Nothing?

[charityagape]

Has anyone ever noticed..........well first here is a favorite verse of mine;

Luke 1:37 "For nothing will be impossible with God."

Nothing means? Well usually no thing, right? Or something that doesn't exist or something unimportant or trivial.

Well I was studying and came across the word nothing here, its the Greek work rhema, the only rhema translated as the word nothing.

For an update rhema means;



that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word

any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning
speech, discourse

what one has said


a series of words joined together into a sentence (a declaration of one's mind made in words)

an utterance
a saying of any sort as a message, a narrative 1c


concerning some occurrence


subject matter of speech, thing spoken of

so far forth as it is a matter of narration
so far as it is a matter of command
a matter of dispute, case at law





Who already knew about this word usage? Does it change what you thought about the verse? What DOES this verse mean to you?

[charityagape]

Oops, I meant this to be in the main forum.

[Mark2010]

Very interesting. Does the definition change things?

I imagine we could put together a list of things that are impossible, under any circumstances.

[JimfromOhio]

Every act of giving on God's part (grace) and every gift He gives is sufficient, lacking nothing, beneficial, and complete. Spiritual faith is so different than human faith, saving faith can only come from the Holy Spirit. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Your salvation is nothing you have achieved by your good works (human decisions). Without God's grace, we ARE NOTHING except worthy of going through the WIDE GATE of hell.

[Jimbeaux]

That is interesting, CA. :thumbsup:

But that would make the sentence say “For rhema will be impossible with God.”

In these cases I always appeal to honored scholars of biblical languages, like W.E. Vine, who understand the nuances, sentence structures, idioms, verb tenses, et.al. of NT Greek. Vine gives us this explanation:
Rhema denotes "that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or writing;" in the singular, "a word," e.g., Mt. 12:36; 27:14; 2Co. 12:4; 13:1; Heb. 12:19; in the plural, speech, discourse, e.g., Joh. 3:34; 8:20; Ac. 2:14; 6:11,13; 11:14; 13:42; 26:25; Ro. 10:18; 2Pe. 3:2; Jude. 1:17; it is used of the Gospel in Ro. 10:8 (twice),17, RV, "the word of Christ" (i.e., the "word" which preaches Christ); 10:18; 1Pe. 1:25 (twice); of a statement, command, instruction, e.g., Mt. 26:75; Lu. 1:37, "(no) word (from God shall be void of power);" Lu. 1:38; Ac. 11:16; Heb. 11:3. The significance of rhema (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," Eph. 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture. Notes: (1) Epos, "a word," is used in a phrase in Heb. 7:9, lit., "(as to say) a word," RV, "(so to) say," AV, "(as I may so) say;" logos is reasoned speech, rhema, an utterance, epos, "the articulated expression of a thought" (Abbott-Smith). (2) In Ro. 16:18, AV, chrestologia, "useful discourse" (chrestos, "beneficial"), is rendered "good words" [RV, "smooth ... (speech)"]. (3) For logikos, 1Pe. 2:2 (RV, "spiritual"), rendered "of the word," AV, see MILK. (4) For the verb apangello, rendered "to bring word," see BRING, No. 36. (5) In Mt. 2:13, AV, eipon, "to tell" (RV) is rendered "bring ... word." (6) For "enticing words," Col. 2:4, see ENTICE and PERSUASIVENESS. (7) For "strifes of words," 1Ti. 6:4, AV, and "strive ... about words," 2Ti. 2:14, see STRIFE, STRIVE. (8) For suntomos, Ac. 24:4, "a few words," see FEW, B. For the same phrase see FEW, A, Nos. 1 and 2. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)
The good ol’ Amplified Version allows for Vine’s translation of Luke 1.37 …
For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.
~Jim


The Bible is so simple you have to have help to misunderstand it.

[TheBloodOfJesus]

ISV is closest:
International Standard Version (http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/1.htm) (©2008) (http://isv.org/)
"Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God's promises."

[Jimbeaux]

ISV is closest:
International Standard Version (http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/1.htm) (©2008) (http://isv.org/)
"Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God's promises."

With all due respect, how do you know? Are you fluent in NT Greek?

~Jim

The Bible is so simple you have to have help to misunderstand it.

[TheBloodOfJesus]

Actually I like this better!
That is interesting, CA. :thumbsup:

But that would make the sentence say “For rhema will be impossible with God.”

