salvation is by grace through faith, a free gift, and cannot be lost. But our reward can be lost. The inheritance is our reward.

We learn in Josh. 17.14-18 that Joseph, through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, received a double portion, for he was “a numerous people.” He was not just a numerous people, but he was “mature and complete in every part,” as we learn from the story of Joseph in Genesis. This shows us that our share in Christ in his kingdom can be smaller or larger. We can lose our lot, we can lose a part of our lot, or we can receive our whole lot or even more, a double portion. This gets to the deep meaning of holokleros. The two Greek words that make up this word are “whole lot,” whole inheritance. James is telling us to be mature and whole-lotted. “Now let endurance do its perfect work that you may be mature and whole-lotted, lacking in nothing,” receiving our whole inheritance. John says, “See to yourselves that you do not lose what we have worked for, but receive a full reward” (2 Jn. 8), and he adds in Rev. 3.11 the words of the Lord Jesus, “I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one take your crown.”

That is why James says for us to let endurance do its perfect work – that we may be mature and complete in every part, lacking in nothing, that we may receive our full inheritance. That is why Paul says to boast in tribulations, knowing that they work endurance, and endurance, approval, God’s approval. That is why Paul prays for the Thessalonians that God will blamelessly keep them whole-lotted in every part, spirit, soul, and body.

Oh, our wonderful Lord has a great inheritance for us. More than we can imagine, a share in our Lord Jesus, sitting at his side as his bride in his kingdom, and things beyond our imaginations. Let us see to it that we boast in tribulations, knowing that they work endurance, and endurance, God’s approval. Let us let endurance do its perfect work that we may be mature and whole-lotted. Amen, come, Lord Jesus!

Prosphatos (PRO-spha-tos)

We read in Heb. 10.19-20 the following: “Having therefore, brothers, assurance for the entrance of the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus, which he inaugurated for us, a newly slain and living way through the veil, that is, his flesh….” Your first reaction is probably to wonder why I have the words “newly slain.” Your Bible probably says “new and living, and that is the correct translation. However, there is a very good reason why I have “newly slain. The Greek word prosphatos (πρόσφατος) is made up of two words, one meaning “before” and the other, “slain.” This means literally “slain before” and conveys the meaning “newly slain.”

I will come back to the question as to why I have “newly slain.” First let me list the uses of this word in the Greek Old Testament. In Num. 6.3 it refers to “fresh gapes and raisins.” Dt. 32.17 has “new gods.” In Ps. 81.9 it is “new god.” Eccl. 1.9 says, “nothing new under the sun.” And in Acts 18.2 we have the adverb “having recently come.” The meaning of this word is clear from these examples. It is “fresh,” “new,” “recent.”

Now let us come back to the literal meaning, “newly slain.” It is obvious to anyone familiar with the Bible that this word could be applied to animal sacrifice. We do not have an example in which this particular word is used of animal sacrifice, but words from the root of “slain” relating to sacrifice occur in Acts 7.42 (“victims”) and 8.32 (“slaughter”). We know that our Lord Jesus came to this earth to become a sacrificial victim, to be slaughtered for our sins that we may have forgiveness and salvation. Here is just where the translation “newly slain” comes in. When the Lord died he was newly slain, a newly slain sacrifice. As such he opened a new way for us into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God, a new and living way.

Now see the picture painted by the phrase “a newly slain and living way.” The Lord Jesus was slain and then he was raised from the dead, and he had just been slain, only about thirty-six hours before he was raised. At his resurrection he was newly slain and living. He died for us, yet he lives. He lives precisely because he died in obedience to the will of his Father. Yes, the proper translation of the phrase is “a new and living way,” but never forget that the “slain” is there tucked away in the word for “new.” A new and living way was opened because our Lord both died and lives. Praise be to him.

