Lessons #69 and 70
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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The True Jew keeps the Law (Rom 2:17-24)
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
In the preceding section of Romans 2:1-16, the apostle conveyed that God’s judgment is independent of the Mosaic Law. This reference to the Mosaic Law implies that some of the recipients of this epistle to Romans were of Jewish descent. Apparently, there must have been some kind of problems in the church in Rome with some of Jewish believers that necessitated the apostle’s discourse on who is a true Jew. I am saying that although we do not have any direct assertion in this epistle of the apostle receiving a report regarding any problem in the church in Rome caused by believers who are of Jewish descent, there must have been some kind of problem to cause him to address the issue of a true Jew. If there was no problem caused by some believers of Jewish descent in Rome, devoting time to discourse on a true Jew is unwarranted. My point is that there must have been some concerns of the apostle because of believers in Rome who are of Jewish descent that the Holy Spirit directed him to discourse on the subject of a true Jew.
Be that as it may, the passage before us is the first of the apostle’s discourse of the major theme of his explanation of a true Jew that he discoursed from Romans 2:17 to 3:4. Our passage of study, Romans 2:17-24, is concerned with expected actions of a true Jew. The apostle states the bases of claiming to be a Jew in verses 17-20. This is followed by questions in verses 21-23 that imply that unless one carries out the requirements of the law, then a person’s claim of being a Jew becomes false. Finally, the apostle ends our section with the consequence of failure to live as a Jew in verse 24. Based on this summary of the passage we are about to study; we can state the message the apostle wanted members of the church of Christ in Rome who claim to be of Jewish descent should hear. The message to them is: A true Jew knows the Law, communicates its contents to Gentiles, while obeying its requirements since failure to do so would lead Gentiles to blaspheme the name of God of Israel. You may, of course, on hearing this message, say to yourself that you are not of Jewish or Hebrew descent, so this message does not apply to you. However, we should remember that our Scripture is for the benefit of believers in Christ, regardless of their ethnicity or any other human classification, as Apostle Paul stated in 2 Timothy 3:16–17:
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
This being the case, the message of the section of Romans 2:17-24 addressed to believers in Rome is applicable to us who claim to be believers in Christ. Consequently, the message to us is this: If you claim to be an authenticate Christian, you should know the word of God, convey its applicable aspects to unbelievers, and obey the word since failure to do so would cause unbelievers to blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ. Our use of the phrase “its applicable aspects to unbelievers” in stating the message to believers is to recognize that not everything in the Scripture can be communicated to unbelievers. The primary content of the Scripture that should be communicated to unbelievers is the gospel message although some moral requirements of the Scripture may be communicated to them but with the understanding that they are not usually equipped to live as the believer filled of the Spirit and even if they complied that would not lead to their salvation. This aside, the message we have stated as applicable to us, believers, will become clearer as we expound the passage before us.
In the preceding section of Romans 2:14-16, as we have examined, the apostle was concerned with the law and conscience as factors that affect God’s final judgement. Thus, in the passage of our present study, the apostle continued with subject of the law but with a focus on Jewish people that were the recipients of the law. That the apostle was continuing with the subject of the law is indicated by the use of the word now that begins verse 17 in the NIV. The word “now” is translated from a Greek particle (de) that is routinely translated “but” in our English versions to reflect a contrast between clauses but when a simple connective is desired, without contrast being clearly implied, it may be translated “and” or “now” or “so” and in certain occurrences the particle may be untranslated. Other times, the particle is used to provide explanation so may be translated “that is.” In the verse we are considering, the apostle used it to continue the subject of the law with a focus on the Jews although majority of our English versions used the meaning “but” to imply a contrast between what the apostle states and what preceded it.
All the same, the apostle stated his concern that some claim to be of Jewish descent but belie that claim by their actions and so he writes in the conditional clause of Romans 2:17 if you call yourself a Jew. By the way, the apostle continued to address an imaginary individual that he previously addressed or as some have describe it that the apostle is still describing an “imaginary interlocutor” because “you” is in the singular in the Greek. Of course, although the apostle used the singular form, he probably had in mind a group of Jews that he addressed.
