Words and Their Meanings
Pastor Jerry Wilhite,
author In this study we are going to learn a few of the key words of the Bible in the Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament and their meanings. The words we are going to deal with are as follows: Covenant, Testament, Fellowship, Partnership, Communion, Revelation, Baptism, and Anointing. Covenant - Testament
Did you know in the Hebrew and Greek the word Testament is not used? It is the same word as Covenant so when translators, translated the Hebrew to English and the Greek to English they were not wrong to use the word Testament, but it is not what was used in the original Greek. Instead Covenant was used, but both come from the same word in Greek and in Hebrew.
So what does the word Covenant mean and what was it meant for in the Bible? In the beginning God had a covenant with mankind. Of course, in the beginning mankind consisted of only two people–Adam and Eve. This covenant was that they had dominion over all of the earth, that they should be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. There was only one condition and that was that Adam would not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
If Adam had not eaten from that tree, mankind would have grown and covered all of the earth and found it all to be as the Garden of Eden. Instead, Adam broke the contract (that is what a covenant is a contract) and all bets were off. Satan knew that if he got Adam to eat the fruit he would have dominion over the earth and all in it. So, Satan got Adam to break the contract and from this Adam (not realizing it) started into a new contract with Satan. This one led to a life of bondage and death instead of leading to a life of plenty.
Look in the New Testament and how the devil tried to get Jesus to break His contract with God for a new one with Satan.
Matthew 4
8. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Of course, if Jesus had done what Satan wanted, mankind would have been doomed and everything would have all been over then. But Jesus believed in the contract that He had as being the preferred one over what Satan offered.
Genesis 6
18. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
In the Old Testament there was the original covenant God made with Adam and Eve. Then, after sin, He had to make new and different covenants with others to fix what Adam destroyed.
Strong's Ref. # 1285
Romanized briyth
Pronounced ber-eeth'
from HSN1262 (in the sense of cutting [like HSN1254]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):
KJV--confederacy, [con-]feder[-ate], covenant, league.
God made covenants with Noah (as is seen in the rainbow), Abraham, Moses, and others throughout the Old Testament. A covenant does not have to refer to one contract or an overall contract. This is one of the reasons we call them the Old and New Testaments and not Covenants.
Mark 14
24. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
Above Jesus is explaining how, through His blood, there was a new contact for mankind to renew their relationship with God to what it was in the beginning.
Luke 1
72. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Strong's Ref. # 1242
Romanized diatheke
Pronounced dee-ath-ay'-kay
from GSN1303; properly, a disposition, i.e. (specially) a contract (especially a devisory will):
KJV--covenant, testament.
Dictionary Meaning for Covenant
Dictionary Meaning for Testament
By now after reading the dictionary, Strong's definition of Covenant and Testament, and my comments you should have a good idea of what a Covenant and Testament are. God had intended in the original covenant (contract) for it to be the only one that was necessary, but due to Adam's actions God had to enter into many other covenants (contracts) to get mankind back on the right path and off the one to destruction.
The Old Testament period is where God sought out those He could use to bring His word into the earth so eventually one of faith (based on the word) would agree with Him and bring Jesus into the earth without a man. Then Jesus was able to give mankind an awesome new covenant that allowed mankind to be rescued from Satan, the world, and death. Yes we have physical death, but in this new covenant our soul and spirit will not die.
Fellowship - Partnership - Communion
In my research on Fellowship, Partnership and Communion I came across a revelation.
Philippians 3
10. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
In both the King James and the Literal the word fellowship is used and the actual word should be captain or head of master thereof, not fellowship. This changes the entire meaning of the verse. By using the word fellowship it implies that we are to have a fellowship with Him "of His sufferings, being made conformable unto his death".
Now when we use what the Greek states the word is:
One means being part of and having fellowship in His suffering; the other means knowing the leadership He had even in sufferings. This is the leadership He showed on the cross, not to suffer as He did, but to understand and know that scale of leadership/mastery/responsibility.
10.
|1097| to know
|0846| him
|2532| and
|3588| the
|1411| power
|3588| of the
|0386| resurrection
|0846| of him,
|2532| and
|3588| the
|2942| fellowship
|3588| of the
|3804| sufferings
|0846| of him,
|4833| being conformed
|3588| to the
|2288| death
|0846| of him.
Strong's Ref. # 2942
Romanized kubernetes
Pronounced koo-ber-nay'-tace
from the same as GSN2941; helmsman, i.e. (by implication) captain:
KJV--(ship) master.
