Keep the Love

Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

4 ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὅτι τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀφῆκες.

This is one of those verses where different translations communicate very different meanings. That phrase at the end is sometimes difficult. Should  τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀφῆκες be "the love you had at first," or should it be "your first love?" I can see a pretty compelling argument for the latter, as do the translators of the KJV and the NIV. The word σου is in the genitive, so there is definitely a sense of possession here. It links two accusatives together: τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην, so they should probably be taken together as the object of what was abandoned. It probably goes with τὴν ἀγάπην, which gives more credence to the KJV. However, that leaves the other accusative just hanging there. 


I can see the reason behind this translation.  John accuses the church in Ephesus of abandoning your love, the first one. This is because both of the accusatives are tied together with the genitive. The KJV translation is perfectly valid too, but this also seems to make more sense theologically, which is important as well.


Basically, John accuses the church in Ephesus of starting out great, but then losing some of the fire while keeping up the motions. This verse hits me upside the head every time I read it now that I understand it properly. This is a microcosm of my spiritual walk. It's not that I ever abandoned my first love, which is Jesus. But it's that I lost the love that I had at first. 


Of course, the cure is the gospel. That's always the cure. We need to remain steeped in it so as to keep the fires going. If we remember who we are and from what we've been saved how can we help but be in love with the Savior? To do less is to severely cheapen grace.

By His Wounds

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

24 ὃς τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς ἀνήνεγκεν ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον, ἵνα ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἀπογενόμενοι τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ ζήσωμεν, οὗ τῷ μώλωπι ἰάθητε.

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it's been a busy week or so.  I couldn't very well post whilst camping, so now that we're back in the groove I hope to be back to regular posting.

This is one of those verses that I love to repeat when I do my weekly review of 1 Peter.  I just can't get enough of this one.  There are a lot of rich verses in this chapter, but this one seems to stand above the rest.  What more is there to say?

There are those who think of the idea of penal substitutionary atonement as barbaric.  They see it as a form of "cosmic child abuse."  But what those folks fail to realize is that God does not grade on a curve.  God is love, but God is also just.  Since He is just there needs to be a payment for the sin in the world.  Jesus was that perfect sacrifice.

Note to whom this is written. The book is written to saints.  Whose sins did Jesus bear on the cross (tree)?  It was τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν.  Not the sins of everyone who has ever lived, but the sins of the saints.  This is yet another argument for the idea of particular redemption.  Why does this matter?  It gets into the nature of God.  Did Jesus die for the sins of every person and then not save all of those people?  That's a pretty impotent view of God if that is true.  I think it is much more biblically (and philosophically) accurate to take a low view of man and a higher view of God.

Either way, I know that οὗ τῷ μώλωπι ἰάθητε.  It is difficult to succinctly unpack this Greek, but basically it is saying what is translated in the ESV.  I certainly enjoy knowing that I was healed, amen?

Prayer for Steadfastness

2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

5 Ὁ δὲ κύριος κατευθύναι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰς τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

Paul is wrapping up his letter with his usual prayers and final admonitions.  I've been reading a book on Paul's prayers and so this one kind of jumped out at me.  This is one of the prayers that he wanted to record in Scripture, so I would think that it is pretty important.  Maybe it's something we should imitate.

What I see here is that we need God's help for our hearts to be directed to love Him.  I know my own heart and I see how vital this prayer is.  My heart manufactures idols quite easily.  It also tends to focus on me.  This prayer tells me that I need to pray for a heart that loves God more.  I know I often find myself praying this over and over again some mornings as my mind wanders when I pray.  I need God to keep me focused.

And how are we to be focused?  We need our hearts directed to the steadfastness of Christ. When I see τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ I realize that it is Christ's steadfastness that matters here.  The word τὴν ὑπομονὴν is in the accusative case, but τοῦ Χριστοῦ is in the genitive.  It looks like τοῦ Χριστοῦ modifies τὴν ὑπομονὴν.  In other words, the steadfastness that our hearts need to be directed to is the steadfastness that Christ has.

What does this do for us?  It tells us that we can look at Christ's life for an example, to be sure.  But it also tells us much more.  It reminds us that our salvation is based on Christ's perfect obedience.  It is not based on any of our own merit, but on His.  This means that our salvation is assured because He secured it for us.  This gives me great hope as I look at my own wandering heart.

How about you?  Are you basing your salvation on your steadfastness or on His?  My prayer is that as you read this you would reflect on the steadfastness of Christ and let that be your hope.

A Holy Calling

1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

7 οὐ γὰρ ἐκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἁγιασμῷ.

This concludes a passage where Paul tells the Thessalonians to abstain from sexual impurity.  The word translated "sexual impurity" in verse 3 is τῆς πορνείας (in the genitive).  This is where we get our word "pornography."  He then goes on to tell them that they need to be in control of their bodies.

This stands in stark contrast with how our society operates.  Men, are you feeling hungry sexually?  Just look at some porn and gratify yourselves.  Women, are you feeling depressed?  Have something to eat or buy something.  Of course, these temptations go for both sexes, but these are two of the big ones that our culture propagates.  In verse 5 Paul talks about not being like τὰ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ εἰδότα τὸν θεόν.  The word τὰ ἔθνη has a fairly wide semantic range in that it can mean a group of people, a nation, or the Gentiles as it is translated in the ESV.  The point is that Paul uses it pejoratively.  You don't want to act like those people.

Just as in that day there are believers and unbelievers.  Here in verse 7 Paul makes a very important statement.  We were not called to behave like everyone else.  Our lives should be different.  Put another way, if Christianity became illegal under American law would there be enough evidence to convict you of being one?  I don't mean the holy hardware you can buy at Lifeway, but would there be enough evidence in your life?  Do you consume media differently than unbelievers?  Do you eat differently?  Do you exercise differently?  Do you guard your eyes differently?  Do you spend your money differently?

My call is not one of legalism.  Anyone can change their behavior for a time.  My call is to examine your heart.  If you cannot answer yes to my questions then perhaps you need to examine your own salvation.  None of us is perfect and I don't want to imply that the saved all have this nailed down perfectly.  What do you see when you ask yourself these questions and then look at your heart?

The Hope of Israel

 Acts 28:20 For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain."

20 διὰ ταύτην οὖν τὴν αἰτίαν παρεκάλεσα ὑμᾶς ἰδεῖν καὶ προσλαλῆσαι, ἕνεκεν γὰρ τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὴν ἅλυσιν ταύτην περίκειμαι.

This is Paul's address to the Jews in Rome.  He got there on Caesar's dime and then stayed at his own expense. It astounds me that he was voluntarily imprisoned so that he could preach the gospel.  This is how Paul operated.  Everything was about the gospel to him.

He was all about  τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ.  What is this hope?  It is Jesus.  He is the hope for Israel and for the world.  Apart from Him there is no hope.  But with Him we have a genuine hope.  It is not the hope of the fan who hopes that his team will win the championship.  This is a hope that we can be sure of.  Jesus is real and He is coming back.  That fact anchors our hope.

Is that your hope?  If not, what is your hope?  What gets you through the day?  What gets you through the trials?  I take great comfort knowing that the God of the universe who created everything cares about me.  I have a relationship with Him that I certainly do not deserve.  What about you?