The apostle is not in doubt of the genetic identity of those he addressed in this clause if you call yourself a Jew as may be suggested by a casual reading of the word “if.” He believed those he addressed in this clause to be of Jewish descent otherwise he would not have addressed them that way. Thus, the word “if” should be translated “since.” Let me justify this interpretation by examining the Greek particle (ei) translated “if” that is used in different ways in the Greek. For example, the Greek particle is used as a marker of condition that exists in fact or hypothetical so that it is translated “if.” On the one hand, if a writer presents an action associated with a verb as real, although the writer may or may not believe the action to be real, there is the implication there is no doubt or uncertainty about what is stated when our Greek particle is used. Thus, in some context the word “if” may be understood to mean “since”, especially if the action has already taken place as in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul regarding the conduct expected of those who have believed in Christ as stated in Colossians 3:1:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
The clause Since, then, you have been raised with Christ is literally Therefore, if you have been raised together with Christ. The apostle did not state something that is conditional as the literal translation would imply. No! He stated truth that applies to anyone who is a believer in Christ in that the person has been raised with Christ as he stated in Ephesians 2:6:
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Hence, it is fitting for the word “if” used in Colossians 3:1 to be understood as “since” as believers by virtue of their salvation have been raised with Christ. On the other hand, if a writer presents the action associated with a verb as possible, the implication is that the thing in question is possible but uncertain, though assumed probable. Thus, it is used to narrate what Apostle Paul said before Governor Felix in his defense in which he indicated that if the Jews had a case to charge him with, they should have been before the governor to present his charge as stated in Acts 24:19:
But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.
The clause if they have anything against me may, according to the standard Greek English lexicon (BDAG), be translated if they should have any charges to bring against me implying something possible but uncertain. In our passage of Romans 2:17, the apostle addressed those he believed were of Jewish descent so that the clause of Romans 2:17 if you call yourself a Jew may be translated since you call yourself a Jew. It is true that of over twenty-seven English versions that I consulted, none used the meaning “since” in their translation, but the interpretation implied in the word “since” is reflected in some English versions. For example, instead of the clause if you call yourself a Jew the REB reads as for you who bear the name of Jew that is similar to that reflected in the NLT. Interestingly, the WEB (World English Bible) was even emphatic in their translation that reads Indeed you bear the name of a Jew. The NKJV reflects this same emphasis in their use of the word “indeed” to translate the clause. The point is that the apostle addressed those who are of Jewish descent so that in spite of the word “if” used in the clause we are considering, the apostle believed those he addressed were of Jewish descent. It is this clause of Romans 2:17 if you call yourself a Jew that is the reason for our use of the clause If you claim to be an authenticate Christian in stating the message that is applicable to us. Apostle Paul was convinced that those he addressed were genetically of Jewish descent, but I could not use the word “since” as we argued applied to the Greek word (ei) translated “if” in the clause we are considering because I cannot be certain that everyone hearing my voice at this time is a Christian. So, it is incumbent upon you to convince yourself before the Lord that you are an authenticate Christian realizing this truth that you cannot fake your Christianity with God since He knows those who are His as stated in 2 Timothy 2:19:
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
Anyway, you must be sure that you are an authentic Christian although you may be basing your claims on some of your activities.
The apostle wrote in Romans 2:17 if you call yourself a Jew. We have examined in detail the word “Jew” as used in the Scripture and specifically in the NT. Let me briefly remind you that the word “Jew” is used primarily for “persons belonging to Judea”, that is, a “Judean” but it has been used in different ways depending on the period of history of Israel that is in view. Even before the exile of Judah to Babylon and during the exile, the term was used to describe all Hebrews. In the NT, it was used primarily to describe Judeans as those who adhered to Mosaic tradition. One thing that is clear is that the word is used to describe those who believed in one God (monotheism) in the OT period as well as those who adhered to tradition of the Mosaic Law. In effect, Jews tried to live their lives as governed by the Mosaic Law.
