Inseparable

GREEK WORD WITH ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION: πειθω (peitho)

PRONUNCIATION:  PAY-tho

STRONG’S CONCORDANCE #: 3982

MEANING: to agree; to be sure; certain; persuaded;

BACKGROUND OF WORD (ETYMOLOGY): this was a favorite word for Doctor Luke, used by him nearly 30 times; had the idea to fully trust in something; as a doctor, Luke would often need to "persuade" his patients of the proper care required;

HOW TRANSLATED IN KJV, NASB AND/OR ESV:  persuaded; convinced; believed; trusted; confidence in

# OF TIMES USED IN THE GREEK NEW TESTAMENT: 56

KEY VERSE IN THE BIBLE WHERE GREEK WORD USED:

Romans 8:38-39 - "For I am convinced (πειθω) that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

    

When the apostle Paul wrote the above verses, he had been facing grueling times because he was a Christian. He had suffered rejection from friends, persecution from the government, and had spent many months of his life in an isolated prison cell. But regardless of what people or the circumstances of life did to him, Paul had discovered a vital truth: Nothing that occurs in this life has the power to separate a believer from the love of God.

That is why Paul said, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).

Notice that Paul said, “For I am persuaded....” The word “persuaded” is the Greek word ‎peithœ‎. It means to be persuaded, to be convinced, or to be swayed from one opinion to the opinion held by another. This word describes a person who has been coaxed from a particular conviction to embrace a different one. Furthermore, the Greek tense implies that this was a persuasion that had occurred to Paul in the past but is still so strong that it continues to be his conviction in the present. He was persuaded, and he continues to be persuaded. It could therefore be translated, “For I have been persuaded, and I remain convinced....”

    

Romans 8 closes with a beautiful summary of what has just been said. The apostle assures his readers that he was not teaching them anything about which he himself was not fully convinced. He was convinced first of all because of the nature of salvation, which God had revealed to him and which he presents so clearly in these first eight chapters. His counsel is also a personal testimony. He was convinced because he had experienced most of the things mentioned and they did not separate him from Christ. Both revelation and experience convinced him. Paul was saying to believers in Rome the same thing he would say some years later to Timothy: "For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).

Paul begins his list with death, which, in our earthly life, we experience last. Even that supreme enemy cannot separate us from our Lord, because He has changed death's sting from defeat to victory. We can therefore rejoice in the psalmist's affirmation that "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones" (Psalms 116:15), and we can testify with David that "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me" (Psalms 23:4). With Paul, we should "prefer rather to be absent from the body" because that will mean we are finally "at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Donald Grey Barnhouse told a personal story that beautifully illustrates death's powerlessness over Christians. When his wife died, his children were still quite young, and Dr. Barnhouse wondered how he could explain their mother's death in a way their childish minds could understand. As they drove home from the funeral, a large truck passed them and briefly cast a dark shadow over the car. Immediately the father had the illustration he was looking for, and he asked the children, "Would you rather be run over by a truck or by the shadow of a truck? .... That's easy, Daddy," they replied. "We would rather get run over by the shadow, because that wouldn't hurt." Their father then said, "Well, children, your mother just went through the valley of the shadow of death, and there's no pain there, either."

The second supposed hindrance does not seem like a hindrance at all. We think of life as something positive. But it is in our present earthly life that spiritual dangers lie. Not only does death itself hold no harm for believers, but it will bring the end of all harm. It is while we still have this life that we face tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword (8:35) and the many other trials that Paul could have mentioned. But because we have eternal life in Christ, the threats during our present life are empty.

The third supposed threat is angels. Because the next danger on the list (principalities) doubtless refers to fallen angels, it seems likely that the ones mentioned here are holy angels. Paul's reference here to angels presupposes a purely hypothetical and impossible situation, just as did one of his warnings to the Galatians. He told the Galatian believers to stand firm in their salvation through Christ's shed blood on the cross and to refuse to accept any contrary gospel, even if preached, if that were possible, by an apostle or "an angel from heaven" (Galatians 1:8).

The fourth supposed threat is not in the least hypothetical. As already noted, principalities seems to refer to evil beings, specifically demons. Like the Greek term (‎arch¢‎,) behind it, principalities indicates neither good nor evil. But the obvious negative use of ‎arch¢ ‎in such passages as Ephesians 6:12 ("rulers"), Colossians 2:15 ("rulers"), and Jude 6 ("own domain") — as well as its apparent contrast with the term that precedes it here (angels) — seems to indicate fallen angels, the demons. If so, Paul is saying that no supernatural created being, good or evil, can sever our relationship to Christ.

Things present and things to come represent everything we are experiencing and will yet experience.

CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY:

    

Never forget this message Paul proclaimed. Nothing in this world has enough power to disconnect you from the love of God. No angel, no demon, no government, no creature — and no mistake of your own making — will ever be capable of cutting you off from the love of God. God's love is greater than man will ever be able to comprehend. It reaches to the highest mountain, and it penetrates to the lowest parts of the earth. Regardless of what you are facing in your life today, God's love is with you — and nothing will ever be able to disconnect you from this awesome, powerful, all-consuming love!

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Lord, I am so thankful for Your love that never fails me and never deserts me. I am filled with gratitude that nothing in this world has the power to disconnect me from Your awesome, powerful, life-changing love. In moments when I feel overwhelmed by circumstances or problems, I ask that You give me a special awareness of Your unfailing love in my life.  I pray this in Jesus' name! Amen.