Proteuo (Pro-TEU-o) and Philoproteuo (Philo-pro-TEU-o)

These two words show an interesting and challenging difference in their use. Proteuo (πρωτεύω) (to have first place) is used only once in the New Testament, in Col. 1.18: “And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that he himself might have first place in all things….” Philoproteuo (φιλοπρωτεύω) (to love to have first place) is also used only once, in 3 Jn. 9: “I wrote something to the church, but the one loving to have first place among them, Diotrephes, does not accept us.” What a contrast! The Lord Jesus laid down his life in the most ignominious fashion to save us from our sins, and because of that he came to have first place by the appointment of God the Father (see Phil. 2.5-11). He did not love to have first place. He loved to love his Father and to carry out his will. Diotrephes, on the other hand, loved to have first place, and thus disobeyed God and abused the church. This is a challenge to all of who want to serve the Lord. Are we doing it because we want to have first place, or at least a significant place, or because we want to love God and do his will, whatever that may be?

Stasis (STA-sis)

The Greek word stasis (στάσις) occurs in nine passages in the New Testament. In every case but one it has the meaning “rebellion” or a similar word. In only one verse does it have a different meaning and that verse is Heb. 9.8. I will quote that verse here from the New American Standard Bible, the one I use regularly: “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is standing.” I checked in several of the popular modern versions and the King James. All of them agree with this translation, though various wordings are used.

However, such translations make “standing” a verb: “stands” or “is standing,” but the Greek word stasis is not a verb. It is a noun. The verb that goes with it is a participle, “having.” So the correct translation is “having standing.” “… The way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is having standing.” Literally it is “the outer tabernacle having standing. The “is” is inserted to make it readable in English.

What is the point? The point is this, that the Tabernacle and then the Temple were the house of God, where God resided among his people. The Tabernacle and the Temple had standing (stasis). They controlled Jewish worship. But the people could not go into God’s very presence because a worthy sacrifice for sin had not yet appeared. Only the priests could enter the Holy Place and worship there, thus excluding the Levites, and even the priests could not enter the Holy of Holies, except for the High Priest. He was the only one in all Israel who could go into the Holy of Holies, and that but once a year, on Yom Kippur.

We said that the Tabernacle and Temple had standing, and that the Holy of Holies could not be entered with the one exception, and that the reason was that a worthy sacrifice had not appeared to deal finally with sin. It is the very heart of the New Testament that our Lord Jesus is that worthy one. He came to give his life for our forgiveness and redemption from sin. But when that occurred the Temple in Jerusalem lost its standing. The veil was torn in two from top to bottom, that is, by the hands of God, signifying that the Holy of Holies itself was opened to all who would come by faith in the Lord Jesus. ALL could come inside.

It is a great tragedy that the Jewish people as a whole rejected the Lord. Only a small number trusted in him. In time Christianity became largely a Gentile faith. And here is the point of what we are saying: even though the Temple in Jerusalem STOOD until A.D. 70 when it was destroyed by the Romans in response to a Jewish rebellion, it had no STANDING the moment the veil was torn, confirmed by the Lord Jesus being raised from the dead. God was through with it. What has standing with God now is the open Holy of Holies, the very presence of God, open to any and all who come by faith.

Praise God that we are not required to travel to a building somewhere and stand outside while a few priests worship in the Holy Place and no one gets to enter the Holy of Holies. We can live 24/7 in the very presence of God. What a Savior we have, the perfect sacrifice for sin who opened the door to the Holy of Holies. That has standing.

Psuchikos (PSU-chi-kos)

The word psuchikos (ψυχικός) is found in 1 Cor. 2.14, 15.44, 46, Ja. 3.15, and Ju. 19. In all of these except Ju. 19 the word is translated as “natural” in my New American Standard Bible. In Ju. 19 it is “worldly-minded,” but the references give “merely natural” as an option. “Natural” is not an incorrect translation, for it describes what is the opposite of supernatural, that which is of nature, but it leaves out a very important piece of information about the word. It comes from the word psuche, which means “soul,” and from which we get our English words “psyche,” “psychology,” and so forth. This tells us that the human soul has something to do with the meaning of psuchikos. It is that the word means not just “natural,” but “soulish.” What do we mean by this?

