|
AND THIS DO: Kai touto:
Do what? In
context Paul is referring to what he has just emphasized - LOVE.
We are never to stop offering our bodies as a living & holy sacrifice
acceptable to God (see note
Romans 12:1).
Loving and living wholeheartedly for Christ
should be our primary objectives in view of the brevity of time.
Did you notice
all of the time phrases that Paul compacts into just a few verses?
"the
time...already the hour… now salvation is nearer… night is almost gone… day is
at hand"
Clearly Paul is expressing an urgency. Time is limited,
opportunity is brief. The time to heed and to
obey is now. There is no time for apathy, complacency, or indifference. I
have a plaque my wife had made for me several years ago which says:
|
Tempus
fugit
Carpe diem
Coram Deo |
|
Time flies.
Seize the day.
Before the face of God |
Calvin comments that Paul...
"...enters now on another
subject of exhortation, that as the rays of celestial life had begun to shine on
us as it were at the dawn, we ought to do what they are wont to do who are in
public life and in the sight of men, who take diligent care lest they should
commit anything that is base or unbecoming; for if they do anything amiss, they
see that they are exposed to the view of many witnesses. But we, who always
stand in the sight of God and of angels, and whom Christ, the true sun of
righteousness, invites to his presence, we indeed ought to be much more careful
to beware of every kind of pollution.
Ray Stedman adds
"A Christian faith that doesn't change
your life isn't worth a 'snap of the finger,' but when Christ changes a heart
and a life, the change that he makes is going to affect everyone around you!
This is really the theme of what we have in Ch12-16 of Romans. It is a picture
of a Christian 'up to his ears' in life. The result of a truly Christ-like life,
lived out in the world, is going to be that some around you will be upset by the
way you act. You will be upsetting some and comforting others. As someone has
said, "The ministry of a Christian is to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the
comfortable."
KNOWING THE TIME: eidotes (RAPMPN) ton kairon: (Isaiah
21:11,12;
Matthew 16:3;
24:42-44;
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)
Knowing (1492)
(eido)
literally means perception by sight (perceive, see) as in Mt 2:2 where
the wise men "saw His star". The meaning of eido is somewhat
difficult to convey but in general this type of "knowing" is
distinguished from ginosko (and epiginosko, epignosis), the other
major NT word for knowing, because ginosko refers to knowledge
obtained by experience or "experiential knowledge" whereas eido often
refers to more intuitive knowledge, although the distinction is not
always crystal clear.
Eido
is not so much by experience as an
intuitive insight that is "drilled into your heart" so to speak. Eido is
that perception, that being aware of, that understanding, that intuitive
knowledge that only the Holy Spirit of God can give. It is an absolute
knowledge, a knowledge that is without a doubt.
The time -
Time
(2540) (kairos) means a point of
time or period of time, time, period, frequently with the implication of
being especially fit for something and without emphasis on precise
chronology. It means a moment or period as especially appropriate the
right, proper, favorable time (at the right time).
Kairos can refer to a
fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis, the
decisive epoch waited for or a strategic point in time.
Kairos speaks of a limited period of time, with the added
notion of suitableness ("the suitable time", "the right moment", "the
convenient time"). Kairos refers to a distinct, fixed time
period, rather than occasional moments.
Kairos
is
not so much a succession of minutes (Greek
chronos
5550), but a period of opportunity. Chronos refers to chronological time, to clock time or
calendar time, to a general space or succession of time. Kairos,
on the other hand, refers to a specific and often predetermined period
or moment of time and so views time in terms of events, eras, or
seasons, such as the times of the Gentiles (see
below) In other words, kairos defines the best time to do
something, the moment when circumstances are most suitable, the
psychologically "ripe" moment.
In rhetoric kairos is "a
passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through
with force if success is to be achieved." (E. C. White, Kaironomia p.
13)
Kairos is used 86 times in the NT in the NASB (Mt
10x;
Mk
5x;
Lu
12x;
Jn
3x;Acts
9x;
Ro
6x;
1Co
3x;
2Co
2x;Gal
3x;
Ep
4x;
Col
1Th
2x;2Th;
1Ti
3x;
2Ti
3x;
Titus;
Heb
4x;
1P
4x;
Rev
5x) (If you have the time and the inclination, a study of these uses -
remembering to read them in
context - will give the reader a blessed insight into
the nuances of meaning of kairos) and is translated as: age, 1;
epochs, 2; occasion, 1; opportune time, 1; opportunity, 3; proper time,
5; right time, 1; season, 1; seasons, 4; short, 1; time, 54; times, 11;
while, 1.
Kairos is found some 252 times
in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Gen. 1:14; 6:13;
17:21, 23, 26; 18:10, 14; 21:2, 22; 29:34; 30:20, 41; 38:1; Exod. 8:32;
9:4, 14; 13:10; 23:14f, 17; 34:18, 23f; Lev. 15:25; 23:4; 26:4; Num.
