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Pleasing (ἀρέσκω)

Pleasing (ἀρέσκω) expresses the concept of acting in a fawning manner to win favor or to act in a way that is pleasing. Therefore, it has a negative, flattery, and a positive, pleasing, side to its meaning.

On Herod’s birthday, Herodias’ daughter danced before Herod and his guests to please him, instigating a response from him that resulted in a promise of a reward. This allowed Herodias to have John the Baptist put to death for calling out Herod’s unlawful act of being with her (his brother’s wife), for she had already instructed her daughter to ask for his head when the King offered her whatever she wanted because she pleased him, Matthew 14:6.

At the beginning of the Church, before the complete revelation concerning the Church was given, the first assembly in Jerusalem faced an issue with the care of the widows among the Hellenistic Jews. This issue required substantial attention and would impact the disciples’ ability to minister to the saints. To address this, the disciples called the multitude together to discuss selecting men who would handle the day-to-day affairs of the assembly, including ensuring that all widows were adequately cared for. This solution would allow the disciples to focus on ministering the Word instead of serving tables. The proposed resolution pleased the multitude, creating the position of Deacon, Acts 6:5.

The desires and works of the flesh cannot please God, for they are carnal in nature and, therefore, hostile to God, Romans 8:8. Because God imputes Christ’s death and resurrection to us, we are able to walk in newness of life, free from slavery to the sin nature, Romans 6:5-6. However, when we try to live the Christian life through law, the result […]

Pleasing (ἀρέσκω)Luther Walker2024-09-05T05:52:16-07:00

Waging of War (στρατεύω)

As Christians, although we walk in the flesh, our waging of war is not done according to the flesh, for our weapons of warfare are not carnal in nature, 2 Corinthians 10:3-4. We battle malignantly evil spiritual forces that seek to ensnare our minds into doing the will of Satan while persuading us that we are doing what God wants, 2 Timothy 2:26. One of the most influential means by which war is waged upon humans is through the world system, for it is set up to pacify the sin nature through the desires of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of biological life, just as a baby is appeased by his mother rocking him in her arms, 1 John 2:16; 5:19. The wars of this world are a direct result of seeking to fulfill the desires of the flesh, James 4:1. Since we are engulfed in a spiritual battle, we are not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of this world, 2 Timothy 2:3.

Although we are at war, we do not need to fear. God has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness, 2 Peter 1:3. We are not ignorant of Satan’s methods and have been provided with armor that handles any attack he brings our way, Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Corinthians 2:11. As part of our salvation, we also have light armor for everyday use so that we are always ready to give a defense for the hope that we have as we shine as luminaries to this crooked and perverse generation through living out who we are in Christ while casting off the works of darkness, Romans 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:8. We are not part of the world system, […]

Waging of War (στρατεύω)Luther Walker2023-12-14T08:10:23-08:00

No savingness (ἀσωτία)

In Ephesians 5:18, the saint is instructed to stop being drunk with wine, in which is no savingness. In many English translations the word “dissipation” is used, meaning the foolishness of using one’s money or time in a way that only seeks pleasure, resulting in these resources being wasted. However, in the original language, it is a negation of the word “save”, which expresses the lack of salvation; not focusing on using one’s time and resources in a preserving manner. Therefore, intoxicated Christians are not able to relate to the things pertaining to salvation; rather, they are wasting their time with foolishness due to seeking after pleasure. Therefore, they are not redeeming the time, Ephesians 5:16. This type of lifestyle is seen in the parable of the prodigal son, who took all his possessions and foolishly squandered them, Luke 15:13.

In Titus, Paul writes concerning the requirements of a Pastor. He is to be a one-woman type of man, meaning only married to one woman, and not have children who are accused of seeking pleasure over the things that relate to salvation, Titus 1:6. These are children who have no discipline in using their time and resources in a proper way and are living a lifestyle following after foolish things.

The things related to salvation impact our conduct. As Christians, we are not to foolishly waste our time with the things the Gentiles go after, for they seek pleasure above all else, living a lifestyle of licentiousness, running after every desire in debauchery and partying. This type of conduct leads to destruction for it does nothing more than waste the resources a person has, bringing upon them ruin. When we start to govern our lives according to […]

No savingness (ἀσωτία)Luther Walker2023-12-23T06:29:25-08:00

Submission (ὑποτάσσω)

The Scriptural concept expressed by the word translated as “submission” communicates a type of yielding that relates to being under the authority of another in an orderly fashion. This has a military emphasis along with governmental structures, for both require submission in order to bring order and provide benefits to those under their authority. This is not the same concept as serving as a slave and therefore submitting is not servitude, Titus 2:9. In many cases, this type of submission has to be done voluntarily.

Christ submitted to His earthly parents because it was the right thing to do according to the law and righteousness, Luke 2:51. He was in the right in what He was doing, but at that time Joseph and Mary did not understand that Jesus would be about His Father’s business, for He had stayed in the Temple listening and questioning the teachers, so He submitted and went back to Nazareth, for the benefit it would bring to them.

A fleshly framed mind will not submit itself to the law of God, for it does not have the ability to submit. Romans 8:7. This is not referring to the Mosaic Law, but the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:2. A carnal mind will want to submit to the Mosaic Law so that it can justify itself through works, for it is not out from faith, Galatians 3:12, but a Christian is to live out from faith, Galatians 3:11, which requires a mind framed on the Spirit, Romans 8:5. Therefore, when we are Spiritual we will submit to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus which will produce righteousness in our lives through faith. We see […]

Submission (ὑποτάσσω)Luther Walker2023-11-25T07:39:00-08:00

The Inarticulate Babbler – No Longer Tossed Around

And on the one hand God gave the apostles, and on the other hand the prophets, and the evangelist, and the pastors even teachers, towards the equipping of the saints unto a work of service, unto a building up of the body of the Christ, until we all arrive at a oneness of the faith and the full experiential knowledge of the Son of God, unto a mature man, unto a measure of maturity of the fulness of the Christ, in order that we are no longer inarticulate babblers, tossed around and carried about by every wind of teaching by the craftiness of men in cunning scheming of deceit, but while speaking the truth in love growing up unto Him in all things, Who is the head, Christ – Ephesians 4:11-15.

Nepios (νήπιος), is a word that describes a stage in life when we are under governors and tutors while being trained and brought to maturity. The importance of a good education and the integrity of those teaching is very important for the proper growth and maturity of a student. When the teachers fail to speak the truth, and do not hold the students accountable, maturity is never reached.

…always learning and never coming unto a full experiential knowledge of the truth – 2 Timothy 3:7

This is true in secular and religious settings. Today our government schools are intentionally based upon ideology and propaganda that teaches contrary to the truth and causes a lot of young people to be very confused about history, who they are, and basic truths in life. This same type of atmosphere is present in many large and well-known assemblies claiming to be Christians today. In the book of Revelation seven periods of […]

The Inarticulate Babbler – No Longer Tossed AroundLuther Walker2023-12-14T08:11:48-08:00

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