Thoughts On Romans 5

Many Eastern Orthodox writers say (contra Augustine's teaching of original sin or the idea that we're guilty of and/or were condemned by Adam's sin) that Romans 5:12 means that people sin because they’re mortal:¹

Romans 5:12 (SBLGNT): 12 Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ διʼ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν ἐφʼ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον—

12 Therefore,² just as through one man this thing “sin” came into the world, and, through this “sin,” this thing “death” came into the world—and so to all humans this “death” spread, and that is why all [have] sinned (usually translated “because all sinned”)— (My translation/interpretation of the Greek)

I.e., we don't die because we have somehow inherited Adam's sin. Rather, we sin because we are mortal and subject to death due to Adam's transgression, with all the temptations and weaknesses that entails. As Paul continues:

Romans 5:13–21 (SBLGNT): 13 ἄχρι γὰρ νόμου ἁμαρτία ἦν ἐν κόσμῳ, ἁμαρτία δὲ οὐκ ἐλλογεῖται μὴ ὄντος νόμου, 14 ἀλλὰ ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωϋσέως καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντας ἐπὶ τῷ ὁμοιώματι τῆς παραβάσεως Ἀδάμ, ὅς ἐστιν τύπος τοῦ μέλλοντος. 15 Ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς τὸ παράπτωμα, οὕτως καὶ τὸ χάρισμα· εἰ γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι οἱ πολλοὶ ἀπέθανον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ δωρεὰ ἐν χάριτι τῇ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐπερίσσευσεν. 16 καὶ οὐχ ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς ἁμαρτήσαντος τὸ δώρημα· τὸ μὲν γὰρ κρίμα ἐξ ἑνὸς εἰς κατάκριμα, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα ἐκ πολλῶν παραπτωμάτων εἰς δικαίωμα. 17 εἰ γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι ὁ θάνατος ἐβασίλευσεν διὰ τοῦ ἑνός, πολλῷ μᾶλλον οἱ τὴν περισσείαν τῆς χάριτος καὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς δικαιοσύνης λαμβάνοντες ἐν ζωῇ βασιλεύσουσιν διὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. 18 Ἄρα οὖν ὡς διʼ ἑνὸς παραπτώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς κατάκριμα, οὕτως καὶ διʼ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς· 19 ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί, οὕτως καὶ διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοί. 20 νόμος δὲ παρεισῆλθεν ἵνα πλεονάσῃ τὸ παράπτωμα· οὗ δὲ ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις, 21 ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐβασίλευσεν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ, οὕτως καὶ ἡ χάρις βασιλεύσῃ διὰ δικαιοσύνης εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν.

13 For until there was [the] Law, sin was in the world, but sin is not charged against a person when there is no Law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam until the time of Moses [and the giving of the Law] even over those who didn’t sin in the same way as Adam’s transgression, who is a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is indeed not like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one man the many died, much more have the grace of God and the gracious gift from the [actions of the] one man, Jesus Christ, abounded to the many. 16 And the free gift is not like what resulted from the one man [Adam] having sinned. For the judgment following the one man’s trespass resulted in condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses resulted in acquittal/justification. 17 For if by the one man’s trespass death reigned through that one man, much more will those receiving the abundance of the grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore just as by the trespass of the one man all humans received condemnation [that results in death], so also by the righteous act of the one man all humans received justification that results in life. 19 For just as by the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 And [the] Law came in, with the result that the trespass[ing] increased; but in this situation where sin increased, the grace [of God] abounded even more, 21 so that just as sin reigned through death, so also will/might this grace reign by granting justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (My translation/interpretation of the Greek)

Murray J. Harris in his book Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament: An Essential Reference Resource for Exegesis discusses the use and meaning of ἐφ᾿ ᾧ in Romans 5:12:

C. Important Constructions Using Ἐπί

1. Ἐπί τὸ αὐτό

...

2. Ἐφʼ ᾧ

There is general unanimity among grammarians that ἐφʼ ᾧ means “because,” “inasmuch as,” or “in view of the fact that,” where ἐφʼ ᾧ = ἐπὶ τούτῳ ὅτι, “on the basis of this reason, namely that,” or = διότι /διὰ τοῦτο ὅτι, “because” (see BDF §235[2]; Moulton 107; Robertson 604, 722, 963; Zerwick §127; Analysis 399; Turner 272, 319; so also BDAG 365a–b; cf. 727c). Such a sense certainly fits the context in Ro 5:12; 2 Co 5:4; Php 3:12, although some have doubts about Php 4:10 (e.g., BDF §235[2], “for”; BDAG 365b “for, indeed”; Turner 272, “whereon”; and Moule 132 suggests “with regard to which” [i.e., τὸ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ φρονεῖν, “your concern for me”]).

a. Romans 5:12

Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ διʼ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν, ἐφʼ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death entered as a consequence of that sin, and so death has spread to all people, because all have sinned [with Adam].”

In Romans 5:12–21 Paul is comparing (with both similarities and differences) Christ, the sole author of righteousness and life, with Adam, the author of sin and death. Verse 12 is anacoluthic—the true conclusion matching the ὥσπερ would probably have been “so righteousness came into the world through one man, and life through that righteousness.”

Few phrases in Paul’s writings have generated more controversy than ἐφʼ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον. J. A. Fitzmyer lists no fewer than eleven proposed meanings for ἐφʼ ᾧ [J. A. Fitzmyer, Romans (AB; New York: Doubleday, 1993), 413–17]; he himself opts for “with the result that” (cf. LSJ 622c, “wherefore”). The numerous interpretations of the verse fall into two main grammatical categories:

1. those that construe ᾧ as a relative pronoun (whose antecedent may be either ὁ θάνατος, “death,” or ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου, “one man”), with ἐπί meaning “in” or “because of”
2. those that treat ἐφʼ ᾧ as a conjunction, equivalent to ἐπὶ τούτῳ ὅτι, “because”

The former alternatives are improbable since elsewhere in Paul (2 Co 5:4; Php 3:12; 4:10), ἐφʼ ᾧ is conjunctional, whatever its precise nuance.

Thus, the focus of exegetical attention naturally moves to πάντες ἥμαρτον, which may refer to human beings’ corporate involvement in the transgression of Adam, or to their personal sin either in imitation of Adam or as a result of inheriting a corrupt Adamic nature. Since some nexus between Adam and his descendants regarding sin seems demanded by Paul’s Adam-Christ analogy (see Ro 5:18–19; cf. 1 Co 15:22), the most likely options seem to be:

1. “death spread to all people because all sinned” (either actually in Adam’s primal transgression or in their federal representative, Adam, ἥμαρτον being a constative aorist)
2. “death spread to all people because all do sin” (as those who have inherited Adam’s nature, ἥμαρτον being a gnomic aorist)
3. *“death spread to all people because all [since the time of Adam] have sinned” (ἥμαρτον being a constative aorist).

* = the writer’s own preference when more than one solution is given for a particular exegetical issue and a preference is not expressed.

