Word Study: "Enemy"

Enemies (2190) (echthros from échthos = hatred, enmity; noun = echthra = enmity, hostility) is an adjective which pertains to manifesting hostility or being at enmity with another, where enmity is a deep seated animosity or hatred which may be open or concealed or a "deep-rooted hatred."

In the active sense echthros means to be hateful, hostile toward, at enmity with or adversary of someone. In the passive sense echthros pertains to being subjected to hostility, to be hated or to be regarded as an enemy.

Echthros is one who has the extreme negative attitude that is the opposite of love and friendship. An enemy is one that is antagonistic to another; especially seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound the opponent. Scripture often uses echthros as a noun  describing "the adversary",  Satan! Like father like son!

Leon Morris commenting on this verse notes that...

Enemies is a strong term; sin had put us completely in the wrong with God (in Ro 11:28-note this term is opposed to “beloved”). An enemy is not a person who comes a little bit short of being a friend; it means someone in the opposite camp. Some see the meaning here as man’s hostility to God, but the reference to wrath (Ro 5:9) surely shows that God’s hostility to evil is in view. The wrath and the enmity go together. That sinners are God’s enemies is stated a number of times in the New Testament (Ro 11:28-note; Php 3:18-note;Col 1:21-note; Jas 4:4; cf. Ep 2:15, 16-note). (Morris, L. The Epistle to the Romans. W. B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press)

EBC asks the question...

Is "enemies" used in an active sense to mean those who have enmity toward God (cf. Ro 8:7-note) or in thepassive sense, meaning those who are reckoned as enemies by God? Several reasons dictate that the latter is the intended force of the word.

First, that the word is capable of conveying this meaning is evident from Ro 11:28-note, where the people of Israel are spoken of as enemies in the reckoning of God and yet loved by him, involving the same combination as in the passage we are considering. The enmity in 11:28 is not temperamental but judicial.

Second, the mention of "God's wrath" in Ro 5:9 points to the conclusion that the echthroi are the objects of the wrath.

Third, the tenor of the argument leads one to the same conclusion. Paul reasons from the greater to the lesser. If God loved us when we were enemies, now that he has made provision for us at infinite cost, much more will he go on to see us through to the final goal of our salvation. But if the sense is that God loved us and saved us when we were enemies in our attitude toward him, the much more loses its point. "He is not arguing that if we have begun to love God we may reckon on His doing so and so for us, but because He has done so much, we may expect Him to do more" (Archibald McCaig in ISBE, 1930, vol. IV, p. 2537a).

Fourth, Paul not only states that we have been reconciled (Ro 5:10) but that we have received the reconciliation (Ro 5:11). He avoids saying that we have done anything to effect the reconciliation. God provided it through the death of his Son. The matter is made even clearer, if anything, in the companion statement that God has reconciled us "to Himself" (2Co 5:18). The appropriate response of the saved community is exultation (cf. Ro 5:2, 3) (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing)

James Denney explains that...

The the state of sin was that in which we were enemies (echthroi) and the whole connection of ideas in the passage requires us to give enemies (echthroi) the passive meaning which it undoubtedly has in Ro 11:28-note, where it is opposed to beloved (agapetoi). We were in a real sense objects of the Divine hostility. As sinners, we lay under the condemnation of God, and His wrath hung over us. This was the situation which had to be faced: Was there love in God equal to it? Yes, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of print. Search Google)

TDNT writes that...

While mísos denotes the disposition of hostility and pólemos war, echthros means “hostility” itself... For the rabbis opponents include idolaters, apostate proselytes, renegades, and wicked Israelites. Unjustifiable hatred is forbidden but there is a legitimate hatred of foes in the OT sense as those who disrupt the covenant relationship.

The term (echthros) is used in the NT for personal enemies (Gal 4:16), but as in the OT and LXX, it is used for the foes of Israel (Lk. 1:71), of Jerusalem (Lk 19:43), of the NT witnesses (Rev 11:5), and of believers within their own families (Mt. 10:36). echthrós refers, too, to hostility to God and Christ (Lk. 19:27; Phil. 3:18;Acts 13:10, and cf. the quoting of Ps 110:1 in Mk 12:36; Acts 2:34 35; 1Cor 15:25; Heb. 1:13; Paul in 1Cor 15:25 refers to all the forces that are hostile to God, including death). The reference of Mt. 5:43-44 is to love for the enemies of God and his people (in contradistinction to the older hatred), and the same view may be reflected in 2Th. 3:15.

