Perfect (2675) (katartízō from katá = with + artízō = to adjust, fit, finish, in turn from ártios = fit, complete) means to fit or join together and so to mend or repair.
Katartízō conveys the fundamental idea of putting something into its appropriate condition so it will function well. It conveys the idea of making whole by fitting together, to order and arrange properly. When applied to that which is weak and defective, it denotes setting right what has gone wrong, to restore to a former condition, whether mending broken nets or setting broken bones.
Katartizo is used 13x in NT (Mt 4:21; 16" class="scriptRef">21:16; 9" class="scriptRef">Mk. 1:19; Lk. 6:40; Ro 9:22; 1Co. 1:10; 11" class="scriptRef">2Co. 13:11; Gal 6:1; 1Th 3:10; Heb 10:5; 11:3; 13:21; 1Pe 5:10) The NASB translates katartízō as follows: complete, 1; equip, 1; fully trained, 1; made complete, 2; mending, 2; perfect, 1; prepared, 4; restore, 1. There are 17 uses in the Septuagint - Ezr. 4:12, 13, 16; 5:3, 9, 11; 6:14; Ps. 8:2; 11:3; 17:5; 18:33; 29:9; 40:6; 68:9; 74:16; 80:15; 89:37
Peter is saying that God promises to repair the damage that sin and suffering have wrought. God will make us what we ought to be.
To make fitted or equipped for a duty or function.
To make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something.
To thoroughly prepare something to meet demands.
To supply that which is missing.
Wuest adds that katartízō
has in it the idea of equipping something or preparing it for future use." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos
Vincent says that katartízō
signifies to readjust, restore, set to rights, whether in a physical or a moral sense." (Vincent, M. R. Word Studies in the New Testament. Vol. 1, Page 3-317)
Westcott writes that the word
includes the thoughts of the harmonious combination of different powers, the supply of that which is defective, and the amendment of that which is faulty.
Hiebert notes that katartízō can also mean
to bring to completion a process of making whole already begun" as in Jesus statement that "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained (katartízō), will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40)
When the pupil's training is complete, he will be just like his master. Our standard of excellence is the perfection of Christ Himself. Hiebert in fact favors this intent here in 1 Peter 5:10, writing that
God will not allow the work He has begun in them to fall short of His perfecting grace. (Hiebert, D. E. 1 Peter. page 319. Moody)
Katartízō was sometimes used metaphorically of restoring harmony among quarreling factions in a dispute.
Katartízō was used in secular Greek to describe a trainer who adjusts parts of the body, as a surgical term of the setting of a broken bone or putting a dislocated limb back in place or of the repairing and refitting of a damaged vessel (ship). Katartízō is used in other contexts of the strengthening or sustaining of a worn down people, of the mixing of medicine or of politicians appeasing factions and restoring unity (used by Herodotus for composing civil disorder)
Barclay - Katarizo is "the word commonly used for setting a fracture, the word used in Mark 1:19 for mending nets. It means to supply that which is missing, to mend that which is broken. So suffering, if accepted in humility and trust and love, can repair the weaknesses of a man's character and add the greatness which so far is not there. It is said that Sir Edward Elgar once listened to a young girl singing a solo from one of his own works. She had a voice of exceptional purity and clarity and range, and an almost perfect technique. When she had finished, Sir Edward said softly, "She will be really great when something happens to break her heart." Barrie tells how his mother lost her favorite son, and then says, "That is where my mother got her soft eyes, and that is why other mothers ran to her when they had lost a child." Suffering had done something for her that an easy way could never have done. Suffering is meant by God to add the grace notes to life." (1 Peter 5 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible)
Like a doctor setting a broken bone, God will mend our broken lives and make us whole.
