Decay (destroy) (1311) diaphtheiro

Decaying (1311)(diaphtheiro from dia = intensifies meaning + phtheiro = to ruin, corrupt, spoil, shrivel, destroy, defile) (English = diphtheria) means to cause the complete destruction, to destroy, corrupt or decay utterly (through and through so to speak), to rot thoroughly, to ruin, to pervert utterly, perish. It always signifies a change for the worse. The Bible uses diaphtheiro literally of physical corruption, destruction or decay (Re 8:9, 11:18, Jdg 6:6Lxx) or figuratively of moral decay (1Ti 6:5, Jdg 2:19Lxx) In the present context the literal sense is used signifying a gradual bodily incapacitation and loss of one's strength. In a sense we are "wasting away" in the aging process. Diaphtheiro is used of the worm or moth that eats provisions. As noted in the 6 NT uses below, diaphtheiro can refer to either physical or moral destruction. Keeping the context in mind, we need to think first of the deterioration on Paul's body wrought by the many hardships he has just described (eg 2Co 4:8, 9, also see Paul's Living Martyrdom). In other words, what brought about the deterioration of his body was the cumulative effect of his manifold sufferings. The present tense signifies this process of physical decay and deterioration is inexorable and unavoidable. The seeds of decay and dissolution are in the body from birth. There is no "fountain of youth" for the outer man, but there is one for the inner man! For the believer the unavoidable truth of ongoing decay of the outer man is lessened by the truth of a corresponding ongoing renewal of the inner man. The New American Bible paraphrase picks up this association... our inner being is renewed each day even though our body is being destroyed at the same time. Bernard... Here the decay (diaphtheiretai) of the bodily organism is set over against the growth in grace (anakainoutai, is refreshed) of the man himself. Albert Barnes on decaying... Grows old; becomes weak and feeble; loses its rigour and elasticity under the many trials which we endure, and under the infirmities of advancing years. It is a characteristic of the "outer man" that it thus perishes. Great as may be its rigour, yet it must decay and die. It cannot long bear up under the trials of life, and the wear and tear of constant action, but must soon sink to the grave. Notes on the New Testament Explanatory and Practical. John Gill... Our outward circumstances of life are very mean and despicable; we are oftentimes in a very distressed condition through hunger, thirst, nakedness, and want of the common necessaries of life; our bodies are almost worn out with fatigue, labour, and sorrow; our earthly tabernacles are tottering, and just ready to fall in pieces Diaphtheiro - 6x in 5v in the NT, translated decaying(1), depraved(1), destroy(2), destroyed(1), destroys(1). See also the related noun - diaphthora - decay - Acts 2:27, 31 13:34, 35,36, 37. Another derivative adiaphthoria is used once in Titus 2:7 calling for young men to let their teaching have freedom from corruptible mixtures or adulterations. The exhortation was not to mix in teaching or doctrine (didaskalia) with anything that would in any way corrupt and deprive Christian teaching of its eternal value! Oh my, how pulpiteers need to heed this exhortation in a day when truth is becoming more and more difficult to find in the very place that should be the bastion and defender of Biblical truth. Diaphtheiro - 59x in 56v in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Jdg 2:19; Jdg 6:5; 8" class="scriptRef">16:7, 16:8; 20:21, 25, 35, 42; Ru 4:6; 1Sa 2:25; 6:5; 13:17; 14:15; 23:10; 26:15; 2Sa 1:14; 11:1; 14:11; 20:20; 24:16; 2Kgs 8:19; 13:23; 18:25; 19:12; Ps 13:1; 52:2; 56:1; 57:1; 58:1; 74:1; 77:38, 45; Eccl 5:5; Mic 2:10; Nah 2:3; Zeph 3:7; Mal 1:14; 2:8; 3:11; Isa 49:19; Jer 5:26; 6:5, 28; 12:10; 13:7; 15:6; 27:45; 28:1, 25; Lam 2:5f, 8; Ezek 20:44; 23:11; 28:17; Da 7:19 Judges 2:19 But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly (Heb = shachath; Lxx = diaphtheiro - here used figuratively to describe the decay in their heart, the character, their conduct) than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. Judges 6:5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate ("devour" continues image of a locust plague) (Heb = shachath; Lxx = diaphtheiro) it. Jeremiah 6:28 All (speaking of faithless Judah) of them are stubbornly rebellious, going about as a talebearer. They are bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt. (Heb = shachath; Lxx = diaphtheiro in the perfect tense = describes their permanent state) Here are the NT uses of diaphtheiro Luke 12:33 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys (present tense = continually). Comment: Everyone can identify with this portrayal of the destruction wrought by a moth on some fine suit or dress -- it is usually ruined even though the holes may be small. 2Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 1Timothy 6:5 and constant friction between men of depraved (perfect tense = speaks of a the permanence of this condition, cp 2Ti 3:7, 8) mind and deprived (passive voice = something pulled them away from the truth) of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Comment: Note relation between a depraved mind and a "deprived mind"! Their depravity is in accord with their lack of truth. John MacArthur: The external cause of false teaching is satanic deception (cf.. 1Ti 4:1). The internal cause, however, is the depraved or unregenerate mind of the false teacher. “The mind set on the flesh,” writes Paul, “is hostile toward God” (Ro 8:7). Such a mind does not function normally in the spiritual realm; it does not react normally to truth. Being natural men, false teachers cannot understand the things of God, which seem foolish to them (1Co 2:14). As a result, “God gave them over to a depraved mind” (Ro 1:28; cf. Ep 2:1, 2, 3; 4:17, 18, 19). Not having “the mind of Christ” (1Co 2:16), false teachers can produce only error. Revelation 8:9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed. Revelation 11:18 "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." Comment: Here is God’s assessment of modern environmentalism—which purports to radically care for the earth while denying the Creator behind the creation and creatures which it panders to. At the Second Coming, the condition of the earth has reached the equivalent of the time of the flood where “the earth is filled with violence” (Ge 6:13). This corruption was due to the great wickedness of man in that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Ge 6:5). This is the predictable end of unregenerate men once the Restrainer is removed and the mystery of lawlessness reaches full flower (2Th 2:7). (Quoting from Henry Morris - The Revelation Record) “The word ‘destroy’ is the same, actually, as ‘corrupt.’ Man had destroyed the earth by corrupting the earth, using it not for God’s glory, but instead to satisfy his own greed and lust.” (A Testimony of Jesus Christ - Revelation 11:18) Plummer comments that... In the case of the physical powers there is a ceaseless wearing away, under the pressure of hard work, ill health, anxiety, and persecution; in the spiritual powers there is a ceaseless increase of strength. The one process, in spite of frequent Divine deliverances, must end in death; the other, by Divine decree, ends in eternal life. The force of the present tense must be preserved, ‘is being destroyed,’ ‘is being renewed’..."How is it being renewed?" asks Chrysostom, and replies, "By faith, by hope, by zeal.’ (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 --A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 1915. New York: Scribner) Hughes notes that... It’s axiomatic: our future hopes determine how we live in the present. The question is: how are our "futures"? What are you living for? It’s never too late to get it right. Don’t waste your life. Aging and decay can be disheartening, and especially so for those without hope of resurrection and transformation. The Greco-Roman culture of Paul’s day gave voice to remarkable expressions of despair. The Greek poet Aeschylus declared, "there is death once and for all and there is no resurrection." The Roman Marcus Aurelius held that at death all that is left is "dust, ashes, bones and stench." Very contemporary expressions, are they not? (2Corinthians Power in Weakness) Robert Morgan comments... One of my favorite writers was a New Zealander named J. Oswald Sanders. He died at age ninety just as he finished his last book, which was on the subject of aging. In the introduction of that book he makes a very interesting point. He says that it is possible to be realistic about aging without being pessimistic and depressed. He said: Realism and optimism with regard to the aging process can sleep in the same bed.” (J. Oswald Sanders, Enjoying Your Best Years: Staying Young While Growing Older (Grand Rapids: Discovery House Publishers, 1993), p. viii.) I know this is true based on my observations through the years....When it comes to aging, we have to be realistic, but we can either be realistic/pessimistic or we can be realistic/optimistic. Paul