Philippians 1
5. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
If we added the words back in, reading in Greek would mean a lot more than just fellowship, at least how we understand fellowship today.
5. For your partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction in the gospel from the first day until now;
So Paul is saying that those who are in fellowship with him are in partnership, as well as participation, and benefaction in the good news. This would mean that all who support, are a part of, or are involved in a ministry are in fellowship in the ways described above, no matter whether or not they are actually working in the ministry. This includes those who are supporting the ministry with funds, prayer, or raising more support from outside sources.
5.
|1909| over
|3588| the
|2842| fellowship
|5216| of you
|1519| in
|3588| the
|2098| Good News
|0575| from
|9999| {the}
|4413| first
|2250| day
|0891| until
|3568| now,
Strong's Ref. # 2842
Romanized koinonia
Pronounced koy-nohn-ee'-ah
from GSN2844; partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction:
KJV--(to) communicate(-ation), communion, (contri-)distribution, fellowship.
There are only three different definitions used in the New Testament for fellowship. #2842 is used in all except two. Another we discussed above in Philippians 3:10, and the only other is below. All the rest are of #2842 as used in Philippians 1:5.
Ephesians 5
(And have no sharing in company with, i.e. co-participate in: the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.)
11.
|2532| And
|3361| do not
|4790| have fellowship
|3588| with the
|2041| works
|0175| unfruitful
|4655| of darkness,
|3123| rather
|1161| but
|2532| even
|1851| reprove.
Strong's Ref. # 4790
Romanized sugkoinoneo
Pronounced soong-koy-no-neh'-o
from GSN4862 and GSN2841; to share in company with, i.e. co-participate in:
KJV--communicate (have fellowship) with, be partaker of.
Fellowship means being a part of, sharing in, partnered with, or in so many words–"Those who can, do, and those who cannot, support." Some are called to do and some are called to support. Look at the women who supported Jesus and His ministry. Where do you think the funds that Judas watched over came from? The problem is that it is not about giving blindly. That is what you do if you are not hearing from God and allowing Him to guide you were to give, where to tithe, and where to sow.
1 Corinthians 10
16. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
17. For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
The word communion means to partake in partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction and is the same word as fellowship.
16.
|3588| The
|4221| cup
|2129| of blessing
|3739| which
|2127| we bless,
|3780| not
|2842| a partaking
|3588| of the
|0129| blood
|5547| of Christ
|2076| is?
|3588| The
|0740| bread
|3739| which
|2806| we break,
|3780| not
|2842| a partaking
|3588| of the
|4983| body
|5547| of Christ
|2076| is it?
Strong's Ref. # 2842
Romanized koinonia
Pronounced koy-nohn-ee'-ah
from GSN2844; partnership, i.e. (literally) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction:
KJV--(to) communicate(-ation), communion, (contri-)distribution, fellowship.
When you are in fellowship with God, and you have a one on one relationship with Him, you are in communion with Him. Jesus did not limit communion to just the alter, but expanded it to be part of every breath we take; all we do, believe, and live for is to be a partnership with, participation with Him, and remembrance of Him in all things.
His body is the word; it is the word become flesh. Faith is knowledge, understanding, and belief without doubt. So, as you read His word and follow the Father's guidance, you are in communion with His body. The blood is life and as we live in Him and He in us we are of the blood.
Matthew 10
40. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
41. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
42. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
As we are all in fellowship with Him we are also in communion with each other in the Spirit. We may not be aware of it, but as His spirit is in, on, and through us it is also the same with others, so as we fellowship with Him we also do with others. As we worship Him in Spirit and truth, so do others. We are as they are and they are as we are in Him and He is in us.
John 4
24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Do not seek man's knowledge and understanding in the Bible because man cannot explain that which he has not experienced. We experience in the Spirit that which cannot be explained in the physical to those who have not been of the Spirit. Seek God and allow Him to explain and bring revelation of Him, His kingdom, and the true life in Him.
John 3
12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Fellowship is to be involved, a part of others, with like mind and spirit. To participate in, all cannot go forth, so those who do not go forth, support those who do with prayers and funds.
Anointing - Baptism
What most do not understand is that without the baptism of the Holy Spirit the anointing can not come.
Baptism means to immerse. We can be immersed in many things–His life, death, resurrection, Spirit, fellowship, and name–just to name a few.
