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		<!-- END ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->{"id":173,"date":"2012-12-22T11:02:44","date_gmt":"2012-12-22T18:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myonequestion.org\/?p=173"},"modified":"2012-12-23T08:04:39","modified_gmt":"2012-12-23T15:04:39","slug":"christmas-message-2012-nothing-is-impossible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/?p=173","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Message 2012: Nothing Is Impossible?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<!-- BEGIN ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\n\t\t<!--\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_START:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\n\t\tshowOdiogoReadNowButton (\"581303\", \"Christmas Message 2012: Nothing Is Impossible?\", \"173\", 290, 55);\n\t\t\/\/ -->\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<br\/>\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\n\t\t<!--\n\t\tshowInitialOdiogoReadNowFrame (\"581303\", \"173\", 290, 0);\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_END:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\n\t\t\/\/ -->\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- END ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\n\t\t\n<p>During the Christmas season, the Christmas story is typically read from Luke&#8217;s Gospel because Luke&#8217;s account of the story is so much more detailed than any of the other Gospel&#8217;s. \u00a0One message derived from this passage, that comes up over and over, is the statement &#8220;Nothing is impossible with God&#8221; from Luke 1:37. \u00a0Christians have abused this scripture sometimes from ignorance.<\/p>\n<p>I have heard the true story of a Christian woman that lives in our area who wanted to be the wife of a famous Bible teacher. \u00a0She bought a wedding dress and held a wedding\u00a0ceremony\u00a0(the groom in\u00a0absentia). \u00a0Problem was this famous Bible teacher was already married so she was believing that his wife would die. \u00a0What scripture did she use to justify this act? Yes, you guessed it, &#8220;Nothing is impossible with God&#8221;. \u00a0Now this is an extreme story, but we all have this scripture in the back of our minds, and we all, if without the understanding of what it says, could be tempted to use it in a similar albeit not so extreme way. \u00a0What should be asked: Is this what it really says?<\/p>\n<p>Well no, not exactly. \u00a0In Greek, it say,<\/p>\n<p>\u03bf\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b1\u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1 \u03c4\u03c9 \u0398\u03b5\u03c9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c1\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1<\/p>\n<p>if you don&#8217;t have Greek fonts on your computer this is transliterated as<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;oti ouk adunathesei para to Theo pan rhema&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Literal:\u00a0&#8220;because not will be without-power alongside God every word (rhema)&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Because Greek is a\u00a0conjugated\/declined language (i.e. parts of sentence\u00a0structure, such as who the subject is, are shown via the morphology, form, of the word, typically at the end of the word), the Greek sentence has the ability to shift words around. \u00a0Typically this is done to put the most\u00a0emphasized\u00a0words at the beginning of the sentence. \u00a0So the emphasis here is the &#8220;not without-power&#8221; phrase, this is the most important part of the sentence. \u00a0The &#8220;\u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c1\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1&#8221; (pan rhema) \u00a0is nominative, so a better English ordering (English not being a\u00a0conjugated\/declined language like Greek, we need word order to understand) would be:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;because not any word will be without-power alongside God&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In Greek, double negatives are common (used for emphasis) so &#8220;not any word will be without-power&#8221;, could be un-negatized to<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>because any word (rhema) will be with-power alongside God<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p>There are three things to look at to understand the full meaning of this verse:<\/p>\n<h3>1. The Greek preposition &#8220;\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1&#8221; (para)<\/h3>\n<p>Many English Bibles have the preposition &#8220;with&#8221; as the translation. \u00a0This is ok, but too semantically wide of a term. \u00a0The Greek preposition &#8220;meta&#8221; would be more appropriately translated this way. \u00a0You can be bicycling &#8220;with&#8221; someone and be several miles behind them. \u00a0This Greek preposition &#8220;para&#8221; has the connotation of &#8220;near, next to, alongside, besides&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>It is interesting that both &#8220;meta&#8221; and &#8220;para&#8221; were used previously in this passage. \u00a0Gabriel said &#8220;The Lord is with (meta) you&#8221; to Mary. \u00a0Mary was pondering what this greeting meant. \u00a0Gabriel then said, more precisely, &#8220;You have found favor with (para) God&#8221;. \u00a0You