God – Page 12 – Like An Anchor

Praising God With All That You Are

9 March, 202411 March, 2024Marissa

Several years ago, I did a study on Hebrew words for praise and discussed six different words translated “praise” in the KJV (yadah, zamar, todah, halel, tehillah, and barak). Last year, when I was studying song in connection to prophecy, I also started collecting scriptures related to singing praise. Finally, this spring, I collected those scriptures into a list of 30 to share with my ladies’ scripture-writing group at church.

One of the things I worried about when I shared this list was that 22 out of 30 were from Psalms. Typically, I like to draw from all over the Bible but for this one, most of the on-topic verses were in Psalms (not surprising, considering what we’re studying). I worried it might start to seem monotonous to write out verses from psalms over and over each day that basically all read as “sing praise to God.” But there’s a lot more variation in those verses than it seems when writing them in English. As I wrote these scriptures throughout February, I also wrote down the Hebrew words translated “sing,” “praise,” and occasionally “thanks.” It’s just two or three words in English, but in Hebrew there’s zamar, zamiyr, zimral, shur, shiyr, yadah, halel, tehillah, tephillah, ranan, renanah, todah, anah, and shaback.

I find the wide variety of Hebrew words that surround the concept of praise and song fascinating, particularly since Hebrew has a far smaller pool of words than English. There are “about eight thousand words” in the Hebrew language, in contrast to “one hundred thousand or more in our language” (Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish Perspective Can Transform Your Understanding, Lois Tverberg, p. 61). Given that vast difference between the two languages, you’d expect that English would be the one with tons of words that are synonymous with praise (it does to a certain extent, but you don’t often see words like commend, compliment, extol, applaud, etc. used in English scripture). Praise must be extremely important to the Hebrew people for them to devote so many of their words to this concept.

To help illustrate this point, let’s look at a concept that the English language places a high value on: the legal system and government. There are a ton of different words for government, branches of government, and the systems of government. But Hebrew doesn’t have words for separating the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government. They combine everything into one word shapat/mishpat, which Bible translators often render as “justice.” It’s a reflection of a culture where all that authority is centered in God and the king as His representative on earth. In contrast, English reflects a culture where government functions are divided up among different people and conceptualized differently.

It’s similar with praise. In English, we think of praise and worship together and mostly associate it with singing Christian music. We might also include praise in the sense of thanking or acknowledging God for good things that He has done. But praise in Old Testament Hebrew culture is much more varied and vital a concept, and that’s reflected in the number of words the language uses to denote specific types of praise.

Image of a group of people in church singing praises, overlaid with text from Psalm 149:1-3, WEB version: "Praise Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp!" — Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Halal–glorifying God with praise

Even if you know nothing about Hebrew, you probably know this word because of our English “hallelujah” (literally, praise Yah[weh]). The root word halal (H1984) appears 165 times in the Old Testament. It can mean to shine, boast, or even “act like a madman” (Brown, Driver, Briggs [BDB]) but most often it means praise. Basically, it “connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in lauding” something or someone (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [TWOT], entry 500). One noun form, tehilla (H8416), also appears fairly often in the Old Testament (57 times). It “represents the results of halal as well as divine acts which merit that activity” (TWOT 500c). Tehilla can also be linked specifically to a “song or hymn of praise” (BDB, H8416).

Praise (halal) Yah!
    Praise Yahweh from the heavens!
    Praise him in the heights! …

let them praise (halal) Yahweh’s name,
    for his name alone is exalted.
    His glory is above the earth and the heavens.
He has lifted up the horn of his people,
    the praise (tehilla) of all his saints,
    even of the children of Israel, a people near to him.
Praise (halal) Yah!
Psalm 148:1, 13-14, WEB

Typically in the Bible, halal is used to praise and glorify God. It’s linked with joy, speaking, singing, dancing, and intelligent expression. Interestingly, “most of these occurrences are plural … [showing] that the praise of Jehovah was especially, though by no means uniquely … congregational” (TWOT 500). We can and should praise when we’re alone, but praise is something that’s expected when God’s people gather together. That’s why so many churches sing songs that glorify God as part of their formal services.

Praise (halal) Yah!
    Praise God in his sanctuary!
    Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power!
Praise him for his mighty acts!
    Praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet!
    Praise him with harp and lyre!
Praise him with tambourine and dancing!
    Praise him with stringed instruments and flute!
Praise him with loud cymbals!
    Praise him with resounding cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise Yah!
    Praise Yah!
Psalm 150, WEB

Song Recommendation: “Hallelu Et Adonai” (Praise the Lord) by Ted Pearce

Yadah–confessing God is worthy of praise

Another very common Hebrew word for praise is yadah (H3034). It appears 114 times in the Old Testament. This one is often translated “give thanks,” though it’s also translated “praise” or “confess.” The “thanks” translation can be misleading, though, because there really isn’t an Old Testament equivalent to our concept of “to thank” (TWOT 847). In the Bible, thanks “is a way of praising” God rather than something we do, such as say “thank you” to other people. “Confession” is probably the best English equivalent to yadah (TWOT).

Oh, send out your light and your truth.
    Let them lead me.
    Let them bring me to your holy hill,
    to your tents.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my exceeding joy.
I will praise (yadah) you on the harp, God, my God.
Why are you in despair, my soul?
    Why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God!
    For I shall still praise (yadah) him:
    my Savior, my helper, and my God.
Psalm 43:3-5, WEB

In the sense of praise or thanks, yadah has to do with acknowledgement, “‘recognition’ and ‘declaration’ of a fact” (TWOT 847). The word can be used in a good or bad sense: for example, confessing sin or acknowledging God’s goodness. The noun todah (H8426) has basically the same meaning, and is often associated with offerings (e.g. “thank offering” or “praise offering”) (TWOT 847b).

Barak–blessing or praising

Barak (H1288) is used 285 times in the Old Testament (or 415 if you include all the root’s derivatives), and it’s usually translated “bless.” The basic meaning may be “to kneel” (TWOT 285). It’s often used of God blessing people, but when it’s used of people blessing God it can be seen as a type of praise.

