You don’t have to go to seminary to learn some helpful Greek for interpreting the Bible. We have a lot of words in the Bible and Christianity that we think we understand. But many of them have been watered down or misunderstood. Rediscovering what the biblical authors meant by the words they used can enlighten us and increase our awe toward God.  If that’s a vision you’re on board for, make sure to also check out the post, “7 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know.”

Charis

But he gives us more grace (charis). That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” ~James 4:6

Our Bibles translate “charis” as “grace.” The New Testament authors translated a Hebrew concept “khen” into the Greek word “charis.” Khen elicited the idea of being motivated by delight to give favor. Charis is defined as a gracious gift. In the Old Testament, we see individuals asking from a place of need or humility for grace from someone in a place of power. In the Gospels, Jesus is described as being full of charis from the Father. The Father delights in showing unmerited favor to Jesus– not because Jesus somehow failed to deserve it, but rather because the Father’s delight wasn’t based on Jesus earning the gracious gifts. They were an overflow of the Father’s love and generous spirit. It’s through the charis of Jesus that Acts 15:11 says people will be saved. In Acts 14:3, God confirms the message of His charis by empowering the disciples to perform miracles. While grace is often described as an undeserved gift, it seems the delighted motivation is often left out. It’s not begrudging or impatient or with an eye roll. It’s an unearned gift that God delights to give you! 

Teleios

There is no fear in love. But perfect (teleios) love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect (teleios) in love. ~1 John 4:18

The Greek word “teleios” gets translated to perfect, which isn’t "wrong," but it does certainly have strong connotations in our culture that are, perhaps, unhelpful. The Greek concept of “teleios” is something being as it was intended in God’s original design. It’s something that is actively fulfilling its creational purpose. The trick with reading this word in Scripture is that we have to know the purpose of each thing being exhorted to “teleios.” One way to start thinking about it is that creation brings God glory by being the “_____iest _____” they can be. For example, birds should be the birdiest birds they can be. What does it mean to be the most birdy? You should probably ask an ornithologist, but at the very least, it includes participating in the global ecosystem by eating bugs, berries, fish, and rodents (depending on the species), contributing their musical chirps and tweets to nature’s symphony, and having babies. 

So what does it mean for you to be the humaniest human you can be? What was God’s original purpose for humanity? He made you to bear His image, create, and steward creation alongside Him in His wisdom. What does that look like for you personally to be the Joniest Jon or the Hayleyiest Hayley as you co-create and co-steward with God? To be fair, this understanding of teleios is not actually easier, but it feels far less discouraging than “be perfect.” 

Applying this understanding of perfect as “creationally intended” puts a deeper meaning to a lot of verses. Instead of glossing over them with an interpretation of “blemish-free,” it requires stopping to consider each call to “teleios.” Try it with these verses:

• Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
• But [God] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
• But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. (Hebrews 2:9-10)

Hamartia

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin (hamartia) and righteousness and judgment: about sin (hamartia), because people do not believe in me… ~John 16:8-9

Teleios and hamartia are two sides of the same coin. Hamartia is when we don’t fulfill “the goal.” What’s the goal? It’s for us to live as God intended! To be co-rulers over the earth with Him, bringing His Kingdom as we live in His wisdom. Many things you probably think of when hearing the word “sin” are indeed sin. But it’s because they aren’t how God intended we live. If God’s Kingdom is one of beauty, love, justice, and shalom, then when we lie, litter, or let resentment fester, we are failing to fulfill the goal. When you come across this word in Scripture, like with teleios, consider what the creational intention is. (If you want practice, you can find the word “sin” 39 times in the letter to the Romans.) By considering God's creational purpose for us and our relationships, we can better understand why He cares about the sin and have a more heartfelt repentance of our hamartia. 

Gehenna

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell (Gehenna). ~Matthew 5:29

“Gehenna” is one of the words translated as “hell.” Take a moment to clear out your preconceptions of hell and let’s try to build our understanding from the ground up. The first mention of Gehenna in the New Testament is by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. But Gehenna is actually a transliteration of a Hebrew phrase; in other words, New Testament Jews used Greek letters to spell the Hebrew “Gey’ Hinnom,” which means “Valley of Wailing.” So if we want to rebuild our understanding, we have to head back to the Old Testament. 

