Gifts (1390) doma by Greek Word Studies

Gifts (1390) (doma from didomi) is a word that means present or gift but which lends greater emphasis to the character of the gift. For example, in secular Greek doma was used of a thing given, as in a medical dose. Doma can mean a gift as such without any benefit necessarily derived from it. Vine explains that doma... lends greater stress to the concrete character of the gift, than to its beneficent nature Doma in this verse is in plural (domata) and refers to the actual gifts which prove Christ’s generous character (cf, dorea in Ephesians 4:7). Doma is far more common in the Septuagint (LXX) being found some 58 times (Gen. 25:6; 47:22; Exod. 28:38; Lev. 7:30; 23:38; Num. 3:9; 18:6-7, 11, 29; 27:7; 28:2; Deut. 12:11; 23:23; 1 Sam. 18:25; 19.42" class="scriptRef">2 Sam. 19:42; 1 Ki. 13:7; 2 Chr. 2:10; 17:11; 21:3; 31.14" class="scriptRef">31:14; 32:23; Est. 1:1; Ps. 68:18; Pr. 18:16; 19:17; Eccl. 3:13; 5:1, 19; Ezek. 20:26, 31; 46:5, 16f; Dan. 2:6, 48; 5:17; Hos. 9:1; 10:6; Mal. 1:3) Doma except in Eph. 4:8, is used of human gifts in the only other NT uses... Matthew 7:11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Comment: here doma refers to a good gift from man to man irrespective of the character of the giver which may be evil.) Luke 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" In Philippians 4 Paul uses doma to refer to the material gifts the Philippians repeatedly sent him for his needs writing... Not that I seek the gift (doma) itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account (See note Philippians 4:17) To men (444) (anthropos) to those men and women who compose the Church. Ephesians 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? (NASB: Lockman) Greek: {to de Anebe (3SAAI) ti estin (3SPAI) ei me oti kai katebe (3SAAI) eis ta katotera [mere] tes ges? Amplified: [But He ascended?] Now what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had previously descended from [the heights of] heaven into [the depths], the lower parts of the earth? (Amplified Bible - Lockman) NLT: Notice that it says "he ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: (Note the implication here - to say that Christ "ascended" means that he must previously have "descended", that is from the height of Heaven to the depth of this world. (Phillips: Touchstone) Wuest: Now, the fact that He ascended, what is it except that also He descended into the nether parts of the earth? (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: (Now this "re-ascended" —what does it mean but that He had first descended into the lower regions of the earth? (NOW THIS EXPRESSION "HE ASCENDED": to de Anebe (3SAAI): (Proverbs 30:4; John 3:13; 6:33,62; 20:17; Acts 2:34-36) He ascended - Refers of course to Jesus Christ, these verses (4:9-10) serving as parenthesis explaining "He ascended" in the prior verse and proving that only Christ fits the description. Ascended (305) (anabaino from aná = up + baíno = to go) means to go up and here describes Jesus ascending on high (into heaven). Disciple's Study Bible notes that... The ascent/descent idea about Jesus--God's Son from heaven coming to earth, descending even to hell and rising above all creation to God's heaven--is a marvelous way of expressing in spatial terms the thoroughness of Christ's redemption. (Disciple's Study Bible) WHAT DOES IT MEAN EXCEPT THAT HE ALSO HAD DESCENDED INTO THE LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH?: ti estin (3SPAI) ei me oti kai katebe (3SAAI) eis ta katotera [mere] tes ges: (Genesis 11:5; 9.20" class="scriptRef">Exodus 19:20; John 6:33,38,41,51,58; 8:14; 16:27,28) (Psalms 8:5; 63:9; 139:15; Matthew 12:40; Hebrews 2:7,9) He also descended into the lower parts of the earth - the interpretations include descent to Hades (Sheol), descent to the grave, or descent to earth (incarnation). Descent into Hades is the view held by the early church fathers but which is less popular with modern evangelical commentators. Ryrie comments that the lower parts... Could mean that Christ descended into Hades between His death and resurrection. Or, more likely, "of the earth" is better understood as an appositional phrase, meaning that Christ descended (at His incarnation) into the lower parts (of the universe), namely, the earth. