Tag Archives: Abundant Life

Receiving What’s Mine

11 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in Studies, Uncategorized, Whole Armor of God

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Hello Readers and welcome-or welcome back-to Renaissance Woman where, this week, I continue my study of The Whole Armor of God as described by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18a. 

In last week’s post, I looked at the Greek word translated “take up” in Ephesians 6:13.  The word is analambano (G353) and is defined in the Strong’s as “to take up-receive up, take (in, unto, up).” Analambano is a compound word formed of ana (G303) and lambano (G2983).  The Strong’s defines Ana as “properly up but (by extension) used (distributively) severally, or (locally) at:–and, apiece, by, each, every (man), in, through.  In compounds (as a prefix) it often means (by implication) repetition, intensity, reversal.”  Lambano is defined as “to get hold of, accept, be amazed, assay, attain, bring, when I call, catch, come on (unto), forget, have, hold, obtain, receive (after), take (away, up).” 

As I attempted to take all of the entirety of the definitions into consideration, I wondered if analambano couldn’t be defined as “to constantly take hold of that which we have received in our inner being.”  I see no problem with that definition based on what I found in the Strong’s.  However, my definition needed to be tested both by looking analambano up in other resources and by seeing how it is used in other passages of scripture.  According to The New Koine Greek Textbook, analambano appears 13 times in scripture.  I’ll include a list at the end of this post in case anyone is interested in looking up the occurrences.  The Strong’s said that ana, when used in compounds as a prefix, often meant repetition, intensity, or reversal.  I found no sense of repetition as I looked up the other occurrences of analambano: intensity and reversal where another matter.

Five of the passages containing analambano had to deal with Jesus being “received” or “taken up” into heaven or, as 1 Timothy 3:16 has it, “received up into glory”.  I can only imagine how intense of a time this was for the disciples.  So intense was it that two men clad in white had to come to them and ask why they were just standing staring up into heaven (see Acts 1).  There is also a sense of reversal here though I wonder if the Disciples were fully aware of it until the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

There were other passages where I could see the idea of reversal.  Analambano is used to describe the Apostle Paul traveling on foot but then being “taken up” into a ship.  Perhaps “reversal” is too strong of a word to describe the usage here but, at the very least, there was a change in how Paul was travelling.  Analambano also appears in the story of Peter’s vision before he goes to see the Centurion Cornelius (see Acts 10:16).  The vessel in his vision is “received up” into heaven.  This was definitely a reversal in how Peter was to think and act toward those who were previously excluded under the Law of Moses but were now included in the Life of Christ.    

I discovered something else I found interesting.  Analambano is the word used in Ephesians 6:16: “above all taking (or having taken up) the shield of faith”.  It is NOT the Greek word translated as “take” in verse 17: “and take the helmet of salvation…” That word is dechomai (G1209) and, in order to understand the subtle difference in definition, I looked up both words in the Greek-English Lexicon (BDAG).  Here, analambano is defined as, “to lift up, carry away, take up, to take up in order to carry, to make something someone’s own by taking, with a focus on moral or transcendent aspects, to take to one’s self, adopt, take someone along on a journey, to take something up for scrutiny, take in hand” (BDAG, Page 66).  Dechomai is defined as, “to receive something offered or transmitted by another, to take something in hand, to be receptive of someone, to overcome obstacles in being receptive, to indicate approval or conviction by accepting” (BDAG, Page 221,222). 

My attention was focused on “to make something someone’s own” as opposed to “to receive something offered or transmitted by another.”  I wrote last week on how I pay attention to the mental pictures that form during studies.  When it comes to the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, I picture a soldier standing clad in the full armor.  A fellow soldier stands alongside and hands the first soldier both the helmet and sword and then the first heads into battle.  I want to spend more time exploring this as I look at the pieces of armor.  For now, I hope I am making clear the difference in intensity.  Both words do mean “to take up” or “to receive” but there is a difference in taking in hand something another offers to you and making something your own by taking it to yourself.

This is a massive subject I will be meditating on in the upcoming days: perhaps for years.  I am still a bit gob smacked that the same word used to describe the receiving of Jesus into heaven is the same word used to describe our taking up the whole armor of God.  There are depths here I have only begun to plumb.  I am also meditating on the Strong’s definition of ana: specifically repetition and reversal.

I have already experienced a reversal in my understanding of the Whole Armor of God.  I have always thought it something I had to mentally arm myself with before I left my house in the morning.  It was Christ Himself, of course, but still something external from me I had to attain to.  And, perhaps saddest of all, there was always the fear of; could I really consider myself clad in the whole armor of God if I didn’t quote that passage every day?  This passage was invoked like a talisman against evil.  I don’t remember every being taught to rest in the covenant I participated in by sheer gift and trust that Jesus Christ who is my armor would be my protection no matter what I faced. 