Praise (barak) our God, you peoples!
Make the sound of his praise (tehilla) heard,
Psalm 66:8, WEB

When we looked at yadah earlier, one of the things I didn’t mention is that the root word is likely related to throwing or casting something with the hands (BDB). It makes me think of Paul’s desire that “the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands” (1 Tim. 2:8, WEB). Lifting hands when praising God can be controversial (some churches discourage or even forbid it, while in others it’s normal), but it’s definitely Biblical. In psalms, lifting hands is linked with praise.

So I will bless (barak) you while I live.
I will lift up my hands in your name.
Psalm 63:4, WEB

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary.
Praise (barak) Yahweh!
Psalm 134:2, WEB

With the link between barak and kneeling as well as its use with lifting hands in praise, I think it’s safe to say we could classify this as one of the physical types of praise. In many cases, we’ll see that praise involves our voices and bodies as well as our thoughts. You can praise God in your mind, but you’re also supposed to praise Him with your voice and with your body (e.g. kneeling, lifting hands, dancing).

Song Recommendation: “Blessed is the Lord” (Baruch atah Adonai) by Paul Wilbur

Zamar–singing or playing praise music

The word zamar (H2167) basically means to sing or to play an instrument. But it’s used so much in the Old Testament in relation to praise that it’s typically translated “sing praise.” It might not always mean singing, though, as it’s also linked with playing lyre, harp, and tambourine (TWOT 558). This may imply that praise music typically has lyrics, but can also be instrumental. This word appears 45 times in the Old Testament.

I will give thanks (yadah) to Yahweh according to his righteousness,
and will sing praise (zamar) to the name of Yahweh Most High.
Psalm 7:17, WEB

Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
Sing (zamar) to the glory of his name!
Offer glory and praise (tehilla)!
Psalm 66:1-2, WEB

Words translated “psalm” or melody, like zimrah and mizmor, are derivatives of zamar. Over and over in scripture, you’ll see praise linked with music and specifically song. Whether we have perfect pitch or we’re just making a joyful noise, we shouldn’t be shy to express our adoration for God through music or even shouts of joy.

Make a joyful noise to Yahweh, all the earth!
    Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises (zamar)!
Sing praises (zamar) to Yahweh with the harp,
    with the harp and the voice of melody (zimrah).
With trumpets and sound of the ram’s horn,
    make a joyful noise before the King, Yahweh.
Psalm 98:4, WEB

Ranan–crying out praises

The basic meaning of ranan (H7442) is “to cry out, shout for joy, give a ringing cry” (BDB). Typically, it’s used of crying out to God for some reason, and in psalms it’s often paired with joy and singing. The word might even mean to sing out joyful praises, depending on the context: “The jubilation which is the main thrust of the root … could equally well be expressed in shouting or song” (TWOT 2179). One of the noun forms, renanah (H733) is “a ringing cry, shout (for joy)” and can be translated “singing” (BDB).

Shout for joy to Yahweh, all you lands!
Serve Yahweh with gladness.
    Come before his presence with singing (renanah).
Know that Yahweh, he is God.
    It is he who has made us, and we are his.
    We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving (todah),
    and into his courts with praise (tehilla).
    Give thanks (yadah) to him, and bless (barak) his name.
For Yahweh is good.
    His loving kindness endures forever,
    his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100, WEB

Shir–songs, often of praise

The words for “sing” and “song” are not confined to religious music, but they are so often linked with praise that it’s worth mentioning them in this study. The Hebrew word shir or shiyrah (H7892) is often used in the psalms, both to describe what is being written (e.g. “a song of ascents” for Ps. 120-134) and as part of the text of the psalm (e.g. “with my song I will thank him” [Ps. 28:7, WEB]).

Praise (halal) Yahweh! Sing (shir) to Yahweh a new song, his praise (tehilla) in the assembly of the saints.
Psalm 149:1, WEB

Shir is typically used for hymns and psalms of lament. Both can be linked to praise. Many songs of lament “evolve into songs of praise in anticipation of God’s deliverance.” Hymns involve singing to God “in response to something already experienced” (TWOT 23781). Often, this type of song involves praising who or what God is or confessing/thanking Him for things that He has done. As I mentioned earlier, the topic “sing praise” is what prompted this blog post. You can download my free 30-day scripture writing plan and keep studying this topic on your own by clicking here.

Song Recommendation: “Gadol Elohai/How Great Is Our God” by Joshua Aaron

Gadal–praising God’s greatness

The TWOT lists gadal (H1431) or gadol (H1419) in the sense of “to magnify” as one of the synonyms for halel (TWOT 500). You’re not likely to find it if you search for Hebrew words translated “praise” in English Bibles (it’s most often translated “great”), but the usage is linked to praise.

Great (gadol) is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised (halal),
in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
Psalm 48:1, WEB

I will praise (halal) the name of God with a song (shir),
and will magnify (gadal) him with thanksgiving (todah).
Psalm 69:30, WEB

The root verb gadal means to “grow up, become great or important … praise, (magnify), do great things” (TWOT 315). In certain verb stems, it can mean “to magnify” or “consider great.” It’s often used to speak of God’s greatness or to talk about how God magnifies Himself. The adjective gadol has a similar range of meanings (TWOT 315d). Together, the two words appear a total of 643 times in the Old Testament.

Rum–lifting God high for praise

The TWOT lists rum (H7311) in the sense of “to exalt” as one of the synonyms for halel (TWOT 500). The root has three basic meanings: “literal height,” “height as symbolic of positive notions such as glory and exaltation,” and “height as symbolic of negative notions such as arrogance and pride” (TWOT 2133). We can “exalt God in praising” Him, or lift His name high. One specific derivative, romam (H7319), means “high praises” (TWOT 2133f).

