interests; acknowledge God's worth above all. (Sermons from the Epistle of James)
IN THE EYE
OF THE OMNISCIENT GOD
Presence (1799) (enopion from en = in + ops = the eye/see [cp optanomai = see, perceive with eyes, look at, implying not only the mere act of seeing but actual perception of what one sees]) means literally in sight, in front of, in the presence of. Being in sight. Before the face and thus the idea of face to face! Of doing something in someone’s presence.
In the context of James 4:10, the humble person lives, as it were, in the eye of God!
A sense of our own utter unworthiness in God's holy presence can only induce humility.
What thou art in the sight of God, that thou truly art. -Thomas à Kempis
Enopion can be summarized into three basic meanings
1) in front of, before, a position in a spatial sense, in the presence of (Lk 1:19; Acts 10:30, Rev 3:8, 7:15)
2) in the sight of, in the presence of (Lk 23:14, Jn 20:30, Acts 10:33, 1Ti 6:12, Re 3:5, 13:13)
3) in the opinion of, in the judgment of (Lk 16:15, 2Co 8:21)
Wuest writes that enopion...
was used in such expressions as, “the case will be drawn up against you in the court at Heracleopolis in the presence of,” “deliver personally,” “I gave notice in person.” It is used of one who does or says something in the presence of someone else, and does it with the consciousness that that one has him in sight and mind. Paul delivered this solemn charge to Timothy, conscious of the fact that he was doing so in the sight of God, and he wished Timothy to ever so regard the charge.
Enopion - 94x in 86v - 5" class="scriptRef">Lk 1:15, 17, 19" class="scriptRef">19" class="scriptRef">19, 75, 76; 4:7; 18" class="scriptRef">5:18, 25; 8:47; 12:6, 9; 13:26; 10" class="scriptRef">10" class="scriptRef">10" class="scriptRef">14:10; 15:10, 18, 21; 16.15" class="scriptRef">16:15; 23:14; 11" class="scriptRef">24:11, 43; Jn 20:30; Acts 2:25; 4:10, 19; 6:5, 6; 7:46; 9:15; 10:30, 31, 33; 19:9, 19; 27:35; Ro 3:20; 12:17; 14:22; 1Cor 1:29; 2Cor 4:2; 7:12; 8:21; Gal 1:20; 1Ti 2:3; 5:4, 20, 21; 6:12, 13; 2Ti 2:14; 4:1; Heb 4:13; 13:21; Jas 4:10; 1Pe 3:4; 1Jn 3:22; 3Jn 1:6; Rev 1:4; 2:14; 3:2, 5, 8, 9; 4:5, 6, 10; 5:8; 7:9, 11, 15; 8:2, 3, 4; 9:13; 11:4, 16; 12:4, 10; 13:12, 13, 14; 14:3, 10; 15:4; 16:19; 19:20; 20:12.
The NAS translates enopion as before(46), from sight(1), in front of(1), in the presence of(20), in the sight of(21).
There are over 400 uses in the Septuagint (LXX) and here are a few representative uses...
Ex 21:1 "Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before (Heb = panim = face; Lxx = enopion) them.
Ex 23:17 "Three times a year all your males shall appear before (Heb = panim = face; Lxx = enopion) the Lord God.
Ex 34:10 Then God said, "Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before (neged = in front of, in sight of, opposite to; Lxx = enopion) all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth, nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.
Psalm 19:14-see notes Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Thy sight (Heb = panim = face; Lxx = enopion), O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 119:170-see notes Let my supplication come before (Heb = panim = face; Lxx = enopion) Thee; Deliver me according to Thy word.
Daniel 1:9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight (Heb = panim = face; Lxx = enopion) of the commander of the officials,
He will exalt you - Richison writes that
The way down is the way up spiritually. Pride is our biggest spiritual problem. We carry pride of face, place and race. If we humble ourselves, God will not have to do it for us. This phrase is a promise that God will elevate us to new spiritual heights if we humble ourselves before Him. We will find ourselves in a new sphere of spirituality through humility. This is the result, not the cause, of God’s lifting us to new spiritual heights... Revival comes when we humble ourselves before the majesty of God. Humility allows God to do His work of grace in us. (2Chr 7:14) (Ref)
GOD'S
ELEVATOR
Up is down...and down is up in Christianity! What a precious promise and provision. (from Donald Barnhouse)
John Blanchard has a number of excellent relevant quotes from his book I highly recommended compilation of quotations - The Complete Gathered Gold- A Treasury of Quotations) (Wordsearchbible)
Rowland Hill
If you want to see the height of the hill of God's eternal love you must go down into the valley of humility.
Thomas Manton put it this way...
The way to rise is to fall.
Roy Hession the writer of the great little book on personal revival, Calvary Road, wrote that...
God can only fill valleys, not mountains.
Augustine wrote that....
The proud hilltops let the rain run off; the lowly valleys are richly watered.
Thomas Adams had it right when he said that...
He that will be knighted must kneel for it.
C. Campbell Morgan
All God's thrones are reached by going downstairs.
Hiebert...
The true way to exaltation leads through the valley of humility. It reflects Jesus' teaching in Mt 23:12 and Lk 14:11 and would be familiar to the Jewish readers from their Old Testament (Job 5:11; Ps 147:6; 149:4; Ezek 21:26). The promised exaltation begins with the experience of pardoning grace restoring the penitent sinner to a position of favor with God and producing an inner consciousness of liberty and exaltation; it will come to its outward future consummation when our Lord returns and His saints are manifested with Him in glory (Col 3:4; 2Th 1:10).
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Greek Word Studies ( - )
Read freely Greek Word Studies from the Austin Precept text commentary of the Bible in text and pdf format. Precept Austin is an online free dynamic bible commentary similar to wikipedia with updated content and many links to excellent biblical resources around the world. You can browse the entire collection of Commentaries by Verse on the Precept Austin website.We have been "bought with a price" to be "ambassadors for Christ" and our "salvation is nearer to us than when we believed" so let us "cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" "so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." (1Cor 6:20, 2Cor 5:20, Ro 13:11, 2Cor 7:1, 1Jn 2:28)