by Kevin Cauley

Greek prepositions usually merit their own major section of discussion in the syntax of most Greek grammars. They merit such discussion due to their multifaceted nature. The Greek preposition is one of the Swiss army knives in the Greek language; one preposition may have multiple uses. The Greek reader must carefully consider the context in which the preposition is used and correctly apply the proper usage if he is to get all there is out of reading the text. In our discussion this week, we will look at one particularly special nuance of the Greek preposition KATA.

KATA may take two cases depending upon how it is used. With the genitive case, KATA can mean "against," "down," or it can intensify the meaning of something as to it's depth (such as in 2 Corinthians 8:2). With the accusative case, KATA may represent ownership, authorship, or repetition (distribution). It is sometimes translated "according to" with this case. It is the last use of KATA, the distributive use, which we will focus upon here.

When the distributive KATA is used, the idea of repetition is involved, usually with reference to people, times, or places. The word "every" is a good word to use in reference to this preposition. For example, in Matthew 27:15 (and in the parallel in Mark 15:6) we have the distributive use of KATA. The ASV text says, "Now at the feast the governor was wont to release unto the multitude one prisoner, whom they would." The word KATA occurs early in the sentence. It is translated here by the word "at." However, when taking the distributive use of the preposition KATA into account here, we would more accurately translate the sentence, "Now at every feast…." The idea is that this was a repeated event. That it wasn't just at this feast, but was customary at all of the feasts to release a prisoner.

Another rather obvious example is in Mark 14:19 where the disciples question Jesus "one by one." The word translated "by" in this verse is KATA. The distributive sense can be seen clearly in this passage.

Romans 12:5 is also another good example. "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." Each individual member is part of the body of Christ.

Perhaps one of the most significant uses of the distributive KATA is found in 1 Corinthians 16:2: "Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." You may think that the word "each" in this verse is KATA, but it isn't. The word KATA is translated "upon" in this verse. The idea is upon every first day of the week, the church was to take up this collection. The implication is obvious. The church met every first day of the week and this was the time at which Paul instructed them to take up their contribution.

Other examples of the distributive use of KATA can be found in Luke 8:1, 4, 9:6, 13:22, Acts 8:3, 13:27, 15:21, 15:36, 17:17, 20:23, 22:19, 24:5, 24:12, 26:11, Titus 1:5, Hebrews 9:5, and Revelation 22:2. A good exercise would be to see if you can spot the distributive KATA in these verses.

by Don Ruhl

Read First Thessalonians Chapter 5

Let the church hear what the Holy Spirit says about our treatment of church leaders, that is, if we want to live in peace.

12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves (1 The. 5:12, 13, NKJV).

It is God's will that there be men who are over us in the Lord. Therefore, if we wish to please God, we will listen to what He says in this passage, even if the men over us are imperfect. If we do so, we will be pursuing the path that leads to peace among ourselves.

by Don Ruhl

Read Isaiah 50-52

A perpetual problem of Israel's in the Old Testament is failing to believe that God can help. Therefore, Israel often runs to other nations or other gods for help. This is what He says in response,

2b Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink because there is no water, And die of thirst. (Isa. 50:2b, NKJV).

God creates the earth in the beginning, and covers it completely with water. By His word, the dry land appears, making that soil, which was under the sea, suddenly dry. Later, He floods the entire globe, then He issues the command, and dry land appears again. He brings Israel to the Red Sea, and guess what He does? Yes, He makes a dry path for the nation to walk across. Forty years later, Israel comes to the Jordan River and do you know what the Great God of Heaven does? He stops the water upstream, allowing Israel to walk across on dry ground. Elijah and Elisha centuries later come to the Jordan River, and again, the Magnificent Lord parts the waters, allowing those two prophets to walk across on dry ground. After God takes Elijah up into heaven, Elisha comes to the Jordan River again, and still another time, Yahweh God makes it possible for this man to walk on dry ground.

Oh, but all of a sudden, you and I have situations with which the Lord of all creation cannot help! Think about it today.

by Don Ruhl

Read Isaiah 53-55

Your relationship with God will get frustrating real quick, if you expect Him to think as you do. Here is why.

8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD. (Isa. 55:8, NKJV).

Therefore, we abandon our thinking and expectations, and take on His thinking and expectations. It makes life easier. Initially, this seems to be a bad thing, but if you do it, you will see that most of life becomes understandable in a way that you never imagined before. Life, and your life, makes sense when you turn your thinking over to Him and take on His thinking.

When you have expectations today, check to see if they are in harmony with God's expectations. If you find yourself out of harmony with His ways, change and see what happens.

by Michael E. Brooks

"One of them, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true'" (Titus 1:12,13a).

Daniel Regmi, a preacher from western Nepal who helped coordinate a recent campaign in the city of Narayanghad, shared with me some of the difficulties he experienced in making arrangements. We invited a number of Christians from some of the poorer "jungle" villages for these lessons and he had trouble finding hotels and restaurants that would accommodate them. "Those kind of people eat too much" was one complaint heard repeatedly. Another was, "those village people are dirty and damage our rooms and furniture."

I was reminded of Paul's frank assessment of the people to whom he had sent Titus to minister. "Know those with whom you are working," he seems to be warning. "Don't expect more of them than they are likely to produce." This should not be read as a condemnation of all Cretans, or even a negative assessment of the potential of the Church in Crete. Paul's writings are too optimistic and too filled with his conviction of the power of the Gospel for us to reach that conclusion. Rather he is telling Titus that there are built-in obstacles to his work, and he must be careful to properly identify them so that his work might be successful. So, as we talk with neighbors and friends about the Gospel, we too should be realistic about who they are, and what difficulties we must overcome in reaching them. This evaluation is not to "write them off" or to discourage us, but to realistically plan our approach and prepare us for success.

Having said that, it is also important that we not be the prisoners of our stereotypes. We would assume that not every single Cretan was a liar, an evil beast, and a lazy glutton. These were apparently general characteristics describing the culture of Crete. That does not mean that those characteristics were inherent in every citizen. So in Nepal, not every villager eats huge amounts, or practices poor hygiene. More importantly, no villager is predestined to those traits or unable to be taught to change his habits. Stereotypes are common, and it is unfortunately also common for us to impulsively apply them to people whose true characteristics we do not know. Blonde hair does not mean lack of intelligence. A southern drawl does not prove ignorance. A French accent does not establish arrogance. We must be careful not to let our pre-suppositions prejudice us against anyone. Rather we should approach every person with open minds and sincere hearts, prepared to love our neighbor as ourselves.