Download Greek and Hebrew Insights in the Gospel, in Selected

Greek and Hebrew Insights in the Gospel,
in Selected Texts not in Romans or Galatians
By Daniel Gregg
Three Greek roots are the source of most problems in understanding Paul's gospel. If we can
better understand these words, then we will understand the gospel better. Paul's teaches that we
are saved by the faithfulness of Jesus, by dying in our place, for the forgiveness of sins, to satisfy
God's justice against our sin, so that we might have life, and not have to suffer the norm of judgment
or live according to the norm of the world. It is the same gospel as taught by most evangelical
Christians based on the four gospels or the letters of John. Paul teaches the same gospel. However,
it has been obscured by arguments on the meaning of "justification by faith", which means that God's
justice is done for us through the faithfulness of Christ to carry out the work of the Father in making
atonement for sins. First, I will discuss the meaning of the key words in Paul's letters, followed by a
discussion of confusing understandings, and then the meanings will be illustrated in the New King
James Version of Romans.
The first root is from the pisteuo, pistos, pistis group. These are verb, adjective, and noun
respectively of the same word, and are usually translated as believe, faithful, and faith. The point of
the verb pisteuo has been made by many scholars and preachers. It does not just mean merely
"belief" in a set of facts. Again and again, preachers have explained that it is more than "believe,"
and that it implies a belief that follows through with commitment to the person one trusts in. Besides
the definition given below, the word may be rendered "loyally trust," or "steadfastly trust". If we were
!mia/h,
to look at the Hebrew equivalent,
in Genesis 15:6 heAmin, we would find that the word means
stand fast, as in "Abraham stood fast in YHWH". This is because the root means "firm" in the sense
of confirm or affirm. The word Amen (Amen Brother!) means "affirmed". This sense is captured in
the translation "faithfully trust". This means a firm or loyal trust in God. Notice the definition in BDAG
below, with "implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted".
faithfully trust: from pisteuo, see def. 1 (BDAG)1, compare pistos = faithful, and pistis = faithfulness.
Now turning to the noun pistis, the linguistic sources are clear. The word means a loyalty of
faith or steadfastness. Notice the lexical definition below, "faithfulness", "fidelity", "commitment".
1
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd edition. This is the premier Greek
dictionary for New Testament Greek.
faithfulness: from pistis, definition 1A BDAG (third edition).
The second Greek root is the dikaioo group. In the noun form it means "justice" and/or
"righteousness". Spanish always renders this form justicia. And French justice. The problem for the
English reader is that the word is often rendered "righteousness" which is taken to mean good
morality, when in fact the text means a righteous act of justice. The word means both righteous acts
of justice and good morality. One must depend on the context to know the difference. Paul often
speaks of the "justice of God" or "righteousness of God," by which he means God's justice through
the atonement of Christ. The "righteousness of God" consists of the penalty of sin being applied to
Christ as the substitute. For this reason, it is often better to translate "justice of God" to avoid
confusion with the sense of good morality.
Take note that the first definition of this word is "justice". In this same lexicon, "righteousness"
is put as definition number two.
justice: definition 1 for dikaiousune in BDAG (third editon).
The verb form of dikaioo is the source of much confusion and incorrect teaching. It is often
rendered "justify," "justified" or "justification". It does have these meanings. The problem is that
these English definitions are too restrictive to understand some of what Paul was saying. The Greek
word in the active sense means "to do justice" and in the passive sense "to have justice done" or
"justice being done". A crook who is about to pay the penalty for his crime "has justice done" to him,
but he is by no means "justified", "acquitted", or "declared right".
Look at definition 2 in the
photocopy from Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon: "to do one justice" "to condemn, punish one" "to
have justice done one's self, to suffer justice, be treated rightly".
having justice done: (and variants) dikaioo, definition 1, BDAG (third edition). Thayer's definition is
photocopied below:
The argument over "justified by faith" can now be explained in terms of the Greek and Hebrew
insights.
It means "justice is done by faithfulness". In the first place justice is done by God's
faithfulness in Christ when he made him an offering for sin. In the second place justice is by
faithfulness as we live out a life of (moral) justice with a faithful response to God.