In any case, Apostle Paul proceeds to enumerate some of the activities of those who are Jewish genetically based their claim as Jews but are not sufficient to justify them as true Jews. The first activity is that of reliance in their possession of the law probably to shield them from God’s judgment or to give them good standing with Him. It is this activity that is described in the clause of the NIV of Romans 2:17 if you rely on the law. The word “if” does not appear in this clause in the Greek but many commentators take the position that the first “if” of the verse applies to the remaining clauses that follow the first clause, so the NIV reads if you rely on the law but literally the Greek reads and rely on (the) law. The conjunction and in the literal translation is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions as a marker of connection between single words or clauses, but the conjunction has several usages. It may be used as a marker of introduction of a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy, leading to the translation “and yet, and in spite of that, nevertheless.” It may be used as a marker of emphasis where there is a stress on what is said and hence means “indeed, certainly.” It may be used as a marker to indicate an additive relation that is not of equal rank and significance to another clause, in which case, it means “also, likewise.” Still the word may be used as a marker of contrast so that it means “but.” In our verse and in verse 18, the Greek particle occurs four times. In three of these occurrences, the Greek particle has the meaning of “and” since it is used to connect clauses that are the bases for the claim of those addressed of being Jewish. However, in its first usage, the Greek particle has the meaning of “because” as a marker of reason or the bases of those that claim to be Jews think they are true Jews. This meaning “because” is not listed in our standard Greek English lexicons but that is an appropriate meaning of the Greek particle in some context. For example, the translators of the NIV rendered the word “because” in the record of Stephen’s sermon as he mentioned Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery into Egypt as stated in Acts 7:9:
“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
The clause Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt is more literally and the patriarchs jealous of Joseph sold him into Egypt. Clearly, it makes better sense if the Greek word that literally means “and’ is translated “because” to indicate the reason Joseph’s brothers sold him. The translators of the NET recognized that our Greek particle can have the meaning “because” when they used this meaning to translate it in the narrative of Zechariah’s experience as recorded in Luke 1:22:
When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
The translators of the NIV translated the Greek particle with the word “for” that can be used to provide a reason for something. The clause for he kept making signs to them is literally And he kept making signs to them, but the translators of the NET translated the literal Greek as because he was making signs to them, indicating that they translated our Greek particle (kai) as “because.” Since it is the context that determines the meaning of a word, I contend that the first use of the Greek particle in Romans 2:17 should be translated “because” so that the literal Greek sentence and rely on (the) law should read because you rely on (the) law. The TPT (The Passion Translation) adopted this meaning in their translation because you lean upon your trust in the law. This meaning enables us to recognize that what the apostle gave in the rest of the verse and into verse 18 are bases of some Jews claiming to be true Jews.
Be that as it may, the first activity that is the basis for some Jews claiming to be true Jews is reliance in their possession of the law as in the sentence of Romans 2:17 you rely on the law. The word “rely” is translated from a Greek word (epanapauomai) that appears only twice in the Greek NT. It is the word that is used to report what Jesus Christ said to the disciples He sent on mission field. He instructed them to pronounce peace as a greeting to any home they enter and if they are received then peace will be upon the residents, so it means “to rest” as we read in Luke 10:6:
If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
In its other use in our passage of Romans 2:17, the Greek word has the sense of “to find rest, find comfort,” that is, “to find inner security on something” and so the meaning “to rely on or to trust” is appropriate. A typical Jew in the time of the apostle would find comfort in claiming to be a true Jew because of the possession of the law probably assuming that would shield them from God’s judgment or grant them a good standing with Him. The word “law” is translated from a Greek word (nomos) that we have considered in detail previously as being used in three ways in the NT Scripture. It is used for a procedure or practice that has taken hold and so means “a custom, rule, principle, norm.” Another usage of the Greek word translated “law” is for describing the first five books of Moses (i.e., Genesis to Deuteronomy) often known as the Torah. Still another usage of the Greek word translated “law” is as a reference to the entire OT Scriptures. In our passage of Romans 2:17, it is the second meaning that refers to Torah and so refers to Jewish law as contained in the first five books of the OT given by Moses that is applicable. The Torah contains primarily moral, civil, and religious codes for Israel. Without doubt, in the time of the apostle’s writing, the Jews for most part staked their claim of being true Jews because they have the law but the apostle, of course, implies that such does not make a person a true Jew.