9:3, 7, 13; 14:9; 22:4; 23:23; Deut. 1:9, 16, 18; 2:34; 3:4, 8, 12, 18,
21, 23; 4:14; 5:5; 9:19f; 10:1, 8, 10; 16:6, 16; 28:12; 31:10; 32:35;
Jos. 5:2; 11:10, 21; Jdg. 4:4; 10:8, 14; 11:26; 12:6; 13:23; 14:4;
21:14, 22, 24; 1 Sam. 1:20; 4:20; 9:16; 20:12; 2 Sam. 11:1; 20:5; 23:5;
1 Ki. 11:4, 29; 15:23; 16:22; 18:29; 2 Ki. 4:16f; 8:22; 16:6; 18:16;
20:12; 24:10; 1 Chr. 9:25; 11:11, 20; 12:32; 21:28f; 29:30; 2 Chr. 7:2,
8; 8:13; 15:5; 16:7, 10; 21:10, 19; 25:27; 28:16; 30:3; 35:17; Ezra 5:3;
8:34; 10:13f; Neh. 4:22; 6:1; 9:27; 10:34; 12:17; 13:21, 31; Est. 2:12;
4:14, 17; 8:12; 10:3; Job 5:26; 19:4; 38:32; 39:1, 18; Ps. 1:3; 4:7;
10:5; 21:9; 31:15; 32:6; 34:1; 37:19, 39; 69:13; 71:9; 75:1; 81:15;
102:13; 104:19; 106:3; 119:20, 126; Prov. 5:3, 19; 6:14; 8:30; 17:17;
18:1; Eccl. 3:1ff, 11, 17; 7:17; 8:5f; 9:8, 11f; 10:17; Song 2:12; Isa.
9:1; 18:7; 30:8; 33:2; 38:1; 39:1; 49:8; 50:4; 60:22; 64:9; Jer. 2:27f;
3:17; 4:11; 5:24; 6:15; 8:1, 7, 15; 10:15; 11:12, 14; 14:8, 19; 15:11;
16:21; 18:23; 46:21; 50:4, 16, 20, 26f, 31; 51:6, 18; Lam. 1:15, 21;
4:18; Ezek. 4:10f; 7:7, 12; 12:27; 16:8; 21:25, 29; 22:3f, 30; 35:5;
Dan. 2:8f, 21; 3:7f; 4:1, 16, 23, 25f, 32, 36; 6:10, 13; 7:12, 22, 25;
8:17, 19; 9:25ff; 11:6, 13f, 24, 27, 29, 35, 40; 12:1, 4, 7ff, 11; Hos.
2:9; Joel 3:1; Amos 5:13; Mic. 2:3; 3:4; 5:3; Hab. 2:3; 3:2; Zeph. 3:16,
19f; Hag. 1:2, 4) and the first use in the OT gives good sense of the
meaning of kairos...
Genesis 1:14 Then God said,
"Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day
from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons
(kairos), and for days and years. (Comment: Even our English
dictionary definitions give us the sense of kairos in definitions of
season as period of the year characterized by or associated with a
particular activity or phenomenon or a a time characterized by a
particular circumstance or feature. When the season is past, it is over.
Yes it returns the next year but for that year it is past. That is the
idea of kairos - when the time has passed, one cannot go back and
retrieve that time.)
Genesis 17:21 "But My covenant
I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this
season (kairos) next year."
Genesis 21:2 So Sarah
conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed
time (kairos) of which God had spoken to him.
Psalm 1:3 And he will be like
a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its
season (kairos), And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he
does, he prospers. (Comment: The soil of this man's heart is
prepared by his godly conduct and his continual delight in and
meditation upon the Law of the Lord, so that he is ready to bear fruit
when the opportunity presents itself).
Psalm 31:15 My times
(kairos) are in Thy hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and
from those who persecute me.
Psalm 34:1 I Will bless
the LORD at all times (kairos - every opportunity!); His praise
shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 37:39 But the salvation
of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time
(kairos) of trouble.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is an
appointed time (chronos) for everything. And there is a time
(kairos) for every event under heaven-- 3:2 A time (kairos) to
give birth, and a time (kairos) to die; A time (kairos) to
plant, time (kairos) a time to uproot what is planted. (In verses
4-8 there are 19 more uses of kairos all for the word "time"!)