By nature we are all God’s enemies (Ro 5:10; 11:28; Col. 1:21; Jas 4:4). The point is that we hate God (active), although in Ro 11:28 Jews are both hated (passive) because of the gospel and loved on account of the fathers. The echthrós is the devil in the parable of Mt. 13:24 25 26 and Lk. 10:19; the devil is the absolute enemy both of us and of God and his kingdom.  (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W.  Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans)

Echthros is used 32 times in the NASB (Study the NT passages - What are the outcomes for God's enemies - one good, the other bad? Who is the ultimate enemy of God? How are believers to respond to enemies?)

Matthew 5:43 (note) "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.'5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you (How is this possible? Naturally? Supernaturally? What is the clear implication of Jesus' command [see Gal 5:22-note]?)

Matthew 10:36 and a man's (who believes in Messiah) enemies will be the members of his household.

Matthew 13:25 (Parable) "But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away...28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' And the slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'...39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Matthew 22:44 'The Lord said to my LORD, "Sit at My right hand, Until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet "'?

Mark 12:36 "David himself said in the Holy Spirit, 'The Lord said to my LORD, "Sit at My right hand, Until I put Thine enemies beneath Thy feet.'"

Luke 1:71 Salvation from our (Israel's) enemies (cp, "Anti-Semitism"), and from the hand of all who hate us...74 To grant us that we (Jews who repent and believe in Messiah), being delivered (rescued by the Messiah) from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear

Luke 6:27 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you...35 "But love yourenemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Luke 10:19 "Behold, I (Jesus) have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.

Luke 19:27 "(Jesus speaking) But these enemies of Mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence."...

Luke 19:43 "For the days shall come upon you when your (Israel's) enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side (This prophecy was fulfilled by the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman General Titus in 70AD)

Luke 20:43 Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet."'

Acts 2:35 Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet."'

Acts 13:10 and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy (like father, like son) of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

Romans 5:10 (note) For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 11:28 (note) From the standpoint of the gospel they (unbelieving Israel) are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;

Romans 12:20 (note) "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head."

1 Corinthians 15:25 For He (Messiah) must reign until (at the end of the Millennium) He has put all Hisenemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

Galatians 4:16 Have I therefore become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Philippians 3:18 (note) For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they areenemies of the cross of Christ,

Colossians 1:21 (note) And although you were formerly alienated and hostile (echthros) in mind, engaged in evil deeds,

2 Thessalonians 3:15 And yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Hebrews 1:13 (note) But to which of the angels has He ever said, "Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thineenemies A footstool for Thy feet "?

Hebrews 10:13 (note) waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.

James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility (echthra = noun = hatred, inner disposition and external opposition)  toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy (echthros = adjective) of God.

Revelation 11:5 (note) And if anyone desires to harm them (God's two witnesses during the first half ofDaniel's Seventieth Week), fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if anyone would desire to harm them, in this manner he must be killed.

Revelation 11:12 (note) And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they (the two witnesses killed in Jerusalem at the end of the first 3.5 years of the 7 year "Tribulation") went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.

WORD Study "FREE"

 

What does it mean to be "free"?

Eleutheroo (FREE) is used 7 times in the NT -- Jn 8:32, 36; Ro 6:18-note, Ro 6:22-note; Ro 8:2-note, Ro 8:21-note; Gal. 5:1 (and only in Pr 25:10 in the Septuagint).

John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 

John 8:36 "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 

Romans 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 

Romans 6:22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 

Romans 8:21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 

Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. 

In short, the Spirit, Who brought the life of God Himself into us, has set us free from the power of our flesh and free to be the person God wants us to be. In Romans 7:24 Paul asked "Who shall deliver me?" The answer given in this verse is that: "Christ has already delivered me!" The last part of Romans chapter 7 was a description of a believer's struggling, failing condition. In Romans 8 Paul encourages the believer to focus upon his perfect, unfailing position in Christ Jesus! The more we believe God’s facts about our position the more this will affect our actual condition!  

Eleutheroo is used primarily in three ways in the NT, First describing as in the present verse, describing spiritual and moral freed. Jesus described this same freedom when He declared to those Jews who had believed Him...