May the high praises (romam) of God be in their mouths,
and a two-edged sword in their hand
Psalm 149:6, WEB

Shabach–praise His mighty deeds

The verb shabach (H7623) only appears 11 times in the Old Testament. It means to praise, laud, or commend (BDB). Typically, it’s “used to praise God for his mighty acts and deeds” (TWOT 2313).

Because your loving kindness is better than life,
    my lips shall praise (shabach) you.
So I will bless (barak) you while I live.
    I will lift up my hands in your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food.
    My mouth shall praise (halal) you with joyful lips,
Psalm 63:3-5, WEB

Praise (halal) Yahweh, all you nations!
Extol (shabach) him, all you peoples!
For his loving kindness is great toward us.
Yahweh’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise (halal) Yah!
Psalm 117, WEB

Why Study Praise Words?

Image of a smiling man playing the piano, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "One of our purposes for being here as Christians is to praise God. Studying Hebrew words for praise helps us better understand this vital concept." — Image by Ben White from Lightstock

So why did we spend all this time looking at nine Hebrew words (more if you include derivatives from the root words) that all translate into English so similarly?

In an English Bible, “praise” appears hundreds of times, depending no the translation (254 in WEB, 259 in KJV, 328 in NET, 363 in NIV). It’s a vital concept in scripture, and something that we need to understand how to do if we’re to relate properly to God. One of our purposes for being here as Christians is to praise Him. Our lives should praise God, as well as our lips (Phil. 1:9-11; Heb. 13:14-15).

In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-12, NET

If we just looked at the English word for praise, we’d think the definition was limited to “express warm approval or admiration of” and “express one’s respect and gratitude toward (a deity), especially in song” (definitions from Google and Oxford Languages). Studying the variety of Hebrew words related to praise gives us a much broader appreciation of praise. It’s more than just approval, admiration, respect, and gratitude. It’s a whole-life, whole-body, whole-heart expression of God’s glory, our thankfulness, and much more.

Featured image by Pearl from Lightstock

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Finding Jesus in the Old Testament

2 March, 20241 March, 2024Marissa

Several times during Jesus’s ministry, He told people that the scriptures they read told them about Him. For example, He told some, “You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39, NET). Remember, they would have just had the Old Testament at this time. The gospel events were happening in front of them, but they didn’t have written records yet pointing out which prophecies Jesus fulfilled and cross-referencing Old and New Testament writings the way we do today. And yet, Jesus told people that “everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44, NET). He expected at least some of the people He spoke with to recognize that the law, prophets, and psalms all pointed to a Messiah and that He was that promised Messiah.

When I think about these scriptures, I wonder if I could have recognized that there was a coming Messiah from reading the Old Testament (OT). Even with the benefit of New Testament (NT) perspective, I struggle to see Him in the law of Moses. Not even all of the psalms and prophecies that NT writers identify as Messianic seem like something I’d have recognized when just reading the OT. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we need Jesus to intervene in our minds to open our understanding (Luke 24:13-35). In fact, there are scriptures indicating it’s impossible to understand God’s word or have a relationship with Him unless the Father and Jesus take an active role in your life (John 6:44; 14:6).

At this point, we might ask ourselves several different questions, such as, “How much did believers in the Old Testament know?” and “How did salvation through Jesus (since you can’t be saved through anyone else [Acts 4:12]) work for people who lived and died before His sacrifice?” For today, though, I want to focus on the question, “Which verses in the Old Testament clearly point to Jesus Christ?” Or, since we’ll be looking at the OT that was written in Hebrew, to Yeshua the Messiah?

Image of a man studying the Bible overlaid with text from Matt. 16:16-17, NET version: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered, “Simon, Jonah's son, God has blessed you. No person on earth has showed you this. But my Father in heaven has showed you.” — Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Clarifying Names

The name “Jesus” is the English transliteration (representing a word from one language with the sounds and alphabet of another) of the Greek name Iēsous, which comes from the Hebrew name Yehoshua or Yeshua (H3091). The name means “Yahweh is salvation,” from the words Yahweh or Yehovah (H3068, God’s proper name [Ex. 4:15-16]) and yasha (H3467, “to save, be saved, be delivered” [BDB]). Yasha is the main root of a group of Hebrew words. Frequently used derivatives include yeshuah (H3444, salvation), teshuah (H8668, help, rescue, salvation) , and names such as Joshua, Hosea, Isaiah (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [TWOT] entry 929).

You won’t ever see the name “Jesus” in the Old Testament, but you frequently see the name Yeshua: it is translated into English as Joshua. There’s no prophecy in the Old Testament that says the Messiah will be named Yeshua. When Jesus was born, His name likely wouldn’t have stood out too much. Joshua is a popular name even today, and I doubt it was unusual in Jesus’s day considering the historic Yeshuas that people would have been familiar with (e.g. Moses’s successor Joshua son of Nun and Joshua the son of Josedech who appears in Haggai’s prophecies).

“Christ” is more of a title than a name. It is a transliteration into English of the Greek word christos (G5547), which is a translation (rendering the meaning of a word into the corresponding word in another language) of the Hebrew word mashiyah or Messiah (H4899). Both the Greek and Hebrew words mean “anointed” (Thayer; BDB). The root word mashach (H4886, anoint or rub with oil) is used most frequently of kings and priests sanctified for the Lord, and it’s also used twice of prophets (TWOT 1255). For example, it’s used when Yahweh chose Saul as the first king of Israel.

“Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint (mashach) him to be prince over my people Israel. He will save (yasha) my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon my people, because their cry has come to me.”
1 Samuel 9:16, WEB

Mashiyah (H4899, anointed one) is most frequently used in the Old Testament to refer to kings (TWOT 1255c). It also became closely associated with the God-being we now know as Jesus. By the time Jesus arrived, the Jews of His day were looking for the promised Messiah or Christ (Luke 3:15; 22:67; John 1:41-42; 4:25-29; 7:26). We still call prophecies from the OT that point to Jesus Messianic passages. It might surprise us, then, that if we compare all the verses using yasha and its related words to all the verses using masach and its related words, there are only 5 scriptures that use both and none of them are Messianic prophecies (1 Sam. 9:16; 2 Sam. 22:51; Psalm 8:50; 20:6; 28:8).