In these cases I always appeal to honored scholars of biblical languages, like W.E. Vine, who understand the nuances, sentence structures, idioms, verb tenses, et.al. of NT Greek. Vine gives us this explanation:
Rhema denotes "that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or writing;" in the singular, "a word," e.g., Mt. 12:36; 27:14; 2Co. 12:4; 13:1; Heb. 12:19; in the plural, speech, discourse, e.g., Joh. 3:34; 8:20; Ac. 2:14; 6:11,13; 11:14; 13:42; 26:25; Ro. 10:18; 2Pe. 3:2; Jude. 1:17; it is used of the Gospel in Ro. 10:8 (twice),17, RV, "the word of Christ" (i.e., the "word" which preaches Christ); 10:18; 1Pe. 1:25 (twice); of a statement, command, instruction, e.g., Mt. 26:75; Lu. 1:37, "(no) word (from God shall be void of power);" Lu. 1:38; Ac. 11:16; Heb. 11:3. The significance of rhema (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," Eph. 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture. Notes: (1) Epos, "a word," is used in a phrase in Heb. 7:9, lit., "(as to say) a word," RV, "(so to) say," AV, "(as I may so) say;" logos is reasoned speech, rhema, an utterance, epos, "the articulated expression of a thought" (Abbott-Smith). (2) In Ro. 16:18, AV, chrestologia, "useful discourse" (chrestos, "beneficial"), is rendered "good words" [RV, "smooth ... (speech)"]. (3) For logikos, 1Pe. 2:2 (RV, "spiritual"), rendered "of the word," AV, see MILK. (4) For the verb apangello, rendered "to bring word," see BRING, No. 36. (5) In Mt. 2:13, AV, eipon, "to tell" (RV) is rendered "bring ... word." (6) For "enticing words," Col. 2:4, see ENTICE and PERSUASIVENESS. (7) For "strifes of words," 1Ti. 6:4, AV, and "strive ... about words," 2Ti. 2:14, see STRIFE, STRIVE. (8) For suntomos, Ac. 24:4, "a few words," see FEW, B. For the same phrase see FEW, A, Nos. 1 and 2. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)
The good ol’ Amplified Version allows for Vine’s translation of Luke 1.37 …
For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.
~Jim



The Bible is so simple you have to have help to misunderstand it.

[charityagape]

That is interesting, CA. :thumbsup:

But that would make the sentence say “For rhema will be impossible with God.”

In these cases I always appeal to honored scholars of biblical languages, like W.E. Vine, who understand the nuances, sentence structures, idioms, verb tenses, et.al. of NT Greek. Vine gives us this explanation:Rhema denotes "that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or writing;" in the singular, "a word," e.g., Mt. 12:36; 27:14; 2Co. 12:4; 13:1; Heb. 12:19; in the plural, speech, discourse, e.g., Joh. 3:34; 8:20; Ac. 2:14; 6:11,13; 11:14; 13:42; 26:25; Ro. 10:18; 2Pe. 3:2; Jude. 1:17; it is used of the Gospel in Ro. 10:8 (twice),17, RV, "the word of Christ" (i.e., the "word" which preaches Christ); 10:18; 1Pe. 1:25 (twice); of a statement, command, instruction, e.g., Mt. 26:75; Lu. 1:37, "(no) word (from God shall be void of power);" Lu. 1:38; Ac. 11:16; Heb. 11:3. The significance of rhema (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," Eph. 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture. Notes: (1) Epos, "a word," is used in a phrase in Heb. 7:9, lit., "(as to say) a word," RV, "(so to) say," AV, "(as I may so) say;" logos is reasoned speech, rhema, an utterance, epos, "the articulated expression of a thought" (Abbott-Smith). (2) In Ro. 16:18, AV, chrestologia, "useful discourse" (chrestos, "beneficial"), is rendered "good words" [RV, "smooth ... (speech)"]. (3) For logikos, 1Pe. 2:2 (RV, "spiritual"), rendered "of the word," AV, see MILK. (4) For the verb apangello, rendered "to bring word," see BRING, No. 36. (5) In Mt. 2:13, AV, eipon, "to tell" (RV) is rendered "bring ... word." (6) For "enticing words," Col. 2:4, see ENTICE and PERSUASIVENESS. (7) For "strifes of words," 1Ti. 6:4, AV, and "strive ... about words," 2Ti. 2:14, see STRIFE, STRIVE. (8) For suntomos, Ac. 24:4, "a few words," see FEW, B. For the same phrase see FEW, A, Nos. 1 and 2. (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)
The good ol’ Amplified Version allows for Vine’s translation of Luke 1.37 …For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.
~Jim


The Bible is so simple you have to have help to misunderstand it.


Oh I LIKE that.