Some Key Words (1/26/01-1/27/01)

Urge (parakaleo [3870]):

to call to one's side, to aid, to comfort, exhort, call for strongly; to summon, to speak to in exhortation, entreaty, or instruction, to admonish, to beg, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to instruct; to call near, invite, invoke

Dissensions (dichostasia [1370]):

separate factions, divisions, separations;; disunion

Hindrances (skandalon [4625]):

the trigger in the trap - taking note of the suffering caused to the one entrapped, the enticement leading to ruinous conduct, the cause leading to ruin, that which leads another to turn from God's salvation; a trap stick, a snare, an impediment in the way causing one to fall, that by which one is entrapped and drawn into error or sin; a bent sapling used as a trap stick, a snare, a cause of displeasure or sin

Learned (manthano [3129]):

to experience, to have learned, to understand, to cause oneself to know with a moral bearing and responsibility, to know fully, a full knowledge; to be appraised, to increase one's knowledge, to hear and be informed, to learn by use and practice, to be accustomed to; to learn in any way

Turn away from (ekklino [1578]):

to turn aside, to deviate, to turn oneself away, to keep aloof from one's society, to shun one; to decline from piety

(apo [575]):

used of departing or fleeing, separation from the whole, a separation that destroys union or fellowship; off or away in time, place, or relation

Slaves (douleuo [1398]):

to be subject and serve in subjection, to be in bondage, to have one's actions directed by another, subjugated, deprived of freedom, to be a slave to; to do service, to submit to, to yield obedience, to give oneself up to;

Appetites (koilia [2836]):

the whole belly, the lower belly - receptacle for excrement, to be given up to gluttony, the womb, the soul, the heart as the seat of thought, feeling, and choice; the abdomen, the heart

Flattering speech (eulogia [2129]):

blessing, expressing good wishes and praise, commendation, good word, beneficence; praise, laudation, fine discourse, polished language, language adapted to captivate the hearer, benediction; elegance of language, commendation, adoration

Deceive (exapatao [1818]):

; to seduce wholly

Unsuspecting (akakos [172]):

harmless, not constitutionally bad; without guile or fraud, free from guilt, fearing no evil from others, distrusting no one; not bad, innocent

Obedience (hupakoe [5218]):

obedience to God's will, willing subjection to divine revelation of right, subjection to the saving will of God, obedience to truth and faith; compliance, submission, obedience to anyone's counsels, obedience in observing the requirements of Christianity; attentive hearkening

Rejoicing (chairo [5463]):

joy as a result of God's grace, joy displayed as a young sheep skipping and frolicking; to be glad, to rejoice exceedingly, to be well, thrive; to be cheerful, calmly happy or well-off

Wise (sophos [4680]):

one who knows how to regulate his course in view of God, wise in regard to truth and wisdom, skillful or expert, prudent, sensible, judicious; skilled in letters, cultivated, learned, forming the best plans and using the best means to execute them;

Good (agathos [18]):

good and benevolent, profitable, useful; of good constitution or nature, agreeable, excellent, upright, honorable;

Innocent (akeraios [185]):

not to mix, without any mixture of deceit, containing no foreign material; unmixed, pure, without a mixture of evil, free from guile;

Evil (kakos [2556]):

wicked, one that is evil in himself, and puts others in trouble; of a bad nature, not such as it ought to be, wrong thinking, feeling, and acting, troublesome, injurious, destructive, baneful; intrinsically worthless

Peace (eirene [1515]):

rest, absence of strife, a state of untroubled well-being; exemption from the rage of war, harmony, concord, safety, the way (salvation) that leads to peace with God, the state of a soul assured of salvation through Christ - fearing nothing from God and content with its lot;

Crush (suntribo [4937]):

to break in pieces, to tread down, to trample upon as a conqueror, to shatter one's strength; to crush completely

Satan (satanas [4567]):

an adversary, the prince of the devils, the opposer; one who opposes in purpose or act, the prince of evil spirits - inciting apostasy and circumventing men by wiles, controller of idolaters; the accuser, the devil

Grace (charis [5485]):

a favor done without expectation of return, the absolute freeness of God's lovingkindness to men, unearned and unmerited favor; that which affords joy, pleasure, delight and charm, good will, favor, the merciful kindness of God which influences the soul and turns us to Christ, the spiritual condition of one governed by divine grace; graciousness of manner or act, the divine influence on the heart reflected in the life

 

Paraphrase: (1/26/01)

17 Avoid those who teach a different doctrine, causing disunity and hindering true spiritual growth. Have nothing to do with them, 18 for such as they work for their own appetites, not for Christ, and their eloquence and flattering ways deceive many who are unwary. 19 Indeed, your obedience is such that all of Christendom knows of it, and in that I rejoice. But, for that very reason I desire that you continue in the wisdom of what is good, and remain innocent with regard to evil. 20 So continuing, the God of peace will soon defeat Satan under your very feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Key Verse: (1/26/01)

16:19 - Be wise as to the good, and innocent as to the evil.