Reliance on the possession of the law as a basis of claim to being a true Jew can be applied to us today in the claim of being an authentic Christian. How? You may ask. It is in possession of the Scripture. Some claim that because they have the Bible in their houses, they are Christians, never mind that they never open it but merely used it as decoration or as some say for “good warding off evil from their houses.” Others may even claim to be authentic Christians because they read the Bible regularly. Reading the Bible regularly does not necessarily prove that a person is a Christian. Regular reading of the Bible while it is expected of believers does not necessarily in and of itself prove that a person is a Christian. It may prove that a person is religious. It is after regeneration that reading the Bible becomes more meaningful, granting that a religious unbeliever may read it and through its reading may become saved. We have an illustration of the case of a religious person reading the Scripture without being saved but in the process because of God’s plan became saved. This illustration is given in the salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch as reported in Acts 8:27–39:
27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
My reason for citing this passage is to make the point that just because a person reads the Bible regularly does not mean that the individual is saved. Hence, you should not rely on your regular reading of the Bible in and of itself as the basis for claiming you are an authentic Christian.
The second activity that is the basis for some Jews claiming to be true Jews is their boast about God in the sense of having knowledge of Him or having relationship with Him as stated in the next verbal phrase of Romans 2:17 and brag about your relationship to God. Literally, the Greek reads and boast in God.
The word “brag” is translated from a Greek verb (kauchaomai) that means to express an unusually high degree of confidence in someone or something being exceptionally noteworthy and so means “to boast.” However, there are several nuances to the Greek word. It may mean “to brag”, that is, to say something boastfully, as it is used in Apostle Paul’s question to those who boast of having the law as stated in Romans 2:23:
You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
The word may mean “to rejoice” as the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe the thankful attitude of believers because of the total package of salvation in Romans 5:11:
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The clause but we also rejoice in God is literally but also we are boasting in God. The Greek word may mean “to glory”, that is, to take great pride or pleasure in someone/something or to rejoice proudly as Apostle Paul used it to describe what he and other believers do as stated in Philippians 3:3:
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
The verbal phrase glory in Christ Jesus is literally boasting in Christ Jesus. The Greek word may mean to “to take pride” as the word is used by Apostle Paul to communicate to the Corinthians what he and his team were offering them in 2 Corinthians 5:12:
We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.
The verbal phrase to take pride in us is literally to boast about us. Hence, we see that our Greek word can be used in different ways. In our passage of Romans 2:17, it is used negatively with the meaning “to boast” in the sense of “showing off verbally.”
Boasting can be right or wrong depending on the object or reason for it. Boasting that is wrong is one that is self-centered so that God is left out or robbed of His glory and a human claims credit for what God has done. Apostle Paul mentioned this kind of wrong boasting as that which characterized his opponents who want to boast as to the number of people they get to become circumcised, as we read in Galatians 6:13:
Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.
As we indicated, when God is left out, any kind of boasting is wrong, as conveyed in James 4:16:
As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
In the context of James, the boasting that is evil is any kind of assertion about the future that is devoid of the recognition that God controls the future as should be indicated by prefacing such assertion by saying “if God wills or permits” or by the thought that a person’s plan is wholly in God’s hand.