TRIALS ARE
TRAINING FOR REIGNING
MacDonald - The final encouragement is that God uses suffering to educate us and mold our Christian character. He is training us for reigning... Trials make the believer fit; they supply needed elements in his character to make him spiritually mature. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
That the God of all grace would perfect them "is a promise that God will supply all that is lacking in the elements of character upon which strength depends." (The Pulpit Commentary: New Testament)
UBS Handbook Series - Perfect" is literally “restore,” denoting the idea of putting something in order, making something complete (compare Jerusalem Bible “will see that all is well again”; Phillips paraphrase “will make you whole”); it is a very fitting promise for Christians whose bodies are broken down because of persecution and whose wills are ever put to the test. A literal rendering of will himself perfect you may be misunderstood as a reference to complete sanctification in the sense of “make you perfect.” The focus here is upon restoration, not upon sanctification. An equivalent in some instances may be “will do for you all that is necessary” or “will fix everything up for you again.” (The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series)
Mills - Peter, who knew all about mending nets, says, “Do not worry, you think you are being torn apart by the lions in the lions’ den (that could have been a literal concern in his historic context-it certainly was a few years later), but God will put it all together again; He will restore you, don’t worry God will restore you!” 1 Peter : A study guide to the First Epistle by Peter. Dallas: 3E Ministries)
Ron Ritchie writes that after we have suffered the "God of all grace" will
restore you as a physician restores a broken bone. So if you humbly accept suffering from the hand of God, you can by God's grace have your weakness of character healed, and the greatness now missing but deeply desired in your life will be added to you.
Raymond Ortlund writes that katartízō "translated “restore” is used in Mark 1:19 for the disciples repairing their fishing nets. The point is that, after we have suffered a little while and taken some hits and gotten knocked around, the God who called us into his eternal glory will repair us and restore us. We will not be damaged goods. We will not carry psychological scars. We will be happy and whole. And to that end God himself promises to make us strong, firm and steadfast. God is on a personal mission to prove a point that not even the devil can debate, viz., that the power is his forever and ever. And that power is on our side." (from his sermon entitled Learning to Lose with God: How to defeat the devil)
Alexander Maclaren writes that katartízō "is employed here for that great work of Divine grace by which our defects are made good, the rents which sin has made mended, the tarnished purity given back, the scars effaced. That form of the Divine help answers to the deepest of our needs, and, in its incipient stages, is the first fruits of the great harvest of God’s grace which a believing soul reaps. We need first of all forgiveness and the removal of the guilt of our sins. All restoration of fallen men to the lost ideal of man, which is the likeness of God, must begin there, and then there follows a long process which the patient God carries on, mending us by slow degrees, and step by step supplementing this defect and repairing the results of that sin, till there be no gaps remaining needing to be filled and no flaws in character needing to be corrected. “‘Tis a lifelong task till the lump be leavened.” The restoring grace has to permeate all the crannies and corners of the soul. It must transform and expel, if it is to mend and restore. When we think of our own defects and see how much is lacking in our characters, we may well feel that nothing can ever fill up these. Then the confidence of this brave text may hearten us. It is the God of all grace to whom we look for our perfecting. No emptiness can be so vast and so empty that that “ all ” cannot fill it. No man can have gone so far from the right way, or had his nature so lacerated by sin’s cruel fangs, that that “all” cannot heal and repair the damage. Therefore the more we sound the height, and length, and breadth, and depth of our imperfections and sins, the more joyfully should we think of the completeness of that power which overlaps them on all sides and surpasses them in every dimension, and the more confidently should we exclaim, “ The God of all grace shall restore us and complete us.” (The Pulpit Commentary - Homily)
Katartízō does not necessarily imply, that that to which it is applied has been damaged. For example, in Hebrews we read that
by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared (put in order, equipped for the world might be made ready to fulfill its intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." (Heb 11:3-note)
Katartízō was used in Hellenistic literature to describe the act of creation.
Mark described James and John
in the boat mending (katartízō) the nets." (Mk 1:19, same use by Matthew in Mt 4:21)
Paul uses katartízō in his exhortation to the Galatians writing
Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted." (Gal 6:1)
Believers who are walking by (being controlled by) the Spirit are to restore fallen believers. They are to in a sense help to "mend" them like a torn net that can no longer fulfill its intended function. As an aside note that manifesting the fruit of the Spirit is not a mystical experience.
