GREEK
WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: βλέπω (blepo)
PRONUNCIATION:
BLEP-oh
STRONG’S
CONCORDANCE #: 991
MEANING:
see; notice; watch; beware; look over carefully; perceive; behold
BACKGROUND
OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY): this word goes beyond just the thought
of seeing something with the eyes, which would be a different Greek word; blepo
has the thought of seeing AND perceiving;
HOW
TRANSLATED IN KJV, NASB AND/OR ESV: see; behold; look; perceive; take heed;
beware; watch
#
OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 132
KEY
VERSE IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED:
1 Corinthians 10:12
"Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands
take heed (βλέπω) lest he fall." ESV
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
Our Greek word of the day references 1
Corinthians 10:12, which is just PACKED with information. The apostle Paul in cautioning those at the
church in Corinth said, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed
lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). The word “thinketh” is from the
Greek word dokeo, which in this
case means to be of the opinion, to
reckon, to suppose, or to think,
as it is translated here in the King
James Version. In this verse, the word dokeo
expresses the idea of what a person thinks
or supposes about himself. There
is nothing here to verify that the individual's opinion is correct; only that
it is the prevailing opinion he has regarding himself. In just a moment, you'll
see why this is so important for you to understand!
Next, Paul says, “Wherefore let him that
thinketh he standeth....” The word “standeth” comes from the Greek word istemi, which simply means to stand, to stand fast, to stand firm,
or to stand upright. But when the
words dokeo and istemi are combined together as Paul
uses them in this verse, it means, “Wherefore let anyone who has the
self-imposed opinion of himself that he is standing strong and firm....” Then
Paul adds the next critically important words: “...take heed lest he fall.”
The words “take heed” are from the Greek
word blepo, which means to watch, to see, to behold, or to be aware. The Greek tense indicates
the need not only to watch, but to be continually watchful. Paul is
urging us to live in an uninterrupted state of watchfulness regarding our
spiritual lives and the firm stance of faith that we claim to possess!
Why does he insist that we be so
watchful? He goes on to say, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take
heed lest he fall.” The word “fall” is pipto,
which means to fall. In the New
Testament, it is used to depict someone who falls
into a terrible predicament or into a worse state than he was in before. It
can also depict someone who falls into
sin; falls into ruin; or falls into some type of failure. The
word pipto that Paul uses in this
verse emphatically describes a downfall
from a formerly presumed high and haughty position. Therefore, it isn't
just a little stumbling that Paul is referring to; it is a downward plummet
that causes one to sorrowfully crash!
When
you put all of this together, 1 Corinthians 10:12 could be translated: “If anyone has the opinion of himself that he
is standing strong and firm, he needs to be continually watchful and always on
his guard lest he trip, stumble, and fall from his overconfident position and
take a nose-dive downward to a serious crash!”
We must never become so smug that we
fall into complacency. The day we allow that to happen, we are in big trouble!
Like the city of Sardis, we may end up with huge cracks we aren't even aware
of. That is exactly when the enemy will slip in to take us captive in different
areas of our lives. Therefore, we must match our confidence with watchfulness!
Unfortunately, it appears that the church in Sardis precisely mirrored the city of Sardis. Jesus told them, “...I
know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and are dead” (Revelation
3:1). At one time the church in Sardis had a great name and a testimony of
being spiritually alive and vibrant. But because the believers in that church
got too busy and failed to give heed to the foundational things in their lives,
cracks began to form spiritually over time. Eventually the devil found a way to
slip into that church to ruin its name and influence. Because of spiritual
negligence, this church body lost its vitality until Jesus even said it was
“dead.”
In Revelation 3:2, Jesus told
them, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to
die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” I love this verse, for
it alerts us to the fact that it is never too late to do something to fix the
problem! Jesus said, “Locate the problem!
Find a solution! Strengthen what you have! Do it before it's too late!”
CHALLENGE
FOR THE DAY:
If you have a part of your life that is
broken, cracked, or splintered, there is still hope that it can be restored. It
may require emergency care to get it on life support for now, but it can be
resuscitated and brought back to life again. Preventative medicine is always better
than corrective surgery, so learn to take the right steps to avoid these
problems.
It may seem like it takes a lot
of time to stay watchful and prayerful about your spiritual life, but I assure
you that it is less expensive and less painful than it is to crash spiritually
and then have to fix things in your life that never had to be broken in the
first place!
PRAYER
FOR THE DAY:
Lord, help me stay watchful
regarding the condition of my spiritual life! I recognize that sometimes I get
too busy and fail to pray, wrongly presuming that I am strong enough to be able
to survive in a state of prayerlessness. Especially after what I've read today,
I realize that this kind of smugness and pride has always gotten me into
trouble. Therefore, I turn from apathy and the wrong kind of confidence, and I
turn to the Cross! Please examine my heart and help me identify those areas of
my life that need to be fixed or corrected. Once You reveal to me what needs to
be changed, please give me the power to apply the needed correction. I pray this in Jesus' name! Amen.
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