Eph. 1:9-14

Ephesians 1:9-14 (NASB):
He (God) made known to us the mystery of His (God) will, according to His (God) kind intention which He (God) purposed in Him (Christ) with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him (Christ) also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His (God) purpose who works all things after the counsel of His (God) will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His (God) glory. In Him (Christ), you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him (Christ) with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.


Just take a moment to realize all of the promises we have "In Christ:"

-God has purposed kind intentions in our union with Christ.

-God has promised an "administration suitable to the fullness of times" both in Heaven and on earth!

-In Christ, we have a promised inheritance.

-God has predestined our purposes according to His will. That is stress relief there!

-Those who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His (God) glory.

-Christ is the true message and hope of our salvation!

-One of my favorite promises, is that we are sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit.


Amen. These are wonderful and I will be digging a little deeper into these in the next post.

"In Christ" in Eph. 1:3,4

Ephesians 1:3, 4 (NASB)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He (God) chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

As discussed in the previous post, the phrase "in Christ", refers to our union with Christ. A way of reading to understand this section may be "God Blesses Our Spirit Because of Our Relation to (or Union with) Christ."

A breakdown of Ephesians 1:3 looks like this:

“Let us praise God, who is the God of our Lord Jesus and also his Father. For as we are united with Christ, God has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.”
Then verse four:
“God had already chosen us to belong to him by means of our being united with Christ, as God would want us to be.”

The way God wants us to be is holy, pure, blameless, clean....to break it down simply, it is without sin!
When we are in union with Christ, our life is lived in His sight and His presence! We are open to His scrutiny.




                                                  Reference:

Bratcher, R. G., & Nida, E. A. (1993). A handbook on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. UBS Handbook Series (pp. 8–13). New York: United Bible Societies.

Introduction to "In Christ" series

The Greek word for the English word "in" is "ἐν (en)" it appears 2694 times in the NASB New Testament.

The Greek Word for the English word "Christ" is "Χριστός (Christós)" and it appears 528 times in the NASB New Testament.

The combination of "ἐν" with "Χριστός" seems to be the way that English readers understand the Greek words for the phrase "in Christ." The Greek and English languages are not similar in the way that the two languages work and form sentences, so running a search for "ἐν Χριστός" in that order does not bear many results. Also, what tends to happen is that other Greek pronouns and acronyms  for Jesus are also used. 

So what will work for this type of study will be to evaluate the Greek at each occurrence of the English phrase "In Christ" in Ephesians. That is what I am set out to do.

The first one is in verse one of chapter one:

Ephesians 1:1 (NASB)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:

The Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament 28th Edition reads like this:

1  Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν [ἐν Ἐφέσῳ] καὶ πιστοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,

This is actually one of the times where it reads very closely to the English text. The last word there "Ἰησοῦ" translates to "Jesus."

So the Greek to English translation reads literally as the NASB has it "in Christ Jesus."

So what does this phrase actually mean? Are we to physically be inside of Jesus Christ? Of course not!

A good understanding would be "in union with Christ Jesus." Some translation have tried some phrasing that just do not seem to convey enough meaning:  “faithful in Christ Jesus” (RSV), “loyal Christians” (Barclay [Brc]) or “faithful Christians” (Phps). The French common language translation (FrCL) “who are faithful in union with Jesus Christ” offers a better meaning of the Greek phrase (Bratcher & Nida, 1993).

                                                                   References:

Bratcher, R. G., & Nida, E. A. (1993). A handbook on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. UBS Handbook Series (5). New York: United Bible Societies.

"In Christ" In Eph.

This phrase "In Christ" appears in the book of Ephesians 18 times in the NASB. The next few weeks I am going to explore these phrases in these verse. "In Christ" there is a lot of blessings and hope!

Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Ephesians 1:4
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Ephesians 1:9
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
Ephesians 1:10
with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
Ephesians 1:11
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
Ephesians 1:12
to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 1:20
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 2:6
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 2:7
so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 3:6
to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
 Ephesians 3:11
This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Ephesians 3:21
to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.


Exported from Logos Bible Software 5, 2:18 PM June 28, 2013.

The "Undecided" College Major

Did you know one of the most popular majors in universities right now is "undecided?"