Image of a woman studying the Bible overlaid with text from John 4:25-26, NET version: The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); “whenever he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.” — Image by MarrCreative from Lightstock

Prophecies of the Messiah

There actually aren’t as many OT prophecies identifying the coming Messiah/Christ by the title “anointed” as you might think. It honestly surprised me, but when you realize that the Hebrew word mashiyah was “almost exclusively reserved as a synonym for ‘king'” (TWOT 1255c), then it becomes more understandable how OT readers realized that the spirit-filled, victorious, salvation-bringing God-being who would come in the name of the Lord should be called Messiah. We can see this in some of the disciples’ reactions to first meeting Jesus.

One of the two who heard John and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ). He brought him to Jesus. …Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” …

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
John 1:40-42, 45, 47-49, WEB

Andrew called Jesus “the Messiah.” Phillip called Him the one “of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote.” Nathaniel called Him, “the Son of God” and “King of Israel.” They knew they were waiting for the Messiah, God’s son and the King of Israel, from reading the law and the prophets. Thanks to the Father’s revelation working in their lives, they could correctly identify that Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 16:13-20). Perhaps they were all thinking of Psalm 2, where the author talks about “Yahweh and … his Anointed,” who is also “King on my holy hill of Zion” and the Son of God.

Daniel also prophesied about “the Anointed One, the prince” (Dan. 9:25-26, WEB). Isaiah spoke of a descendent of David who would be full of God’s spirit and rule on David’s throne (implying an anointing even when it’s not explicitly mentioned) (Isaiah 9:1-7; 11:1-5; 61:1). Psalms talk about a strong, ruling, righteous, and anointed king (Ps. 45:1-7; 110:1-5). With those scriptures, as well as whatever oral traditions might have been passed down (depending on how much the people of God knew about His plan that didn’t make it into official scriptural writings), the people of Jesus’s day had the background needed to know they were looking for a Messiah. Even then, not everyone who met Jesus (Yeshua) was able to recognize that He was the Christ (Messiah). They needed God to give them eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand (Mat. 13:10-17).

Asking to Understand

Image of two hands holding a small Bible, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "When you know where and how to look, you can see Jesus all throughout the Old Testament writings." — Image by Maura Griesse from Lightstock

When you know where to look, it’s not that hard to find Jesus in the Old Testament or to read the OT and see that there’s a coming Messiah. But without God working in your mind and heart, you won’t know to look. People can read the Bible over and over, even memorize huge sections, but still miss key truths because they’re just reading on their own with a human perspective. God is the one who makes His Bible come alive.

I think sometimes Christians forget how thankful we ought to be to God for letting us understand His word. And when we do that, we might also forget that we don’t yet know everything fully (1 Cor. 8:1-2; 13:12). For me at least, studying the prophecies of Jesus in the OT helps me realize that. Without God’s help and the records of fulfilled prophecies in the NT, I’d understand much less than I do now. And maybe there’s still more to learn, if I’m willing to ask.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:7-11, NET

We need to remember to thank God for the understanding He has granted us, and keep asking to know Him more deeply. One way we can participate in knowing Him at a deeper level is to prayerfully study His entire Bible. The questions I opened with today–“How much did believers in the Old Testament know?” and “How did salvation through Jesus work for people who lived and died before His sacrifice?”–are the types of questions a speaker at my church invited listeners to study in a message I heard last week.

That message focused on Abraham, and it’s fascinating to look at the conversations God had with him and at what the NT writers say about Abraham and God’s relationship. One verse even talks about the gospel being preached to Abraham, and in another Jesus said that Abraham “was overjoyed to see my day” (John 8:56; Gal. 3:7-16). Abraham probably knew a lot more about the Messiah than I’d realized just from reading his story, and he didn’t even have scrolls to study of the law, psalms, and prophets. Perhaps we can also understand more deeply by studying the relationships and revelation that God granted to those Old Testament heroes of faith (the people in Heb. 11, for example) and by asking God to speak into our lives similar to the way that He spoke to them.

Featured image by Inbetween from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Psalm 45 (A Noble theme)”

Gentleness as a Fruit

24 February, 202423 February, 2024Marissa

What do you picture when you hear the words “gentleness” or “meekness”? If you’re like most English speakers, you probably don’t think of controlled anger, strength of character, or calm acceptance of God’s will. But those are connotations of the Greek word used in the New Testament that English translators chose to translate as gentleness or meekness (or occasionally humility, though usually that’s a different word).

A couple weeks ago, I realized I’d never finished my 30-Day Scripture Writing series on the fruit of the spirit. There were three left: peace, faith, and today we’re wrapping up with gentleness. You can find the 30-day scripture writing list at the end of this blog post if you’d like to continue studying this topic.

Putting Gentleness in Ancient Context

I’ve written about the Greek word translated “gentleness” or “meekness” before. I find it fascinating that in English, we associate those traits with weakness but in Greek it’s associated with strength of character. Spiros Zodhiates says that praotetos primarily means “an inward grace of the soul, calmness toward God in particular. It is the acceptance of God’s dealings with us considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him” (The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: New Testament, entry 4236). In the sense that the meaning is linked to our relationship with God, it is similar to the Hebrew word most often translated “gentle” or “meek.” Anav (H6035) means humble, often as a result of affliction, but also proper humility when recognizing “absolute dependence on God” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, entry 1652a).

Returning to the Greek word praotetos, there’s another difference between it and the English connotations for gentleness or meekness. It is not something passive, but rather “the activity of the blessedness that exists in one’s heart from being actively angry at evil” (Zodhiates). The idea of anger and gentleness being conveyed in the same word seems contradictory, but we see Jesus called meek and responding with anger to wicked things (Matt. 11:29; Mark 3:5; John 2:13-17; 2 Cor. 10:1). As with other godly character traits, we can model our expressions of meekness/gentleness on Jesus’s behavior.

