179. Paul as the leitourgos of the Messiah (Romans 15:16).

Four related terms occur in Paul’s epistles, Luke-Acts, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. These are the verb leitourgeō (Acts 13:2; Romans 15:27; Hebrews 10:11), the nouns leitourgia (Luke 1:23; 2 Corinthians 9:12; Philippians 2:17, 30; Hebrews 8:6; 9:21), and leitourgos … Continue reading

157. The Meaning of philostorgos in Romans 12:10.

The adjective philostorgos occurs once in the New Testament in Romans 12:10. In the NIV it is rendered as “be devoted.” Other translations render it simply as “love” (NRSV, ESV, NLT). Louw and Nida define it as meaning “pertaining to love … Continue reading

151. Paul’s ‘priestly’ Ministry — hierourgeō in Romans 15:16

As Paul concludes his letter to the Christians in Rome, he explains again why he has written, i.e. in fulfillment of his commission from God as apostle to the nations (Rom. 15.15-16). He incorporates cultic or ritualistic language in order … Continue reading

150. “The Gifts and Calling of God: ametamelētos in Romans 11:29

Twice in his letters Paul uses the adjective ametamelētos (2 Corinthians 7:10; Romans 11:29). These are the only two occurrences in biblical literature (both Old and New Testament Greek materials). However, ametamelētos has a long history of usage in Greek literature, … Continue reading

149. A Disciple’s ‘Mindset’ (phronēma – Romans 8:6,7,27)

In the midst of his great discussion about the relationship between the believer and God in Romans 8, Paul introduces a word which occurs only in this chapter in the New Testament. It is the noun phronēma (vv. 6(2x), 7, … Continue reading

107. What’s the Difference? Diastolē in Paul’s Letters and Diastellō in Mark’s Gospel.

Three times in his letters Paul used the noun diastolē (Romans 3:22; 10:12; 1 Corinthians 14:7). This noun is translated in the New International Version (NIV) as “difference” or “distinction” The cognate verb diastellō occurs more frequently in the New … Continue reading