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers) Henry Morris makes an interesting point explaining that... The ascending Lord was not merely ascending back from the earth, but from "the lower parts of the earth." This somewhat enigmatic geographical reference could, by itself, perhaps refer to the deep ocean bottom, but this would not yield captives. More likely it refers to the great pit at the center of the earth, indicated in the Bible as the prison confining the souls of the dead, the place called Sheol in the Old Testament Hebrew and Hades in the Greek New Testament, but often translated "hell" in the King James Version. One of Christ's purposes when He came to earth was "to preach deliverance to the captives, and...to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke 4:18). This statement of Jesus is taken from Isaiah 61:1, where it reads "...to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." When Christ died on the cross, He in the Spirit "went and preached unto the spirits in prison" (1Peter 3:19). The word "preached" can be better translated "proclaimed"--that is, proclaimed His victory over Satan. Christ had said prophetically (Psalm 16:10), "thou wilt not leave [abandon] my soul in hell" (see note 1Peter 3:19). He returned from Hades with "the keys of hell and of death" (Re 1:18-note), bringing "captivity captive" with Him as He returned. His spirit returned to His body resting in Joseph's tomb, and He arose from the dead, alive forever more. The souls of those who had died in faith came with Him from their resting place in Hades in "Abraham's bosom" (Luke 16:22), and then, in a mighty miracle, "the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose" (Matthew 27:52). With the thief on the cross who had also believed, the Lord then presumably took them all with Him into "paradise, the third heaven" (43" class="scriptRef">Luke 23:43; 2Cor 12:2,4), where they will remain with the Lord until He comes to earth again with them and with the souls of all who have died as Christian believers since that time (1Th 3:13; 4:14). (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing) Those who favor this section as a reference to Christ descending into Hades associate this Ephesians passage with the passage in Peter which says... in which (Jesus alive in the spirit) also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison (See comments 1 Peter 3:19) Comment: It must be stated that the interpretation of this passage in 1Peter is very controversial and there are some excellent evangelical commentators who don't interpret this as Christ descending to Hades. Click here for more discussion of this difficult passage Ephesians 4:9 is a much debated passage and the NET Bible note summarizes the most likely interpretations (the first two being the most commonly mentioned by conservative writers) of the lower parts of the earth... (1) The traditional view understands it as a reference to the underworld (hell), where Jesus is thought to have descended in the three days between his death and resurrection. In this case, “of the earth” would be a partitive genitive. (2) A second option is to translate the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition: “to the lower parts, namely, the earth” (as in the present translation). Many recent scholars hold this view and argue that it is a reference to the incarnation. (3) A third option, which also sees the phrase “of the earth” as a genitive of apposition, is that the descent in the passage occurs after the ascent rather than before it, and refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Acts 4:11-16). Support for this latter view is found in the intertestamental and rabbinic use of Ps 68:18 (quoted in Eph 4:8), which is consistently and solely interpreted as a reference to Moses’ ascent of Mt. Sinai to “capture” the words of the law. The probability, therefore, is that the comments here in v. 9 reflect a polemic against the interpretation of Ps 68:18 in certain circles as a reference to Moses. (NET Bible) Descended (2597) (katabaino from katá = down + baíno = go) means to come or go down or to descend from a higher to a lower place. A T Robertson notes that... If the anabas is the Ascension of Christ, then the katabas would be the Descent (Incarnation) to earth and tēs gēs would be the genitive of apposition. What follows in verse 10 argues for this view. Otherwise one must think of the death of Christ (the descent into Hades of Acts 2:31). (see note Ephesians 1:20) Lower (2737) (katoteros) means the lower region or lower parts. This verse marks the only Scriptural use of katoteros. Parts (3313) (meros) means a division, region or portion. Earth (1093) (ge) refers to soil (as distinct from the sea), to the solid part or to the entire globe. Lower parts of the earth - this phase is not without some controversy among conservative, evangelical sources. Even the rendering of the translations reflects this difference of opinion. Literally Paul writes that