(Murray J. Harris, Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament: An Essential Reference Resource for Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 139–140.) 

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¹Here are some examples of Eastern Orthodox sources espousing/defending this view, saying that ἐφʼ ᾧ refers to ὁ θάνατος (death):

http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/frjr_sin.aspx 

...From what has been observed, the famous expression, eph'ho pantes hemarton,[228] can be safely interpreted as modifying the word, thanatos, which precedes it, and which grammatically is the only word which fits the context. Eph'ho as a reference to Adam is both grammatically and exegetically impossible. Such an interpretation was first introduced by Origen, who obviously used it with a purpose in mind, because he believed in the pre-existence of all souls whereby he could easily say that all sinned in Adam. The interpretation of eph'ho as "because" was first introduced into the East by Photius,[229] who claims that there are two interpretations prevalent—Adam and thanatos—but he would interpret it dioti (because). He bases his argument on a false interpretation of II Corinthians 5:4 by interpreting eph'ho, here again, as dioti. But here it is quite clear that eph'ho refers to skensi (sic) (eph'ho skenei ou thelomen ekdysasthai). Photius is interpreting Paul within the framework of natural moral law and is seeking to justify the death of all men by personal guilt. He claims that all men die because they sin by following in the footsteps of Adam.[230] However, neither he nor any of the Eastern Fathers accepts the teaching that all men are made guilty for the sin of Adam.

From purely grammatical considerations it is impossible to interpret eph'ho as a reference to any word other than thanatos. Each time the grammatical construction of the preposition epi with the dative is used by Paul, it is always used as a relative pronoun which modifies a preceding noun [231] or phrase.[232] To make an exception in Romans 5:12 by making St. Paul use the wrong Greek expression to express the idea, "because," is to beg the issue. The correct interpretation of this passage, both grammatically and exegetically, can be supplied only when eph'ho is understood to modify thanatos—kai houtos eis pantas anthropous ho thanatos dielthen eph'ho (thanato) pantes hemarton—"because of which" (death), or "on the basis of which" (death), or "for which (death) all have sinned." Satan, being himself the principle of sin, through death and corruption involves all of humanity and creation in sin and death. Thus, to be under the power of death according to Paul is to be a slave to the devil and a sinner, because of the inability of the flesh to live according to the law of God, which is selfless love....

http://saintandrewgoc.org/home/2014/8/11/the-wages-of-sin.html

...Adam died because he sinned; now we sin because we die. "And so death passed to all men, "because of which all have sinned (έφ΄ ώ πάντες ήμαρτον)" [Rom. 5:12]. The passage is given as Saint Paul wrote it and as the Holy Fathers, untainted by Augustine's doctrine of original sin, understood it: Death is the cause of all men having sinned. The West (Roman Catholicism), however, is steeped in Augustine's doctrines and teaches that death passed to all men as a punishment imposed by God because all men, from their conception, have sinned. They sinned by inheriting legal guilt and culpability of the original sin. Therefore, they also inherit death, the just punishment. Protestant and Roman Catholic Bibles present this erroneous understanding in one way or another, obscuring the true meaning that "sin reigns in death" (Romans 5:21), in our corruptibility and mortality, that the "sting of death is sin" (1 Cor. 15:56), that death is the root, and sin is the thorn that springs from it....

 https://www.saintjohnchurch.org/original-sin-vs-ancestral-sin/

Instead of original sin, which is used in Western Christianity, the Orthodox Church uses the term ancestral sin to describe the effect of Adam’s sin on mankind. We do this to make one key distinction; we didn’t sin in Adam (as the Latin mistranslation of Romans 5:12 implies). Rather we sin because Adam’s sin made us capable of doing so.

The Greek word for sin, amartema, refers to an individual act, indicating that Adam and Eve alone assume full responsibility for the sin in the Garden of Eden. The Orthodox Church never speaks of Adam and Eve passing guilt on to their descendants, as did Augustine. Instead, each person bears the guilt of his or her own sins.

² When Paul uses διὰ τοῦτο (Romans 1:26; 4:16; 5:12; 13:6; 15:9; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 11:10; 11:30; 2 Corinthians 4:1; 7:13; 13:10; Ephesians 1:15; 5:6; 5:17; 6:13; Colossians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 3:5; 3:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:11; 1 Timothy 1:16; 2 Timothy 2:10; Philemon 15), the τοῦτο usually refers back to something he just stated, but I have difficulty figuring out what precisely in Romans 5:1–11 (or earlier) he might be referring to as the basis for what he says in 5:12–21 about Adam, Christ, sin, death, and the Law. Though there are other attempted explanations, I’ll defer to Dunn in his WBC on Romans and leave the question alone as far as this discussion is concerned: “The διὰ τοῦτο does not signify a conclusion drawn simply from an immediately preceding argument; v 11 had already effectively rounded off the preceding train of thought. Its function is rather to indicate that vv 12–21 serve as a conclusion to the complete argument from 1:18–5:11 (see further 5:1–21 Introduction).” (James D. G. Dunn, Romans 1–8, vol. 38A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1988), 271–272.)

³ “In Augustine's view (termed "Realism"), all of humanity was really present in Adam when he sinned, and therefore all have sinned. Original sin, according to Augustine, consists of the guilt of Adam which all humans inherit.” (Wikipedia on “Original Sin”)

A Night With The Family

A Night With The Family

(said to be taken from "Up, Up and Away" by R. B. Yerby, 1976)

A Humorous Look at a Serious Subject

The account of my efforts to straighten out my family regarding events at the end of time is very interesting. It all happened one evening when we were sitting around the living room, my wife, my four children and I. For some time I had been concerned about their unwillingness to devote the majority of their time to a study of end-time doctrines.

"What do you think is going to happen at the end of time?" I casually asked one of my daughters.

"I think the Lord is coming back to earth to judge the quick and the dead, Daddy," she replied, barely looking up from her sewing.

"Yes, yes," I replied impatiently, "but what about the details?"

"Well, the angels said He'd come again in the same manner in which He left, and since he went from earth to heaven at that time, I believe He's coming from heaven to earth this time."

"Oh, now I see where you're confused," I said, with a sigh of relief. "That's at his second coming. I'm referring to his one-and-a-half coming."

"His what?" asked my wife.

"You know," I said, with a touch of irritation. "When He comes at the Secret Rapture. This book I'm reading says only the Christians know about that coming of the Lord. It's all in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17."

"That 16th verse says He'll come with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God," my wife said with a yawn. "How could an event that noisy be kept a secret?"

"It's because it all happens so fast," I protested. "This book quotes 1 Corinthians 15:52 which says it happens in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. After that there's a seven-year period called the Great Tribulation when the people who are left on the earth have to go through all those horrible things in Revelation 6 through 19."

"I thought you said all those horrible things happen after the last trumpet, Daddy," my second daughter said.

"That's right, that's right," I said excitedly,

"But seven more trumpets sound during those chapters in Revelation that you say take place after the last trumpet," she replied with a puzzled look.

