Rom 1:12
“That is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you,
each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.”
The Greek word for Encouragement is PARAKLESIS
In Rom 1:12 Paraklesis is
joined with the prefix of SUM to give us a Verb in the Aorist,
Passive, Infinite - Sumparaklethenai – sumparakleqenai
This is a compound word made up of three words: Sum +
Para + Kaleo
The Aorist views the entirety of the action of
encouragement.
The Passive voice says Paul received encouragement
The Infinitive tells us he continually received
encouragement through fellowship with them.
sumparakaleo - sumparakaleoô [soom-par-ak-al-eh'-o]
The words Sum and Parakaleo
mean; to console jointly:—comfort together, to exhort together, passive, to be
strengthened with:—encouraged together.
Joseph
Thayer Defines this as:
1) To
call upon or invite or exhort at the same time or together
2) To
strengthen (comfort) with others
Sumparakaleo means
encouragement, as two or more parties come together.
Sum comes from the word sun - sun and is a primary preposition
denoting union; with or together (a close
union), that is, by association, companionship. In compounds it has similar
applications, including completeness.
It expresses association with:— accompany, along,
associates, together.
parakaleo - parakaleoô [par-ak-al-eh'-o]
The words PARA and Kaleo
mean; to call near, that is, invite, invoke (by imploration, exhortation or consolation):—beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire,
(give) exhort (-ation), entreat, appeal, beg,
comfort, conciliate, encourage, implore, plead, urge, etc.
Josphe Thayer Defines this as:
1) to call to one’s side, call for, summon
2) to address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be
done in the way of
exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc.
2a) to
admonish, exhort
2b) to
beg, entreat, beseech
2c) to
console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort
2d) to
encourage, strengthen
2e)
exhorting and comforting and encouraging
2f) to
instruct, teach
para - para [par-ah' ]
Is a primary preposition meaning; properly near, at (or in) the vicinity of (objectively or
subjectively). In compounds it retains the same variety of application:—above,
against, among, at, before, by, contrary to, etc.
kaleo - kaleoô [kal-eh'-o]
Is akin to the base of Keleuo
and is from the primary word Kello (to urge
on); "hail"; to incite by word, that is, order:-bid, (at, give)
command (-ment).
Thus kaleo comes to mean; to
“call” (properly aloud, but is used in a variety of applications, directly or
otherwise):—bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-)
name (was [called]).
Principles of
Encouragement:
1)
Encouragement is from and based on God. Rom
15:1-6; Phil 2:1-2; Heb 6:18
Heb 6:18 “So that by two unchangeable things
(Promise
to Abraham and the oath which rests on the very being of God)
in which
it is impossible for God to lie,
we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of
the hope set before us.”
2) Pastors and all believers are to encourage with the
Word.
Acts 15:31-32
“Judas
and Silas, also being prophets themselves,
encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message.”
2 Tim 4:2
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
Titus 1:9
“Holding fast the faithful word which is in
accordance with the teaching,
so that he (the Pastor-Teacher) will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who
contradict.”
Titus 2:15
“These
things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.
Let no one disregard you.”
Rom 15:4
“For
whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction,
so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we
might have hope.”
3)
Our faith and love for the Lord encourages others. We encourage others by the
demonstration of our faith. Acts
27:27-38; Judges 20:22; 1 Sam 23:16; Rom 1:12;
Dan 11:1
“In the first year of Darius the Mede,
I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him."
Phil 2:19
“But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to
you shortly,
so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.”
Judges 20:22
“But the people, the men of
again in the place where they had arrayed themselves the first day.”
1 Sam 23:16
“And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David
at Horesh,
and encouraged him in God.”
4)
We are to encourage one another to serve.
Acts 18:27
“And
when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him (Apollos) and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and
when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 28for
he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that
Jesus was the Christ.”
1 Cor 16:12
“But concerning Apollos
our brother,
I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren;
and it was not at all his desire
to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity.”
5)
There is a spiritual gift of encouragement, the
gift of exhortation. Rom 12:8. This individual will counsel, comfort, warn and advise his fellow
brethren.
I. Etymology
Thayer Definition: pistis - Pistis
a) Conviction of the truth of
anything, belief; in the New Testament, of a conviction or belief
respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the
included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it.
1a) Relating to God
1a1) The
conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all
things, the provider and bestower of eternal
salvation through Christ.
