Chapter # 5 Paragraph # 4 Study # 6
May 19, 2013
Dayton, Texas
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1769 Translation:
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
1901 ASV Translation:
21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.
24 And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
25 If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.
26 Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.
- I. The "Works" of the Flesh.
- A. Sexual immorality, uncleanness, licentiousness, image worship, drug use, enmity, strife, zeal, passion, competition, separatism, opinion, envy, drunkenness, revellings.
- 1. Fifteen selected behaviors.
- 2. The "groupings".
- a. Misuse of the body.
- b. Misuse of others: Eight involving conflict with others.
- c. Final two: "partying" (escapist behaviors??).
- B. In detail.
- 1. Sexual misconduct.
- 2. Mistreatment of others.
- a. Hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders.
- 1) "Hatred" [antagonism].
- a) Luke 23:12 -- an "opposite" to "friends".
- b) Romans 8:7 -- an incapacity/unwillingness to share any agenda.
- c) Ephesians 2:15-16 -- a state of mind in which one refuses to be "at peace with" another.
- d) James 4:4 -- as in Luke 23:12, an opposite to friendship, but with the added reinforcement of decided rebellion against the agenda of another as in Romans 8:7.
- e) Summary: "hatred" is an "attitude" toward another that consists of direct, and determined, opposition; we would typically call it "antagonism".
- 2) "Variance" [disputation as "antagonistic argument"].
- a) 1 Corinthians 1:11 and 3:3 indicate "contentions" (the word is translated "debates" in one place).
- b) Philippians 1:15 puts the term in opposition to "good will" (a word that indicates a desire to please).
- c) Most of Paul's references to this "work of the flesh" are in "grocery lists" that do little to indicate any precision regarding its actual identity. Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon links it to "battle strife", makes a link to Eris, the goddess of war, and indicates a use of words (as in using words to express/incite opposition).
- d) Summary: the link to "hatred" is apparent; the additional idea is the verbal element of strong argument against.
- 3) "Emulations" [zeal].
- a) The word is, technically, "zeal" as an extremely dominant commitment to something.
- b) Luke uses the term in Acts 5:17 and 13:45 to indicate the "feelings" someone has when they have been "shown up", or wish to be more "popular" than they are and the lack of popularity is obvious. In other words, it is "zeal" for status in the eyes of others.
- c) The word is used in positive ways as well as negative.
- d) Summary: the word means "enormously committed to..."
- 4) "Wrath" [hot anger; temper tantrum].
- a) This word is used of the intensity of feeling as the immediate response to something someone does that is considered "way out of line". It, generally, results in extreme and immediate "corrective" behavior (Luke 4:28).
- b) The word is not used widely in the New Testament (the majority user is "The Revelation"), but it always communicates the same idea: the flaming of "temper" upon the occasion of some "hated" speech/action.
- c) Summary: the immediate and extreme emotional reaction to a particularly hated eventuality.
- 5) "Strife" [one step up from antagonistic argument].
- a) This word derives from 2) above; it means "the product of verbal conflict".
- b) It is used in seven texts of the New Testament which illuminate its essence as the "strife" that comes out of heated arguments.
- c) Summary: an on-going attitude/action that has arisen out of strong disagreement between two or more parties.
- 6) "Seditions" [stirring up an uproar over something].
- a) This word is used by Luke in Acts to describe "an uproar" caused by a host of people in potent disagreement. The tendency of such people is to move on to violence.
- b) It is also used to describe someone who has plotted against the government.
- c) Summary: the overt activity of attempting to force one's agenda on others through sound and violence.
- 7) "Heresies" [commitments to core doctrines; sects].
- a) This term indicates "groups of peoples who are committed to certain core doctrines that are in dispute".
- b) It is only a small step from a "doctrine" to a "sect" (the grouping of those who are faithful to the doctrine).
- c) Summary: the word indicates strong commitment to a core of doctrines which are elevated to the level of a litmus test.
- 8) "Envyings".
- a) The use of the word is consistent in the New Testament.
- b) It means to be jealous of another for what that person has.
- c) Summary: the emotion generated by the strong desire to have what another has (not covetousness, per se, but jealousy regarding another).
- 9) "Murders" (This word seems to have been inserted after Paul wrote this letter).
- b. The list in summary.
- 1) Summary: "hatred" is an "attitude" toward another that consists of direct, and determined, opposition, "antagonism". Paul did not use the typical word for "hate" ( misew ).
- 2) Summary: "variance"; the link to "hatred" is apparent; the additional idea is the verbal element of strong argument against
- 3) Summary: "emulations"; the word means "enormously committed to..."
- 4) Summary: "wrath"; the immediate and extreme emotional reaction to a particularly hated eventuality.
- 5) Summary: "strife"; an on-going attitude/action that has arisen out of strong disagreement between two or more parties.
- 6) Summary: "seditions"; the overt activity of attempting to force one's agenda on others through sound and violence.
- 7) Summary: "heresies"; the word indicates strong commitment to a core of doctrines which are elevated to the level of a litmus test.
- 8) Summary: "envyings"; the attitude generated by the strong desire to have what another has (not covetousness, per se, but jealousy regarding another).
- c. The progression is from "hatred" to "jealousy" in a pattern. The progression moves through the stages from "hatred" to "strong verbal disagreement", to "a heightened commitment", to "intense emotional involvement" and then backs through the same themes in terms of corresponding links; "a settled antagonism" as the fruit of hot anger, "plans to force capitulation" as the fruit of "zeal", "aligning with those who agree with each other" as the fruit of intense antagonistic debate, and "jealousy toward those who have a large following" as the fruit of "enmity".
- 1) This reduces the issues to four (enmity, antagonistic debate, zealous commitment, and hot temper) with their corresponding fruit.
- 2) Thus, the "manifest works" focus upon "sex" and "antagonism" [shades of Genesis 6 and God's reaction to "sex and violence" (Genesis 6:11 uses the summary terms "corrupt" and "violence")].
- 3. Lack of restraint.
- a. Drunkenness.
- b. Revellings.