It can also be helpful at times to remember that the Greek language used in the New Testament was used by other people as well. It’s not just a Biblical language, and we can look to other writings to get a sense for how people in the larger world of the time used words. Aristotle said that “praotes is that virtue that stands between two extremes, the orgilotes (n.f.), uncontrolled and unjustified anger … and aorgistia (n.f.), not becoming angry at all no matter what takes place around you” (Zodhiates, entry 4236 [n.f. stands for ‘not found’ in scripture]). That’s very different than how we think of meekness and gentleness today, but it’s in line with how the Biblical writers would have used the word.

For this study, we’ll be looking at New Testament verses that use the word praotes (G4236) as well as the root word praos (G4235) and the synonyms praus (G4239) and prautes (G4240). These words appear a total of 16 times in the New Testament. There are also a few other words that could be translated meek or gentle (e.g. epios [G2261] and epieikes [G1933]) but since we’re focusing on gentleness as a fruit of the spirit, we’ll stick with the praotes words for now since that’s what’s used in Galatians 5.

Image of five Bibles on a table with people's hands tracing over the words, overlaid with text from Col. 3:12, NET version: "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience" — Image by Inbetween from Lightstock

Instructions to be Gentle

If you read the New Testament start to finish, the first time you’ll encounter the word for gentleness or meekness is in the Beatitudes. Here, Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5, NET). It echoes a verse from Psalms: “the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Ps. 37:11, WEB). A phrase like “inherit the land” in the Old Testament typically meant you’d have an inheritance in the promised land among God’s (Old) Covenant people. Now in the New Covenant, the humble/meek/gentle are promised an even greater inheritance. In the Beatitudes, Jesus is likely looking forward to the New Heaven and New Earth promised to all His faithful followers after His second coming (Is. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:10-14; Rev. 21:1-3).

But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:11-12, WEB

We talked last week about how faith is an active, participatory sort of thing. Here, Paul told Timothy that “fighting the good fight of faith” and taking “hold of the eternal life to which you were called” involves cultivating gentleness in your life (among other things). It’s a very important aspect of our character as godly people. In addition to general admonitions like this to cultivate gentleness in our lives, we’re also specifically instructed to use gentleness in our dealings with other people.

I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3, NET

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.
Colossians 3:12-13, NET

I think these two passages about “putting up with one another” and “bearing with one another” pair well. Humans aren’t always easy to get along with, but regardless of that we need to be patient, humble, merciful, kind, and gentle in our dealings with everyone. That’s particularly true of those in the church (though we’re to live peaceably with everyone as much as we can), where we should be working to build unity and peace within the body of Christ.

Using Gentleness to Correct

Image of a basket full of fruit, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Gentleness is part of the fruit of God’s spirit. It involves strength of character and becoming like Jesus Christ" — Image by diapicard from Pixabay

One of the things we need to be careful about as Christians is that we do not judge other people (specifically in the sense of condemning them). At the same time, we need to be able to discern between right and wrong and correct a fellow Christian if need be. That can be a very slippery slope, with a lot of correction sliding too far into judging/condemning. Gentleness is key to appropriately using correction within the church, and the word appears several times in connection to this topic.

Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.
Galatians 6:1, NET

It’s not loving to let fellow believers go on sinning and damaging their relationship with God (Is. 59:2). But we’re admonished to restore them with gentleness and “pay close attention to yourselves” to make sure you’re not sinning as well (Matt. 7:1-5). This is what the Corinthian church should have done rather than being proud of tolerating sin within their congregation (1 Cor. 4:6-5:13). It got so bad there that Paul seemed uncertain if he’d need a “rod of discipline” to correct them or if he could do it with “love and a spirit of gentleness” (1 Cor. 4:21, NET). As a rule, though, correction within the church ought to be done with gentleness. Paul gives that instruction both to church members and to leaders like Timothy.

But reject foolish and ignorant controversies, because you know they breed infighting.And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truthand they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:23-26, NET

The goal of proper, gentle correction is restoration. We should never want to condemn people, but to see them repent and “come to their senses.” That is, after all, God’s perspective and we’re supposed to become like Him (1 Tim. 2:1-4; 2 Pet. 3:9). It brings us back to the idea of balance that’s inherent in gentleness/meekness (praotetos). This character trait is angry at evil, yet doesn’t lose control. It takes action, yet always trusts and submits to God’s will. When we correct in this way, we’re kind and guide toward restored relationship rather than trying to condemn or prove ourselves right.

As part of the fruit produced by God’s spirit inside us, gentleness should be a product of our lives. As we follow Jesus and live in relationship with Him and the Father, we should become more and more like them and display their character traits and perspectives in our lives. Gentleness is one important aspect of that.

Gentleness Download

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Song Recommendation: “Rejoice” by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Shane & Shane

Faith As A Fruit

17 February, 202430 August, 2024Marissa

Faith is a huge topic in the Bible, one that whole books have been written about (I reviewed one of those books just last year). Today, I want to look at faith specifically from the perspective of the fruit of the spirit passage in Galatians. In other words, we’re examining faith as something that’s produced in your life when God’s spirit is inside of you.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23, NET

Last week, I mentioned that I realized I’d never finished my 30-Day Scripture Writing series on the fruit of the spirit. The last two remaining topics are “faith” and “gentleness,” so today we’re focusing on faith. I spent this past week reading through the many Bible verses mentioning faith as well as belief (since they’re such closely related words) and looking into the Greek and Hebrew words behind the English translations. My initial “short list” as I started narrowing down which scriptures to include was 78 passages, which gives you an idea just how many verses on faith there are in the Bible. I did eventually get it down to 30 (you’ll find a link to the finished scripture-writing plan at the end of this post).

Faith and Truth

In the Old Testament, you’ll find the word “faithfulness” more often than “faith.” Usually, it’s talking about God’s faithfulness (Deut. 7:9; Ps. 33:4; 89:1; Is. 25:1; Lam 3:23) or humanity’s faithfulness or unfaithfulness to Him (2 Chr. 29:6; 31:20; Hos. 4:12). In these scriptures, “faith” as a concept takes a backseat to the idea of living a faithful life. It’s clear that faith involves action; a change in your entire way of life because of being in a covenant relationship with God.