"Okay," I said, "let's forget about the trumpets and whether it's a secret or not. That's probably too deep for you. Let me show you how the Rapture works. There are going to be two in a bed, or grinding together, or in the field, and the one will be taken and the other will be left. The one that's taken goes to be with the Lord and the other is left to go through the seven years."

"I read about that in Luke 17:34–36," my wife said, "but a few verses before that it said it would be the same as when Noah entered the ark and when Lot left Sodom."

"That's it," I said. "Noah and Lot were taken out and the others remained."

"Yes, dear," she replied, "but if it's going to be like it was then, Luke says those that remained were all destroyed, not consigned to seven years of hardship."

"You have the same problem with 1 Thessalonians 4, Daddy," my third daughter said. "You said the taking away of the church is described in verses 16 and 17 but, as I recall, just a few verses later it says sudden destruction comes upon those who are left. And sudden destruction sounds a lot different to me than seven years of suffering."

"I never could see where it says in which direction the believers go with the Lord after meeting Him in the air," my wife said. "To me it's always been the same as if an important person were coming to visit our city and the mayor and other officials met him at the airport to escort him downtown. It looks to me as if the Christians are meeting the Lord to escort Him back to earth."

A few moments of silence passed while I regrouped. Then I returned to the attack.

"What about the four resurrections that are coming?" I said with a confident smile.

The five members of my family exchanged anxious glances.

"Now get this," I said, leaning forward in my chair. "This is a very important doctrine. You've got to be right on the resurrections or you're nowhere. Now here's the way it's going to be, right out of the books I've read. First, when Christ comes for the church there's the resurrection of all the believers of history—right?"

They nodded in tentative agreement.

"Then, seven years later there's the resurrection of those new believers, who were somehow converted after the church and the Holy Spirit were gone, and who were killed during the Great Tribulation. You've got to get them out of the ground to enjoy the Millennium that follows—right?"

This time there were no nods of agreement, and I realized with some disappointment that it was getting too deep again for their shallow spiritual understanding. But I plunged on; they had to learn sound doctrine.

"Next is the third resurrection, this time of those mortals, believers, who die on earth during the Millennium. You've got to get them out of the ground to enjoy eternity—right?" Again, only hopeless confusion on their faces.

"And finally," I said in triumph, "the fourth resurrection is necessary to resurrect all the wicked of all time for condemnation."

I sat back to relish their enlightenment. I knew I had stuck to just what the books said, and that it would bear fruit.

"I think there are only two resurrections, Daddy," one of my daughters said cautiously. "First, the spiritual resurrection or new birth that makes us alive in Christ after being dead in sin, like it says in Romans 6:13 and the first five verses of Ephesians 2, and second, the general resurrection at the end of time when all the saved and unsaved who ever lived will be raised together at the same time."

"That's true, dear," my wife added. "John 5:24–29 speaks of one resurrection which even 1,900 years ago was a present one, when some of those who are spiritually dead hear the voice of the Son of God and receive eternal life, and then of another resurrection, sometime in the future, when all shall hear His voice and come forth, some to life and some to condemnation."

"Yes, Daddy," another irritating voice said. "in John 11:24 Martha told Jesus she knew her brother would rise in the resurrection at the last day, but you said he'd rise at the Rapture, which you say takes place 1,007 years before the last day."

"I knew you people wouldn't be able to understand these things!" I said with great agitation. "How can you refute the clear statements of all the books and commentaries I've read? Listen, when I became a Christian I believed what people told me, and the books they gave me, and I wasn't argumentative like you are."

There was silence about the space of half a minute. Then my little boy apprehensively raised his hand and I graciously encouraged him to speak.

"Did you say there were mortals living on earth during the Millennium, sir?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, my boy," I said tenderly. "Let me tell you what the books say. At the start of the 1,000 years the unbelievers who survive the Great Tribulation are cast off the earth and the surviving believers inherit the Millennial Kingdom, and they live and prosper on a peaceful earth."

"And are they mortal people just like us, sir?"

"Yes, my boy," I said warmly, "just like us."

"But, Mom," he said, "didn't you tell me flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of God?"

"Yes, dear," she replied. "I Corinthians 15:50."

I gnashed my teeth, ignoring repeated warnings from my dentist, and resolved to start again from the beginning.

"Look," I said, after my breathing returned to normal, "let's get down to basics. You've got to understand that God has two people and you've got to keep them apart. That's why the Church goes up in the Rapture, so that those Scriptures that apply only to the Jews, like almost all of Revelation after Chapter 5, can work themselves out. God started out working with the Jews and His Son came to sit on old King David's throne in Jerusalem but when the Jews surprised God by rejecting Jesus, God had to change His plans and allow Jesus to be crucified. Then God set up the Church to fill in the gap between the first and second coming of Christ. At the second coming, Christ will finally sit on David's throne."

"I don't understand about God having two different people," one of my stubborn daughters said. "There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, it says in Romans 10:12."

Another said, "There is no respect of persons with God, Romans 2:11."

The third added, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, Galatians 3:28."

When no similar insolence was forthcoming from my son I turned my gaze on him. He had been thinking hard, and finally he turned to his mother and asked, "Mom, what was that about the wall being broken down?"

"That's Ephesians 2:14–16, dear," she said, smiling sweetly at him. "It tells how the Lord at Calvary broke down the former wall of partition between the Jew and the Gentile and made of the two one new man, one body."

"Well, isn't Dad wrong, then?" my only son asked.

"Well, he has studied a lot of books and charts, dear," she said. "The girls and I are only going by the Bible."

"Look," I said impatiently, "if you don't understand that, do you at least see that the Jews are God's special people, a peculiar treasure to Him?"

"I know that in Exodus 19:5,6 the Lord told the Israelites that if they obeyed and kept His covenant they would be a peculiar treasure to Him, and a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation," my wife said.

"Yes, yes," I cut in, "that's it!"

"But I haven't finished, dear," she said. "I think they must have disobeyed and then God found a new people to replace them because Peter uses those same verses to describe everyone who has been converted to Christ."

"I never saw that," I snarled.

"It's in 1 Peter 2:9, dear," she said.

I gnashed my teeth some more, audibly this time. When the noise died down, one of my daughters said she thought the church had succeeded to the promises originally made to the Jews.

"Listen, kid," I snapped, "those promises were made to Abraham and his descendants through his son Isaac and through Isaac's son Israel."

"That's clear from Genesis 12:7 and 22:18, Daddy, but viewed in the light of the New Testament it seems that we—all who are Christ's through the new birth—are in fact the descendants of Abraham."

Thinking that I was rising from my chair to strike the child, my wife threw herself between us. When she saw that I only intended to pace the floor, she sat down again and asked her daughter to continue.

"Well, Mom, as you pointed out to us long ago, the third chapter of Galatians makes it all very clear. Verse 7 says they which are of faith are the children of Abraham. Verse 16 explains that the seed of Abraham to whom the promises were made was Christ. Verse 27 says we who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. And therefore verse 29 says that if we are Christ's then we are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise."

"I can quote scripture, too!" I shouted. "How about, 'Children, provoke not thy father to wrath!' That's in there some place, too, you know!"

