GREEK
WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: ψευδαδελφος
(pseudadelphos)
PRONUNCIATION:
psyood-AH-dell-fos
STRONG’S
CONCORDANCE #: 5569
MEANING:
false brother
BACKGROUND
OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY): from two Greek words literally meaning
"false brother"
HOW
TRANSLATED IN KJV, NASB AND/OR ESV: false brethren; false brothers
#
OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 2
KEY
VERSE IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED:
2
Corinthians 11:26:
"I
have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers,
dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren
(ψευδαδελφος)."
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
The Greek word for “false
brethren” is pseudadelphos. The
first part of the word is pseudes
and carries the idea of something that
is untrue. It could be translated pretend,
phony, fake, or
bogus. The
second part of the word, adelphos, is
simply the word for a brother. Compound
these two words together, and they describe phony,
fake, bogus, pretend brethren.
Paul remarks about
these bogus believers in Galatians 2:4,5: “And
that because of false brethren (pseudadelphos) unawares
brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in
Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To
whom we gave place by subjection, no, not
for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.”
These “false
brethren” in Jerusalem were in fact genuine brothers who
had deceptive motives in their dealings with Paul. They
projected one impression, but in reality, their
intentions were very different from what they projected. They
were “false” because they pretended to be in agreement with Paul's
doctrine. In actuality, they wanted to
take Paul's converts and revert them back to legalism. Paul's
emphasis is not that they were unsaved, but that they were “false” with
him.
It is heart-breaking to
discover that someone you've trusted has been presenting a false image before you
in order to gain some advantage over you. If
this has happened to you, take heart, for it happened to Jesus too. Judas
Iscariot claimed to be a disciple, but in reality, he
had a secret agenda. Those who operate with secret agendas and
undeclared motives are “false” in the sense that they are feigning to be something they are not. This
would qualify them in a certain sense as “false
brethren.”
But I want you to also
notice the phrase “came in privily” in Galatians
2:4, because it describes how
these bogus believers behave. It comes from the Greek
word pareisago. This
word is a triple compound, comprised of the words para,
eis, and agœ.
The word para means alongside. It
denotes something
that is very close, such as in the word parasite. The
second part of the word — the word eis — means
into and conveys the
idea of penetration. Finally, the
third part of this compound is the word agœ. It simply means I lead. When all these words are
compounded together, the word pareisago (“came
in privily”) conveys the idea of smuggling
something in undercover. Literally, it
is a picture of someone who is leading (agœ) something into (eis) the Church alongside of
themselves (para). It
is the idea of covert activity.
The first part of this
compound — the word para — indicates that
the deceptive motives of these false brethren are held so secretly that they are able
to sneak right into the midst of the Church undetected. By
keeping their hidden agenda close to themselves, they
are able to worm their way right into the Church leadership. Once
they gain position inside a particular group, they
start their destructive work from deep within the Church itself.
We know that Paul was
constantly accosted by Judaizers, who
came to spy out his light in Jesus Christ. It
is also known that both the government and the religious leaders of the day
would specially train and disguise agents to
invade the Church. Using tactics similar to those used by
the more recent Soviet KGB, these agents of biblical times would
be so well camouflaged that they sounded like believers, looked like
believers, and were often perceived to be true brethren
in Christ. But in reality, these individuals were
imposters who had been sent to discover the location of church meetings. They
would inform the local authorities of the location; then the next time the
church met, the police would arrest those who had gathered for
worship.
Whoever these “false
brethren” were, Paul said they were perilous to him. They
created a situation that was extremely
dangerous and highly volatile. You can imagine how this
situation could have driven Paul into a pattern of fear and suspicion. Paul
knew that pretenders were out there, constantly trying to
secretly hurt him and those he loved. But instead of
becoming suspicious of everyone he met, Paul
relied on the Holy Spirit to give him clear discernment so he could
recognize who was real and who was not. In
the example given in Galatians 2:4 and 5, Paul
was able to recognize the deceptive motives of
the false brethren and therefore didn't
even give them a single hour of his time.
Living in these types of
stressful circumstances, Paul had a choice. He
could either back up into insecurity, or
he could take hold of the Holy Spirit's
help and press forward toward his goal.
Paul chose the latter. He
refused to let these “false brethren” become
a stumbling block in his life and ministry. He
didn't stop entering into new relationships just
because some of the individuals he met might turn out to
be “pretend brothers.” Instead, he
trusted the Holy Spirit to help him make right choices. This
impasse didn't
stop him from continuing to work closely with people, nor
did it stop him from establishing the Church in various
locations.
CHALLENGE
FOR THE DAY:
Likewise, you
have to determine that regardless of whether people please you or disappoint
you, they are not going to stop you from staying on
track with the assignment God has given you. You
are not going to allow Satan to knock you out of the race through the
disappointments you experience with other people. If
they prove to be false or you find that their motives were
not what they portrayed them to be, you must learn to forgive them, let
go of the offense, and turn your eyes to the future.
If you will listen to the
Holy Spirit, He will help you develop a better sense of discernment about the
people who are trying to get close to you. After
all, there is nothing the Holy Spirit doesn't
know. So if you'll allow Him to lead you in your relationships, you'll find
that your discernment about people will become more and more accurate as you
grow in your walk with God.
If you've
been disappointed and hurt by false brethren in the past, ask
the Lord today to help you stop dwelling on it. Let the Lord heal your heart as you
choose to forgive that person who deceived you
and get back on the path toward God's
destiny for your life!
PRAYER
FOR THE DAY:
Lord, I admit that I've been misled by certain people on several occasions. It has shown me that I need a better sense of discernment about
those I allow to get close to me. Yet at the same time, I don't want to become hardhearted or callous because of what I've been through. So today I
choose to turn from bitterness against those who have misled me. I make the decision to forgive them, to release them from the wrong they have done, and to turn my attention toward my future. Holy Spirit, I can only do this with Your help, so I am looking to You to empower me! I
pray this in Jesus' name! Amen.
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