Chapter # 12 Paragraph # 4 Study # 5
May 3, 2019
Humble, Texas
(048)
1769 Translation:
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 [
Be] of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [
rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [
is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
1901 ASV Translation:
12 rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly in prayer;
13 communicating to the necessities of the saints;
given to hospitality.
14 Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but
condescend to
things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.
19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath [
of God]: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.
20 But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
- I. The Second "Application" of Unhypocritical Love: One's "Attitude" Toward Others (Continued).
- A. One's "Attitude" Toward Fellow Believers [See Notes (043)/Message Outlines (044)].
- B. One's "Attitude" Toward God [See Notes (045)/Message Outlines (046)].
- C. One's "Attitude" Toward Circumstances That Tend to "Push" Our Behavior (because that behavior affects others).
- 1. "In respect to tribulation...".
- a. The issue of "tribulation".
- 1) Paul refers to this "problem" by name in four texts in Romans (2:9; 5:3; 8:35; and 12:12).
- a) The first use is within a context of a strong warning (2:8-9).
- i. This "warning" is pretty straightforward: "...tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil...". Paul's addition of "distress" to "tribulation" is an interesting reinforcement of the result of doing evil: "thlipsis" is "tribulation" and the concept is a development from "pressure" (the original meaning from its etymology) and "stenocoria" is "distress" and its concept is originally rooted in the concept of "narrowness" (we actually get our medical term "stenosis" from this Greek term for "narrowing"). The two ideas are closely related as "a narrow space" automatically produces "pressure".
- ii. The picture in this context is that of a person being "squeezed" by the outpouring of the "wrath" of the "Day of Wrath" so that the walls are crowding in and there is no place to escape. One who is the least bit claustrophobic can easily imagine the torment of being subjected to such "squeezing".
- b) The second use (5:3) introduces a bit of a "problem".
- i. Having warned those who do evil of the coming consequences (2:8-9), Paul now declares that those who "exult in hope of the glory of God" are also going to be subjected to "tribulations". "Doing evil" will bring upon us "tribulation", but "exulting in hope" will also bring upon us "tribulations". This seems, on the face of it, to be a bit "problematic" since, apparently, "doing good" will not deliver us from suffering "tribulations" and "doing evil" will actually bring "tribulation" upon us.
- ii. But, having introduced this dilemma to us, Paul, in the context of this second use, goes on to at least partially explain why there is, apparently, no escape from "tribulations". The "Why?" is that, for those who "exult in hope", "being squeezed" has a beneficial, and necessary, result: "more exulting in hope". "Tribulation" brings "perseverance"; "perseverance" brings "proven character"; and "proven character" brings "hope" (a full-circle return to our "exulting in hope"). In other words, for the people of "faith", "tribulation" simply deepens the "exulting" that we experience from "hope". The clear implication is that "believers" have a need to be "squeezed" because the experience deepens our "faith" by forcing us to make "faithful" decisions in the face of the difficulties. In a very real sense, then, even in the case of those who are "exulting in hope", "tribulation" is the necessary response to "evil" because there is yet a goodly amount of "evil" in all of us no matter how far we progress into "Life with God". However, in this case, the "tribulations" are "purifying" as they are met with "faith" and "Love".
- c) The third use (8:35) almost automatically results from the second: if "tribulations" are to be an inevitable part of our experiences no matter how diligent we are to "do no evil", will this experience be a tool of our adversary to "separate us from the Love of Christ? Paul's answer is emphatic: No. We can imagine our adversary whispering in our ear that "this tribulation means God is opposed to you and it is simply what you can expect if you seek to follow Him". Interestingly, Paul does not even allow our probable, temporary, descent into anger toward God for letting this "tribulation" come upon us, to be a cause for us to think that God will permit our reaction to be a factor of separation from the Love of Christ.
- d) The fourth, and last, use is the text under our consideration in this study.
- 2) These four references by Paul in Romans give us a foundation to respond in the way prescribed by the "attending participle".
- b. The issue of the attending participle.
- 1) This participle is formed from a verb that Paul only uses in this one place in this letter.
- a) The formation, itself, indicates that the word is a combination of a preposition that typically means "under" and a verb that typically means "remaining": thus, etymologically, "to remain under". As a verb with an attached preposition, the word is "emphatic". Paul's emphasis is upon his insistence that we address our "pressures" legitimately by not automatically taking measures to "escape" from them. Remaining under the pressures can, as seen in 5:3, have an enormously good result that will not be ours if we "escape".
