Corruption (5356) (phthora from phtheíro = to shrivel or wither, spoil , ruin , deprave, corrupt , defile, to destroy by means of corrupting, to spoil as does milk. Ethically phtheiro was the opposite of sozo) refers to a state of ruin or destruction with the picture of deterioration, dissolution, disintegration, ruin, perishing, decay or rotting like organic matter (breakdown of organic matter). Phthora was sometimes used of decaying food, which turns from that which is beneficial to that which is harmful. The basic idea of phthora is not a sudden destruction owing to external violence, but a dissolution brought about by internal decay. It describes decomposition which brings to mind the picture of loathsome decaying matter replete with maggots and other macabre microbes! Figuratively the idea is that of the horrible thought of the "rotting" of one's morals which become more depraved with greater loss of integrity as a result of "slow internal decay". Phthora pictures a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct and aptly depicts the moral filth and pollution of the world without God! It is the very opposite of "the divine nature." Vine comments that phthora is... the result of the withdrawal of life (which alone maintains the physical organism in effective being) is the dissolution of the body; this process is called corruption, and is attended by conditions repugnant to the senses of the living. This idea of repulsiveness is extended to the moral sphere....Apoleia and phthora signify not the destruction of being but of well-being, not an end of the existence of a person or thing. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos) Phthora was used in Greek to refer to destruction of a fetus and thus to a miscarriage or abortion (Epistle of Barnabas 19:5), which was said to make the mother unclean for 40 days. It was used in Greek to describe the ruination of a person through an immoral act such as the seduction of a young woman. Peter indicates this corruption is one of the effects of false teachers upon themselves (note 2 Peter 2:12) But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction {phthora} of those creatures also be destroyed {verb form phtheiro}]. Phthora is used 7 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Exodus 18:18, Daniel 10:8). Here are some of the uses in the OT Greek... Psalm 103:4 Who redeems your life from the pit (pit in Hebrew = destruction, decay as in Ps 16:10 and in several context pictures a state of death, in some context to Sheol - Job 33:24, Ezek 28:8) (LXX= phthora = corruption!). Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion Isaiah 24:3 The earth will be completely laid waste (LXX= Greek literally reads corrupted [phtheiro] with corruption [phthora]!) and completely despoiled, for the LORD has spoken this word. Daniel 3:25 He answered and said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm (LXX= phthora = corruption!), and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!" Jonah 2:6 "I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But Thou hast brought up my life from the pit (pit in Hebrew = destruction, decay as in Ps 16:10 and in several context pictures a state of death, in some context to Sheol - Job 33:24, Ezek 28:8) (LXX= phthora = corruption!), O LORD my God. Micah 2:10 "Arise and go, For this is no place of rest Because of the uncleanness that brings on destruction, a painful destruction (LXX= phthora). There are 8 uses of phthora in the NT... Romans 8:21 (note) that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Comment: Corruption is here viewed as a evil power which effects all of creation as a result of Adam's sin in Romans 5:12) (Vine comments that phthora " is used in the New Testament either of decay and death, in the physical sphere (as here and in 1Cor 15:42, 50; 2 Pet 2:12), or of moral degeneracy (as in Col.2:22; Gal 6:8). The phrase “bondage of corruption” is taken by some in an objective sense, as signifying bondage which produces corruption, by others subjectively, as the bondage which consists in corruption. The latter seems to be the meaning - Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos) 1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body... 50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (Here phthora describes that which is subject to corruption, perishing or decay and stands opposite aphtharsia - that which is incorruptible or imperishable). Galatians 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Comment: No one would bother to harvest a field of decaying matter. The deeds of the flesh are always corruptive and can only make a person progressively worse. The ultimate corruption is eternal death, the wages of sin. John Stott writes that "Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fancy, wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk that strains our self-control we are sowing, sowing, sowing, to the flesh" -- The Message of Galatians. Inter-Varsity Press. 1984). Colossians 2:22 (note) (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 2 Peter 1:4 (note) For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (Here phthora describes the total destruction of an entity). 2 Peter 2:12 (note) But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed. (Clearly phthora here is used in an ethical sense and refers to moral decay. 2 Peter 2:19 (note) promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. (Here it refers to a general inward depravity) THAT IS IN THE WORLD BY LUST: tes en to kosmo en epithumia: Literally "that in the world in lust"