The right kind of boasting is one that is centered on God or what He did or does through others or directly. Thus, we have examples of the right kind of boasting in the Scripture. Apostle Paul indicates that his boasting is in what Christ did on the cross hence, his assertion of wanting to boast about the cross of Christ in Galatians 6:14:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
It is not only what the cross of Christ meant to the apostle that led him to boast but also the impact of the cross in the spiritual lives of believers. Therefore, the apostle boasted about those who excel in their spiritual life, as he did to Titus regarding the Corinthians, according to 2 Corinthians 7:14:
I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well.
He did the same thing in praising the Corinthians to the Macedonians concerning their generosity, as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:2:
For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.
The apostle also boasted about the spiritual life of the Thessalonians in regards to their faithfulness and perseverance in the face of persecution, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:4:
Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
Anyway, we should be careful about boasting that is self-centered. The apostle was careful of this when he boasted of the revelations he had received from the Lord so that he used the third person in 2 Corinthians 12:5:
I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.
The “man” the apostle meant is himself. It is because he was cautious regarding boasting about self that he used the third person in his boasting of the visions he received from the Lord. A reason we should be careful not to boast about self is so that others do not overrate us, so to say, as the apostle stated in 2 Corinthians 12:6:
Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.
Boasting about self or self-achievement is an indicator that one does not understand that there is nothing that the person achieved or attained were it not for the grace of God, as indicated in the penetrating questions of 1 Corinthians 4:7:
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
It is important that we be conscious that whatever we have by way of blessing is from God, as the Holy Spirit taught us through Apostle John in John 3:27:
To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.
The word “heaven” here is a reference to God. Consequently, it is important that we constantly remind ourselves that everything we receive is from God. Boasting that is correct should be related to spiritual matters. This is the implication of boasting about knowing God that the Holy Spirit spoke through Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9:24:
but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
The thing some Jews, claiming to be true Jews, base their claim is that they boast about knowledge of God or their intimacy with Him as in the phrase of Romans 2:17 about your relationship to God or literally in God. The literal phrase in God could be understood to mean “knowledge of God” or “intimacy with God” or “God’s favor.” Thus, those who claim to be true Jews might have boasted about their knowledge of God or their intimacy with Him or His favor.
The boast in God of those who claim to be true Jews should be a good thing since true boasting is centered on God. So, what is wrong that such boast does not necessarily qualify those who make the claim as true Jews? Simply, it is because they are full of talk but without action to support their verbal show off about God. Any boast in God that is genuine should be evident in a person’s action. A Jew who boasts in God without the individual’s action revealing a genuine relationship with God falls short of what is expected of those who trust in God and that person might be relying on being a Jew genetically. It is this kind of Jew that John the Baptist commanded to produce fruit that show repentance and not rely on being a descendant of Abraham as we read in Matthew 3:8–9:
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
This claim of some Jews may be applicable to those who talk “a good game” about being Christians but show no proof of their claim. If you are such a person, you should carefully examine yourself to ensure that you are indeed an authentic Christian. In any event, the second activity that is the basis for some Jews claiming to be true Jews is their boast about God in the sense of having knowledge of Him or having relationship with Him.
The third activity that is the basis for some Jews claiming to be true Jews is their claim of knowing God’s will. It is this that is stated in the clause of Romans 2:18 if you know his will. The word “if” is used based on the interpretation that the first “if” used in verse 17 governs the rest of the clause up to verse 20 but that is not necessarily the case. Literally, the Greek reads and you know the will.
The word “know” is translated from a Greek word (ginōskō) that may mean to arrive at a knowledge of someone or something, hence “to know, know about, make acquaintance of.” Thus, it may be used to arrive at understanding of truth, as it is with this meaning that the word is used in Jesus’ declaration of a person being set free by knowledge of the truth in John 8:32:
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
The word may mean to acquire information through some means and so means “to learn (of), to ascertain, to find out.” Hence, it is in the sense of “to find out something” that our Greek word is used to describe Apostle Paul’s desire to learn about the faith of believers in Thessalonica out of his concern for their spiritual welfare, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 3:5:
For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.