was realistic/optimistic, and his secret is in the next phrase and in the next dimension of healthy living, the inward dimension (yet the inward man is being renewed day by day). (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Our Daily Strength) D E Garland has an interesting parallel regarding Paul's description of the outer decaying and inner renewing... His image is the exact reverse of the plot in Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In that story the vain Dorian Gray has his portrait painted; and when it is finished, he laments: “How sad! I shall grow old and horrible, but this picture never will be older. If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! I would give my soul for that!” He got his wish. The portrait became a mirror of his soul, which showed every sign of evil and aging. He locked it away to prevent the world from seeing the truth about himself and deceived others with an outward appearance of one who was young, pure, and handsome. The contrast between the loathsome, evil, and wrinkled visage on the canvas fed by mad, ravenous passions, and his exquisite outward appearance grew more stark every day. (The New American Commentary. page 241. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers) Henry Martyn had the right attitude toward the inevitable decline of our physical state... If I am going to burn out, let me burn out for God. H A Ironside on the outer man decaying... The outward man perisheth. How well we know that! What is the outward man? It is the physical man, the body, and many of us realize that the outward man is perishing. There is not the elasticity in the step that there used to be, there is not the physical vigor that there once was. We tire a great deal more easily than we did some years ago. We do not remember things as well as we once did. YET OUR INNER MAN IS BEING RENEWED DAY BY DAY: all' o eso hemon anakainoutai (3SPPI) hemera kai hemera.: (inner: Ro 7:22 Eph 3:16 1Pe 3:4) (being renewed: Ps 51:10 Isa 40:31 Ro 12:2 Eph 4:23 Col 3:10 Titus 3:5) (day by day: Lk 11:3) LIVING BY FAITH A RIGHT PERSPECTIVE ON SUFFERING 2Corinthians 4:16-18, 5:1-9 Outer man Inner man Decaying Being renewed Momentary Eternal Light Weight Afflictions Glory Things seen Things unseen Temporal Eternal Tent Building from God (2Co 5:1,2) Earthly Heavenly (2Co 5:1) Torn down Eternal (2Co 5:1) Naked Clothed (2Co 5:2-4) Mortal Life (2Co 5:4) By sight By faith (2Co 5:7) At home in body Away with the Lord (2Co 5:7-9) Yet (alla) introduces a refreshing "change of direction", a conspicuous contrast, so that instead of outer decay God offers us the sure hope of inner spiritual renewal. This caused Paul to put his problems in proper perspective, allowing him to keep on keeping on. A good perspective of our present passing life is necessary for good Christian service and will keep us going when (not if) the path becomes rough and perilous. Spurgeon... As our body, through pain and disease, is constantly sinking towards the grave, here is our continual consolation,-that our inner man is renewed day by day. Inner man - the inward, nonphysical, spiritual self. The redeemed man. The Spirit-supported self. Synonyms in this section - "a building from God, a house not made with hands" (2Co 5:1). Compare "the hidden person of the heart" (1Pe 3:4-note). Not only is Christ in us (Col 1:27-note), but our now "life is hidden with Christ in God." (Col 3:3-note). Paul uses a similar expression in Romans where he declares... For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, (Ro 7:22-note) Adam Clarke says the inner man is... which cannot be felt or seen by others, is renewed—is revived, and receives a daily increase of light and life from God, so that we grow more holy, more happy, and more meet for glory every day. H A Ironside on the inner man... The inward man is...the real man, regenerated by the power of the Holy Ghost. The body gets weaker and weaker, but the inward man gets stronger and stronger. The nearer we get to heaven, the more real the precious things of the Lord become to us. I think Bunyan’s picture is a very lovely one. He saw the aged saints lying on the shores of the river of life in the land of Beulah, and they could get glimpses every now and then of the glory of the celestial city. At times they could actually see the shining ones from the other side, and at others they thought they could even hear the voices of the saints and their songs of praise. I think the aged know much of that. God’s saints who have lived for Him through the years, and now have gotten very