You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, gave him the name of Abraham, found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him … for you are righteous.
Nehemiah 9:7-8 , WEB

In Hebrew, the word “faith” is typically translated from the root word aman (H539) or one of several other words in this word family (e.g. amen, emuna, emet) (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [TWOT], entry 116). Interestingly, this is the same group of words for “truth.” At it’s most fundamental, the “root idea is firmness or certainty” and it “shows that biblical faith is an assurance, a certainty, in contrast with modern concepts of faith as something possible, hopefully true, but not certain” (TWOT 116). It’s something that’s absolutely dependable; something that gives you stability.

Know therefore that Yahweh your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations
Deuteronomy 7:9, WEB

We can rely on our faithful God. This fact is emphasized over and over in scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament. But God also wants to be able to rely on us to act faithfully. It’s a commitment that is supposed to go both ways, as it did with Abraham, David, and Hezekiah (Neh. 9:7-8; 1 Kings 3:6; 2 Chr. 31:20).

Image of four people sitting around a table with their Bibles open overlaid with text from Ps. 101:6, WEB version: "My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me." — Image by Ben White from Lightstock

A Thing and an Action

Faith in the New Testament also involves action and devotion, but it’s a little harder for us to see that in our modern translations. In Greek, “faith” is translated from the noun pistis (G4102), which implies active loyalty and trust. The verb form pisteuo (G4100) is often translated “believe.” Now, that makes things a bit confusing because in English faith and belief aren’t quite the same. The top definition for “faith” provided by Google and Oxford Languages is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” For “believe,” the top definition is “accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of” and it’s also become synonymous with “think” or “suppose.” So there are overlaps in the definitions, but they don’t have the same connotations.

As I talked about in my newsletter earlier this week, there isn’t a verb (action) form of “faith” in English–it’s always a noun (person, place, or thing)–so translators had to use a different word to translate the action-form of “faith.” We need to keep that in mind when we’re reading the New Testament. When we read “believe” it’s not just an intellectual agreement or an emotional feeling that something is true; it is faith in action. Even when Bible writers use the noun form, they still describe faith as something that you’re supposed to do, not just have.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
Matthew 23:23, WEB

We can’t leave faith “undone.” It’s an active thing. When we read that Jesus came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News” (Mark 1:15, WEB), “believe” is a command to engage in the activity of faith.

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.
John 14:11-12, WEB

We often think of faith as separated from works in modern Christianity, thinking of verses like Paul saying Abraham was justified by faith rather than his works (Rom. 3:27-4:21) while ignoring James using the exact same example to show that faith without works is dead (Jam. 2:14-26). Faith is absolutely connected to works–a faithful life naturally produces certain fruit. (Paul’s point is that salvation is not dependent on works, but on the faithfulness of Jesus and our active belief in Him.)

Image of a woman looking up at the sky overlaid with text from Jude 1:20-22, WEB version: "But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life." — Image by Brightside Creative from Lightstock

Cultivating Active Faith

So what does faith do? In other words, if you have faith, what does it look like to turn that into action? For one thing, it leads to growth as a Christian.

For this reason I kneel before the Father,from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he will grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, you will be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you will be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19, NET

Remember, we’re talking about “faith” in the context of the fruit of the spirit. Here in Ephesians, Paul prayed for those in the church that they would be “strengthened with power through His spirit” so “that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith.” God’s spirit inside us enables Christ to dwell in us through faith, and then that leads to major spiritual growth. One result of this growth is that faith shifts our mindset about things.

Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.”
Mark 11:22-24 , WEB

This verse isn’t just about literally picking up mountains (though it certainly isn’t the only verse about faith/believing having tangible effects in the world [Mark 16:15-18; John 14:11-12]). It’s also about actually trusting that God responds when you talk with Him (John 16:24-27). To put it in Old Testament terms, faith on your part means actually trusting that God is faithful to His part of the covenant relationship.

But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him.But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. …

Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 10:38-11:1, 11:6, NET (bold italics mark a quotation from Hab 2:4).

We can’t function as Christians without faith. And we need to make a conscious effort to cultivate that faith in our lives. We need to hold onto faith (1 Tim. 1:18-19), pursue it (1 Tim. 6:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:22), fight for the faith (Jude 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:7-8), and build up our faith (Jude 1:20; Col. 2:6-7). Like the other character traits and inner attitudes described as “fruit of the spirit,” faith isn’t just something we have passively but something we actively cultivate as God works in and with us.

Acting On Faith

Image of a basket of fruit, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Faith is part of the fruit of God’s spirit, and it influences every aspect of our lives as people who are being transformed by God." — Image by HeVoLi from Pixabay

Many people today think that faith in God means simply believing that He exists. But in biblical terms, that head knowledge only turns into faith when we act on it. If it’s just an intellectual acknowledgement of God’s existence and power, then it’s not any more “faith” than the sort of belief in God that demons have.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him?If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear.
James 2:14-19, NET

We need to be cautious about counterfeit versions of faith or things that tempt us to fall away from the faith. About 2,000 years ago, Paul warned Timothy, “Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Tim. 4:1-2, NET). That’s no less true today than it was then. Somewhat ironically, navigating a world where people desert the faith and try to lure God’s people away from living faithful lives is one of the trials that can strengthen our faith (James 1:2-3).

… you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold—gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away—and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:6-9, NET

Here, Peter reminds us that the end goal of faith is salvation. It’s not a one-time thing where we have a moment of faith, say we love Jesus, and then salvation happens right there. It’s a life-long process. When we enter a relationship with God, we’re making a covenant with Him that includes an agreement to be faithful to Him for the rest of our lives and on into eternal life (Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:10; Phil. 3:8-15) (and, on His part, He agrees to faithfully grant us forgiveness and salvation, share His spirit with us, and enable us to become like Him).