"If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (eleutheroo)." (Jn 8:31, 32)

MacDonald comments that the "Jews did not know the truth, and they were in a terrible form of bondage. They were in the bondage of ignorance, error, sin, law, and superstition. Those who truly know the Lord Jesus are delivered from sin, they walk in the light, and are led by the Holy Spirit of God." (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)  

Secondly eleutheroo is used to describe the freedom from binding legalism as Paul taught in Galatians writing.. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free (eleutheroo); therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1). MacDonald has an excellent word on this verse writing that "This first verse of chapter 5 refers to his practice—he should live as a free man. Here we have a very good illustration of the difference between law and grace. The law would say: “If you earn your freedom, you will become free.” But grace says: “You have been made free at the tremendous cost of the death of Christ. In gratitude to Him, you should stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made you free.” Law commands but does not enable. Grace provides what law demands, then enables man to live a life consistent with his position by the power of the Holy Spirit and rewards him for doing it." (Ibid)  

Thirdly, eleutheroo is used to describe nature’s deliverance from decay and corruption, Paul writing... "that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom (related noun eleutheria = to enjoy the freedom of that golden era when we as God’s children will be revealed in glory) of the glory of the children of God. (Jn 8:36). Here in Romans 8:3, "has set you free" (eleutheroo) is in the aorist tense which signifies a once-for-all act of setting the captives free. It is a positional reality for every person who is in Christ. This is a past tense event. So what? Well, it means that now believers are not to struggle for freedom, but to stand firm by faith (not sight) in the freedom that we have in Christ (see similar truth in notes Ro 6:18 and Ro 6:22 where the apostle also used the verb eleutheroo, cf Gal 5:1).

In a sense the ultimate (or perfect) realization of this freedom awaits our future glorification (see Romans 8:21-note). Note also that Paul is not teaching sinless perfection for remnants of our sinful flesh are the objects of the Spirit's ministry as long as we are in this physical flesh. What Paul does teach is at the time of regeneration the liberty began and will continue until it is perfected in glory.  

Free (1658) (eleutheros) (See related verb eleutheroo above) is an adjective which means freedom to go wherever one likes, at liberty, possessing the capability of movement, exempt from restraint, obligation or liability, unconstrained, unfettered. In the Greek culture this word pictured one who can go wherever they please) (from Homer down). For example, in one secular writing we find this statement "the temple of Artemis at Ephesus is open (free) to all" (source: preceptaustin.org).

Word Study: Reconciliation

Reconciliation (2643) (katallage from katá = an intensifier + allásso = change - see study of verb katallasso) describes the change from a state of enmity between persons to one of friendship. It pictures the reestablishment of an interrupted or broken relationship. Reconciliation is a vivid word, pointing to the making of peace after a quarrel. Katallage describes the bring together again people who have been estranged and describes the state of those who have been restored to friendship. In the New Testament it refers, of course, to God's reconciling of the world to Himself through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Thayer describes it as "the res­toration of the favor of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ." 

Reconciliation assures us of the future bliss of eternal life and Christ’s risen and exalted life is the guarantee - this should be cause for exultation.

God changes us from enemies to family. Man is reconciled to God, not God to man to God, for it was man who moved away from God. The reconciliation is the effect of the death of Christ, and so reconciliation brings out the significance of the Cross, where God's wrath against sin was poured out on His Son Who was made sin on our behalf.

Katallage originally was used in Greek to describe an  exchange (or profit from exchange), especially of money (of the business of money changers, exchanging equivalent values). This word group then began to acquire a wider sense of exchanging any one thing for another. Aristotle, for instance, speaks of professional and mercenary soldiers who are willing to barter their lives for trifling gain. And then the meaning came to be more than anything else, the change of enmity into friendship, as in the present passage.

What is expository reading of scripture?

The Word of God is alive and Powerful, sharper than any double-edged sword... so it should not be read like an ordinary book.

Every tuesday night about 30 of us gather in my living room and we read a Scripture several times in various versions (NIV, NASB, NKJV even Old School KJV).  We want to develop the art of expository reading.

"Expository reading is essentially reading the meaning of the words instead of the sound of the words. This calls for constant attention on the part of the reader to the meaning of words. He does not just sound them and expect the hearer to draw out the meaning. He visualizes the meaning of all significant words. As a result, different words take on different tones as the reader focuses on their meaning. Contrasting ideas in a text are expressed with the thought in mind—light and darkness, godly and wicked, weeping and rejoicing. And the audience can hear the difference. A poor reading may indicate that the reader is bored with the text and thinks it of little importance. The audience will discern that interpretation even if they do not consciously think about it. This is why much public reading of Scripture does little to enhance the congregation’s appreciation of the Bible and may even cause them to see the Bible in a more negative light...The purest form of interpretation of Scripture is the effective reading of it."

Monotone no more.