I have experienced a reversal in the direction of Spiritual Warfare.  Instead of going out and engaging who or whatever I perceive my enemy to be in attempt to advance the Kingdom of God here on earth, I rest in the finished work of Christ, I live out of His victory, and trust I am made more than a conqueror through Him who loves me. 

Perhaps there is no sense of repetition in the way analambano is used in my study passage.  After all, Christ died once for all and all authority in heaven and earth is His so the armor that He is isn’t ever going to change in composition or intensity.  However, there is a repetition in that, as my understanding changes, so is there a return and a reclamation and a receiving of all that is mine.  I can only receive to the extent my eyes have been opened to understand who Jesus Christ is, who He is in me, and who I am in Him.  As that understanding deepens, so too do I once more take up the Whole Armor of God and make it even more my own.  In this sense, I do constantly take hold of that which I have received in my inner being.

There is a passage in Revelation I will close with.  It is Revelation 22:12: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”  The Greek words for “coming quickly” are erchomai tachy.  Erchomai is a verb and its tense in this passage is present indicative.  Present is self-explanatory: it means NOW!  Indicative means it is telling a fact.  Translating tachy as “quickly” is perfectly fine although it is important to know it means “speedily” and “without delay”.  I have heard it said this passage could be rendered as “And, Behold, I am ever coming to you…” which I find beautiful.

Constancy is a better word than repetition and so is faithfulness.  He is ever coming to us.  He dwells within us by His Spirit.  Repetition can be a limiting idea-generating the mental picture of some sort of spiritual hamster wheel-and there is no limit in Jesus Christ: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning.

Great is His faithfulness!

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982

List of passages containing analambano: Mark 16:19, Acts 1:2, Acts 1:11, Acts 1:22, Acts 7:43, Acts 10:16, Acts 20:13, Acts 20:14, Acts 23:31, Ephesians 6:13, Ephesians 6:16, 1 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 4:11

References

livelingua.com/blog/present-indicative-english/#:~:text=Indicative means to tell the,in all the basic tenses.

Danker, Frederick William, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition (BDAG), The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1957, 2000

Green, Jay P., The Interlinear Hebrew-Greek-English Bible, Volume 4, Authors for Christ, Inc. Lafayette, Indiana, 1796, 2000

Strong, James, LL.D., S.T.D., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville Tennessee, 1990

Walker, Allen G., The New Koine Greek Textbook, Volumes II/III, 2014-2019

The Way He Has Made

07 Monday Aug 2023

Posted by in Studies, Walking in the Way, Whole Armor of God

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Hello Readers and welcome-or welcome back-to Renaissance Woman!

This week’s post is a continuation of my study on Ephesians 6:10-18a; the passage which contains the Apostle Paul’s description of the Whole Armor of God.  I have not yet delved into the pieces of armor as there has been so much to learn from the word “stand” as it appears in this passage.  The Greek word translated “stand” is histemi.  “Stand” is a perfectly good translation for histemi but it doesn’t fully express the intent of the word.  Histemi means “to stand, abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up, lay, present, set up, staunch, stand”.  It is not standing in the sense of perseverance or holding fast but rather carries the idea of being made to stand.  I have been thinking of verse 10 of my study passage in terms of defining histemi: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might”.  We do not stand in our own strength or merit but are made to stand in the power of His might.  The other word that has grabbed hold of my attention is “covenant”.  I have not ever thought of the whole armor of God in terms of covenant before and doing so now makes me feel as though I am approaching this passage for the first time.

Ever since I looked up the meaning of histemi, I have been thinking about covenants.  It never ceases to fascinate me how, when my attention is focused on something, I begin to see that same thing everywhere.  In last week’s post I quoted from an article published in an issue of Biblical Archeology Review.  I’ve had this issue for months but I just happen to open it and read on article on covenants in the ancient world at the exact time I have begun to meditate on covenants.  During this Sunday’s sermon, the Teacher just happened to mention the phrase “blood is thicker than water” is a shortened version of “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”.  There is no getting away from covenants.