- b) Note well, 2 Timothy 2:12 where Paul attaches our ability to reign with Christ to our "enduring", not "escaping".
- 2) Paul's prescription for responding to "pressures" is to wisely determine whether we are to attempt an "escape", or to "endure".
- 2. "In respect to prayer...".
- a. The issue of "prayer".
- 1) Paul only refers to this kind of "prayer" three times in this letter. In the other two texts the "prayer" has to do with "making a request for a particular 'favor' " that is seen to be a desirable result (1:10 and 15:30). Matthew 21:22 reinforces this particular concept ("prayer" as "request"). Several other New Testament texts indicate that this word for "prayer" is a kind of "all-inclusive" term for whatever kinds of communications we might have with God (the Temple was to be "a House of Prayer"; there was "an hour" set apart for this kind of "prayer" each day; there were "places of prayer" in villages and towns where there was no synagogue; the "bowls of incense" in the heavenly vision were filled with "the prayers of the saints"; etc.).
- 2) That Paul places "In respect to prayer..." immediately after "In respect to tribulation..." is indicative of at least some form of a "circumstances forcing us toward God" concept, though there is not necessarily the presence of "request" ("prayer" can be "praise", or other forms of responding to God without "request" being present). Philippians 4:6 actually puts "prayer" alongside "supplication" as if there is, at least, a difference of some kind between the two.
- b. The issue of the attending participle.
- 1) This verb is another "emphatic" verb being a combination word with a prefixed preposition attached to the verbal idea. The underlying verbal idea is that of "remaining steadfast". It is used with the attached preposition in Romans 13:6 to indicate that the persons under consideration "considered the attached action as a kind of 'vocational calling'; "it is my job to do this". This same idea is presented in Acts 6:4 in context where the apostles refuse to "wait tables" because it would take away their ability to "devote ourselves to prayer".
- 2) Thus, "in respect to prayer" we are to "consider it an integral aspect of living so that we do not set it aside for lesser pursuits".
- 3. "In respect to the needs of the saints...".
- a. The issue of "the needs of the saints".
- 1) This is the only reference in Romans by Paul in terms of the actual use of this word.
- 2) There is an abundance of uses of this word in the New Testament that have "material need" (as a matter of physical life) in view. There are also other references that take this use of physical need and use it for a metaphor for "need" when it moves into the realms of soul and spirit. There is, in Revelation 3:17, a significant danger of letting a lack of material need lead us into the error of thinking that that "lack" automatically means we have no "need" in the other two realms of "Life" (soul and spirit).
- b. The issue of the attending participles (there are two, a departure from the prior pattern).
- 1) The first of the attending participles is "koinonountes" (translated "contributing" in the NASB and "distributing" in the Authorized Version). The root of this verb is "koinonos", a word that means "a co-participant in...". It is, along with this verb, used to indicate a person who has taken active responsibility to address whatever the "need" happens to be. Luke 5:10 uses this word illustratively as it identifies James and John as "partners" in their fishing enterprises with Simon and Andrew. They "share" both the needed labor as well as the rewards of that labor. There are multiple other uses with the same "sense" in the records of the New Testament.
- a) This means that there is a definitive "link" in Paul's mind between "enduring tribulations", "continual praying", and "taking up a partnership with those in need".
- b) That "link" tends in the direction of "viewing the troubles of others as more of a problem that my own" as it shifts from "my own tribulations" to "continual prayer" as both a way to address my own troubles as well as a way to address the troubles of my brethren, to "entering into partnership with those in need".
- 2) The second of the attending participles is "diokontes" as it is attached to the word "filoxenia". This "filoxenia" is a word used twice in the New Testament and we get our sense of its meaning first from its etymology (a "filia" for strangers), and then from its sparse use (showing hospitality to strangers). As a reference to "showing hospitality to those unknown to us", it presents a primary way for a person to "enter into a partnership with the one(s) in need". Often, the most immediate need is for food and covering; a need that can at least be temporarily met by "hospitality" (overnight provision of food and covering). Then, as the less immediate needs surface, there is the commitment to "entering into the partnership of the need" by seeking ways to solve the longer-term issues by providing a "breathing space" for the immediate need.