Curse – God Breathed Words

Posted on January 23, 2024January 24, 2024 by christianwordsblog

(Christ’s eternal) ANGUISH

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall seeand be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11) *

Jesus’ agony on the cross was for all to see, the spectacle of suffering was the deterrent the Romans intended; but Isaiah says Jesus endures spiritual torment. Can it be that Jesus suffers even as he is glorified?

The word translated ‘anguish’ is עָמָל amal which means trouble, labour or misery. It intimates a sustained burden from which there is no escape.

Posted on July 12, 2022July 12, 2022 by christianwordsblog

UNFORGIVABLE (SIN)

‘Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.’ (Luke 12:10)

The Greek word for the verb translated ‘forgiven’ is ἀφίημι aphiémi, from apó ‘away from’ and hiémi ‘send away, release or discharge’. In this the verb directly mirrors the English word which comes from the Anglo-Saxon forgiefan, a combination of the prefix for ‘away’ and giefan ‘to give’. For God to forgive then denotes the process where he relinquishes or ‘gives away’ His right to punish those that wrong him.

Jesus declares…

‘Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man…’ (Mark 3:28a)

The Apostle Paul knew that his crimes against God were grave, yet he tells his pupil…

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (1 Timothy 1:15)

And when he says ‘save’, he means save from rightful punishment. The Gospel of Christ declares the guilty go unpunished, while the punishment is borne by God the Father’s guiltless Son, thus the just God is propitiated. But Jesus also says that not that all punishment can be waived.

Posted on April 25, 2021April 25, 2021 by christianwordsblog

TONGUE – the power of speech

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. (James 3:5b-6)

The word ‘tongue’ translates γλῶσσα glossa which, as in English, means both the organ of speech and speech itself, in other words, language.

Posted on January 5, 2021July 17, 2023 by christianwordsblog

GOSPEL (of Christ)

…If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

(Galatians 1:9)

Taken from the Anglo Saxon godes spell, ‘good words or speech’ the English language derives the word ‘gospel’. The Greek word translated ‘gospel’ is εὐαγγελίζεται euangelizetai, stands for the act of good speaking, literally communicating a good message. And for Paul, the message was sacrosanct and if any choose to deliver a different ‘gospel’, one did so at your eternal peril.

Twice Paul offers this imprecation at the beginning of Galatians. To Paul it was a serious matter to understand and communicate the gospel without deviation or corruption.