Greek Thoughts Archives
First available on February 1, 2009

TAPEINOPHROSUNE* - Humbleness, lowliness, humbleness of mind - Part 2

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	Author Bio
	Bill Klein has been a pastor, counselor, and educator for the past 36 years. He has had extensive training and education in biblical languages, and has authored a Biblical Greek course. He is currently serving as Professor of Biblical Greek at Master's Graduate School of Divinity, and president of BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America, a non-profit organization located in California that provides Bible study tapes and Greek study materials through their website BTEMinistries.org.

Please note that all Biblical quotes, in this and all other lessons posted to Greek Thoughts, are from The Literal English Translation of the Bible produced by BTE Ministries - The Bible Translation and Exegesis Institute of America.

We are continuing our study of tapeinofrosu/nh (Strong's #5012 pronounced tä pā nō phrō sö nā**), a word compounded from the adjective tapeino/v (Strong's #5011 pronounced tä pā nōs**) describing a lowly or humble person and the noun frh/n (Strong's #5424 pronounced phrān**) describing the faculty of perceiving and judging.^F1 This compound, tapeinofrosu/nh, is the noun that describes the goal or end result of submitting to the Lord's humbling process.

Last week we learned from 1 Peter 5:5-6 that people, as they exist without the Holy Spirit, are incapable of humbling themselves; and because of that, we believers are to submit to God's mighty hand as He brings us low, positioning us to receive His grace. The end result of our submission is that He develops within us an attitude of lowliness. This then affects our attitudes and approach to the material world. It also affects our associations with other believers, as we will learn from the next two parts of this study.
Today, we consider Paul's letter to the Ephesians, specifically looking at how this attitude of lowliness (tapeinofrosu/nh) is necessary for unity to be made manifest among believers.

Ephesians 4:1-3

1)

Therefore I encourage you, I the prisoner in the Lord, that you should walk worthily^F2 of the calling of which you were called,

This letter to the Christians in Ephesus deals with the position of the believer. Paul teaches that the believer is always in Christ in the spirit realm, positioned in Him above all spiritual forces, regardless of physical circumstances. In Chapter 4, Paul focuses on the walk that every believer is to have as a result of this fixed position in Christ. He begins with a commendation (verse 1). The Greek text literally reads, "I encourage you to walk worthily..." The infinitive, "to walk," designates the purpose for which Paul is encouraging them. They are being encouraged to walk worthily "of the calling of which you were called," The adverb translated "worthily" is the Greek word aÌxi/wv (Strong's #516 pronounced äx sē ōs**). It literally represents the "balancing of the scales" at the market place (TDNT, 1:379) and pertains to one thing being equal to another. Thus, Paul is saying that the walk of the believer must be balanced or equal to the calling of which he is called. In verses 2,3, Paul lists five characteristics describing the worthy walk believers are to have.

2)

with all humble mindedness (tapeinofrosu/nh) and meekness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

The first three characteristics of the worthy walk are expressed by two prepositional phrases. Both phrases are found in verse 2 and both begin with meta/ (Strong's #3326 pronounced mĕ tä**), a preposition indicating something that is to "accompany" the worthy walk.

The first prepositional phrase is "with all humble mindedness and meekness." The word for humble mindedness is our word of study, tapeinofrosu/nh. The word for meekness is prau˙thv (Strong's #4240 pronounced prä ö tās**), which carries with it the idea of "openness" or "receptivity." Paul is saying that a believer's walk is to be accompanied by a humble frame of mind (which has been developed through submission to God's humbling process) and by an openness and receptivity to others.

The second prepositional phrase is "with longsuffering." Again, the preposition designates that this is to accompany the worthy walk. The Greek word translated longsuffering is makroqumi/a (Strong's #3115 pronounced mäk rō thö mē ä**). This word is used for patience exhibited with people. It literally means "to be slow in human reaction towards someone." (The Greek word for patience in circumstances is uÒpomonh/ (Strong's #5281 pronounced hö pō mō nā**) and literally means "to remain under.")

Paul uses these first two prepositional phrases to teach what comprises the worthy walk of a believer. Each is to walk with a frame of mind that is lowly in thought, identifying and choosing the low or humble road. This humble-mindedness is to be coupled with receptivity and patience toward others.

This verse ends with the present participial phrase, "bearing with one another in love," that gives us the fourth characteristic of the Christian's worthy walk. The Greek word for "bearing with" is aÌne/comai (Strong's #430 pronounced ä nĕx sō mī**). It literally means "to hold up" and denotes both "support for" and "tolerance." This participle indicates a continuous action or lifestyle.

The fifth attribute characterizing a believer's worthy walk is found in verse 3. This is also a present participial phrase indicating a continuous action or lifestyle:

3)

being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

"Being diligent" is the translation of the Greek word spouda/zw (Strong's #4704 pronounced spö dä zō**) and denotes fervency to make something a priority. The priority that believers are to have fervency for is "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Paul emphasizes the importance of the characteristics of a walk that measures up to the calling of which the believer is called. He teaches, in chapters 1-3, that all believers are "in Christ." Establishing this truth also establishes the fact that all believers are already in spiritual unity with one another because of this union with the Lord. Paul, desiring that this unity be manifested and experienced within the Body of Christ, encourages every believer to have a mature, responsible walk as opposed to one that is fleshly. He says that a worthy walk is to be accompanied by a frame of mind that has been trained by God's humbling process to think lowly thoughts with a lowly approach to this earthly life. This lowly mindedness is to be coupled with an openness and receptivity to others. The believer is also to exhibit control over his human reaction to others (patience) so that all in the fellowship of believers may experience the presence and ministry of the Spirit of the Lord. These characteristics are to exist as the believer supports and tolerates others, even as his desire and top priority is "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

The characteristics of the worthy walk emphasize that we Christians must sacrifice ourselves for the good of the Body of Christ. We must take the lowly approach instead of striving for things that promote self. We must be open to others in the Body instead of being closed-minded. We must be slow in our human reaction toward others, so that all believers might receive the Spirit of God through us, instead of receiving an attack from our flesh. We must be tolerant of others, even supporting them, though they are immature and weak. Through all of this, we fervently keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace—the unity that exists among us in the Spirit of God, the unity that binds us together. When we walk in this way, our existing spiritual unity will not be hindered from being manifested and experienced within the earthly realm.

Paul is presenting these details of Christian fellowship in order to highlight that fellowship among believers already exists in Christ, in the spirit realm; but that the responsibility for its manifestation and experience, in this earthly realm, requires maturity and self-sacrifice on the part of each Christian. This maturity can only be attained by submitting to the Lord and the circumstances through which He leads us, so that we become humble servants of the Lord.

Next week we will conclude this study as we explore Paul's teaching, from Philippians 2:3, on the important role that humble mindedness serves in Christian fellowship.

* TAPEINOPHROSUNE is the English font spelling of the Greek word tapeinofrosu/nh.

**English pronunciation of vowel sounds & accented syllables: āle, ăm, ärm; ēve, ĕnd; īce, ǐll; ōld, ǒdd, whö; oi as in oil; ow as in cow; ūse, ŭp, rude. Bold type indicates an accented syllable.

Technical Notes:

F1: Frh/n is the root word for frone/w (Strong's #5426 pronounced phrō nĕ ō**), which describes the thought patterns comprising a person's attitude or frame of mind. (See our four-part series on tapeino/v and our seven-part series on frone/w in the archives).

F2: The infinitive of purpose peripathÙsai, "to walk," is translated by naÈ peripathÙshte, "that you should walk."

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