The virtuous body of Christ – Part 5

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The virtuous body of Christ” – Part 5

April 3, 2016

with Steven Crook

 

Up until now, we have covered many different aspects of being a virtuous woman both as a woman naturally and as well as spiritually. For Christians, we are always looking toward the spiritual lessons we can learn about the verses we read and how we can apply them to our lives today.

With the study today we are going to look at how at the body of Christ can apply the spiritual concepts of not doing our Husband evil but good all the days of our lives, as well as, seeking wool, flax and working willingly with our hands.

 

Good and not evil

 

The verse for consideration today is found in Proverbs 31:12-14.

Pro 31:12  She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

The verse we are going to cover today deals directly with evil and good. It seems fairly straight forward and for the most part it is, but as with all scripture, there is more being said than appears initially.

What is evil and what is good to the Lord? We need to know so that we can know what we are being told about a woman who does good to her husband all the days of her life.

If we simply apply the carnal definitions of evil and good, then every woman on the planet has failed to do good to her husband all the days of her life and this is equally true for husbands towards their wives.

So, what are the scriptural definitions of these words and how are they applied in scripture? Due to time restraints, I will only use a few examples.

First off, let us see why the Lord created the “wo” man.

Gen 2:19  And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
Gen 2:20  And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

(CLV) And calling is the human the names for every beast and for every flyer of the heavens, and for all field life. Yet for the human He does not find a helper as His complement.
(ESV)  The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.
(YLT)  And the man calleth names to all the cattle, and to fowl of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; and to man hath not been found an helper–as his counterpart.
So Adam needed a helper, compliment and counterpart to himself. As a result, what does God decide to do about this situation?
Gen 2:21  And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

In the previous study I emphasized the connection between the heart of the husband always trusting in his virtuous wife because they are one. It has been this way since the beginning, but being one goes beyond the physical connection couples have which anyone that has ever been in a relationship can attest to.
God pulled the support structure and protection to a man’s innermost fragile parts and gave him a woman out of that rib.
Contrary to the natural response this can(but doesn’t always) cause a woman to have about not being here on this planet simply to help a man, that IS why men and women are together.

Stepping outside of our natural thought processes of men and woman being in relationships, how many of us know what it is like to have a friend who is there when we need them? How many of us know the intellectual value of having someone we can count on?

When we add to this the intimate nature a man and woman share, then we can see there is much more to being a helper to a man than simply doing his laundry and cooking his food which is where.

Generally speaking, men have minds that allow us to have tunnel vision and focus intently on what we are doing and this is where we are stereotyped into not being very good multitaskers. Likewise, woman are stereotypically great at jugging many things at once.

However, either of this personality traits have weaknesses in them. One they are stereotypes but second if they do apply to us them there are pitfalls and strengths to both.

Woman are able to help men do more at once than they can do when they get tunnel vision and men are able to help women understand how to finish something to its completion instead of being a jack of all trades that never “masters” the things they are juggling.

Again, I know these are extremely base examples but they work well for the scriptural evidence of the truth behind them.

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

This may be a shock to some, but we ARE a SPIRTUAL body of Christ right now and we will individually receive a spiritual body upon our resurrection.

However, if the first man Adam was given a helper then so too was the second Adam. Just as God the Father, who is Spirit, gave His Son to be in this physical tabernacle to represent Him, so too is the body of Christ, the church of the Living God, given in this fleshly tabernacle to represent her Husband.

How then is the virtuous body of Christ a helper to her Husband?

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Knowing that “eternal” mentioned in the KJV means aionion or aionios (age-abiding), then we know that those who don’t feed the hungry and thirsty, take strangers in, cloth the naked, visit the sick and those in prison are those who will be cast into aionion “fire punishment”.

Those that do these things to help the “least of these my brethren” will inherit the kingdom of God which has been prepared since the foundation of the world!

Who was pulled out of the “quickening spirit” Adam’s rib, proverbially speaking, since the foundation of the world?

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Since we have been chosen since the foundation of the world, what does scripture consider the virtuous woman doing as “good” since she does her husband good all the days of her life?

Pro 31:12  She will do him goodH2896 and not evil all the days of her life.

H2896
ṭôb
Total KJV Occurrences: 566
good, 365

H2896

ṭôb
tobe
From H2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well): – beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favoured]).
Total KJV occurrences: 553

The Hebrew translated in Proverbs 31:12 as “good” has a root which will help us get to the root of the matter of what “good” is.

H2895

ṭôb
tobe
A primitive root, to be (transitively do or make) good (or well) in the widest sense: – be (do) better, cheer, be (do, seem) good, (make), goodly, X please, (be, do, go, play) well.
Total KJV occurrences: 31

H2895

ṭôb
Total KJV Occurrences: 22
well, 9
Num_11:18, Deu_5:33, Deu_15:16, Deu_19:13, Jdg_9:16, 1Sa_16:16, 1Sa_16:23, 2Ki_10:30, 2Ch_6:8
good, 6
Num_10:29, 1Ch_13:2, Est_5:4, Psa_119:68, Psa_125:4, Jer_32:41
please, 6
Neh_2:5, Neh_2:7, Est_1:19, Est_3:9, Est_5:8, Est_7:3
pleased, 1
Num_24:1

A few of these verses are:

Num 11:18  And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and YE SHALL EAST FLESH: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well H2895 with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
Num 11:19  Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
Num 11:20  But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

It is never a good idea to be freed as a slave to only want to go back to slavery because you somehow think it is “good”, better or “well” where you came from “back there in the past”.