In 1 Cor. 2.14 we read, “But a soulish man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to know, because they are spiritually judged” (not “judged” in the sense of condemnation, but simply of discerning the truth of things, which could be a good or a bad judgment). What is the soulish man? Scripture teaches us that humans are made up of spirit, soul, and body. (By the way, animals are souls in the same sense as humans are – Gen. 1.21: “God created every living soul that moves,” referring to animals, and 2.7: “Man became a living soul.”) It is obvious that the body is our physical aspect. The soul is our psyche, our psychological aspect, including mind, emotions, and will. The spirit is that which enables us to relate to God, to commune with him and to receive revelation from him. In the same way the body is the way we relate to the physical world about us by our five senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

Eph. 2.1 tells us that before our new birth we were “dead in our trespasses and sins.” Ephesians does not mention the new birth, which comes from Jn. 3.3-7, Titus 3.5, 1 Pt. 1.23, and 1 Jn., but I think we all would agree that our being dead in trespasses and sins was a spiritual death, not physical or psychological. This means that the person who has not been born from above, born of the Spirit (Jn. 3.3, 5, 6), is spiritually dead. That is, his spirit is dead toward God. He cannot relate to God or hear from God, except that God may convict him of sin and communicate his need for the new, spiritual birth. When a person comes to the Lord in faith to receive that new birth, his spirit, formerly dead, now comes to life by the entrance of the Holy Spirit into his spirit. He is now able to relate to God.

All this means that the soulish man referred to above is not able to “receive the things of the Spirit of God … because they are spiritually judged” and his spirit is dead toward God. That means that when he has to deal with matters, all he has to go on is his soul, his mind, emotions, and will. He has to figure things out on his own. All of us have had experiences of having to make an important decision with no divine guidance. We just think it over the best we can, or list pros and cons, or consult our feelings, or ask for advice, and so forth, and make the best (we think) decision we can by our own wisdom. Or we just do what we want to – the will. How many times has all that gotten us into trouble?

But the spiritual man (1 Cor. 2.15, 3.1), having been born of the Spirit, is not limited to his soul, and so soulish. He has a spirit that is alive toward God and so is able to ask him for guidance and receive it. Many times the guidance will appear foolish to our minds, such as marching around Jericho for seven days, but God’s ways are not foolish. We don’t ask God for guidance and then judge it by our intelligence. He knows everything before it takes place, so his guidance is accurate and his heart is good. We can trust him totally.

The next two uses of psuchikos are in 1 Cor. 15. 44, 46, and there they are rightly translated “natural,” referring to our human bodies, which physically are of nature.

In Ja. 3.15 we read, “This wisdom is not that descending from above, but is earthly, soulish, demonic.” This statement is exactly in line with 1 Cor. 2.14. There the soulish man, with a dead spirit and depending on his own resources, has a wisdom of sorts, but it is soulish wisdom, limited to that person himself. He is not able to hear from God and so must do the best he can.

Ju. 19 continues this line of thought, but is a very interesting verse. It reads, literally, “These are those causing divisions, soulish, not having spirit.” How remarkable in the light of 1 Cor. 2.14. Here it states plainly that soulish people do not have spirit because their spirits are dead (toward God), so they are limited to their own soul-power, we might say.

So – realize that if you have been born from above, born of the Spirit, your spirit is alive with the life of God, the indwelling Holy Spirit. Worship him (“in spirit and in truth,” your spirit and the Holy Spirit, Jn. 4.24). Praise him. Give thanks to him. And call on him for all your needs. He is able to give you the wisdom from above. Praise him indeed!

And if you have not been born from above and realize your limitations and your need for divine help, call on the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and to give you the birth of the Spirit and put your trust in him. If you are in a church (not everyone in a church has been born of the Spirit) talk to the pastor or someone there that you know can help you. If you have bo one to turn to, email me by clicking on the mail button at the bottom of the home page and I will be pleased to help. Do not put this off. Do not limit yourself to yourself when God longs to save you and guide you. Reach out to him and to others who are able to help. God bless you. Amen!

Light From The Greek New Testament by Tom Adcox – PDF

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New Testament translations are my own unless otherwise noted.