With God’s spirit inside us, faith reshapes our lives. It becomes a central aspect of us and something that we actively do as well as believe. Living in faith involves what we think, the way we conceptualize the world, how we respond to other people, the choices we make every day, and all of our actions. If you’d like to spend more time on this topic, follow this link to download any of my free 30-day scripture writing plans or click here to download the “faith” PDF directly:

faith Download

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Song Recommendation: “By Faith” by Keith & Kristyn Getty

Peace

10 February, 20249 February, 2024Marissa

I decided to spend this week studying peace as part of the fruit of God’s spirit. This month in my local church’s lady’s scripture writing group, I shared the topic of “Sing Praise.” When I went to upload it here on my website so all of you could download it if you want, I realized that I never finished my Fruit of the Spirit scripture writing series. I still have “peace,” “faith,” and “gentleness” left to finish.

The Greek word for “peace” is eirene (G1515), a tranquil, blessed state with security and no strife. The Hebrew equivalent is shalom (H7965), wholeness; nothing missing, nothing broken. As I read through the 294 verses containing one of these words, I realized a lot of them aren’t about peace as something we do, or even necessarily as a character attribute that we develop. Most of them (208) are in the Old Testament, and a lot of those verses talk about people asking each other if they have peaceful intentions, or lamenting a lack of peace that’s associated with rebellion against God, or God assuring His people that He can provide them with peace.

I suppose I think of the fruit of the spirit as something we do. When the spirit is in us, then we practice “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23, WEB). But the verses about joy and peace at least make it seem more like something you have inside you because of who you are when transformed by the spirit. I suppose rather than thinking about this fruit as something we do, we should think of them as descriptions of who we become as people transformed by God, which will of course influence our actions.

Image of a man reading the Bible overlaid with text from 2 Cor. 13:11 version: "Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you." — Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Peace In Relationship With God

Over and over, scriptures on peace link it to our relationship with God. He either promises to “give peace” to those who follow Him, or people following Him speak of the peace that they experience when they love Him and His law.

Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, “This is how you shall bless the children of Israel. You shall tell them, ‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’ So they shall put my name on the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”
Numbers 6:23-27, WEB

Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.
Psalm 119:165 , WEB

Peace is something intimately associated with God. We’ve talked about it before on this blog, so you might remember that in Hebrew, names are intimately associated with a person’s character and reputation. In one Messianic prophecy, Jesus Christ is called the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). In the book of Judges, Gideon “built an altar … and called it “Yahweh is Peace'” (Jud. 6:24, WEB). Those are the only two places in the Old Testament that “peace” is listed as a name for Yahweh or the Messiah, but peace is consistently described as something He provides.

Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go. Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”
Isaiah 48:17 , WEB

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near.
Ephesians 2:13-17, WEB

There’s a lot more to godly peace than simply feeling peaceful or being a peacemaker. Thinking about those Greek and Hebrew words I mentioned in the intro, peace involves tranquility, blessedness, security, and wholeness. There’s peace in God leading us in His way of life, in the redemptive work of the Messiah, and in our covenant relationship with the Father and Son.

Image of a woman reading the Bible overlaid with text from Isaiah 32:17-18, WEB version: "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in a peaceful habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting places." — Image by Pearl from Lightstock

Peace as Something We Do

In the Old Testament, peace is mostly described as something God gives us or which naturally occurs in our lives when we keep covenant with Him and obey His commandments. A few times, though, peace is something we’re commanded to do.

Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it.
Psalm 34:14 , WEB

These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates, and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.
Zechariah 8:16 , WEB

These sorts of instructions become more common in the New Testament. Peace is still something God gives us (John 14:27; Rom. 5:1-2; 2 Thes. 3:16), but it’s also more often described as something that we choose to participate in.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.
Romans 12:17-18, NET

Peace between ourselves and other people is a topic that comes up frequently (Mark 9:50; Rom. 14:19; 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 4:1-3). This is especially important to God in our relationships with other people in His church. Unity, peace, and interactions that build each other up are something He repeatedly commands (in contrast to condemning disunity, strife, and tearing each other down).

Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife. The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient.
2 Timothy 2:22-24 , WEB

Peace As Part of Our Lives

Image of two people facing each other with their hands clasped overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Peace is part of the fruit of God’s spirit, a key aspect of who we become as people transformed by God." — Image by Jantanee from Lightstock

As part of the fruit of the spirit, peace is something we choose and something we’re gifted from God. His spirit inside us, which is part of our New Covenant relationship with Him, enables us to have peace inside us and to cultivate peace around us no matter what else is going on.

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:6-9, NET

When the God of peace is with us and filling us with His spirit, peace should be a natural fruit of our lives. We’re still human, though, and we need to work on living in the spirit rather than the flesh, including choosing to live lives of peace. That involves cultivating peace inside us and making peace with those around us as much as we possibly can.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:17-18 , WEB

As people whose lives are being transformed by God, “peace” should be one of the key characteristics that His spirit produces in us (Gal. 5:22-23). If we lack peace, we can ask God to cultivate it inside us. If we struggle behaving peacefully with other people, and can repent of any associated sins and ask for God’s help to choose peace and make peace. He is the God of peace–Yahweh Shalom–and He is perfectly capable of putting His peace into the lives of people living in relationship with Him.

Click here to download a free 30-Day Scripture Writing Plan on the topic of “Peace.”

Featured image by PhotoGranary from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Benediction (May The Peace Of God)” by Keith and Kristen Getty

Getting A Heart Transplant from God

3 February, 20242 February, 2024Marissa

One of the many things consistent through the whole Bible, Old and New Testaments, is that God is deeply concerned with the state of His people’s hearts. As early as the flood, “it grieved Him in His heart” to see “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil” (Gen. 6:5-6, WEB). The heart-state of mankind didn’t get much better as the years went on. Later, of ancient Israel, God said, “Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deut. 5:29,WEB). He’s longed for a heart-level relationship with people since He created us, but for centuries our hearts weren’t in it.