Paul writes the saints at Thessalonica that
we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete (katartízō) what is lacking in your faith?" (1Th 3:10-note)
Paul is using katartízō with the idea of completing or making good that which was needed in their faith. He was not criticizing the church but rather acknowledging that their faith had not yet reached full development, which is what he prayed and labored for.
BKC - The Thessalonians were like tender young plants; their tender roots held them firm against the present storm, but they still needed to grow and mature. This is the first explicit reference to deficiencies in their spiritual condition— deficiencies due more to immaturity than to waywardness." (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor)
Paul exhorted the Corinthians writing...
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete (thoroughly equipped) in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1Cor 1:10)
Paul is exhorting the Corinthians to be perfectly joined together in opposition to being divided. In other words he wants the individual members of the church to be knit together, like the medical use describing the knitting together fractured bones. The disunion was unnatural and must be cured for the sake of the health and efficiency of the body of Christ in Corinth.
In one of the great NT prayers, the writer of Hebrews prays for his readers:
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip (equipping so that they might be made ready to fulfill their purpose for which they were saved) you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (Heb 13:20-21-note)
In this section God uses the tool of suffering to fully equip His people for life and service.
Peter’s promise is that God will intervene now. Yes, we suffer, but only for a brief moment, which pales to insignificance when compared to the eternal glory that awaits us. And, even as we wait we experience God’s work in our lives, mending us, strengthening us, that we may face life as firm and steadfast followers of our Lord.
CONFIRM: sterixei (3SFAI): (Col 2:7; 2 Th 2:17; 3:3)
The "God of all grace will Himself...confirm us"
Confirm (4741) (stērízō from histemi = to stand as in 1 Pe 5:12 "stand firm in" the true grace of God. Histemi also root of "Resist" - anthistemi and of "firm" - stereos, both used by Peter in 1 Pe 5:9) means to make firm or solid, to set fast, to fix firmly in a place, to establish (make firm or stable), to cause to be inwardly firm or committed, to strengthen. The basic idea is that of stabilizing something by providing a support or buttress (a projecting structure of masonry or wood for supporting or giving stability to a wall or building), so that it will not totter.
Vine feels that stērízō is derived from stērix, a prop (something that sustains or supports).
Stērízō is used 14x in NT (Lk. 9:51; 16:26; 22:32; Ro 1:11; 16:25; 1Th. 3:2, 13; 2Th 2:17; 3:3; James 5:8; 1Pe 5:10; 2Pe 1:12; Re 3:2)and in the NAS is translated as - confirm, 1; determined, 1; establish, 2; established, 2; fixed, 1; strengthen, 6; strengthening, 1.
There are 34 uses of sterizo in the Septuagint (LXX) - Gen. 27:37; 8.12" class="scriptRef">28:12; Exod. 17:12; Lev. 13:55; Jdg. 19:5, 8; 1Sam. 26:19; 2 Ki. 18:16, 21; Ps. 51:12; 104:15; 111:8; 112:8; Prov. 15:25; 16:30; 27:20; Song 2:5; Is 22:25; 59:16; Jer. 3:12; 17:5; 21:10; 24:6; Ezek. 6:2; 13:17; 14:8; 15:7; 20:46; 21:2; 25:2; 28:21; 29:2; 38:2; Da 7:28; Amos 9:4;
In the present verse, stērízō refers to a divine promise that amid their sufferings, God will give the believers the needed fixity and immobility, and thus the inner strength and resolve to continue to resist the onslaughts of their adversary, the devil, and stand fast in their faith. And He will do the same for you, beloved.
God will "confirm" you. He will make you as solid as granite and enable you to stand against the fiery ordeal and the storms of life. (Ron Ritchie)
Commenting on stērízō MacDonald writes that
Suffering makes Christians more stable, able to maintain a good confession, and to bear up under pressure." (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
Barclay writes that stērízō
means to make as solid as granite. Suffering of body and sorrow of heart do one of two things to a man. They either make him collapse or they leave him with a solidity of character which he could never have gained anywhere else. If he meets them with continuing trust in Christ, he emerges like toughened steel that has been tempered in the fire. (The Daily Study Bible)
Doug Goins writes that
We're being hardened and solidified and toughened through suffering, like fired and tempered steel."