are alongside God, and this is where you have found favor. \u00a0This is also important because what was to happen to Mary was not with a God somewhere afar off, the Holy Spirit was going to come upon (Greek &#8220;epi&#8221;) Mary and his power will overshadow (Greek &#8220;episkiasei &#8220;) Mary, literally &#8220;To cast a shadow upon&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The other two stories where this Greek word is used is with the Cloud that cast a shadow on those at the Mount of Transfiguration (Mt. 17:5, Mk. 9:7, Lk. 9:34) and Peter who cast a shadow over the sick and they were healed (Acts 5:15). \u00a0I believe the Acts story was to indicate that it was being in the proximity of Peter&#8217;s person that the healing was taking place. \u00a0Similarly, Gabriel was saying Mary, you will be right there alongside God, in the Holy Spirit&#8217;s shadow, that is how this\u00a0pregnancy\u00a0will take place.<\/p>\n<p>The force of this preposition is that this statement is NOT necessarily true, if in fact you are NOT alongside (or near) God.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. The Greek verb &#8220;\u03b1\u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9&#8221; (adunathesei)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This Greek word&#8217;s lemma \u00a0has two parts &#8220;a&#8221; which is a negation so &#8220;non, not, without&#8221; and &#8220;dunatos&#8221; which is &#8220;power, ability&#8221;. \u00a0This verb is &#8220;future, active,\u00a0indicative, third person, singular&#8221; so &#8220;will be without-power&#8221; and the subject of the phrase is &#8220;any word&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>(In general, it is not always possible to derive the meaning of a Greek word from its constituent parts. \u00a0We have this in English with the word &#8220;Butterfly&#8221;. \u00a0You would not get the meaning of this English word should you look at its parts. \u00a0But, there are a lot (perhaps the majority) of words in English and Greek where you can do this. \u00a0One must look at several contexts to make sure the meaning is clear. \u00a0In the New Testament this word only appears twice. \u00a0But looking at older Greek text this word appears with the meaning &#8220;without ability, without strength&#8221;. \u00a0So the derivation of meaning using constituent parts seems to be justified.)<\/p>\n<p>It is interesting, because, previously, in the passage above, in Lk 1:35, the literal translation is<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Spirit Holy (shall come upon) upon you and power of highest (shall cast a shadow upon) you&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>(Note I have grouped the words translated from a single verb with parenthesis. \u00a0There are a lot of Greek prepositions &#8220;epi&#8221;, literal &#8220;upon&#8221;, here, both in the prefix of the two verbs and one preposition.)<\/p>\n<p>The word &#8220;power&#8221; in Lk 1:35 is the same word used in the negative in Lk 1:37. \u00a0What we see here is a poetic, 2 phrase restatement, much like we have in the Psalms and Proverbs.<\/p>\n<p><em>Holy Spirit shall come upon you,<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Power of Highest shall cast a shadow upon you.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Holy Spirit = Power of the Highest<br \/>\nShall come upon = Shall cast a shadow upon<\/p>\n<p>This is where the power is from, it is the Holy Spirit, and it is not power from a distance, He will be close enough to &#8220;cast a shadow upon&#8221; you (i.e. being alongside God).<\/p>\n<p>There is only one other place in the New Testament that this word for &#8220;impossible&#8221; is used. \u00a0It is Mt. 17:20:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And nothing will be impossible for you&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Here the Greek word for &#8220;nothing&#8221; is &#8220;ouden&#8221;, which means &#8220;not one&#8221; or &#8220;not even one&#8221;. \u00a0In the context here, two things stand out. \u00a0First, that &#8220;nothing&#8221; is constrained by faith. \u00a0The beginning of that sentence is &#8220;If you have faith&#8221;. \u00a0(Note to self: write blog on what you can and cannot have faith for, according to the scriptures.) \u00a0Secondly, it came by words, &#8220;say to this mountain&#8221;. \u00a0In fact, the context of when Jesus said this to his disciples is when they were trying to cast out (with words) the demon from a boy. \u00a0We should note that the with-power (impossibility)\u00a0spoken of here has to do with words.<\/p>\n<p>In Lk 1:37, \u00a0it is the &#8220;word&#8221; (rhema) that is said to be with-power.<\/p>\n<h3>3. The Greek word &#8220;\u03c1\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1&#8221; (rhema)<\/h3>\n<p>The problem with the phrase &#8220;Nothing is impossible with God&#8221;, is that there seems to be no constraints. \u00a0If &#8220;Nothing&#8221; is impossible, then how can we condemn the Christian lady in the wedding dress? \u00a0But that is not what is stated, which has been demonstrated above. Nothing here equals &#8220;not any word (rhema)&#8221;. \u00a0&#8220;Nothing&#8221; is a very bad translation.<\/p>\n<p>Rhema is a Greek word that simply has the meaning of a &#8220;spoken word&#8221;. \u00a0Many times though it can have the connotation of &#8220;specific word spoken to someone&#8221;. \u00a0Remember, this statement was said by the angel Gabriel, as he brought a word (rhema) to Mary from God (this is very specifically said at the beginning of this story, Gabriel was sent from God).