close to the end of this life, already seem to get the sounds and sights from the celestial city yonder to which they are going; and be assured that these things will become more and more real to you the closer you get to the end. "At eventide, it shall be light." OLDER ON THE OUTSIDE YOUNGER ON THE INSIDE! Being renewed - The process of inner renewal parallels the ongoing process of external decay. Wuest paraphrases it "being changed into a new kind of life (fit for the new spiritual existence into which we have been ushered in salvation, and constantly being conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus)" This process of renewal begins with our new birth or regeneration and is consummated at our glorification. Colin Kruse The best commentary on the strengthening of the inner nature is found in the prayer of Ephesians 3:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. There the inner nature is to be strengthened when by the Spirit it is indwelt by Christ and rooted and grounded in the love of God. (Tyndale Commentaries - 2 Corinthians: Colin Kruse. IVP, 2008) ESV Study Bible comments that this section refers to the weakening of the physical body in contrast with the strengthening of the spirit, and also assumes a contrast between Paul’s life of suffering in this present evil age (his outer self) and the moral and spiritual transformation of his life into the image of God as seen in Christ (his inner self; see 2Cor 3:18). Henry Alford - writes that renewal refers to our spiritual life, the life which testifies the life of Jesus, even in our mortal bodies (2Co 4:11), is continually fed with fresh accessions of grace. Vincent... Stanley cites a line attributed to Michael Angelo: “The more the marble wastes the more the statue grows.” Compare Euripides: “Time does not depress your spirit, but it grows young again: your body, however, is weak” (“Heraclidae, ” 702, 703). Wiersbe Of itself, suffering will not make us holier men and women. Unless we yield to the Lord, turn to His Word, and trust Him to work, our suffering could make us far worse Christians. In my own pastoral ministry, I have seen some of God's people grow critical and bitter, and go from bad to worse instead of "from glory to glory." Barnes on being renewed... Is renovated, strengthened, invigorated. His powers of mind expanded; his courage became bolder; he had clearer views of truth; he had more faith in God. As he drew nearer to the grave and to heaven, his soul was more raised above the world, and he was more filled with the joys and triumphs of the gospel. The understanding and the heart did not sympathize with the suffering and decaying body; but, while that became feeble, the soul acquired new strength, and was fitting for its flight to the eternal world. John Gill... the internal hidden man of the heart, the new man is in a prosperous condition; our souls are in good health; the work of God is comfortably carried on in us; we have sweet and repeated experiences of the love of God; we are growing in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ; and, like the palm tree, the more weight is hung upon it, the more it thrives; and, like the children of Israel in Egypt, the more they were afflicted the more they grew. Dan Mitchell writes that... People who have walked with the Lord many years have an inner beauty that transcends the transient beauty of the flesh. Peter speaks of this when he admonishes women. "And let not your adornment be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1Pe 3:3, 4). (AMG 21st Century Biblical New Testament Commentary - 2Corinthians - Grace Under Siege) Caird explains this renewal process But it is a secret process, invisible both to the outsider and to the believer himself, known only to faith. To protect that faith from the encroachments of pride, which would turn spiritual renewal into a human achievement instead of accepting it as a gift of grace, God has provided that the process be concealed within an ‘earthenware vessel,’ a perishable body subject to pain and decay (2Co 4:7; cp. 2Co 12:7, 8, 9). Those whose eyes are not on the seen and transient, but on the unseen and eternal, can detect beneath the decay of the outer nature an inner life which is being daily renewed (2Co 4:16–18). (G. B. Caird, Paul’s Letters from Prison, New Clarendon Bible) Tony Evans... GOD designed your life as a Christian to get younger on the inside as you get older on the outside.

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Decay (destroy) (1311) diaphtheiro

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