Evil (5337) phaulos by Greek Word Studies

Bad (5337) (phaulos) means worthless, corrupt, good–for–nothing, depraved, mediocre, unimportant, of no account, vile, evil, wicked, foul, depraved. Worthlessness is the central notion (see Trench below). The word indicates the impossibility of any true gain ever coming forth. Phaulos is used 6 times in the NAS -Jn. 3:20; 5:29; Ro. 9:11; 2Co. 5:10; Titus 2:8; Jas. 3:16 and is rendered as bad, 3; evil, 3. Phaulos is used 8x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Job 6:3, 25; 9:23; Pr. 5:3; 13:6; 16:21; 22:8; 29:9 Phaulos pertains to being low-grade or morally substandard and thus base. It means being relatively inferior in quality. Jesus used phaulos when He declared that "everyone who does evil (phaulos - Marvin Vincent says "evil...considered on the side of worthlessness) hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." (Jn 3:20) Jesus speaking of two general resurrections (believers and non-believers), declared that they "will come forth those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life (and) those who committed the evil (in the sense of worthless) deeds to a resurrection of judgment" (Jn 5:29) Jesus was not teaching justification by works. In context, "good" is believing on the Son so as to receive a new nature that produces good, worthwhile works, while the "evil" done is to reject the Son (the unsaved) and hate the light which has the result of evil or worthless deeds. Vine adds that phaulos refers "primarily denotes slight, trivial, blown about by every wind; then, mean, common, bad, in the sense of being worthless, paltry or contemptible, belonging to a low order of things." (Vine, W. Vine's Expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words). Trench explains that "there are words in most languages, and phaulos is one of them, which contemplate evil under another aspect, not so much that either of active or passive malignity, but that rather of its good-for-nothingness, the impossibility of any true gain ever coming forth from it...This notion of worthlessness is the central notion of phaulos... which in Greek runs successively through the following meanings,—light, unstable, blown about by every wind..., small, slight, mediocre, of no account, worthless, bad; but still bad predominantly in the sense of worthless" Trench goes on to mention some secular uses that illustrate the intent of phaulos: "phaule auletris (Plato, Conv. 215 c), a bad flute-player; phaulos zographos (Plutarch, De Adul. et Am. 6), a bad painter." (Bolding added) (Trench, R. C. Synonyms of the New Testament. Hendrickson Publishers. 2000) Paul uses phaulos to remind believers that they will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ...each one (will) be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (phaulos). (2Cor 5:10) The idea is not that God will reward us for the good things we did and punish us for the bad things we did. He will rather reward us for the worthwhile things we did and not reward us for the worthless things we did. The believer’s sins per se will not be brought into review for judgment at this solemn time. That judgment took place some 2000 years ago, when the Lord Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree, paying the price in full. In summary, in (2Cor 5:10) phaulos describes deeds that have no possibility of procuring any eternal gain and thus are designated and deemed "worthless". ><>><>><> Titus 2:8 Some Talk About Talk - A man attended a meeting where the guest lecturer was extremely long-winded. When the listener could stand it no longer, he got up and slipped out a side door. In the corridor he met a friend who asked, "Has he finished yet?" "Yes," the man replied, "he's been through for a long time, but he's not aware of it. He simply won't stop!" The idea of coming to the point and saying something worthwhile is also good counsel for us as we talk with others each day. If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that much of our conversation is nothing more than empty talk. The Lord Jesus warned, "For every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment" (Mt. 12:36). Pause a minute and think about what your usual conversation is like. What is the subject of most of your discussions? Do you talk too much and not give opportunity for others to speak? Is your speech profitable to others? And above all, do your words glorify God? The Lord can enable you to speak words that build up others and don't just fill the air. Today, make these words of David your prayer: "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips" (Ps. 141:3). -- Richard W. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) How easy it is to use many words And give little thought to the things you say! So, willingly yield your lips to the Lord And hearts will be blest by them every day.-- Dennis J. De Haan

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Evil (5337) phaulos

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