"That's Ephesians 6:4, dear," my wife said gently, "but you've got it backwards. It says, 'Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath.'"

"Well, how can I help it?" I exploded. "She takes one isolated passage of scripture and uses it to tell me I'm an Israelite!"

"A spiritual Israelite, dear," my wife said, watching with compassion my spastic ambulations across the living room floor. "But she didn't really take an isolated passage. That one was about Abraham, but you also mentioned Isaac and Israel. Well, Galatians 4:28–29 says that we who are born after the Spirit are, as Isaac was, the children of promise. And Romans 9:6–8 makes the same point, saying they are not all Israel which are of Israel."

"Any more?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, yes," she replied. "Romans 2:28–29 says that a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit. Oh, and Philippians 3:3 says we, that is, all the saints in Christ Jesus, are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh."

"Well, if you're going to favor all those New Testament scriptures above the Old Testament you certainly won't reach the conclusions my books reach," I said, again striving for sarcasm. Somehow my remark didn't seem to make the point I intended so I hurried on.

"Can you at least see that Jesus came to set up a restored Jewish Kingdom but that His rejection by the Jews made it necessary to postpone His kingdom for a couple thousand years?"

One of my daughters immediately said that John 6:15 shows that when Jesus saw that the people wanted to make Him a natural king He departed from them and went off to be alone in the mountains. Another said that if Jesus had sought such an earthly kingdom in Israel He would have been technically guilty of the accusation brought against Him by the high priest and rulers of the Jews, and His crucifixion would have been justified by law. The third added that Jesus himself said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36).

My wife said my statement implied that Christ didn't complete the task that was given Him at His first coming while in fact John 4:34 and 17:4 quoted Jesus as saying that He came to do His Father's will and did it.

"And Luke 24:25–27 says that the risen Lord told His disciples that the Old Testament prophets clearly foretold His suffering and crucifixion."

"Maybe," I said, "but what about His kingdom? At some point that's got to be set up and I don't see it yet."

"Oh, Daddy," one of my daughters said, "you know Luke 17:20–21 says the kingdom of God doesn't come with observation, or visual evidence, but the kingdom of God is within you. It's the Lord's rule in the hearts of His people."

"You can't see or enter it except by the new birth, it says in the third chapter of John," another said. "Yes, Daddy, we've already been translated or transferred into the kingdom of God's dear Son, according to Colossians 1:13," the third added.

"And Romans 14:17 says the kingdom of God isn't physical things like meat and drink but is actually righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," my wife said.

"A man's enemies are those of his own house!" I shouted, and then a brilliant thought occurred to me. "Look," I said, thumbing eagerly to Revelation 12:10, “here it shows exactly when the kingdom of God is going to be set up. Isn't that something that's going to happen at the start of the Millennium? See, it's in the next chapter after the seventh trumpet sounds."

My wife turned to my proof text and smiled as she read it to herself. Then she read it aloud: "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down."

A chorus of giggles and shrieks came from the children. My wife shook her head at them tolerantly, and said, "What they're trying to say is that all of those things took place at Calvary more than 1,900 years ago. In John 12:31 Jesus predicted that at His crucifixion Satan would be cast out, and in Colossians 2:15 Paul confirms that through the cross Christ triumphed over all His enemies and made a show of them openly."

"Why wouldn't you think salvation and strength and the power of Christ came long ago, Daddy?" one of my youthful tormentors asked me. "We all know when salvation came, and we know where our strength comes from, and in Matthew 28:18 Jesus said all power, or authority, in heaven and earth had already been given to Him."

My young son twisted the knife. "If the other three have come, then I guess the kingdom has come, too, Dad."

"The kingdom couldn't have come yet," I raged, "because when it does come then finally we're going to reign with Christ."

Again the children laughed. "Daddy, we're already reigning with Him," one of them said. "Romans 5:17 says that we who have received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."

"That's true, dear," my wife said. "If you read Peter's speech on the day of Pentecost, particularly Acts 2:30–33, it seems clear that Peter felt that Christ's resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God fulfilled the promise that a descendant of David would occupy his throne."

"Let me see that," I grumbled, picking up my Scofield Edition. "God had sworn ... of the fruit of his loins ... would raise up Christ to sit on his throne ... he, seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection of Christ ... this Jesus hath God raised up ... by the right hand of God exalted...."

As I scratched my head over those verses, my wife added: "And, of course, Ephesians 2:6 says God has already raised us up to sit with Christ in the heavenlies. So we're already reigning—or should be—over every difficult problem or situation or circumstance."

"You'd better talk to him about 1 Corinthians 15, too, Mom," one of the kids said.

"What?!" I exclaimed, mopping my brow. "I've already covered that. I told you that verse 52 says all the dead believers will be resurrected to meet Christ in the air along with all the living believers."

"Yes, dear, we know," my wife said, "but the point is that verse 54 says that the resurrection described in verse 52 fulfills the saying of Isaiah 25:8 that death is swallowed up in victory."

"So what?" I thundered.

"Well, don't you see, dear? Verses 25 and 26 of chapter 15 say that Christ's present reign must continue until He has put all His enemies under His feet, and the last enemy to be destroyed will be death. So, since verse 54 says His last enemy will be destroyed when the saints are resurrected, that means His reign ends then. At that time He delivers the kingdom up to the Father (verse 24) and the Son Himself becomes subject unto God in order that God may be all in all (verse 28). So if you're going to reign with Christ, you've got to reign with Him now."

"But if His reign ends at the time He comes for the church that would mean there would be no 1,000-year reign later on the earth," I said, with exasperation.

"That's true, dear," she replied.

I excused myself from my oppressors and, determined to rebuke and admonish them scripturally, took my Scofield Edition with its concordance into the next room. I found that Proverbs 19:13 took care of both my wife and my son ("A foolish son is the calamity of his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping") but the only verse I could find about daughters was Proverbs 31:29 ("Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all"). Obviously that wouldn't do, so, disappointed, I postponed my thoughts of revenge and returned to the living room.

"Look," I said as calmly as I could, "I believe most of your confusion occurred right at the beginning of our discussion. After explaining the Secret Rapture I should have told you about the Antichrist because during the seven years after the Rapture he's going to do some incredible things."

"No, he's not, dear," my wife said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I sputtered. "My books spell it all out. He'll be a beast, and put marks on people, and they'll have to worship him, and he'll execute people, and ... and ... and...."

"Now just relax, dear," my wife said soothingly. "Some of the other ladies and I have looked into that situation and found out that the Antichrist won't be around to do anything after Christ comes for his church."

"You can't prove that!" I yelled, but I feared she could.

"Well, dear," she said calmly, "one of the ladies had an Interlinear Greek-English New Testament that shows each of the original Greek words and the English equivalent. The Greek word for the coming of the Lord for his church is parousia and that's the word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:15. Then in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 this same word is used for the coming of the Lord, and in that verse it says the Lord will destroy the Antichrist with the brightness of his parousia. So when the Lord comes for the church, He simultaneously destroys the Antichrist."

