Ever wonder how that pastor gets all those nuggets from a single word in the original languages? Mostly, they have had training in those languages. Many haven’t, though, but they still find treasures from a single Greek or Hebrew word. And, so can you! Here’s how:
- Pray
- Find a word that intrigues you in any passage, “only begotten” in John 1:18, for instance.
- To see what that word means in Greek, go online to http://www.blueletterbible.com (or use your own Bible software).
- Enter the word you’re looking for: “only begotten” in John 1:18, for instance, into the search window at the top of the page.
- Go to John 1:18
- Click on “tools” in the left hand column.
- Scroll down until you see “only begotten” in the list.
- “Only begotten” appears because that is how the word appears in the KJV.
- Two columns to the right of “only begotten” you will see the strong’s number (g3439). That’s a universal number assigned to the Greek word for “only begotten.”
- Click on it.
- You will now see a screen showing definitions of that word and other places in Scripture where that Greek word appears. Be sure to scroll down to see it all. There are shortcuts at the bottom if there are a lot of places the word appears.
- Write down what you learn from the definitions given and how it might be used in other verses.
- Put all that information into a sentence or two, a paragraph at most.
- Now you have seen how a particular Greek word is used and what it means.
You should see that the word, “monogenes” doesn’t always mean “only one born.” Sometimes, as in John 1:18, it means, “one of a kind.” Jesus is the only, “one of a kind,” Son of God. The unique One.
Sometimes, we come across passages of Scripture that are difficult to understand because of a particular word or phrase: 1 Peter 3:18, for instance. What does, “in the Spirit” mean there? Was Jesus raised as a spirit as the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim and use this verse to prove it? If so, it doesn’t seem to agree with the rest of the Bible.
If you’ll look it up in the same way as described above, you’ll see the phrase can also mean” by the Spirit.” So, Jesus was raised by the Holy Spirit. That makes more sense in the light of the rest of Scripture. You’ll see “in the Spirit,” appears a number of times in the New Testament including Rev. 1:10 where John says he was “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day. Was John a spirit? No. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit to write the book of Revelation. So, we see a clarity here of what is being said.
Once you do this a few times, it becomes a very quick and easy way to research those words that make a difference in how we read and understand God’s Word.
AnswersAZ 