Jesus went down into (eis) the lower parts or regions of the earth Now, read the NIV and the NLT to determine where Christ descended... (What does "He ascended" mean except that He also descended to the lower, earthly regions? (NIV) Notice that it says "He ascended." This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. (NLT) Clearly from a simple reading of these two translations (neither of which is literal), one would arrive at the interpretation that this verse speaks of Christ's incarnation, thus describing His descent from His Father's side down to the "earthly regions" (NIV) or "the lowly world in which we live" (NLT) as the God-Man. Now look at how this same passage is rendered in the following (more literal) translations... (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? (KJV) [But He ascended?] Now what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had previously descended from [the heights of] heaven into [the depths], the lower parts of the earth? (Amplified) These renderings suggest that Christ's descent was to the "lower parts of the earth" which has been traditionally interpreted as Hades (Sheol). Regarding the interpretation of this verse as a reference to Hades (Sheol is the OT counterpart), Peter in his first post-Pentecostal sermon quotes from David's Psalm 16 (a Messianic Psalm) and makes reference to Hades Luke recording... Acts 2:27 BECAUSE THOU WILT NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW THY HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 28 'THOU HAST MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; THOU WILT MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH THY PRESENCE.' 29 "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (Peter's point is that this remarkable prophecy of Messiah's resurrection was not fulfilled by David) 30 And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS UPON HIS THRONE (in 2Sa 7:11-16 God made a covenant with David which ultimately was also a prophecy of the Messiah - see 2Chr 21:7 where word "covenant" is used) 31 he (David, the prophet = literally one who tells beforehand) looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. In 1 Peter there is another passage that refers to the events surrounding Christ's death on the Cross and which helps understand the phrase He also descended into the lower parts of the earth... 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation (not the verb used to preach the gospel) to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. (See notes 1 Peter 3:18; 3:19;1 3:20) What Peter is saying is that between His death on Calvary and His resurrection, Jesus was physically dead but spiritually alive. During these three days Jesus also "went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison" and this could be interpreted as a explanation of He also descended into the lower parts of the earth. At this time Jesus proclaimed His victory over the demonic spirits who were in Hades (Sheol being the OT synonym), which was the place of the departed dead. When Christ descended to Sheol, He proclaimed His victory, because as Paul records in Colossians... When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (See notes Colossians 2:15) John MacArthur after acknowledging that Peter is undoubtedly speaking of Jesus' descent to Hades, notes that it is less certain that these passages in Ephesians 4 are a definite description of the same event that Peter describes. MacArthur emphasizes that... Paul’s point in Ephesians 4:8-10 is to explain that Jesus’ paying the infinite price of coming to earth and suffering death on our behalf qualified Him to be exalted above all the heavens (that is, to the throne of God), in order that He might rightfully have the authority to give gifts to His saints. By that victory He gained the right to rule His church and to give gifts to His church, that He might fill all things. (MacArthur, J: Ephesians. Chicago: Moody Press) Ephesians 4:10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) (NASB: Lockman) Greek: o katabas (AAPMSN) autos estin (3SPAI) kai o anabas (AAPMSN) huperano panton ton ouranon, hina plerose (3SAAS) ta panta.