Stērízō is used with a similar meaning in Second Thessalonians, Paul writing that when confronted by
perverse and evil men, for not all have faith, the Lord is faithful (trustworthy, worthy of confidence, dependable, reliable) and He will strengthen (stērízō) and protect (military term - of a sentinel keeping guard, of the garrison of a city guarding it against attack from without > to guard against robbery or loss, watch over and defend, keep a person so that they remain safe) you from the evil one. (2Th 3:2-3)
Paul teaches that we are to look away from faithless men to our never-failing God, Who will firmly establish us on the inside and guard us on the outside from the evil one (probably a reference to our "adversary, the devil... a roaring lion" and the ruler over evil men).
Study the following uses of sterizo and note that although God is the One Who confirms or stabilizes us, we as believers also have a responsibility. According to Scripture, saints are stabilized or strengthened -- in our heart (1Th 3:13-note, 2Th 2:17) not physical heart but the center of spiritual activity = the inner self that thinks, feels, and decides = the center of emotions, feelings, moods, and passions), by being reminded of the truth (2 Peter 1:12 note); according to the gospel (Ro 16:25 note); by the certainty of the second coming (Js 5:8); as an answer to the prayers of other godly men and women (1Pe 3:12; 3:13 see notes 1Pe3:12; 13, 2Th 2:16, 17); and by the strengthening ministered through other saints who come alongside (e.g., Peter in Lk 22:31, 32, Timothy 1Thessalonians 3:2 [note], Paul in Ro 1:11 (note). So although Peter teaches that it is the God of all grace Himself Who ultimately stabilizes us, these other NT uses of sterizo teach that God also uses the the encouragement and prayers of other saints and the truth of the gospel to carry out this stabilization.
Michaels adds that regarding stērízō
it is worth noting that Paul’s uses of the same verb, in contexts of pastoral care of ethical admonition, consider it sometimes as a work of God (1Th 3:13-note; 2Th 2:17; 2Th 3:3; Ro16:25 note), sometimes as a responsibility of believers to each other (Ro 1:11; 1Th 3:2; cf. Acts 14:22)." (Bolding added. Michaels, J. R. Vol. 49: Word Biblical Commentary: 1 Peter. page 303. Dallas: Word).
There is an excellent illustration of the meaning of stērízō in the Septuagint (LXX) where we read in the context of Israel battling the Amalekites that
Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it and Aaron and Hur supported (stērízō - imperfect tense - over and over they would support) his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady (stērízō - perfect tense - they continued in a state of steadiness) until the sun set. (Ex 17:12-note)
To get an added sense of the meaning of stērízō, hold your pointer over (or better yet click for context) the following four NT uses of the related verb, epistērizō - "strengthening the souls of the disciples" Acts 14:22; "strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message", Acts 15:32; "strengthening the churches", Acts 15:41; "strengthening all the disciples", Acts18:23.
1 Peter 5:10 is in a sense a fulfillment of a prophecy by Jesus. Stērízō had special meaning for Peter, who had heard his Lord use this word to encourage him even after warning that their adversary, the devil, like a roaring lion would seek to devour him. Jesus declared to Peter
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift (literally to shake but here figuratively of inward agitation to test and prove his faith by trials and afflictions, which would separate good from bad in Peter's character) you like wheat (wheat was winnowed, the shaking being in order to separate the good part from the chaff which the wind would blow away) but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen (stērízō - aorist active imperative - command to do it even conveying sense of urgency) your brothers. (Lk 22:31-32)
In Luke, we encounter a long section (Lk 9:51-19:44) which introduces a new facet of Jesus' ministry (and which has no counterpart in Matthew or Mark, though much of its material is found in other contexts in those Gospels), Luke gives us a vivid picture of the meaning of stērízō recording that
it came about, when the days were approaching for (Jesus') ascension, that He resolutely (steadfastly and determinedly) set (stērízō) His face ("set his face" is a Hebrew idiom, common in the OT as illustrated in next note and implies fixedness of purpose, especially in the prospect of difficulty or danger) to go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51).