"That's ridiculous," I said, but I was perspiring freely now. "Listen, if you don't believe anything I'm telling you, suppose you tell me what you do believe."

"We believe that Jesus Christ is coming again, all the way to earth," my wife said, "and that when He comes all the dead will be resurrected, and they and the living will be judged worthy either of an eternity in the presence of the Lord or an eternity of punishment. Satan will be eternally punished. The kingdom will be turned over by Christ to God the Father, and there will be a new, or probably renewed, heaven and earth. Every person will be as close to the Lord throughout eternity as he or she is in this life."

"You mean that's it?" I said. "That's the whole thing?"

"Basically, yes," she said.

"But if that's all there is to it," I said, "people wouldn't need all those books and charts to figure it out. Why, it's so simple that even a child could understand it."

"Precisely," said my wife.

"Exactly," chorused my daughters.

"I understand it," said my son.

Later, our neighbors said the smoke from the pile of books and charts I burned in the back yard could be seen three blocks away.

Resources On Egalitarianism/Mutualism

This list was my response (including many people's suggestions) to a request for names of books, etc., [from conservative Christians] that make a biblical case for egalitarianism/mutualism (the belief that women may serve and function in the church in any office or capacity or gifting that men do):

* = Is or can be academic in whole or in part

I. BOOKS

1.* Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives (Third Edition)

https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Biblical-Equality-Theological-Perspectives/dp/0830854797

2. How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories from Prominent Evangelicals

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310293154/

3.* Two Views on Women in Ministry (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/031025437X/

4. Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476717257/

5. Ten Lies The Church Tells Women: How the Bible Has Been Misused to Keep Women in Spiritual Bondage

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591859948/

6. The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0310538920/

7. Women Caught in the Conflict: The Culture War Between Traditionalism and Feminism

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1579100481/

8. Good News for Women: A Biblical Picture of Gender Equality

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801057205

9.* Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul's Letters (knowledge of New Testament Greek is advisable)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310219884/

10. Why Not Women: A Biblical Study of Women in Missions, Ministry, and Leadership

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1576581837/

11. Men and Women in the Church: Building Consensus on Christian Leaders

https://www.amazon.com/Men-Women-Church-Consensus-Leadership/dp/0830823913/

12.* Women, Authority & the Bible (print on demand, or used copies)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0877846081

13.* Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle's Vision for Men and Women in Christ

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801097940/

14. Junia Is Not Alone (no longer available but now included in 6. above)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006H4PFZ8

15. Gender Roles and the People of God: Rethinking What We Were Taught about Men and Women in the Church

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310529395/

16. Bourgeois Babes, Bossy Wives, and Bobby Haircuts: A Case for Gender Equality in Ministry (Fresh Perspectives on Women in Ministry)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310519268/

17. The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Biblical-Womanhood-Subjugation-Became/dp/1587434709/

18.* Junia: The First Woman Apostle

https://www.amazon.com/Junia-Apostle-Eldon-Jay-Epp/dp/0800637712/

19. Paul, Women and Church

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Women-Church-Eddie-Hyatt/dp/1888435569/

20. How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy

https://www.amazon.com/How-God-Sees-Women-Patriarchy/dp/B09QF82C23/

21. Women and Authority: The Key Biblical Texts (2011)
https://grovebooks.co.uk/products/b-59-women-and-authority-the-key-biblical-texts

22. The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood : How God's Word Consistently Affirms Gender Equality
https://www.amazon.com/Bible-vs-Biblical-Womanhood-Consistently/dp/0310140307/

23.* Men and Women in Christ: Fresh Light From The Biblical Texts
https://www.amazon.com/Men-Women-Christ-Fresh-Biblical/dp/1783599170

24. Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church
https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Her-Story-Taught-Ministered/dp/1514000741/

II. BLOGS, FACEBOOK, AND WEB PAGES

1.* CBE International (Christians for Biblical Equality)

• Articles at CBE's web page https://www.cbeinternational.org/view-resources/

• Priscilla Papers https://www.cbeinternational.org/primary_page/priscilla-papers-academic-journal/

2. The Junia Project

http://juniaproject.com/

3.* Margaret Mowczko's blog

http://margmowczko.com/

4. Rachel Held Evans' blog posts

http://rachelheldevans.com/blog?category=Gender+Equality

5. Biblical Christian Egalitarians (read and join the discussions)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2204593138/

6. Bob Edwards (author of several books)

https://www.facebook.com/bob.edwards.letmypeoplego

7. The Tru316 Project

https://tru316.com/

8. Beth Felker Jones (Substack): F.F. Bruce in 1982, for women in ministry 
https://bethfelkerjones.substack.com/p/ff-bruce-in-1982

9. Ideas about Women Matter: A Resource List for Women in Church History (Beth Allison Barr)

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2022/03/ideas-about-women-matter-a-resource-list-for-women-in-church-history//

10. Some of my own blog posts

• http://theoblogoumena.blogspot.com/2010/10/quiz-for-complementarians.html

• http://theoblogoumena.blogspot.com/2011/02/questions-for-complementarians-and.html

• https://theoblogoumena.blogspot.com/2019/07/females-and-males-in-body-of-christ.html

Females And Males In The Body Of Christ

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Complementarians (those who believe that men and women have separate roles in the church, and that women cannot be pastors or teach or preach to men, or can only do so if they are under the authority of a male church leader, etc.) likely disagree with my belief or assertion that there are not separate "roles" for males and females in the church. The following is a reason I reject complementarianism—regardless of, e.g., whether Junia was an apostle (Romans 16:7; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junia_(New_Testament_person), etc.

In my opinion, complementarianism—i.e., sexual or gender hierarchicalism or subordinationism or restrictionism (because despite its claim that males and females are equal in Christ and simply "complement" each other, in actuality it's always the female that must be subordinate to the male in the church and in the home)—is contrary to the nature of the New Human (Christ) (Ephesians 2:15), the New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), the Kingdom of God, and the Gospel (Galatians 3:26–28) as I understand these things, and seems to be based on judging and evaluating things according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16; 1 Corinthians 3:1–4).

As I see it:

If

• Females have the same kind of sin nature as males have, and
• Require the same kind of forgiveness for the same kinds of sins as males require, and
• Need the same kind of salvation as males need, and
• Are saved in the same manner and by the same savior as males are saved, and
• Undergo the same baptism into the same body of Christ as males undergo, and
• Receive the same Holy Spirit as males receive, and
• Drink from the same cup as males drink from, and
• Partake of the same bread as males partake of, and
• Are gift-and-power-graced by the same Holy Spirit as males are gift-and-power-graced by, and
• Are joint-heirs with Christ in the same way that males are joint-heirs with Christ, and
• Receive the same spiritual inheritance in Christ as males receive, and
• Have died with the same Christ as males have died with, and
• Are seated together with males in the same heavenly places with the same Christ as males are seated together with in the heavenly places, and
• Will participate in the same resurrection as males will participate in,

Then

In that same body of Christ, of and in which they with males are co-heirs and co-partakers of the same Christ and the same Holy Spirit, they like males can and are to be and do whatever the same Holy Spirit graces and empowers them to be and do in accordance with how the Holy Spirit places them in the same body of Christ for the building up of that same body of Christ.