} Amplified: He Who descended is the [very] same as He Who also has ascended high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] might fill all things (the whole universe, from the lowest to the highest). (Amplified Bible - Lockman) NLT: The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe. (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: The one who made this descent is identically the same person as he who has now ascended high above the very Heavens - that the whole universe from lowest to highest might know his presence.) (Phillips: Touchstone) Wuest: The One who descended himself is also the One who ascended above all the heavens, in order that He might fill all things. (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: He who descended is the same as He who ascended again far above all the Heavens in order to fill the universe.) HE WHO DESCENDED IS HIMSELF ALSO HE WHO ASCENDED FAR ABOVE ALL THE HEAVENS: o katabas (AAPMSN) autos estin (3SPAI) kai o anabas (AAPMSN) huperano panton ton ouranon: (Ep 1:20, 21, 22, 23; Acts 1:9,11; 1Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:14; 7:26; 8:1; 9:23,24) (Ep 3:19; John 1:16; Acts 2:33; Colossians 1:19; 2:9) Descended (2597) (katabaino from katá = down + baíno = go) means to come or go down or to descend from a higher to a lower place. Himself (846) (autos) sets Jesus apart from anyone and everyone else in regard to His descent and ascent. He is unique. Ascended (305) (anabaino from aná = up + baíno = to go) means to go up and here describes Jesus ascending on high (into heaven). MacDonald summarizes this section writing that... The central thought in verses 8–10 is that the Giver of the gifts is the ascended Christ. There were no such gifts before He went back to heaven. Far above (5231) (huperano from hupér = above + áno = up, upwards) indicating that after His incarnation and crucifixion, Christ then ascended higher than all the heavens. All the heavens - Paul himself had ascended to the third heaven (2Cor 12:2) (See discussion of Third Heaven: What is the third heaven?) All (3956) (pas) means all without exception. Paul's point is clearly to emphasize the supremacy of Christ. (See notes on parallel teaching in Ephesians 1:20; 1:21; 1:22; 1:23) Clearly this position would place all powers subject to Him. Heavens (3772) (ouranos) means sky and by extension heaven, the over-arching, all-embracing heaven beneath which is the earth and all that is therein. Morris has an interesting comment writing that... Jesus, in pre-incarnate theophanies, had previously "ascended up to heaven" and come "down from heaven," even while remaining "in heaven" (John 3:13 "And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man."). Now, however, He "ascended up far above all heavens"--above the atmosphere, above the stars, even above the third heaven of paradise, "that he might fill all things." He is Creator and Redeemer of the entire universe, omnipresent in the Spirit, even though residing at the right hand of the Father in His glorified human body. (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing) SO THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS: hina plerose (3SAAS) ta panta: (Eph 3:19; John 1:16; Acts 2:33; Colossians 1:19; 2:9) (Matthew 24:34; Luke 24:44; John 19:24,28,36; Acts 3:18; 13:32,33; Romans 9:25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30; 15:9, 10, 11, 12, 13; 16:25,26) As we close on this parenthetical section, Eph 4:8-10, remember that although the descent and especially the meaning of the lower parts has received a great deal of discussion, Paul's main emphasis is on the ascension of Christ, for this results in His bestowal of gifts. Let us continually major on the major ideas and not on the minors, lest we miss the reason Paul added this parenthesis. This passage parallels Paul's teaching in chapter 1 where he writes that the working of God's mighty power is that power... which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all. (See notes Ephesians 1:20; 1:21; 1:22; 1:23) This passage also helps understand Paul's statement regarding... the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. (See note Ephesians 1:10) Wayne Barber writes... His power and presence now fill all the universe and all things. He fills it. It is there. Do you know how it is manifested? Through the people of God who have tapped into the divine ability of His Spirit working in them. The church is the body of Christ, the dwelling of God in the Spirit, people with gifts to minister to that body. Do you realize that the very moment you get in touch with your gifts and start living, you are preserving the unity of the body? The only unity we have is the unity that the Spirit produces when we are being filled and controlled by the Spirit of God. Otherwise, we are tearing the ligaments and have no clue about what oneness is all about. What you think about the unity of the Spirit dictates the way you live. So that (2443) (hina) introduces a purpose clause.

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Gifts (1390) doma

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