In the Septuagint (LXX), Greek translation of the Hebrew OT, God commanded His prophet Ezekiel
Son of man, set (stērízō aorist active imperative - do it now, command, with urgency) your face (this Hebrew idiom "set your face" is used 11x in Ezekiel!) toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them. (Ezek 6:2-note)
In the perfect tense stērízō means established permanently or stands fixed as in the description of Hades (which one day will be thrown into the Lake of fire, Re 20:13; 20:14 see notes Re 20:13; 14)
Luke recording Abraham's words to the rich man that
besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed (perfect tense of stērízō), in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. (Lk 16:26)
In short this verse clearly teaches that the choices of this life will determine one's eternal destiny, and once death has taken place, that destiny is fixed. There is no passage from the abode of the saved to that of the damned or vice versa.
In his second epistle Peter wrote
Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established (stērízō - perfect tense speaks of permanence) in the truth which is present with you." (see note 2 Peter 1:12)
In other words, the perfect tense indicates that these saints had become stabilized in the truth at some point of time in the past and were still in a state of being set fast or placed firmly upon it. Their knowledge of the Word and the sound doctrines of the faith were set in their minds as it were. However, there is always the danger of a preoccupied moment or a forgetful hour and so the truth that we have been permanently fixed in the sphere of the truth is one which needs to be constantly reiterated. Perhaps as you read this verse, beloved, you too need to be reminded of your firm and eternally secure position in Christ.
For I long to see you in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established (stērízō)" (Ro 1:11-note)
Vine has an interesting note on this verse in his discussion of stērízō writing that
to establish is to cause to lean by supporting. Ministry of God’s Word which leads us into fuller dependence on God, is ministry which establishes us. The Hebrew word for “believe” literally means “to lean upon” (cp 2Chr. 20:20); “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established,” where “believe” and “established” represent the same word. The means of this constant confirmation, then, is the impartation of spiritual benefit, and the response of faith." (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)
In a beautiful doxology, Paul emphasizes like Peter that saints are stabilized by God...
Now to Him Who is (continually) able to establish (stērízō) you according to (in agreement with) my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past. 26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen." (see notes Romans 16:25; 16:26; 16:27)
In other words it is through the gospel which Paul preached ("my gospel") that God is able to establish the minds and hearts of believers in the truth, to settle, ground , and make them firm in Him. The point is that God Who uses the proclamation of His Truth to buttress the faith of His children.
We sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen (stērízō) and encourage you as to your faith." (see note 1Thessalonians 3:2)
Timothy was to buttress their faith with the intent of firmly establishing it. Strong faith is a result of knowing all that God has revealed, and has a firm foundation in sound doctrine. No faith can be strong without knowledge and understanding of the truth.
May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." (see note 1Thessalonians 3:12; 3:13)
Again Paul teaches that is is the Lord who establishes and makes firm His saints.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace comfort and strengthen (sterizo) your hearts in every good work and word." (2Th 2:16-17)
MacDonald writes that Paul is praying not just for
encouragement in the midst of distress, but strength to move forward in the battle. The word “retreat” wasn’t in the apostle’s vocabulary, and it shouldn’t be in ours either. Don’t miss the expression every good word and work. Truth on our lips is not enough; it must be worked out in our life. So in our lives there should be the order of teaching and doing, doctrine and duty, preaching and practice. (Believer's Bible Commentary)
James writes...