People Mentioned: (1/26/01)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (1/27/01)

16:17

1Ti 1:3 - Timothy is to remain in Ephesus to instruct men not to teach strange doctrines. 1Ti 6:3-4 - One who teaches such a doctrine disagrees with the sound words of Christ and understands nothing. Mt 7:15 - False prophets are as wolves in sheep's clothing. Gal 1:8-9 - Any who preaches contrary to the gospel - whether earthly or angelic - is accursed. 2Th 3:6 - We are to remain apart from those who don't live according to godly tradition, 2Th 3:14 - refusing to associate with such as will not obey the instruction of this letter, and indeed putting such a one to shame. Tit 3:10 - Such men shall be warned twice, and then rejected. 2Jn 10 - Don't even receive such a one into your house, or even so much as greet him.

16:18

Ro 14:18 - One who serves God [in righteousness, peace and joy] is acceptable to both God and man. Php 3:19 - Those who glory in what shames them, led by the god of their own appetite, work destruction to themselves. Col 2:4 - Paul's instructions come to guard us against delusion by persuasive arguments to the contrary, 2Pe 2:3 - for false teachers will try to exploit you with false words, but their destruction is certain - as they have been judged from long ages past.

16:19

Ro 1:8 - The faith of the church in Rome is known throughout the world. Jer 4:22 - God's people showed themselves foolish in being shrewd in doing evil, but not knowing to do good. Mt 10:16 - As the disciples are sent out 'as sheep amidst wolves,' they are warned to be shrewd yet innocent. 1Co 14:20 - We are not to be childish in our thinking, only as regards evil we should remain as innocent children.

16:20

Ro 15:33 - The God of peace is with us. Mt 4:10 - Jesus rebukes Satan with the reminder that we are to worship and serve God alone. 1Co 16:23, 1Th 5:28, 2Th 3:18, Rev 22:21 -The grace of Jesus is with us, 2Co 13:14 - alongside the love of God and the fellowship of the Spirit. Gal 6:18, Php 4:23 - Jesus' grace is with our spirit.

 

New Thoughts (1/28/01)

There are two interesting juxtapositions made in this passage that rather parallel each other. The first lies in Paul's instructions, which are directed toward maintaining Church unity. To this end, he warns his readers regarding those who 'cause dissension', who cause disunity; and his instruction is to 'separate so as to destroy union and fellowship' with such people. So, we are shown to preserve the unity of the greater Church, by removing from its union those who trouble its members with dissenting views and incorrect doctrines. Elsewhere, Paul would explain that in such a case, that one is turned over to Satan for a time in hopes that he will be turned back to the right course. There is a point where we must recognize that it is not ours to correct, but that any correction that may come will be by the hand of God. In turning one over to Satan, Paul is, of course, really turning them over to God, for he knows, as we ought to know, that Satan can only act as God allows; and his purposes, though evil in intent, will work to God's good ends in spite of him. We also have Peter's wisdom on the matter (2Pe 2:3), noting that whatever success such misled 'prophets' may seem to enjoy, their judgment and destruction is certain, should they continue their course, for that judgment was declared long before they were even born by the One who does not change or turn.

And in this One, we find the other juxtaposition, for it is here declared that the God of peace will crush Satan. To our minds, that just sounds like two incompatible ideas. Peace and crushing just don't go together. It's like oil and water. But a look at the definition of peace begins to work the ideas back together, for we see that peace is, among other things, the absence of strife; and we know Satan is the Adversary, the Tempter, the Liar, the cause of strife. So, much like the Church cannot exist in unity while housing those who spread disunion, the peace of God cannot be free of strife where those who spread strife run rampant. The God of peace cannot bring His peace except it crush such strife-causing agents. It is much the same in both cases. The good of the Church, of the bride of Christ, requires the expulsion of all that is not working to its good.

There's one other contrast that comes out here that I really need to explore at length at some point, perhaps when I return to this section again. This is the contrast of child-like innocence and wisdom. Christ tells us that the kingdom belongs to those who come with the faith of a child, trusting and without question. He sends His disciples out with instruction to be shrewd yet innocent (Mt 10:16). Paul tells us to be like children where evil is concerned, yet not to think like children (1Co 14:20). Somewhere in here there is a huge illumination waiting to break out. Lord, bring it out in Your time.