For the full article on Expository Reading --> CLICK HERE

Word Study - Disciple (Gk. Mathetes)

Disciples (3101) (mathetes from manthano = to learn which Vine says is "from a root math, indicating thought accompanied by endeavor". Gives us our English = "mathematics") describes a person who learns from another by instruction, whether formal or informal. Discipleship includes the idea of one who intentionally learns by inquiry and observation (cf inductive Bible study) and thus mathetes is more than a mere pupil. A mathetes describes an adherent of a teacher.

As discussed below mathetes itself has no spiritual connotation, and it is used of superficial followers of Jesus as well as of genuine believers. Related Word Study: matheteuo - make disciples Ralph Earle - As followers of Jesus we are to be, first of all, learners. We are to learn from Him by listening to Him, learn the truth that will set us free (John 8:32) and keep us from error. But we are also to learn from Him by looking at Him‑ learn how to live a life of beauty and blessing. (Word Meanings in the New Testament) Barclay writes that "All his life a Christian should be learning more and more about Jesus. The shut mind is the end of discipleship!" (Matthew 5 Commentary - Daily Study Bible - online) Mounce - Typically in the Jewish world, a disciple would voluntarily join a school or otherwise seek out a master rabbi; however, Jesus seeks out and chooses those whom he wants as his disciples (Mk 1:17; 2:14; Lk 5:1–11; cf. Mt 4:18–21).

A dedicated disciple was generally expected someday to become a rabbi himself, yet Jesus teaches his disciples that he will always be their rabbi and they will have a lifetime of discipleship (Mt 23:8; cf. Mt 10:24–25, 37; Lk 14:26–27; Jn 11:16). Jesus’ disciples are bound to him and to God’s will (Mt 12:46–50; cf. Mk 3:31–45). They are called to a lifetime of work and service (Mt 16:15–19; Mk 1:17; Lk 5:10), (Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament words: Zondervan)

TDNT - mathetes is regularly used in Acts for a Christian as such...As regards the material aspect of the use of mathetes for Christians in Acts, the primary point to notice is that the relevant sections of Acts use it in the sense of those who have come to believe in Christ. In this respect the usage is analogous to that of John’s Gospel.

NIDNTT - A man is called a mathētēs when he binds himself to someone else in order to acquire his practical and theoretical knowledge. He may be an apprentice in a trade, a student of medicine, or a member of a philosophical school. One can only be a mathētēs in the company of a didaskalos, a master or teacher, to whom the mathētēs since the days of the Sophists generally had to pay a fee. An obvious exception to this is when mathētēs refers to spiritual dependence on a thinker long since dead. Socrates never wanted to have any mathētēs and never regarded himself as a didaskalos...It is used to indicate total attachment to someone in discipleship (Ed: But see distinction below between a true disciple and a pseudo-disciple of Jesus). The secular Gk. usage of the word in the sense of apprentice, pupil or student is not found....Mathētēs in Jn. is often simply a term for “Christian” (Jn. 8:31; 13:35; 15:8)...mathētēs has the general sense of “Christian”, one who believes in Jesus

Tony Evans - The Greek philosopher Plato developed a system of thought that bears his name. Then he trained his young disciple Aristotle in this system of Platonic philosophy. Aristotle built on Plato’s teaching and developed his own system known as Aristotelian logic. Aristotle then established schools called academies to train more disciples. This Greek discipleship system was very effective, because even after Rome conquered Greece, the Romans could not eradicate Greek influence. So while Rome wielded military power, the Greeks wielded power over the culture because well-trained Greek disciples were functioning at every level of the society. These people lived under Roman rule, but their thinking was Greek. And in the end, what people think is a lot more important and powerful than what an external power can force them to do. This helps us understand why Jesus commissioned the church to make disciples. When it’s done right, the disciple becomes a follower for life because the real battle for souls is waged in the mind. A well-trained disciple can live in a foreign, hostile culture without succumbing to that culture because his mind is fixed on another world. (God's Glorious Church : The Mystery and Mission of the Body of Christ)

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - During the lifetime of Jesus there were many who considered themselves his disciples. That is, they followed him and listened to his words, as pupils might listen to a teacher. Although these people may have thought Jesus to be the Messiah, many of them had a wrong understanding of the sort of person the Messiah would be. They expected him to be a political leader who would free the Jews from Roman domination and bring in the golden age (John 6:14-15; John 6:60-64). When they found that Jesus was not this kind of leader, they withdrew from him (John 6:66-68). Yet there were many, probably hundreds, who were true believers, true disciples (Luke 6:17; Luke 6:20). From these, Jesus chose twelve whom he appointed apostles (Luke 6:13; see APOSTLE). These twelve were Jesus' disciples in a special sense, and became known as the twelve disciples or simply the disciples (Matthew 16:13; Matthew 20:17; Matthew 24:3; Matthew 26:17). After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, all the followers of Jesus became known as disciples (Acts 1:15; Acts 6:1; Acts 9:1), and later as Christians (Acts 11:26; 1 Peter 4:16; see CHRISTIAN). (Disciple)