1b) Relating to Christ
1b1) A strong
and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah
through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the
1c) The religious beliefs of
Christians.
1d) Belief with the predominate
idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God
or in Christ, springing from faith in the same.
b) Fidelity, Faithfulness
1a) The character of one who
can be relied on.
II. There are Three Systems of Human Perception.
a. Faith is a non‑meritorious system of perception
based on confidence in the authority and the veracity of another. Faith is not based on one's own knowledge, as
is rationalism or empiricism.
b. Rationalism is reason from the source
of knowledge in itself, superior to and independent of any other source of
perception. Rationalism says that
reality is what you think to be true. Rationalism
requires a high I.Q., from which systems of philosophy are often developed.
c. Empiricism is knowledge from
perception by observation and experience rather than by theory. All ideas are derived from some sensuous
experience using the eyes, ears, nose, touch, etc, having no innate or a priori
conceptions.
Perception by faith is always
non‑meritorious. It depends on the
authority, veracity, and ability of someone else. Faith requires authority, the authority of
God and His Word.
III. Faith also means a system
of doctrine perceived by faith; i.e., what is believed.
Rom 14:22 “The faith which
you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not
condemn himself in what he approves. 23But he who doubts is
condemned if he eats, because his eating
is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.”
A description of faith is found
in 2 Cor 4:8-18Note: The change to
pitch (12) and font (2) must be converted manually..
2 Cor 4:18 “We look not at the things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen [essence of God]; for the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are
eternal."
Faith is the means by which we
perceive reality in the invisible essence of God.
Sometimes both the faith‑rest
technique and doctrine are described in the meaning of pistis,
as in 2 Cor 5:7, Note: The change to
pitch (12) and font (2) must be converted manually."We walk by
faith and not by sight."
Your eyes are in your soul, and
your soul must have Bible Doctrine. We see the unseen through doctrine.
We see the justice and integrity
of God through His Word.
His Word gives us relationship
with His integrity and that is what sustains us in time of disaster.
IV. Faith is used as an
attribute. Pistis (faith) is what causes
trust, reliability, faithfulness, and integrity. Titus 2:10; 2 Thess 1:4
Titus 2:10-15 “10not pilfering, but showing all good faith that they may adorn the
doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to
all men, 12instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires
and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13looking
for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Christ Jesus; 14who gave Himself for us, that He might
redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own
possession, zealous for good
deeds. 15These things speak
and exhort and reprove with all authority.
Let no one disregard you.”
2 Thess 1:1-12
V. We are to demonstrate our faith among believers and
unbelievers. Rom 1:12
Rom 1:12 “That is, that I may be
encouraged together with you while
among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.”
1. Our faith is the basis for fellowship
among the church.
A church is not a one-man
show; Pastor to listeners. A church is
where we are "encouraged together by mutual faith both of you and
me."
Paul is saying, I will give,
you will give. There will be giving and
receiving on both sides.
Paul is saying their faith is
very important and that it has a very definite place in the life of the church.
Peter says the same thing in:
2 Peter 1:1 “Peter, a bond-servant and
apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind
as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
1 John 1:3 “What we have seen and heard we
proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and
indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
These
believers had to take part in the great exchange of faith.
The
church is dependent upon the faith of the members and the faith of the Pastor.
2. Faith shows
itself and encourages us by the way we each live.
Our
lives have to be obvious to others that we have and are applying faith.
Our
lives have to change from showing the worries and concerns of life to showing a
faith rest and trust in God.
We have
to stop entering into the sins we use to commit and demonstrate in faith a
constrained life following Christ's Word.
In Rom 1:12 Paul couldn't wait to see that
type of person.
In
these people it was obvious that the Grace of God had taken hold of their
lives.
3. Faith only
comes with knowledge, knowledge of the Word of God.
That
was his encouragement. To see their spiritual growth demonstrated.
The
Roman believers could talk about their faith, discuss it, rejoice in it and
share their experiences of faith.
4. Faith demonstrates itself in growth, development and increase.
When
your whole outlook has developed and grown in faith it is encouraging to those
around you.
Seeing
you take hold of that which you believe is encouraging.
5. Faith shows
itself in concern for others. It shows
itself in prayer.
Rom 15:30 “Now I urge you, brethren, by our
Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me
in your prayers to God for me.”
