[B-Greek] Colossians 1:10

Webb webb at selftest.net
Mon Jan 8 17:00:10 EST 2007


Dear Daniel,

PERIPATHSAI AXIWS TOU KURIOU EIS PASAN ARESKEIAN EN PANTI ERGWi AGAQWi
KARPOFOROUNTES KAI AUXANOMENOI THi EPIGNWSEI TOU QEOU 

I prefer your option 2:

2 - We are to bear fruit *by doing* every (i.e., each kind of) good work

You ask, Can we pick and choose which good work we want to do, so long as
it bears fruit? 

I don't think that's what Paul is saying. I think he's saying that the
community should collectively bear every variety of good fruit, as each
member does their particular variety of good work and so bears their
particular variety of good fruit. The good works and the fruit-bearing are
synonymous, rather than the latter being consequent upon the former. The
good news bears fruit (see Col. 1:6) in people when they live it out.

Notice that bearing fruit (KARPOFOREW) and growing (AUXANW) are connected
plant metaphors, and one's fruit-bearing in good works is connected to one's
growth in the knowledge of God. So practical living out of the principles of
the good news, and thus living in a manner worthy of the Lord, is the
mechanism through which we grow in knowledge of God.

Webb Mealy





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