<\/p>\n<p>Words, the fruit of the tongue, come with power.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Death and Life are in the Power of the Tongue and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof&#8221; (Prov. 18:6).<\/p>\n<p>We have seen above where the Holy Spirit equals the &#8220;Power of the (Most) Highest&#8221;. \u00a0But we also see throughout the New Testament that when the Holy Spirit comes, words come first. \u00a0This is true when in Acts the Holy Spirit came they were filled and began to speak with other Tongues, or they prophecy through the Holy Spirit. \u00a0Words are essential.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God&#8221;. (Rom 10:17)<\/p>\n<p>What comes first, words.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;By Faith, we\u00a0perceive\u00a0that the ages were (put into proper condition) by a word (rhema) of God.&#8221;(Heb 11:3, literal translation)<\/p>\n<p>If you look at Hebrews chapter 11, you find men and women, who are close to (beside) God, each who received a word from God, and then carried out their destiny based on it. \u00a0Verse 3 simply says that these ages were put in proper condition (that was the power working) by these men and women.<\/p>\n<p>This is the pattern seen in scripture: \u00a0First words come and then power to carry them out.<\/p>\n<h3>Counter Example<\/h3>\n<p>Is there a counter example that we can also learn from concerning this subject? I think there is. \u00a0A Counter example in this case would be words without power. \u00a0In Acts 19:13f, we have the seven sons of Sceva who tried to use words to exercise a demon from a man. \u00a0You will notice in the text that they stated &#8220;I adjure you by the Jesus Paul proclaims&#8221;. \u00a0Hardly a &#8220;beside God&#8221; statement. \u00a0The results were\u00a0disastrous\u00a0for them, in that when the demon in the man was through with them, they ran naked from the house, all seven of them. \u00a0This example shows that it is not\u00a0merely\u00a0the speaking of words that brings power, but the position you have with God.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0Application<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>because any word (rhema) will be with-power alongside God<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>How is knowing this applicable in our lives. \u00a0What ensures the power will come to a situation is two things: \u00a0being alongside God and\u00a0\u00a0have a word from Him. \u00a0One is something we can do, the other is something God can only do. \u00a0The story of Mary is sometimes not understood because of the nuances of Greek words. \u00a0Mary found favor because she was &#8220;para&#8221; (alongside) God. \u00a0That is what the first part of Gabriel&#8217;s message was to Mary (Lk. 1:30). \u00a0The passage indicated a position Mary took, and she found favor, because of something she did. \u00a0If you are born \u00a0again then the Holy Spirit resides within you (you are a temple of the Holy Spirit I Cor 6:19)<\/p>\n<p>The second part is having a word. \u00a0This is not a word we produce, but one produced for us by God. \u00a0These can either be a word that God has spoken in general (like the promises to us in the Bible) or ones that is specifically given to one through the Holy Spirit. \u00a0This is why praying in the Spirit is so effective. \u00a0Not only does one speak the words the Holy Spirit gives one to say (He gives the utterance, Acts 2:4), but He is there to carry those words out (He is the power). \u00a0This encapsulates the greatness of God and why He uses this pattern. \u00a0First He tells you what he is going to do, and then He does it. \u00a0I believe that words are where the spiritual world can interact with the physical world.<\/p>\n<p>copyright 2012 G. Edward Roberts (g.edward.roberts@gmail.com)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<!-- BEGIN ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\n\t\t<!--\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_START:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\n\t\tshowOdiogoReadNowButton (\"581303\", \"Christmas Message 2012: Nothing Is Impossible?\", \"173\", 290, 55);\n\t\t\/\/ -->\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<br\/>\n\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" language=\"javascript\">\n\t\t<!--\n\t\tshowInitialOdiogoReadNowFrame (\"581303\", \"173\", 290, 0);\n\t\t\/\/ ODIOGO_END:do_NOT_remove_this_comment\n\t\t\/\/ -->\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- END ODIOGO LISTEN BUTTON v2.5.7 (WP) -->\n\t\t\n<p>During the Christmas season, the Christmas story is typically read from Luke&#8217;s Gospel because Luke&#8217;s account of the story is so much more detailed than any of the other Gospel&#8217;s. \u00a0One message derived from this passage, that comes up over and over, is the statement &#8220;Nothing is impossible with God&#8221; from Luke 1:37. \u00a0Christians have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=173"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189,"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions\/189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myonequestion.elparazim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}