IT'S GREEK TO ME

Greetings everyone! Welcome to this page that I pray will be a help and blessing to all serious students, teachers, and preachers of God's Word (the Scriptures, Bible). This page is dedicated to providing information that will assist everyone who is interested in a more indepth comprehension of the Bible. This effort will be made by providing materials/insight from the "Koine" or "Common Dialect" of the Greek language. Zondervan's Pictorial Bible Dictionary says, "It [Koine Greek] was the speech of the LXX [Septuagint, Old Testament translated into Greek] and the NT [New Testament], and the major influence in bringing the contributions of Palestine, Greece, and Rome into that partnership which determined the form and shape of the NT, the global Gospel of Paul of Tarsus, the Christian Church, and modern Europe." I trust that a greater understanding of the Scriptures will be acquired through a prayerful reading and study of the following articles and notes! Please check back to view new materials that will be added to this page!

Before I begin presenting some spiritually rich nuggets from the "Koine" Greek language, there is something of major importance I need to mention. Since I am unable to state it in a better way, I again quote a passage from "Light from the Greek New Testament" by Boyce W. Blackwelder: "Let it not be inferred that technical scholarship alone is a sufficient prerequisite for biblical interpretation. It should be remembered that the illumination of the Holy Spirit is the basic requirement for an apprehension of truth. The student should always approach the sacred text with humility of mind and sincerity of heart, trusting the guidance of the Spirit of God."

There are at least four nouns in Classical Greek that mean "love": "eros", "storge", "philos", and "agape" -- each term with various shades of meaning. I have chosen three, "storge", "philos", and "agape" to define and provide more details about. Since "eros" does not appear in the New Testament vocabulary of love, I will not deal with that term in this article.

"The distinctive meaning of 'storge' is natural affection or love for one's family or kindred." "In a general sense 'storge' was used of any natural affection, such as esteem for ruler or country as one's own." "The Greeks also used the term to designate the instinctive affection or concern which an animal has for its offspring."

"In Romans 12:10 'storge' is compounded with 'philos' to form the adjective 'philostorgos' which means to be tenderly affectioned."

"'Astorgos' ('storge' with the alpha ['A'] privative prefixed, which negates the word) is found twice in the New Testament, Romans 1:31 and 2 Timothy 3:3, and is commonly translated 'without natural affection'." "'Astorgos' describes the sad state of the calloused, inhuman person whose heart is void of the warmth of noble sentiment for those who should be dear to him because of the ties of nature." "Animals that did not cherish their young were described by this same term."

"The two common nouns for love in the Greek New Testament are 'philos' (verb 'phileo') and 'agape' (verb 'agapao'). 'Phileo' is used about fifty times in its various verbal and substantival forms, while 'agapao' appears more than three hundred times."

"'Phileo' was used in classical Greek to express a warm affection or fondness for a person or thing." "It means to be fond of, to like, to welcome, to delight in, to treat kindly, to befriend. The noun 'philos' means a friend, a companion, one who enjoys a familiar association with a person or one who finds pleasure in a person or object."

The verb "agapao" "is used in the New Testament to designate the essential nature of God and his infinite regard for mankind. Thus 'agapao' expresses the most exalted concept of love indicated by human language. It denotes the new and exalted type of divine love which the Incarnation reveals." The word "agape" "signifies sacrificial love which is poured out unselfishly in behalf of undeserving mankind. 'Agape' expresses that spiritual bond of love which exists between God and man and between man and man in Christ. It emphasizes divine love as the supreme, indispensable virtue of the Christian life, the foundation upon which all other godly qualities are predicated."

"'Agape'--unselfish, redemptive love--is the recurring theme of the New Testament. It points out that salvation is not attained by means of human culture and refinement, but is the result of the transforming power of the Christ." "Agape" is used throughout in Paul's writings in 1 Corinthians 13, often referred to as the "love chapter" of the Bible. "John says, 'Beloved, let us continue to love [present subjunctive of 'agapao'] one another because love [agape] is of God, and every one who keeps on loving [present participle of 'agapao'] is in the state of having been begotten [perfect tense] of God and knows God' (1 John 4:7)."

"In Koine Greek a distinction was made between 'petros' and 'petra', the former being used to designate a stone and the latter to signify a large rock, a boulder, mass of rock, steep cliffs, and the like."

"An understanding of the distinction generally observed in Koine Greek between 'petra', a massive rock, and 'petros', a detached rock or stone, makes the words of Jesus clear. If it be argued that Jesus probably spoke Aramaic in the conversation with Peter, and that Aramaic makes no such distinction between the terms, it can be stated that the writer of the New Testament account understood a distinction and expressed it by the two different words."

"There are several strong arguments which show that Peter ('petros') and the rock ('petra') upon which the church is built are not identical. All the pronouns in Matthew 16:18 are emphatic, contrasting the person of Peter with the mighty rock which is the foundation of the church. The different genders ('petros', masculine; and 'petra', feminine) emphasize a distinction in the references."

"Since 'petra' is used metaphorically several times to indicate Christ (Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4; 1 Pet. 2:8), it is in harmony with the Scriptures to take it thus in Matthew 16:18. In this light Jesus means that 'he' is the foundation of the church. He speaks of himself as the builder, and uses the expression 'my church.' So the New Testament 'ekklesia' is built upon Christ's deity and Saviorhood, upon the efficacy of his blood, and upon the immutability and objectivity of truth. It is obvious that no human being could be the support of such a structure. Paul speaks of Jesus Christ as the foundation (1 Cor. 3:11)."

"The church is the creative work of God. Actually Peter's confession was impossible apart from the divine revelation upon which his proclamation was based. Jesus makes this point clear in Matthew 16:17. This revelation was not disclosed to Peter only. It was also the experience of the other disciples, and it is the impetus which makes possible the confession of any and all believers now as then. The church is based upon the truth which Peter confessed, that is, upon the reality that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. In verse 18 our Lord is also in effect saying to Simon, 'The power of the gospel which has transformed you into a man of dependable character [implied in 'petros'] will likewise change other persons, and as a result of this redemption the church is built.' Thus we see that the church never produces salvation; salvation produces the church."