Work with (4903) sunergeo by Greek Word Studies

Working with (4903) (sunergeo from sun = together with, speaks of an intimate relationship + érgon = work; English - synergy) means literally to work together, to be a partner in work, to co-labor, to engage in cooperative endeavor, to assist. Here James uses it to show that faith works together with works and so it achieves visibility and hence fulfilment in the works. As John Boys put it... The saints of God are sealed inwardly with faith, but outwardly with good works. There are 5 uses of sunergeo in the NT... Mark 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Romans 8:28 (note) And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 1 Corinthians 16:16 that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors. 2 Corinthians 6:1 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain-- James 2:22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; Hiebert explains that ... Working together (sunergei) asserts the close connection between Abraham's faith and his works. The compound verb may mean "to cooperate with," to work together as two quite independent forces. But James cannot mean that faith and works are two equal partners cooperating in the achievement of the stated result. Surely James did not teach such synergism. The preposition sun in the verb need not be so pressed. It seems better to accept that it has the force of working with in the sense of aiding and supporting; his works supported and sustained the fact that his faith was a living faith. The imperfect tense suggests that this working union of faith and works was not limited to this occasion but was characteristic of Abraham's life of faith. Faith is the motivating power of works and there can be no works of faith without faith, as there can be no fruit without the tree. We cannot say that the fruit of the tree cooperates with the tree, but we can say that the fruit helps us to know the nature of the tree. This verse underlines the inseparability of a living faith and Christian deeds. (James. Moody. 1992) It is noteworthy that although Martin Luther considered James a "right strawy epistle" because of this section of the book, Luther himself agreed with James as his preface to Romans demonstrates... O it is a living, quick, mighty thing this faith; so that it is impossible but that it should do all good things without intermission. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question could be asked it does them, and is always doing them. He who does not these good works is a man without faith.... Yea, it is impossible to separate works from faith, as impossible to separate burning and shining from fire." AND AS A RESULT OF THE WORKS, FAITH WAS PERFECTED: kai ek ton ergon e pistis eteleiothe, (3SAPI): (1John 2:5; 4:17,18) Related Resource - Jehovah Jireh - God our Provider (Abraham's Faith Demonstrated) Faith was perfected - Notice carefully that this statement implies that faith was already present and thus preceded the works mentioned. Obviously James is not saying Abraham's faith was perfect, for that is not possible for fallen men, even those who are saved by grace through faith. What he was saying is that Abraham's faith attained a reached its goal (see definition of verb below). James is not saying that it was a defective faith, for Genesis 15:6 clearly teaches that it resulted in complete (forensic) justification. "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/james_221-23.htm#w

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Work with (4903) sunergeo

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