There is this idea that being baptized by a man/woman in water can save us. If this were true, if this saved anyone, then why did Jesus die? Why did He come in the first place? Throughout the book of Acts, when they referred to water baptism, they referred to it as John's Baptism not God’s. So if John's baptism could save, why did we need anyone after him? Why did John say that the one who came after him was preferred over him?
John 1
15. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me
Why did John try to get Jesus to baptize him and why did John speak of a baptism that was to come of the Holy Spirit and fire?
Matthew 3
11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Those who believe they are saved by water have not read the New Testament because all throughout it talks about being of the Spirit and not the physical (of which is the water baptism).
We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). When we are saved God is in us and since God is a Spirit, the Spirit is in us. Then we are baptized, immersed into His spirit. The Spirit in us is communicating with our spirit man, and we hear from God better due to His Spirit and ours being close together.
Romans 8
16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
We can not blame Satan for everything. We could always pick up the Bible on our own and ask God to help us understand it, but instead we lean on mankind for understanding. How can mankind, which did not write the book and never has been of the Spirit, explain the book and understand the Spirit?
As we grow in God, after baptism of the Holy Spirit, we receive the anointing. In Luke 4:18 Jesus said that He is anointed with the Spirit of God. So we know the anointing is God's Spirit. Imagine a sponge soaked in water–as you lift it out of the water it then drips water from everywhere. The sponge is anointed with water and we are to be like this with His Spirit. Since we already have the spirit in us from our salvation and on us from Baptism, the anointing comes, connects the two, adds to them, and then we are dripping with the Spirit.
Acts 5
15. Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
The anointing on Peter at this point is so strong that even His shadow acts as a catalyst for their faith to heal them.
Mark 5
30. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
Jesus knew the moment the woman touched Him that power (power to heal) had left Him for another.
Strong's Ref. # 1411
Romanized dunamis
Pronounced doo'-nam-is
from GSN1410; force (literally or figuratively); specially, miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself):
KJV--ability, abundance, meaning, might(-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle(-s), power, strength,violence, mighty (wonderful) work.
1 Corinthians 1
24. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
If you are of Christ (Christian) you are of the Power and wisdom of God.
From salvation will come our relationship with God, which Adam threw away. From baptism of the Spirit will come the ability to pray in tongues and lay hands on others. Not until the anointing is on us does the full power and wisdom of God come on us. To have the anointing one must be baptized in the Spirit. To be baptized in the Spirit, one must be saved, and to be saved one must realize they need to be saved.
Philippians 4
19. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Revelation - Revealed
I can not think of a better word to use to show you the importance of hearing from God. Even for those who read the New Testament in Greek and get all 10 meanings and definitions of the word reveal there are still some lost people who are without God's clarity on the word, or words in the Bible. That's right, just for the base word reveal in the New Testament, there are 10 definitions that are somewhat the same but with subtle differences. If you read reveal or revealed in the New Testament and do not know the difference for them in each verse it can be misleading.
Everyone wants to jump up and down and yell, "It is God's Word! It is not wrong! It is His breathed word!" Yes, I agree, but in Hebrew for the Old and in Greek for the New, not English. The word loses so much in translation from Hebrew and Greek to English that one could be misled.
The King James is not wrong, the problem is the King James English of 1612 AD is not used today. I would say that if you spoke with the same words and same meanings of words from 1612 today in England very few if any would understand you. Add to that the fact that we do not always understand the English spoken in England as they do not always understand English spoken in the US.
Example: in the UK lift would be elevator in the US; solicitor would be attorney, post would be mail just to name a few. Pretend that I am from England and you hear me say, "The lift was out so I was late meeting with my solicitor, and my post has not shown up yet." You would think my ride (car) was out, and that I was meeting with a door to door salesman; the post could be part of the fence that needs replacement or a listing in the newspaper or on the Internet. In actuality, I had to climb several flights of stairs since the elevator was out of order, so it made me late for a meeting with my lawyer, plus my mail had not yet been delivered.
So as you can see it makes it hard to read and understand the King James, but with that said it is still, so far, the most accurate of all the versions other than the original Greek/Hebrew or the Literal which is taken literally from the Greek/Hebrew. If you have trouble reading the King James you definitely will struggle with the Literal.
Below–in the section called Reveal – Revealed–you will notice that in one verse from the King James the word revealed is used, but not in the literal. In the next it is not found in the King James, but is in the Literal. Notice what subtle changes it makes.