There are not different ontologies or different hamartiologies or different soteriologies or different pneumatologies for males than for females. Thus, in the body of Christ there are not different "roles" for males than there are for females.

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.... But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose." (1 Corinthians 12:4–6,18)

“So then, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even though we once knew Christ according to the flesh, we know him no longer in that way. So then, if someone is in Christ, it’s a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:16–17)

Greek To Me - First-Year New Testament Greek Textbook And Curriculum

NOTE: The online Greek To Me site and the mobile app for vocabulary went away July 1, 2024. The videos for each chapter for a time could be viewed for free on the Greek To Me page at YouTube, but it now appears to no longer be on YouTube. The textbook (2nd Edition, now including the Answer Key) can for now at least be purchased from Greek To Me Publishing via Amazon. Though the printed vocabulary flashcards are not currently available (except for what you might find from private sellers), I have image files for all the vocabulary cards, and I've been given permission to send them to you if you are interested in taking the course.

I used to teach New Testament Greek at churches I attended, and I periodically come across people asking online or in person which NT Greek textbook or curriculum to use.

I personally learned first-year NT Greek with William Mounce's first edition of Basics of Biblical Greek (using David Alan Black's Learn to Read New Testament Greek for help with questions I had from reading Mounce), and I've also taught NT Greek using Mounce, as well as John H. Dobson's (Learn New Testament Greek) and N. Clayton Croy's (A Primer of Biblical Greek) grammars.

But my recommended textbook and curriculum for first-year NT Greek is Greek To Me by J. Lyle Story and Cullen I. K. Story. This is based on my and others' experiences with using it, as illustrated in the following discussion at the B-Greek list from Dale Wheeler and Charles Bradley (I've corrected a few typos). Though it's from 1996, it is still accurate and relevant.

Information on where to order Greek To Me is at the bottom of this blog post.

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http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/test-archives/html4/1996-10/15186.html

Re: Greek textbook

From: Charles Bradley (cbrad@edge.net)

Date: Wed Oct 23 1996 - 06:49:21 EDT

In <199610230530.AAA15442@edge.edge.net>, on 10/23/96 at 01:21 AM, Dale M. Wheeler wrote:

>>Our school needs to begin the selection process for a 1st-Year Intro to Greek text. Our students will in all likelihood have had no exposure to Greek. The requirements for the text: Available, affordable, with workbook (if such exists), moderately paced, with some NT readings included. Suggestions?<<

This seems to be becoming a perennial question on bgreek...

The following is my $.02 worth on the question; and is my opinion and perspective (please don't read this as a putdown of any other person or text; this is just [what] I've found works for my students).

As regulars already know (and are no doubt tired of hearing about), I use a textbook and vocab card system called "Greek To Me". My philosophy of teaching Greek is a bit different from many people (you can see the difference in Multnomah's program, where we devote the entire second year to translation of Koine materials). I think the reason there is a 90% dropout rate by people who have taken Greek is that they can't open the text and read/translate what's in front of them; they know the grammar in the abstract, but don't know enough words and have not had sufficient exposure to texts. Consequently, my focus is on vocabulary acquisition and reading, and for that, IMHO, Greek To Me stands alone.

The first thing is the vocabulary acquisition; the GTM vocab cards make it possible for my students to learn on average 30+ words a week, which means that in 20 weeks we finish Greek To Me and they know all the words [that occur] 25+ times [in the New Testament]. The last 10 weeks of the second semester we read the entire Gospel of Mark, which they find easier than the last 5 chapters of Greek To Me, and they have no problem with it. I give them review exams over ALL the forms as well, with the final being 20 pages of vocabulary and EVERY SINGLE FORM; 1/2 to 2/3 of the class gets 90%+ on the final and the rest get 80%+. The reason the vocab cards (as well as the pictures in the book which go with verb, etc., forms) work so well is because they use visual associations based on the sound of the Greek word. The pictures are deliberately goofy—for lack of a better term—and the goofier the picture is the faster they learn it (I think it has something to do with the Fall and Sin Nature...).

But, it's not just the vocab cards and pictures which makes Greek Tto Me so good, it's also the graduated Koine stories. Each chapter of the book ends with a story written in Koine style using the vocab and grammar they have learned up to that point. By translating these stories they get to see grammar in action and reinforce the vocab. I personally think Greek grammars which teach students to translate nonsense sentences from Greek to English and from English to Greek don't serve the students well. People don't learn languages that way; they learn to deal with the complexities of grammar and lexical issues in the context of sentences within paragraphs within stories. All nonsense translation does is teach the student to think of Greek as some sort of mathematical formula in which the reader plugs in this term for that one (no wonder generations of Machen users exegete in such wooden manners; witness root fallacy and illegitimate totality transfer, which many folks still think is just fine). My students will never time travel back to 1st cent Palestine and converse with anyone; the only skill they need is to be able to translate into contemporary English the Greek that's on the page (going the other way just makes them think that Greek is English using different words, whether they consciously realize it or not.). I'd rather have students spend their time on translation of Greek that's at their level than filling in the blanks in a workbook or creating nonsense Greek. They accomplish so much more this way AND have a greater sense of accomplishment. In general I like the inductive type approaches taken by some of the newer grammars because they emphasize this same contextual learning, but I think that no matter where you start students out in the NT they are in over their heads and it can become discouraging for them when they see the mountain they think they have to climb. The graduated GTM stories eventually get to median NT level of difficulty and then beyond.

It's really amazing how many other Greek teachers simply won't use the book because of the pictures; the typical conversation at SBL goes something like (when they ask me what I use), "Yeah, I looked at that, but the pictures turned me off; it just didn't look like a serious (or scholarly or.....) book." To which I reply that my students cover it AND read the entire Gospel of Mark in 2 semesters, and have memorized all the words down to @22x. Most say, "You mean 2 years, don't you ?" And I tell them No, I mean 2 semesters. I've had half a dozen come back a year or two later and say they tried Greek To Me as an experiment and couldn't believe the success they've had; so they've swallowed their scholarly pride, accepted the cartoons, and are having great fun seeing their students learn to read the text.

Well, that's my $.02 worth...

Please allow me to heartily second the above recommendation of the Greek to Me text.

I am using it with 9th–11th grade high school students. I will venture to put them up against any seminary class, not using GTM, for rapidity in learning the vocabulary. They are also learning grammar, something some of them have not done so well with in English up to this point. I am confident that these high school students will be able to ACTUALLY USE, and want to use their Greek after the class is over for the simple reason that GTM makes it accessible by virtue of the mnemonics. It goes without saying that this text is fun to teach! Climbing the "mountain of learning" that discourages many students is not so burdensome with the likes of Con-Text and A.D. Detective to help along the way.

Greek To Me, in my opinion, must be used as a total system: the text, the vocabulary cards, and the overheads.