6. Striving
together is the whole part of the life of the church. The church is fellowship.
The
picture of faith demonstrated in a church is of people exchanging experiences,
thoughts, understandings, mutually giving and receiving, helping one another,
and all participating in this together.
Throughout
history Christian people have always like to be together to talk about these
things, and to help one another and to stimulate one another.
Their
hearts are warmed, their feelings are kindled, their aspiration are stimulated
and as a result a great fellowship "you and I sharing the mutual faith
both of you and me".
We
together enjoy the things of God. We pray to him together, His blessings come
down upon us together.
Rom 1:12 That is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the
other’s faith, both yours and mine.
Rom 1:11 “For I long to see you so that I may impart
some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established.”
sterizo - steôrizoô;
Verb:
Aorist, Passive, Infinitive, Accusative
Strengthen,
make firm, establish; fix, set up (Lk 16:26); Make a
firm resolve (Lk. 9:51)
Akin to
sterigx steôrigx (support, prop); to make fast,
establish: —confirm, determined, establish, established, fixed, strengthen,
strengthening.
sterizo - steôrizoô [stay-rid'-zo]
From a
presumed derivative of Histemi (like Stereos); to
set fast, that is, (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or
(figuratively) to confirm:—fix, (e-) stablish,
steadfastly set, strengthen.
histemi - histeômi [his'-tay-mee]
A
prolonged form of a primary word stao staoô
(of the same meaning, and used for it in certain tenses); to stand
(transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or
figuratively):—abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up,
lay, present, set (up), stanch, stand (by, forth, still, up).
stereos - stereos [ster-eh-os']
From Histemi; stiff, that is, solid, stable
(literally or figuratively):—steadfast, strong, sure.
sterizo - steôrizoô
Thayer Definition:
1) to make
stable, place firmly, set fast, fix
2) to strengthen,
make firm
3) to
render constant, confirm, one’s mind
Establish:
Rom 16:25-26 “Now to Him who is able to establish
you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26but
now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the
commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;”
1 Thess 3:11-13 “Now may our God and Father
Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12and may the Lord
cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people,
just as we also do for you; 13so
that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our
God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.”
Established:
Rom 1:10-11
2 Pet 1:12 “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even
though you already know them, and have been established
in the truth which is present with you.”
Strengthen:
Luke 22:28-32 (Jesus spoke these
words at the Passover supper) “You are
those who have stood by Me in My trials; 29and just as My Father has
granted Me a kingdom, I grant you 30that you may eat and drink at My
table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel. 31“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32but
I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you
have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
1 Thess 3:2 “and we
sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen
and encourage (Parakaleo) you as to your
faith,”
2 Thess 2:16-17 “Now may
our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us
eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17comfort (Parakaleo) and strengthen your hearts in every
good work and word.”
2 Thess 3:3 “But the
Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
James 5:8 “You too
be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”
Rev 3:2 “Wake up, and strengthen
the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your
deeds completed in the sight of My God.”
Confirm:
1 Pet 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of
all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect
(complete), confirm, strengthen and
establish (lay a foundation) you.”
Fixed:
Luke 16:26 “And besides all this, between us and
you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over
from here to you will not be able, and that
none may cross over from there to us.”
Determinied / Set:
Luke 9:51 “When
the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to
Determined / Steadfastly:
Luke 9:51 “When the days
were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to
The believer who has personal
love for God and divine viewpoint thinking will have contentment, stability,
composure and all the other characteristics of spiritual self-esteem.
Mental Stability,
is having correct and accurate application of Bible Doctrine in adversity and
in prosperity.
(Phil.
1:9; Phil. 4:12-13).
When the believer reaches
Spiritual Autonomy he has perpetuated mental stability.
Proverbs 19:8 "He who gets wisdom loves his
own soul; he who keeps understanding will find
good."
Philippians 2:5 "Have this attitude (unselfish
humility) in yourselves which was also in Christ
Jesus."
The believer is no longer
vulnerable to pressure as he was upon first entering spiritual adulthood.
The Believer who grows spiritually
now has a greater ability to concentrate so that he can apply Bible Doctrine
more consistently in adversity as well as in prosperity.
Spiritual autonomy is the
epitome of sanity and mental stability.
Copyright
2004, Property of:
James H. Rickard Bible
Ministries.
All Rights Reserved.