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Study to show thyself approved (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV).
I’m a fan of the accuracy of Biblical translation.
The New Testament, written mostly in Greek, has been translated into over 900 English translations. And the translations on my computer, sixty of them, pretty much all say the same thing.
Great job, Bible translators!
Though scholars do the work for us from Greek to English, there are a few Greek words we should all know. They are so influential that preachers use them in sermons without explanation.
Preacher: “We should have agape love for one another that manifests in the koinonia of fellowship and be ready for new revelation from Jesus.”
Okay, I admit that’s a bit much but give me a break as I make a point. Let’s examine a few of these important Greek words.
Agape
Translated “love” and used over 116 times in the New Testament, this Greek word redefined love.
I remember doing a word study on “agape” once and reading a Greek dictionary that said, “Certain substantive forms of the Greek word ‘agape’ cannot be found in the literature of the first century outside of the New Testament.”
The word teaches such a radical concept that the New Testament writers created a new word to adequately express what the Bible teaches about love.
Reading 1 Corinthians 13 a few times, where the word is used over 12 times, we quickly see that what the world says is “love” is not “agape.”
Koinonia
Translated “fellowship” and though used only about 20 times in the New Testament, the word has an outsized influence on the church. Christian fellowship is more than attending worship, going to a Bible study, and eating too much food.
The word means sharing, close contact with one another, and intimacy.
I remember doing a word study of “koinonia” decades ago and reading that the term was originally a business term used in the first century for partnership. In a partnership, what benefits one partner benefits the other, and what hinders one partner hinders the other.
We see this fellowship or “koinonia” displayed in the early church . . .
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need (Acts 4:34-35, ESV).
Apocalypse
Everyone knows the word “apocalypse” as it’s become a cultural icon for disaster in movies like Apocalypse Now.
What isn’t known is that the word is used in the first verse of the Book of Revelation . . .
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place (ESV).
Jesus isn’t a type of terminator since “apocalypse” in the Greek means “revelation.” And the Book of Revelation shows us (with better imagery than a blockbuster movie) what will happen in the end times.
That’s it. Three words: Agape, Koinonia, and Apocalypse.
I now dub all readers of this Interruption Greek scholars.