Before you do that let's look at two words we will deal with a lot and what the dictionary says they mean.
Manifest
Main Entry: man·i·fest
Pronunciation: 'ma-n&-"fest
Function: adjective
1 : capable of being readily perceived by the senses and esp. by sight <a manifest injury>
2 : capable of being easily understood or recognized : clearly evident, obvious, and indisputable <vacating an arbitrator's award because of the arbitrator's manifest disregard of the law> —man·i·fest·ly adverb
| Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
n.
Reveal - Revealed
re·vealed, re·veal·ing, re·veals
Below I will show a few of the 10 I mentioned above. You have to take your time to get the difference and how the one in the Literal is more along the line of what it should be than the one in the King James. The differences are so subtle that if the time is not given it will not be seen.
Luke 2
26. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
26.
|2532| And
|2258| was
|0846| to him,
|5537| having been instructed
|5259| by
|3588| the
|4151| Spirit
|3588| -
|0040| Holy,
|3361| not
|1492| to see
|2288| death
|4250| before
|2228| that
|1492| he sees
|3588| the
|5547| Messiah
|2962| of {the} Lord.
Strong's Ref. # 5537
Romanized chrematizo
Pronounced khray-mat-id'-zo
from GSN5536; to utter an oracle (compare the original sense of GSN5530), i.e. divinely intimate; by implication (compare the secular sense of GSN5532) to constitute a firm for business, i.e. (generally) bear as a title:
KJV--be called, be admonished (warned) of God, reveal, speak.
Basically they mean the same thing–it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit gave him instructions. One is talking about something that was not known to him before and then it was in a general sense. The other does not state that he did not know but that the Holy Spirit gave him instruction in it.
Luke 2
32. A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
32.
|5457| a Light
|1519| for
|0602| revelation
|9999| {to the}
|1484| nations,
|2532| and
|1391| a Glory
|2992| of people
|4675| of You
|2474| Israel.
The two also seem to be saying the same thing, but there is a subtle difference. "A light to lighten" could refer to anything from a physical light to a spiritual light, but revelation refers to some form of knowledge. A revelation is to have something disclosed to us that we did not know, whereas lighten means to illuminate (add clarity) to something we already know.
Strong's Ref. # 602
Romanized apokalupsis
Pronounced ap-ok-al'-oop-sis
from GSN0601; disclosure:
KJV--appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation.
2 Corinthians 4
2. But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
In the King James most would not realize the word for manifestation comes from the word revelation. The King James states the truth was manifested in them where in the Literal it was revealed to them. Again we have two words that say basically the same thing but are subtle in their differences.
2.
|0235| But
|0550| we have renounced
|3588| the
|2927| hidden things
|0152| of shame,
|3361| not
|4043| walking
|1722| in
|3834| craftiness,
|3366| nor
|1389| adulterating
|3588| the
|3056| word
|3588| of
|2316| God,
|0235| but
|3588| the
|5321| revelation
|3588| of the
|0225| truth
|4921| commending
|1438| ourselves
|4314| to
|3956| every
|4893| conscience
|0444| of men
|1799| before
|3588| -
|2316| God.
Manifestation means that it is brought up in us, and revelation means it was explained or we were made aware of certain knowledge. Something was bestowed as a revelation.
Strong's Ref. # 5321
Romanized phanerosis
Pronounced fan-er'-o-sis
from GSN5319; exhibition, i.e. (figuratively) expression, (by extension) a bestowment:
KJV--manifestation.
Matthew 11
25. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Strong's Ref. # 601
Romanized apokalupto
Pronounced ap-ok-al-oop'-to
from GSN0575 and GSN2572; to take off the cover, i.e. disclose:
KJV--reveal.
Luke 8:
17. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
Here in the King James we read manifest but actually it should have been revealed as before. The word manifest is one part of the definition, not the entire definition.
17.
|3756| not
|1063| For
|2076| is
|2927| hidden
|3739| which
|3756| not
|5318| revealed
|1096| will be,
|3761| nor
|0614| secret
|3739| which
|3756| not
|3361| not
|1097| will be known,
|2532| and
|1519| into
|9999| {the}
|5318| open
|2064| come.
Strong's Ref. # 5318
Romanized phaneros
Pronounced fan-er-os'
from GSN5316; shining, i.e. apparent (literally or figuratively); neuter (as adverb) publicly, externally:
KJV--abroad, + appear, known, manifest, open [+ -ly], outward ([+ -ly]).