I have posted this before, but will mention again that I have keyed the vocabulary into Memorization Technology's Memcards flashcard program, making it customized to follow the chapter divisions in Greek to Me. I will e-mail a copy to any licensed user of Memcards who requests it. [I am also working on the forms...slow going!]

Charles Bradley

Hopewell Presbyterian Church (A.R.P. Synod)

"Let Thy works praise Thee, that we may love Thee; and let us love Thee, that Thy works may praise Thee." Aurelius Augustine

cbrad@edge.net
FAX (615) 840-0679
MR/2 ICE-OS/2

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WHERE/HOW TO ORDER GREEK TO ME

Textbook and Vocabulary Flashcards Mobile App

• The new 2nd edition textbook is now available for purchase. It includes all the practice/translation answer keys that used to be in a separate book. It can be purchased for $49.99, but subscribers to the online learning system will get the textbook for free (see below).

• The Vocabulary Flashcards mobile app for iPhone and Android is now available. The basic app is free, and includes the vocabulary cards for Chapters 1 and 2. For $14.99 you can upgrade it to get all the vocabulary flashcards for all the chapters (there are an additional 550+ flashcards for Chapters 3-21), as well as flashcards for 29 irregular verbs. (It's $12.99 for just the vocabulary flashcards for Chapters 3-21, or $4.99 for just the irregular verbs flashcards, so you save $2.99 by selecting the "Buy All" option.) Any upgrade purchase removes the ads from the free basic app. The flashcards feature audio pronunciation (so-called "Erasmian," the only most commonly taught for New Testament Greek) of the vocabulary.

(Note: They may have a few sets of the physical flashcards, but those will eventually be replaced 100% with the mobile app. The physical flashcards have the memory mnemonic and translation gloss on the same side as the silly picture. With the flashcard app you tap on the picture and it flips to show both the mnemonic phrase and the translation gloss.)

• Here is where you can purchase the textbook and the Vocabulary Flashcards mobile app, as well as enroll in the online learning system (see below): https://greektomeonline.com/

Online Learning System

• The GreekToMe website has been totally transformed to feature 100+ video lessons, which contain over 30 hours of instruction from Lyle himself. It also has online quizzes in grammar and vocabulary. This content is equivalent to 2 full semesters of seminary-level Greek. These videos replace the former audiovisual CD. Note: The videos do not have subtitles/captions for the hearing-impaired, but it's something they may explore in the future.

• Everyone who enrolls in the online learning system will get a complimentary copy of the textbook (regularly $49.99). Online enrollment is $139/year or $209/lifetime, so from a value perspective (and if you don't need subtitles/captioning for the videos) it may be more ideal to enroll in the online learning platform vs. just buying the textbook. Here is what is included in the basic course:

Biblical Greek 101/201

• 2 semesters of seminary-level biblical Greek

• Greek to Me Textbook

• 600+ flashcards

• 100+ video lessons

• 300+ practice problems

• Online quizzes

One Correction: Under the Frequently Asked Questions you will find this:

Which source does Greek To Me use/recommend for its Biblical Greek instruction?

Dr. Story advises students to purchase the American Bible Societies’ New Testament. Before passing away Dr. Story’s father collaborated on this project.

I believe the answer is supposed to be the United Bible Societies (UBS) Greek New Testament, currently in its Fifth Edition and available as 1) Greek Text Only, 2) Greek Text with Dictionary, or in a 3) Reader's Edition with simple glosses and verb parsing for every word occurring 30 times or less at the bottom of each page in lieu of the dictionary. 1) and 2) also give variant manuscript readings at the bottom of each page. In my opinion 2) is probably the best choice, but if you don't want to have to refer to the dictionary for words you don't know (Greek To Me will teach you approximately every word that occurs 25x or more in the Greek New Testament), 3) might be your preference.

Who Or What Does The New Testament Call "The Word Of God"?

"The Bible isn't 'The Word of God.' Jesus is 'The Word of God.'"

Perhaps you've heard this, or perhaps you've even said it yourself.

But is it true?

Yes, John 1:1, referring to the pre-incarnate Christ, says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. 

But that simply refers to Jesus as "the Word" (ho logos ὁ λόγος), not as "the Word of God" (ho logos tou theou ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ).

(Whether "word" is an accurate or adequate translation of logos λόγος is a different topic, as is what kind(s) of genitive is "of God" in the phrase "the word of God.")

So how does the New Testament use the phrase "the word of God"?

A grammatical word/phrase search results in the following, color-coded to show what I believe "the word of God" is referring to in each instance:

red likely refers to the Hebrew Scriptures
blue refers to Jesus's words/message
green refers to the Apostolic message, or to Jesus's words/message
orange reference uncertain, perhaps to a specific scriptural prayer
magenta may refer to either the Hebrew Scriptures or the Apostolic message
violet refers to God's speaking
fuschia refers to Jesus