The word may mean to grasp the significance or meaning of something and so means “to understand, comprehend” as our Greek word was used in the apostolic prayer of Paul for Ephesians to comprehend Christ’s love for them although our word is translated “know” in Ephesians 3:19:
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
The word may mean “to acknowledge, recognize” as it is used by Apostle Paul to indicate that the Galatians acknowledged God in Galatians 4:9:
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Although the NIV translated our Greek word with “know” twice but the sense of the Greek word in this passage is that of “to acknowledge.” Thus, the clause now that you know God is translated in the NEB as now that you do acknowledge God. In our passage of Romans 2:18, the word has the sense of “to know about,” that is, “to have come to the knowledge of.”
The thing that is known about is given in the phrase of Romans 2:18 his will or literally the will. The word “will” is translated from a Greek word (thelēma) that basically means “will” that can be used either in objective sense of what one wishes to happen or in a subjective sense of desiring something. In the objective sense, it can mean God’s will as Apostle Paul used it in his encouragement to the Colossians about Epaphras’ prayers for them to stand firm spiritually in Colossians 4:12:
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Another objective sense of the word refers to what one wishes to bring about by the activity of others, to whom one assigns a task. It is in this sense that the apostle used it to describe God’s perfect will in Romans 12:2:
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Still another objective sense of the word refers to what one wishes to bring about by one’s own action, since one has undertaken to do what one has willed. It is in this sense that the word is used in connection with salvation plan and work of God in Ephesians 1:9:
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
There is nothing about salvation that is left to humans, so God carried it out to ensure that what He willed with respect to salvation comes into fruition. In a subjective sense, the word relating to God refers to what He purposes or has purposed, what He regards, or does, as good. It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used the word in describing his plan to come to the Roman believers stated in Romans 15:32:
so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
It is also in this sense of what God purposes or has purposed that Apostle Peter used our Greek word in connection with suffering of believers in 1 Peter 3:17:
It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
The conditional clause if it is God’s will is more literally if the will of God wills. The literal word “wills” suggests doubt that believers would suffer and that it is God’s will but, in truth, believer’s suffering is God’s will in accordance with His plan. So, Joseph suffered in Egypt because it is in conformity with God’s will so that God’s plan will be manifested through him. The Greek word may mean “desire” as it is used in describing the state of unbelievers in terms of their conduct in Ephesians 2:3:
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
In our passage of Romans 2:18, the word has the meaning “will” in the sense of what God has willed or has determined should be done. We take “will” here as referring to God because the apostle used the definite article before the word “will.” The phrase “the will” is one that is used among the Jews when speaking of God’s will in an absolute sense. Thus, some of those who claim to be true Jews claim to know about the will of God, presumably that they know what is in the Torah. Of course, knowing what is in the word of God and doing it are two different things. Those who claim to be true Jews because they know what is in the Torah but do not obey them could not be considered true Jews although they are genetically of Jewish descent. The point is that knowing the word of God in and of itself does not make one a true Jew. The same point applies today. Knowing the contents of the Bible and being able to quote them do not necessarily mean that a person is an authenticate Christian. Take for example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. For the most part, they know how to quote the Bible, especially those they have been drilled to remember but that does not make them authenticate Christians since they do not believe in Christ as the Son of God, or the very God who took on human nature. Therefore, it is possible to know the contents of the Scripture and to quote them easily but not be an authentic Christian but merely religious. Anyone that tries to read the Bible seriously without regeneration must be recognized as religious as we have noted previously with the Ethiopian eunuch. Anyway, the third activity that is the basis for some Jews claiming to be true Jews is their claim of knowing God’s will or what is in the Torah. There is more to consider but we are out of time and so we will continue with this passage in our next study. However, let me end by reminding you of the message of this section which is If you claim to be an authenticate Christian, you should know the word of God, convey its applicable aspects to unbelievers, and obey the word since failure to do so would cause unbelievers to blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ.
11/29/24