This is a good practical way of thinking for us in general since we can NEVER relive the past. Trying to do so only produces NEGATIVE emotions and thoughts.

This is applicable for natural and spiritual men and women.

Deu 5:33  Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well H2895 with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

What about the flip side of the equation when we realize that being a helper can be hard since it is something that is expected of us simply for being who we are?

How is the one who is being helped supposed to think about the person who is their helper?

We see this in type with our next example. Though it is referring to a master/slave relationship, the principal of how we are to think and treat someone who is serving us in some capacity is still applicable.

Deu 15:15  And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.
Deu 15:16  And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;
Deu 15:17  Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
Deu 15:18  It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.

When and if we are prisoners of Christ, we feel and act the same way as this servant towards his master. We seek to please our Husband, as His virtuous wife, and that reflects in how we act day in and day out.

Neh 2:5  And I said unto the king, If it please H2895 the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.

Est 1:19  If it please H2895 the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.

Est 7:3  Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please H2895 the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:

Num 24:1  And when Balaam saw that it pleased H2895 the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

That briefly covers what it is to “do him good” all the days of her life, but what about not doing the evil part? Well, it would be the opposite of all the things considerd “good”.

Pro 31:12  She will do him good and not evil H7451 all the days of her life.

H7451
ra‛  /  râ‛âh
Total KJV Occurrences: 664
evil, 440

H7451

ra‛    râ‛âh
rah, raw-aw’
From H7489; bad or (as noun) evil (naturally or morally). This includes the second (feminine) form; as adjective or noun: – adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease (-ure), distress, evil ([-favouredness], man, thing), + exceedingly, X great, grief (-vous), harm, heavy, hurt (-ful), ill (favoured), + mark, mischief, (-vous), misery, naught (-ty), noisome, + not please, sad (-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked (-ly, -ness, one), worse (-st) wretchedness, wrong. [Including feminine ra’ah; as adjective or noun.]
Total KJV occurrences: 664

Gen 2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil H7451.

Pro 1:16  For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

There are 664 times “ra” or “evil” is mentioned in Hebrew, even more times than “good”, but it also has a root.
H7489

râ‛a‛
raw-ah’
A primitive root; properly to spoil (literally by breaking to pieces); figuratively to make (or be) good for nothing, that is, bad (physically, socially or morally). (associate selves and show self friendly are by mistake for H7462.): – afflict, associate selves [by mistake for H7462], break (down, in pieces), + displease, (be, bring, do) evil (doer, entreat, man), show self friendly [by mistake for H7462], do harm, (do) hurt, (behave self, deal) ill, X indeed, do mischief, punish, still vex, (do) wicked (doer, -ly), be (deal, do) worse.
Total KJV occurrences: 98

H7489
râ‛a‛
BDB Definition:
1) to be bad, be evil
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to be displeasing
1a2) to be sad
1a3) to be injurious, be evil
1a4) to be wicked, be evil (ethically)
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to do an injury or hurt
1b2) to do evil or wickedly
1b3) mischief (participle)
2) to break, shatter
2a) (Qal)
2a1) to break
2a2) broken (participle)
2a3) to be broken
2b) (Hithpolel) to be broken, be broken in pieces, be broken asunder
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root
Same Word by TWOT Number: 2191, 2192

Exo 5:22  And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil H7489 entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

Psa 94:16  Who will rise up for me against the evildoers H7489? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

Isa 31:2  Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers H7489 , and against the help of them that work iniquity.
Gen 38:9  And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
Gen 38:10  And the thing which he did displeased H7489 the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

Gen 48:17  And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased H7489 him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.

Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break H7489 them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Psa 105:15  Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm H7489.

Psa 44:2  How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict H7489 the people, and cast them out.

Pro 4:16  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief H7489; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

There are a lot of verses that have slightly different ways that this root of ra is translated into English, but the general idea of causing mischief, harming, afflicting, being wicked and displeasing your husband are the core of this concept. Again, we just need to look at the opposite of good that we mentioned earlier and that will tell us what it is to be evil towards our Husband Christ.

As the boyd of Christ, we should be praying to the Lord that He causes us to desire to do good towards Him all the days of our lives. As was clearly described earlier, this is accomplished by doing this to “the least of these my brethren”.

We should strive to be the light of the world, and not the darkness thereof. When given opportunity, we should be doing good to all of mankind but especially to the household of faith. This is doing good toward our Husband Jesus Christ.

G18
agathos
ag-ath-os’
A primary word; good (in any sense, often as noun): – benefit, good (-s, things), well. Compare G2570.
Total KJV occurrences: 102

Luk 8:15  But that on the good G2570 ground are they, which in an honest and good G18 heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good G18 unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

1Pe 2:12  Having your conversation honest G2570 among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good G2570 works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

The Lord is always watching and knows what is in all of our hearts. The way any of us serve our husbands and wives, physically or spiritually, is to follow the lead of the Word of God and apply those things to our minds on a regular basis. Straying from that puts us all in mindset that is not pleasing to the Lord.

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