Matthew 15:6	So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God.	οὐ μὴ τιμήσει τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ · καὶ ἠκυρώσατε τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν.
Mark 7:13	thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.”	ἀκυροῦντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ παραδόσει ὑμῶν ᾗ παρεδώκατε· καὶ παρόμοια τοιαῦτα πολλὰ ποιεῖτε.
Luke 5:1	Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,	Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ τὸν ὄχλον ἐπικεῖσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἑστὼς παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Γεννησαρὲτ
Luke 8:11	“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.	Ἔστιν δὲ αὕτη ἡ παραβολή· ὁ σπόρος ἐστὶν ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ.
Luke 8:21	But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”	ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· μήτηρ μου καὶ ἀδελφοί μου οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ ἀκούοντες καὶ ποιοῦντες.
Luke 11:28	But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”	αὐτὸς δὲ εἶπεν· μενοῦν μακάριοι οἱ ἀκούοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ φυλάσσοντες.
John 10:35	If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled—	εἰ ἐκείνους εἶπεν θεοὺς πρὸς οὓς ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ οὐ δύναται λυθῆναι ἡ γραφή,
Acts 4:31	When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.	καὶ δεηθέντων αὐτῶν ἐσαλεύθη ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἦσαν συνηγμένοι, καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν ἅπαντες τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ ἐλάλουν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ μετὰ παρρησίας.
Acts 6:2	And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.	προσκαλεσάμενοι δὲ οἱ δώδεκα τὸ πλῆθος τῶν μαθητῶν εἶπαν· οὐκ ἀρεστόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς καταλείψαντας τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ διακονεῖν τραπέζαις.
Acts 6:7	The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.	Καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐπληθύνετο ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν μαθητῶν ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ σφόδρα, πολύς τε ὄχλος τῶν ἱερέων ὑπήκουον τῇ πίστει.
Acts 8:14	Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.	Ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀπόστολοι ὅτι δέδεκται ἡ Σαμάρεια τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην,
Acts 11:1	Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.	Ἤκουσαν δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οἱ ὄντες κατὰ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἔθνη ἐδέξαντο τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ.
Acts 12:24	But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents.	Ὁ δὲ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐπληθύνετο.
Acts 13:5	When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them.	καὶ γενόμενοι ἐν Σαλαμῖνι κατήγγελλον τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς τῶν Ἰουδαίων. εἶχον δὲ καὶ Ἰωάννην ὑπηρέτην.
Acts 13:7	He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.	ὃς ἦν σὺν τῷ ἀνθυπάτῳ Σεργίῳ Παύλῳ, ἀνδρὶ συνετῷ. οὗτος προσκαλεσάμενος Βαρναβᾶν καὶ Σαῦλον ἐπεζήτησεν ἀκοῦσαι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ.
Acts 13:46	Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles.	παρρησιασάμενοί τε ὁ Παῦλος καὶ ὁ Βαρναβᾶς εἶπαν· ὑμῖν ἦν ἀναγκαῖον πρῶτον λαληθῆναι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐπειδὴ ἀπωθεῖσθε αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀξίους κρίνετε ἑαυτοὺς τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, ἰδοὺ στρεφόμεθα εἰς τὰ ἔθνη.
Acts 17:13	But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea as well, they came there too, to stir up and incite the crowds.	Ὡς δὲ ἔγνωσαν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης Ἰουδαῖοι ὅτι καὶ ἐν τῇ Βεροίᾳ κατηγγέλη ὑπὸ τοῦ Παύλου ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ, ἦλθον κἀκεῖ σαλεύοντες καὶ ταράσσοντες τοὺς ὄχλους.
Acts 18:11	He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.	Ἐκάθισεν δὲ ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ μῆνας ἓξ διδάσκων ἐν αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ.
Romans 9:6	It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel,	Οὐχ οἷον δὲ ὅτι ἐκπέπτωκεν ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ. οὐ γὰρ πάντες οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ οὗτοι Ἰσραήλ·
1 Corinthians 14:36	Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?)	ἢ ἀφʼ ὑμῶν ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξῆλθεν, ἢ εἰς ὑμᾶς μόνους κατήντησεν;
2 Corinthians 2:17	For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.	οὐ γάρ ἐσμεν ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ καπηλεύοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐξ εἰλικρινείας, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐκ θεοῦ κατέναντι θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ λαλοῦμεν.
2 Corinthians 4:2	We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.	ἀλλʼ ἀπειπάμεθα τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς αἰσχύνης, μὴ περιπατοῦντες ἐν πανουργίᾳ μηδὲ δολοῦντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τῇ φανερώσει τῆς ἀληθείας συνιστάνοντες ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς πᾶσαν συνείδησιν ἀνθρώπων ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ.
Colossians 1:25	I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,	ἧς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονος κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς πληρῶσαι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ,
1 Thessalonians 2:13	We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.	Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ ἀδιαλείπτως, ὅτι παραλαβόντες λόγον ἀκοῆς παρʼ ἡμῶν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐδέξασθε οὐ λόγον ἀνθρώπων ἀλλὰ καθώς ἐστιν ἀληθῶς λόγον θεοῦ, ὃς καὶ ἐνεργεῖται ἐν ὑμῖν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν.
1 Timothy 4:5	for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.	ἁγιάζεται γὰρ διὰ λόγου θεοῦ καὶ ἐντεύξεως.
2 Timothy 2:9	for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.	ἐν ᾧ κακοπαθῶ μέχρι δεσμῶν ὡς κακοῦργος, ἀλλʼ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ οὐ δέδεται·
Titus 2:5	to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.	σώφρονας ἁγνὰς οἰκουργοὺς ἀγαθάς, ὑποτασσομένας τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν, ἵνα μὴ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ βλασφημῆται.
Hebrews 4:12	Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.	Ζῶν γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργὴς καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον καὶ διϊκνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος, ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν, καὶ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας·
Hebrews 13:7	Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.	Μνημονεύετε τῶν ἡγουμένων ὑμῶν, οἵτινες ἐλάλησαν ὑμῖν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ὧν ἀναθεωροῦντες τὴν ἔκβασιν τῆς ἀναστροφῆς μιμεῖσθε τὴν πίστιν.
1 Peter 1:23	You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.	ἀναγεγεννημένοι οὐκ ἐκ σπορᾶς φθαρτῆς ἀλλʼ ἀφθάρτου διὰ λόγου ζῶντος θεοῦ καὶ μένοντος.
2 Peter 3:5	They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water,	λανθάνει γὰρ αὐτοὺς τοῦτο θέλοντας ὅτι οὐρανοὶ ἦσαν ἔκπαλαι καὶ γῆ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ διʼ ὕδατος συνεστῶσα τῷ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγῳ
1 John 2:14	I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.	ἔγραψα ὑμῖν, παιδία, ὅτι ἐγνώκατε τὸν πατέρα. ἔγραψα ὑμῖν, πατέρες, ὅτι ἐγνώκατε τὸν ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς. ἔγραψα ὑμῖν, νεανίσκοι, ὅτι ἰσχυροί ἐστε καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν μένει καὶ νενικήκατε τὸν πονηρόν.
Revelation 1:2	who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.	ὃς ἐμαρτύρησεν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὅσα εἶδεν.
Revelation 1:9	I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.	Ἐγὼ Ἰωάννης, ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν καὶ συγκοινωνὸς ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ ἐν Ἰησοῦ, ἐγενόμην ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τῇ καλουμένῃ Πάτμῳ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ.
Revelation 6:9	When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given;	Καὶ ὅτε ἤνοιξεν τὴν πέμπτην σφραγῖδα, εἶδον ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἐσφαγμένων διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἣν εἶχον.
Revelation 19:13	He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God.	καὶ περιβεβλημένος ἱμάτιον βεβαμμένον αἵματι, καὶ κέκληται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ.
Revelation 20:4	Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.	Καὶ εἶδον θρόνους καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς καὶ κρίμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν πεπελεκισμένων διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ οἵτινες οὐ προσεκύνησαν τὸ θηρίον οὐδὲ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔλαβον τὸ χάραγμα ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτῶν. καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ χίλια ἔτη.

Thus it appears that the only time in the New Testament that "the word of God" refers to the person of Jesus is in Revelation 19:13, while the overwhelming use of the term refers to the Apostolic message and teaching/preaching, or to Jesus's words/message.

Note: I am only dealing with logos λόγος (and only in its singular form) and not rhema ῥῆμα. Following are the instances of rhema ῥῆμα in the singular in the New Testament where it means "the word of God":

Luke 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
ἐπὶ ἀρχιερέως Ἅννα καὶ Καϊάφα, ἐγένετο ῥῆμα θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν Ζαχαρίου υἱὸν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

Ephesians 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου δέξασθε καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα θεοῦ.

Hebrews 6:5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
καὶ καλὸν γευσαμένους θεοῦ ῥῆμα δυνάμεις τε μέλλοντος αἰῶνος

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
Πίστει νοοῦμεν κατηρτίσθαι τοὺς αἰῶνας ῥήματι θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐκ φαινομένων τὸ βλεπόμενον γεγονέναι. 

I welcome your comments, corrections, or suggested additions.

** The English translation is from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the Greek text is from the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece 28th Edition. **