Vincent writes that kairos
"implies a particular time; as related to some event, a convenient,
appropriate time; absolutely, a particular point of time, or a
particular season, like spring or winter." (Vincent, M. R Word
Studies in the New Testament. Vol. 1, Page 3-70)
TDNT writes that kairos
"has the sense of a “decisive moment,” again with positive, neutral,
or negative implications, though the positive one of fortune is the most
common. Fortune in this sense is not fate, but the chance that must be
boldly grasped...a cult of the god Kairos is also
found...a statue of Kairos by Lysippos, (depicted a naked young
man) with winged feet poised (prepared, ready, all set)… His
only attribute apart from the winged feet was a striking hair-style, a
lock at the front with short hair behind.” The latter characteristic
confirms the fact that even religiously Kairos originally had the
character of decision, since the lock of hair is a symbol that one must
take the favorable opportunity by the forelock, so that even
religiously a summons to action is implied." (Ed note: See the
epigram below...this annotation is not meant to condone the futility of
pagan mythology but I do believe that this pagan epigram conveys a
reasonable portrayal of what all Christians should seek to do - Carpe
Diem - Seize the day, redeem the time, take advantage of every
kairos opportunity while there is yet time [opportunum tempus
- opportunity flees] and the night is coming when no man can work.) (Kittel,
G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament. Eerdmans)
|
Epigram
On the statue of Kairos |
Who ...was thy sculptor?
Lysippos.
And who are you?
Kairos (opportunity) who subdues all
things.
Why do you stand on tip-toe?
I am ever running.
And why you have a pair of wings on your feet?
I fly on the
wings of the wind.
And why does your hair hang over your face?
For him who
meets me to seize me by the forelock.
And why is the back of your head bald?
Because none may
clutch me from behind, howsoe’er he desire it, when once my winged
feet have darted past him. |
Application: As someone
has well said “Seize your opportunities as they come.”
God presents believers with all kinds of opportunities and one of the
tragedies of life is that we so often fail to even see them (unconfessed
sin being a great impediment to spiritual vision), much less to grasp
them for our good and God's glory.
An old adage says
“There are
three things which come not back—the spent arrow, the spoken word, and
the lost opportunity.”
Dearly beloved, making the most of
your time is another way of saying you are to make the most of your opportunities—opportunities that can be passed and be your loss or can
be grasped and bring God glory. O Lord,
"So teach us to number our days,
that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom." Amen. (Ps 90:12)
Ponder this quote by Horace Mann
as you study the meaning of kairos...
Lost, yesterday, somewhere between
sunrise and sunset,
Two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond
minutes.
No reward is offered,
For they are gone forever.
Charles Hummel wisely
warned that...
Our greatest danger in life is in
permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.
Modern day believers need the resolve and focus of George
Whitfield who when asked what he would do if he knew Christ would
return in three days replied
"I would do just what I have
scheduled to do."
Read the following poem by Jarvis
Anderson entitled "Unfinished Cathedral"...
The query comes: How long is Life?
Threescore and ten, the Good Book reads,
Is time enough for men to write
The record of his life in deeds.
Threescore and ten—how fast they fly!
Threescore and ten—they're almost gone!
And I, who dreamed of castles high,
Have only laid the cornerstone.
William Manning gives us good
advice as we study kairos noting that...
The chief value of an anniversary is
to call us to greater faithfulness in the time that is left.
Believers need to be like the
converted Hindu who upon being given a Bible and a clock said
"The clock will tell me how time
goes, and the Bible will tell me how to spend it."
Paul J Meyer declared that...
Most time is wasted, not in hours,
but in minutes. A bucket with a small hole in the bottom gets just as
empty as a bucket that is deliberately kicked over.
A Tiny Little Minute
Just a tiny little minute.
Sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me;
Didn't ask it,. didn't choose it.
Yet, it's up to me to use it;
Must give account if I abuse it.
Just a little minute.
ANONYMOUS
John MacArthur adds that...
"Wisdom numbers the days, sees the
limited time, and buys the opportunity. Don’t be foolish—shun
opportunities for evil, but seize opportunities for good." (MacArthur,
J. Strength for Today. Nov 26. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books)
Kairos
(according to Bauer and Gingrich) is one of the chief eschatological
terms in the Bible - kairos is
supremely God’s time. For example, Luke records Jesus' prophecy that the
Jews would
"fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive
into all the nations;
and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the
Gentiles
until the times (kairos) of the
Gentiles
be fulfilled." (Lk
21:24)
Here kairos refers to a period (the
origin and termination of which are not agreed upon by all scholars)
which appears to begin with the time of Nebuchadnezzar's sacking of
Jerusalem and will end with the final battle against Jerusalem during
Daniel's Seventieth Week
(Click
timeline and tabular overview
of
God's Plan for Jerusalem in
Scripture. Note especially the chart at the bottom of the page and the
section entitled "The Times of the Gentiles" that ends with
"Prophetic Peak #3")
As a parenthetical comment it is
interesting to note that our Lord's words will be fulfilled literally
when this specific kairos time has run its course. Down through the
centuries from the time of the Savior’s words, Jerusalem has been
largely controlled by Gentile powers. Emperor Julian the Apostate
(331–363AD) sought to discredit Christianity by disproving this prophecy
of the Lord. He therefore encouraged the Jews to rebuild the temple.
They went to the work eagerly, even using silver shovels in their
extravagance, and carrying the dirt in purple veils. But while |