There are thousands of college and career-aged students trying to discover what they want to do with their lives. I desire to help people find where they are uniquely called. Research is showing that college aged students who get coaching, get results and save lots of time and money that they would have spend in the "undecided zone."

If you like these types of coaching and mental health tips follow this blog and check me out at alexanderdolin.com. I can help coach you with other similar techniques. College and career-aged students, call me for a free consultation today.

Having trouble making a decision?

Having trouble making a decision?

Use the Three H Technique:

1. Heart - How do you feel about the problem/possibility?
2. Head - Have you thought about/ looked at the core values?
3. Holy Spirit -What is God telling you? Have you prayed about it?


If you like these types of coaching and mental health tips follow this blog and check me out at alexanderdolin.com. I can help coach you with other similar techniques.

Take a deep breath

If you scour the internet for Cognitive Behavioral  resources, you will find a simple breathing technique in almost every website, article and book. It has many names and variations from Deep Breathing, (Deep) Relaxation, Mindful(ness) Breathing, Centered Breathing or Calm Breathing. The activity is almost exactly the same no matter which one you choose and these techniques have been proving themselves to be effective to fight against stress and depression. If reading texts is not helpful there are also many websites (and apps) that offer mp3 audio files that walk you through this activity peacefully - here is a collection of mp3s, here is another collection and here for Android apps by Excell at Life which also include similar exercises and tools.

The wonderful thing about this breathing technique is that anyone can do this anywhere. It is most effective laying down or sitting comfortably on a chair or bed or other comfortable setting but you are not limited to this. If you are about to take a test, enter a stressful situation or go into a house or room that you know will be stressful you can do a simple variation of this breathing technique to lower your blood pressure, prevent against damage stress can take on the body  and lower anxiety levels quickly. It is used to help people suffering from depression and studies are proving its effectiveness.

Here is the long and the short of the activity if you have not clicked on all my links and already mastered it. This version could be used in almost any situation.

1. Get as relaxed as possible, it may not be possible.
2. Breath through your nose, a long deep breath, count to four in your head while taking in oxygen.
3. Take an even longer deep breath out of your mouth. If you can count to eight (in your head) while exhaling.
4. Repeat this two or three times before approaching the stressor.
Close your eyes if it helps and focus solely on taking that breath. Push out any distraction that comes your way. Also Imagine your belly filling up with air. Experts suggest placing a hand on the belly so you get practice doing it properly. This shouldn't just fill your chest but actually be deep belly breathing. It may take some practice and it may only occur for you in a peaceful, comfortable place.

If you like these types of coaching and mental health tips follow this blog and check me out at alexanderdolin.com. I can help coach you with other similar techniques.

Dwell on these things

Over a week ago, I started digging deep into the Greek words for the action verbs in Phil. 4:8. I addressed the Greek words associated with the "Whatever is" statements in Phil 4:8. 

 
Finally, brethren, whatever is true (αληθη), whatever is honorable (σεμνα), whatever is right (δικαια),
whatever is pure (αγνα), whatever is lovely (προσφιλη),
whatever is of good repute(ευφημα), if there is any excellence (αρετη)
and if anything worthy of praise (επαινος), dwell on these things.

In this post I wanted to conclude with some reflections on overall themes.

English Word	Greek Word (transliteration)	Definition	Themes/other definitions
True	ἀληθής (alēthḗs)	Without a lie	Honest,  not concealing, integrity, upright
Honorable	σεμνός (semnós)	Dignified	Faithful, honorable, clear conscience, sound
Right	δίκαιος (díkaios)	Right/Just	Upright, innocent, holy, righteous
Pure	ἁγνός (hagnós)	Free of impurity	Blameless, innocent, clean
Lovely	προσφιλής (prosphilḗs)	Friendship/love	Beloved, acceptable, pleasing,  companion, one who does what is good, kind, dear
Good Repute	εὔφημος (eúphēmos)	Good reputation	Praiseworthy, laudable, well-spoken of, respected,  "good rumor"
Excellent	ἀρετή (aretḗ)	Human virtue	"Highest good," morality, ethical, merit, honor
Worthy of Praise	ἔπαινος (épainos)	Commendation	Worthy of praise, object of  praise/fame