You too (like "the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil") be patient; strengthen (stērízō - aorist active imperative - command to do this now - it is urgent) your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand (The imminency of Christ’s return is a frequent theme in the NT and is that promised time when your "eternal glory in Christ" will come to fruition)." (James 5:8)
James gives the saints a command to buttress up their hearts like a wall and make them stable. But I thought Peter said God was the One Who would confirm or stabilize us? That's true but in this passage James exhorts those about to collapse under the weight of persecution to shore up their hearts with truth, in this case the great truth that Christ is coming back to bring us home. Our hearts should be buttressed by this sure hope of the second coming.
Jesus warns the church at Sardis
Wake up (gregoreuo as in 1 Peter 5:8 - note "be on the alert" - there was no time for indifference; they could not just go with the flow, they had to reverse it), and strengthen (stērízō - aorist imperative - command to do this now - it is urgent) the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. (see note Revelation 3:2)
The God of all grace will Himself make you stable, firmly fixed on the Rock of your salvation, resolutely setting your will toward your eternal home. The believer who is established will not be moved by the lion's loud roar.
Spurgeon comments that
we cannot have (this confirmation and establishment) until after we have suffered a while. We cannot be established except by suffering. It is of no use our hoping that we shall be well-rooted if no March winds have passed over us. The young oak cannot be expected to strike its roots so deep as the old one. Those old gnarlings on the roots, and those strange twistings of the branches, all tell of many storms that have swept over the aged tree. But they are also indicators of the depths into which the roots have dived; and they tell the woodman that he might as soon expect to rend up a mountain as to tear up that oak by the roots. We must suffer a while, then shall we be established. (from his sermon "A New Year's Benediction" on 1 Peter 5:10)
STRENGTHEN: autos...sthenosei (3SFAI): (Ps 138:7; Zech 10:6,12; Lk 22:32; Php 4:13; Col 1:22,23)
God's strength to us to meet the demands of life.
Strengthen (4599) (sthenóō from sthénos = strength) denotes the idea of God giving them strength to bear all their sufferings without wavering in their faith. It means to cause someone to be or to become more able or capable, with the implication of a contrast with weakness. This verb is found only in this verse in the NT.
Peter says that the God of grace promises to Himself provide the strength needed to resist the devil, holding one's ground when he roars.
Barclay says that
Through suffering God will strengthen a man. The Greek is sthenóō, which means to fill with strength. Here is the same sense again. A life with no effort and no discipline almost inevitably becomes a flabby life. No one really knows what his faith means to him until it has been tried in the furnace of affliction. There is something doubly precious about a faith which has come victoriously through pain and sorrow and disappointment. The wind will extinguish a weak flame; but it will fan a strong flame into a still greater blaze. So it is with faith." (The Daily Study Bible)
Commenting on sthenóō MacDonald writes that
Persecution is intended by Satan to weaken and wear out believers, but it has the opposite effect. It strengthens them to endure. (Believer's Bible Commentary)
Wiersbe says Peter refers to - God’s strength given to us to meet the demands of life. What good is it to stand on a firm foundation if we do not have power to act?...Strengthen means just that: God’s strength given to us to meet the demands of life. What good is it to stand on a firm foundation if we do not have power to act?" (Bolding added) (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)
Goins writes that this word is
literally, we will be "filled with bodily strength." It's like bodily discipline through exercise which toughens up a flabby body, replacing fat with muscle. That's what God's doing to us through suffering. In our suffering we have the perspective of the Olympic athlete who is in training because he is shooting for the gold medal. He knows that's where he's headed, he knows that's the purpose in all of his pain and difficulty.
ESTABLISH: autos...themeliosei (3SFAI):
Note that some manuscripts omit this verb, which accounts for its omission in the ASV, although the majority of texts support it as in the original text.
Establish (2311) (themelióō from themélios = foundational, fundamental, describing that which lies beneath, foundation (stone), base and reference is always to something secure and permanent in itself) means to lay a foundation or provide with a foundation, to place on a firm, secure foundation. The radical notion of themelióō is to ground securely. Figuratively, it refers to providing a firm basis for belief or practice establish, strengthen, settle (place so as to stay, establish or secure permanently), cause to be firm and unwavering.
Themelioo is used 5x in the NT (
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