And, what is a covenant?  It is not what I hear it defined as from a great number of believers.  They define covenant in terms of if Person A does this then Person B will do that which is not a covenant but a contract. Of course, I cannot blame my fellow believers for thinking in these terms because THE COVENANT in the minds of believers is the Mosaic Covenant i.e. The Law given at Mount Sinai.  Before Moses and Israelites ever get to Mount Sinai, there is this word from the Lord: “…If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do what is right in His sight, and will listen to and obey His commandments and keep all His statues, I will put none of the diseases up you which I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord Who Heals You” (Exodus 15:26, AMP).  Reading on through the giving of the law and the description of the results of failing to keep it, I understand why the language of if/then has been drug into this Day.

The Covenants of the Old Testament is a subject worthy of a devoted study.  For the sake of staying on the track of my current study, I point out the Mosaic Covenant is not the only covenant of the Old Testament nor is it the most important.  There is a fascinating passage in Galatians which speaks of a covenant made before and one which takes precedence over the covenant of Moses: “…just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.  And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith but “the man who does them shall live by them.” 

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  Brethren, I speak in the manner of men; Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.  Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He does not say, And to seeds,” as of many but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.  And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.  For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise” (Galatians 3:6-18).

This passage is referring to the covenant described in Genesis 15: 9-21.  The animals are brought and split in half but Abraham (though he is still Abram at this time) falls into a deep sleep.  God speaks to Abraham but it is a smoking oven and burning torch which pass through the carcasses and blood of the animals.  Abraham certainly took part in the preparation of the animals and he drove vultures away from the carcasses but, when the sun comes down, Abraham falls into a deep sleep.  He is a spectator rather than a participant.  I wholeheartedly agree this is a covenant God makes with Abraham but the keeping of it didn’t depend on Abraham in any way as he did not pass through the pieces himself but slept and saw as if in a dream or vision the smoking oven and burning torch pass through the pieces.

I think of this covenant when I think of the New Covenant which we all live under.  It is not a covenant of keeping laws and rules, or moderating behaviors so God will be pleased with us and bless us.  Like that covenant made while Abraham slept, this New Covenant was not made with our participation.  Like that covenant described in the Galatians passage, this New Covenant is not one of law but one of promise.  Hebrews 12: 18-24 says: “For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who hear it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow”. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said,”I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”

“In Christ” is such a small phrase.  It’s only two words but they refer to a life and an inheritance that surpasses anything we’ve been taught to expect.  In the crucifixion of Jesus we see “God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).  Human hands participated in the making of the New Covenant by preparing the sacrifice but, again, humans could only watch as the New Covenant was established.  But now, we are In Christ!  Every promise of God is “yes” in Christ Jesus.  We are raised from death to life in Christ Jesus and we are seated with Him in heavenly places.  His life in us is the life of the New Covenant.  Life, not keeping rules and laws.

How does this pertain to the Whole Armor of God?  I see so many believers engaging in “spiritual warfare” by attempting to animate the Mosaic Covenant with the keeping of rules and laws and adhering to standards of behavior.  I rarely if ever hear fellow believers exulting in passages like the ones I’ve shared from Galatians and Hebrews or Paul’s beautiful description of Christ’s fulfilling the law as related in Romans 8. 

I came across an interesting entry in my New Koine Greek Textbook Series Supplements.  In the collection of George Ricker Berry’s Synonyms under “Covenant”, I found: “Asynthetos, occurring only in Romans 1:31, is “covenant-breaker”, one who interrupts a state of peace and brings on war by disregarding an agreement by which peace is maintained.  Aspondos is “implacable”, one who refuses to agree to any terms of suggestions of peace.  It implies a state of war, and a refusal of covenant or even of armistice to end it permanently or temporarily”.

This struck me because God has, by His own desire, established a New Covenant in Christ Jesus.  It is one where He chose not to impute our trespasses against us.  It is one where Jesus put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself and one where He has destroyed the devil who had the power of death.  He has come that we would have life and that abundantly!  Now, this New Covenant cannot be broken because it does not depend on us.  However, calling anything but the life and inheritance that is now ours in Jesus Christ “good news” is a refusal to partake of the covenant.  It is a rejection of the peace that is ours in Christ Jesus.  The result is a warfare that is carnal rather than spiritual because it is warfare that seeks to gain a victory over a perceived enemy when the reality is, in Christ Jesus, the victory is already won.

We put on the Whole Armor of God and our feet are shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace.  I look forward to gaining understanding of just what this means. 

To be continued…

Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures are quoted from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982

References

 4 quotes that you have been terribly misquoting. | by Josiah Ross | Student Voices (mystudentvoices.com)

Strong, James, LL.D., S.T.D., The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville Tennessee, 1990

Walker, G. Allen, New Koine Greek Textbook Series Supplements, 2014-2018, Page 64