One of the big promises about the New Covenant was that God said to His people, “I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Eze. 36:26, WEB). The author of Hebrews talks about this happening in us today as God writes His laws on our hearts because of Jesus mediating the New Covenant (Heb. 8:6-11; 10:14-16). Interestingly, this discussion of new hearts and new spirits is deeply connected to the change in how New Covenant believers relate to the law of God compared to Old Covenant believers.

Image of an autumn leaf with a heart shapecut out of it overlaid with text from Jer. 31:33-34, WEB version: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh:
“I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart.
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” ... “they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh. — Image by Rebekka D from Pixabay

The Whole Inner Person

We often think of the mind as associated with thought and the heart only being emotion, but in Hebrew the heart symbolized all of a person’s inner workings. While leb has the same concrete meanings that it does in English, it is also “the richest biblical term for the totality of man’s inner or immaterial nature” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [TWOT], entry 1071a). This includes the personality and mind, with leb standing for “emotion, thought, or will” (TWOT).

That has some interesting implications for how we interpret key Biblical passages. Take this one, for example: “The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt” (Jer. 17:9, WEB). This does not, as I’ve heard some say, simply mean you can’t trust your emotions or “follow your heart” in the modern sense of the phrase. It means humanity’s whole inner nature–both emotions and thought–is corrupt. At least, it’s that way until our hearts are healed and transformed by God.

“I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 11:19-20, WEB

We need a “heart transplant” to make us more like our heavenly father. Remember in Deuteronomy, when God said, “Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always”? When He established the New Covenant, it included a way to fix that heart problem. And because there’s a change in our hearts–our entire internal makeup changing from human and fleshy to godly and spiritual–the way we interact with God and His way of life changes as well.

“It’s one thing to do good because we’re told it’s good and therefore we obey. It’s quite another to do good because we’re good deep down inside and goodness is what naturally flows out. That’s the new heart we’re promised and the new nature we’re given by God’s spirit.”
Chis Tiegreen, One Year Hearing His Voice devotional, Day 29

I came across this quote in my devotional for this year, and it’s what prompted me to write this post. The topic of God working in us and changing us is one we talk about often, but I liked the idea of looking at it from this perspective. It helps us understand a lot of the New Testament writers’ perspectives when we think of this change in heart involving a change in our inner nature. The goal is to become perfect like our “heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48. NET). When that happens, we’ll be good inside the way that God is good.

Image of a heart with light shining out of it overlaid with text from Heb. 10:21-22, NET version: "and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water." — Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay

Paul’s Struggle With the Carnal Heart

Of course, the process of becoming perfect like God doesn’t happen all at once. It doesn’t even fully happen in any human lifetime. Jesus authors or begins our faith and He is in the process of working with us to bring it to completion, but that won’t be fully realized until His return and our change from flesh to spirit (Heb. 12:2; 1 Cor. 15:42-53). But we get to begin that change now, and that’s something Paul talks about in several of his letters, particularly Romans and Galatians.

In Romans, Paul talks about how we needed the law “when we were in the flesh” with active “sinful desires” because the law lets us know what sin is and the grave consequences of it (Rom. 7:1-12). Now, though, we have “died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God” (Rom. 7:4, NET). Now, if we stopped there, we might conclude there’s no law now under the New Covenant because we have Jesus and we don’t need anything else. But Jesus Himself said He wasn’t here to destroy the law but to fulfill it (i.e. to fill it up to its fullest extent). Paul’s actually talking about a struggle here between the flesh, which needs to obey God’s law, and the spirit, which should just be good because it’s like God.

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate.But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good.But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.
Romans 7:12-20, NET

Paul is talking about the same problem that God identified with so many people in the Old Testament. Their hearts are corrupt, they are “unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.” They might even agree that the law is good, but when “nothing good lives in” your “flesh” then you’re not going to be truly good even if you obey the law most of the time. As Paul said earlier in Romans, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23, NET).

So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 7:21-8:4, NET

Now we see Paul discussing God’s solution to the problem. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the Lord is transforming us so we can walk “according to the Spirit” instead of “according to the flesh.” In other words, He’s replacing our heart of stone and giving us a heart like His. Circling back to the Tiegreen quote about obeying because we’re told to do good vs obeying because we are good, I think Paul’s statement, “I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” applies. The part of Paul being transformed and made perfect has God’s law written on his heart; he serves God in the spirit and doesn’t need an external law to make him fulfill “the righteous requirement of the law.” But the part of Paul that’s still human needs that “law of sin” (i.e. God’s law that pointed out what sin is and condemns it) to show him the difference between right and wrong.

Working With God to Build Relationship

Image of a crown-of-thorns ring on a Bible casting a heart-shaped shadow, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "God wants a heart-level
relationship with people, but our hearts on their own don't want to connect with Him or follow His ways. We need new hearts." — Image by James Chan from Pixabay

Because of the heart-work that God is doing in us, we can choose to “live by the Spirit and … not carry out the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16, NET). In this passage in Galatians, Paul then goes on to detail the “works of the flesh” (sins) and the “fruit of the spirit” (godly character) so we can make sure we’re on the right track (Gal. 5:16-6:8). Remember, we’re still not perfect yet. While we can trust our hearts more and more as they’re transformed by God (see 1 John 3:21), we still need to examine ourselves and ask for God’s perspective on us to make sure we’re not getting off-track (1 Cor. 11:28-32; 2 Cor 13:5-6).

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.
Philippians 2:12-13, NET

God invites us to work with Him on transforming our hearts. We get to work on our salvation as He’s working in us. We even get to participate in purifying our hearts (Jas. 4:8). It’s part of the relationship He longs to build with us. If He just did everything for us–or if we could do everything on our own–we wouldn’t be building relationships with Him. And that’s His ultimate goal: to grow the God-family by welcoming new family members into the oneness that the Father and Jesus already share. The “heart transplant” He offers us is just one step toward that goal.

Featured image by Photo Mix from Pixabay