Paul in this one verse, not one, two or three times but eight times calls Christians to think good thoughts, thoughts that are upright, blameless, good, noble and worthy of our time and praise. This could be thought of as almost Christian pop-psychology, long before the existence of pop-psychology. But it is not that, it is so much more. Ever since I was in Middle School I have reflected on this verse a lot. I did not realize the Greek definitions in middle school but I had a general understanding that I should dwell on thoughts that good and pure. Instead of focusing hours of time on video games, I wanted to serve at church and I wanted to study the Bible. Even today, this verse guides me in my daily action. Every day I can fill this brain of mine with pleasing, pure, positive, blameless, upright, righteous, God-given dreams, purposes and understandings or I can just choose to fill my brain with the troubles and understandings of this world. It is a choice I have to make. We are to evaluate all of our actions and thoughts according to the themes of this verse...."Am I thinking pure thoughts before I go to bed?" "When I am near that person I cannot stand to be around, do I think excellent and praise-worthy thoughts then?" "I told my friend/wife/whoever about my day, did I tell that person the honest truth? Was I thinking it?"


Okay, (so how could I resist?) to get the full meaning across for the word 'dwell,' let's look at the Greek word:

The Greek word for 'dwell' is λογίζομαι (logízomai). The word means to 'reason,' 'reckon' or 'account' for something. Honestly, this surprised me. I was guessing the word would meaning to ponder, reflect or contemplate but  Paul goes a step further than just 'consider closely' or 'to ponder' (which would be κατανοέω). Instead Paul says to 'put this as reason' or 'put this together!' Or to 'let this occupy your brain!' Another way of saying this is 'count this as important because you will be held accountable to this!' (Zodhiates, 2000). These are some strong words, it is not a happy-go-lucky journal or reflection but a lifestyle that must be lived out. Now go and dwell on these types of things.



Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

Whatever is Praise-Worthy

This post is a continuation of my series examining the Greek words associated with the "Whatever is" statements in Phil 4:8. "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Today I examine the Greek word for "worthy of praise" which is ἔπαινος (épainos).

This word has two definitions. The first is a noun for "the object of praise" and the second definition is "something praiseworthy" (Zodhiates, 2000). Another word for it is 'commendation' (Swanson, 1997).

ἔπαινος appears 11 (once as 'fame' and 10 times as 'praise') times in the NASB:
Romans 2:29 -
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
1 Corinthians 4:5 -
Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.
2 Corinthians 8:18-
We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;
Philippians 4:8-
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Romans 13:3-
For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;
Ephesians 1:6-
to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:12-
to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:14-
who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Philippians 1:11-
having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
1 Peter 1:7-
so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1 Peter 2:14-
or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.


Paul and Peter are the only authors who used this word in the New Testament. As you can read there is an interesting variety for how the word is used it can be praise given by men to other men (1 Pt. 2:14).  It can be praise to men from God (Rom. 2:29). It can be praise given to God by men (Eph. 1:6).
Then in an altogether different meaning or definition it is used in our verse (Phil 4:8) meaning 'a thing worthy praise' (Arndt, 2000).

                                                                 References:

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed.) (357). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

Whatever is Excellent

This post is a continuation of my series examining the Greek words associated with the "Whatever is" statements in Phil 4:8. "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Today I examine the Greek word for "excellence" which is ἀρετή (aretḗ). 

The general definition is "human virtue" (Zodhiates, 2000). The English definition for virtue is 'morality' or 'conformity to a standard of right living' (Merriam-Webster, 2003).

The Greek word is used 5 times in four verses (Phil. 4:8, 1 Pt. 2:9, 2 Pt. 1:3, 5). This word is used outside of the New Testament more often. It frequently indicated "the highest good," for both secularists and religious people alike (Silva & Tenney, 2009). So in a secular sense it meant 'merit' and 'honor.' While for Paul and Peter, it meant 'excellence in character' (Logos, 2011).

The theme that Paul has established in this verse earlier continues.....for living with uprightness and blamelessness. He is saying to think excellent thoughts. Dwell on virtuous thoughts. Live in a virtuous manner.

                                                             References:

Logos Bible Software. (2011). The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament. Seattle, WA: Author.

Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Silva, M., & Tenney, M. C. (2009). The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume 5, Q-Z (Revised, Full-Color Edition) (1032). Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation.

Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.