With this in mind, we should avoid some misunderstandings. First it does not mean "made
Nor does it
righteous by faith" in the sense that a person is perfected (past tense) by their faith.
mean that God has counted (past tense) a person perfected by their faith. These ideas relate to
sanctification and holiness, which is not complete until the Second Coming of Christ. The imputation
of righteousness is completed or fulfilled when our obedience is completed and fulfilled at the second
coming of Christ just as the scripture about righteousness being counted to Abraham was fulfilled or
completed when he obeyed God concerning the offering of Isaac. Of course, God's justice through
the offering of Messiah is imputed or counted to our account when we repent and trust the gospel.
The righteousness done to Christ in paying the penalty --- this is the righteousness that is imputed to
our account.
We may say that righteousness is imputed, but what does this righteousness consist of? It
consists of the justice done to Christ on the cross being applied to us so that we do not have to pay
the penalty. It is righteousness done to Christ. What we must avoid is the teaching that tries to turn
the gospel into acquittal. The gospel is not acquittal. We must approach God's throne as a guilty
sinner, accept the good news, and leave God's throne knowing we are still sinful, yet having had the
penalty forgiven us.
There is a quasi-Catholic version of the gospel in many evangelical Churches. It is based on
acquittal. It basically says that all the merits of Christ, or the righteousness of Christ, is transferred
into our account with God, and that we are acquitted by God seeing righteousness in our account.
Thus the gospel has been changed from pardon to acquittal.
However, the truth is that the we had
justice done to us in Christ, and this justice is imputed to our account when we believe. We receive a
pardon. The actual merits and righteousness of Christ (in the moral sense) are only transferred to us
through sanctification and glorification.
Now that we understand dikaioo word group in Greek we no longer have to confuse judicial
righteousness with moral righteousness. There are many Christians who are confused about these
terms, but who still understand the gospel in their hearts. There are many Christians who repeat
theological nonsense but who still understand the good news. This translation is given to remove the
confusion. But there are a group of Christians who have been deceived by the mistaken acquittal
ideas mixed in with the gospel, and these have either lost sight of the gospel or have never
understood it.
Our final term is nomos, usually translated "law". However, this is not the primary meaning of
the word, and having lost sight of this, the translations have obscured some very beautiful points on
the gospel. Many Christians are able to figure out from the context that by "under law" Paul is
speaking about being delivered from the judgment of the law. However, the Greek will help us arrive
at this conclusion much faster. The word means a norm for something. The following dictionary
entry explains:
norm:
that which is in habitual use or practice, a custom, rule, principle, norm. From the first
definition of nomos in BDAG (third edition).
Notice the warning in the dictionary? "A special semantic problem for modern readers ….".
This is because nomos means a norm. How does this apply to the gospel? Paul says:
Gal 2:21 I do not make void the grace of God: for if justice is satisfied through the norm, then Christ
died for nought.
The norm is that the sinner will die for their own sins. This is the part of the law that normally
applies to the world. The exception is that the law teaches grace through atonement. The sacrificial
system illustrates this exception to the norm. Christ delivers us from the norm and frees us so that
we may serve in the newness of life.
In the following text, see how these three roots work together to give us insight into the gospel:
Rom 10:4 For Christ [is] the end of the norm for justice to everyone who faithfully trusts.
The norm for justice is that the sinner will die. Christ ended this norm for us by paying the
penalty in our place. Everyone who faithfully trusts in him receives the justice of God through the
sacrifice of Christ.
Selected Gospel Texts, NKJV
NKJ 1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you had justice done in the name2 of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
NKJ Titus 3:7 that justice having been satisfied by His grace we should become heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.
NKJ James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father declared righteous by works when he offered
Isaac his son on the altar?
NKJ James 2:24 You see then that a man is declared righteous by works, and not by believing
only.
NKJ James 2:25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also declared righteous by works when
she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
NKJ Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own justice, which is based on the
norm3, but that which is through faithfulness of Christ, the justice which is from God by faithfulness;
NKJ 1 Corinthians 9:20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those
who are under custom, as under custom, that I might win those who are under custom;
NKJ 1 Corinthians 9:21 to those who are without custom, as without custom (not being without
law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without custom;
NKJ Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken
down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the usage4 of
commandments in judgements, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making
peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
putting to death the enmity.
2
i.e. by the "authority of".
And/or tradition, custom.
4
A specialized use of nomos. See Liddell and Scott, TDNT.
3