Related resource: "Disciple" in Bible Dictionaries In simple terms a disciple is a follower and so we often see Jesus say "Follow Me!" (Mt 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 16:24, 19:21, Mk 1:17, 2:14, 8:34, 10:21 Lk 5:27, 9:23, 59, 18:22 Jn1:43, 10:27, 12:26, 13:36, 21:19, 22) And so in the Bible we see that John the Baptist (Mt 11:2; Mk 2:18; Lk 5:33; 7:18; Jn 3:25) had followers or disciples, as did the Pharisees (Mk 2:18, Mt 22:16 disciples of Pharisees were sent to test Jesus) and Moses (Jn 9:28). It follows that it becomes clear that not every use of disciple in the NT describes a genuine believer. On the other hand (although not a popular or common teaching in modern day evangelicalism) the NT makes it very clear that every genuine believer is a disciple of Jesus Christ. In the ancient world a disciple would attach himself to another person in order to gain practical or theoretical knowledge by instruction or experience. It was a word used of apprentices learning a trade as well as students learning a teacher's philosophy. Discipleship was a popular concept among the Jews of Jesus' day. It was often the custom for the disciples to leave their natural home and move in with their teacher, who would provide their food and lodging. The disciple would become his servant and be completely under their teacher's authority. Their goal was to learn all that their teacher knew so that they might become like him in character and later be able to faithfully transmit his teachings to others.

Jesus, I my cross have taken,

All to leave and follow Thee;

Destitute, despised, forsaken,

Thou, from hence, my all shalt be:

I will follow Thee, my Saviour

Thou didst shed Thy blood for me,

And though all the world forsake Thee,

By Thy grace I’ll follow Thee.-H. F. Lyte 

Mathetes is from manthano which "carries the connotation of intentional learning by inquiry and observation." (MacArthur)

G Campbell Morgan in his helpful little book Discipleship writes that...
Disciples is the term consistently used in the four Gospels to mark the relationship existing between Christ and His followers (Ed: In fact "followers of Christ" is a synonym for disciples of Christ.).

Jesus used it Himself in speaking of them, and they in speaking of each other. Neither did it pass out of use in the new days of Pentecostal power. It runs right through the Acts of the Apostles (Ed: Disciples is the most common term for the believers in Acts!). It is interesting also to remember that it was in this way that the angels thought and spoke of these men -- the use of the word (disciple) in the days of the Incarnation is linked to the use of the word in the apostolic age by the angelic message to the women, "Go, tell His Disciples and Peter" (Mark 16:7).

It is somewhat remarkable that the word is not to be found in the Epistles. This is to be accounted for by the fact that the Epistles were addressed to Christians in their corporate capacity as churches, and so spoke of them as members of such, and as the "saints" or separated ones of God. The term disciple marks an individual relationship (which is a state of being related by kindred, association by blood or marriage - believers are both His both by blood of the New Covenant and by virtue of being His Bride!), and though it has largely fallen out of use, it is of the utmost value still in marking that relationship existing between Christ and each individual soul, and suggesting our consequent position in all the varied circumstances of everyday living....

The word mathetes signifies a taught or trained one, and gives us the ideal of relationship. Jesus is the Teacher. He has all knowledge of the ultimate purposes of God for man, of the will of God concerning man, of the laws of God that mark for man the path of his progress and final crowning. Disciples are those who gather around this Teacher and are trained by Him. Seekers after truth, not merely in the abstract, but as a life force, come to Him and join the circle of those to whom He reveals these great secrets of all true life. Sitting at His feet, they learn from the unfolding of His lessons the will and ways of God for them; and obeying (Ed: Now enabled by His indwelling Spirit) each successive word, they realize within themselves, the renewing force and uplifting power thereof. The true and perpetual condition of discipleship, and its ultimate issue, were clearly declared by the Lord Himself to those Jews which believed on Him. "If ye abide in My word, then are ye truly My disciples ; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free " (John 8:31). (Discipleship - a worthy read)

(*this word study was compiled by preceptaustin.org)