2 Chronicles 28:1-3 tell us that Ahaz, one of many evil kings of Judah, set up many altars to foreign gods like Baal and Molek, gods of the Canaanites, right outside the southwest corner of Jerusalem in the Valley of Wailing. On these altars in Gey’ Hinnom, King Ahaz burned his children alive as an offering. Through the Arameans, God defeated Ahaz and raised up King Hezekiah who worshipped Yahweh and demolished the Canaanite altars. But Hezekiah’s son, King Manasseh rebuilt them in his reign. Like his grandfather, he incinerated his children as offerings to Molek and Baal (2 Chron 33:1-6). So the Lord told them what He thinks about this abominable practice (see Jer 7:30-34). Speaking of Babylon's impending campaign, God warns that, unless they repent of burning their sons and daughters in the fires of Gey’ Hinnom, it will become “the Valley of Slaughter” because there will be too many people to even bury, and their bodies will become food for vultures (a pretty picture, no?). When the people of Judah don’t heed His warning, God reiterates it as final in Jeremiah 19, promising to turn their own violence against them as an act of divine justice.

So now we come to the New Testament, where Jesus uses the imagery of God’s divine justice in Gey’ Hinnom/Gehenna to talk about His divine justice in the future. Instead of picturing whatever it is you picture with our Hollywood-influenced understanding of hell, remember that Jesus’s word getting translated as hell is actually Gehenna. It’s a call back, making use of a specific piece of Israel’s personal history, to evoke the promise of God’s divine justice. Jesus isn’t teaching what hell is like. Rather, Jesus was making a point that God is just. God is patient (notice that there was time for repentance from the first to the second prophecy by Jeremiah). But ultimately, God will not allow evil to go unpunished. We have the option to accept God’s “charis” and live a fulfilling life partnering with Him to pursue our “teleios.” But it requires repentance from our “hamartia.” 

*As a side note, the only other word translated as hell in the New Testament is a one-time usage by Peter of the concept of Tartarus, taken from Greek mythology, to further give word pictures to this concept– because no one knows for sure how God will enact divine justice. We just know that He will because justice is a character trait we can count on from a God of love who protects His covenant people.

Dikaiosune

Therefore no one will be declared righteous (dikaiosune) in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin (hamartia). ~Romans 3:20

“Dikaiosune” is Greek for righteousness. Righteousness, rather than moral purity, is better thought of as “being in right relationship” or “doing right by.” It is inherently relational. You cannot be righteous in isolation. Rather, you can be righteous or in right relationship with your brother when you serve or forgive him. But when we ignore someone’s plight, we are not “dikaiosune.” In fact, in the Old Testament Hebrew, the words “justice and righteousness” are found together so often that they are considered by some as a single idea or phrase– righteousness being the standard of being in right relationship and justice being the actions we take to maintain the standard. One psalmist declares to God, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you” (Psalm 89:14). In other words, God’s Kingdom is defined by His faithful pursuit of doing right by everyone and looking out for the plight of the vulnerable. 

Righteousness is one of those words that when I see it, I swap it in my head so that I can remember what it really means. Because of years of thinking of it as individual moral purity, I have to actually substitute “right relationship” as I read or I won’t interpret the sentence right. Try doing this with Romans 3 and see if the inherently relational language alters your interpretation at all.

Euangelion

For I am not ashamed of the gospel (euangelion), because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel (euangelion) the righteousness (dikaiosune) of God is revealed… ~Romans 1:16-17

Euangelion is a compound word. “Eu” means good, and “angelion” means announcement, but we typically translate it to “gospel.” (You may notice how we get the word “evangelize” from this Greek word.) Euangelion, though, is a specific type of announcement. It’s an announcement of national or kingdom importance. To call it the euangelion of Jesus is to already cue up an expectation of Jesus as part of a rival kingdom. And after He rises from the dead, displaying power over life and death that can only come from God, He assures His disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). With this assurance of being backed by the most powerful King, Jesus tells His disciples to share the euangelion with the whole world. For more on this, read this post on how Jesus talked about the euangelion as the arrival of the Kingdom of God.

Christos

But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news (euangelion) of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Christos), they were baptized, both men and women. ~ Acts 8:12

The Greek “Christos” and Hebrew “Messiah” both mean “Anointed One.” In the Bible, anointing is typically done with a specially formulated oil. Pouring this anointing oil on items (like altars) and people (like priests, prophets, and kings) was a ritual done to signify them as a “portal” between Heaven and Earth. However, there are some rare instances in the Old Testament and many in the New Testament where God doesn’t just anoint with oil, but rather with His very presence and power— the Holy Spirit. We see this at Jesus’s baptism when He receives the anointing of the Holy Spirit to mark that, not only is Jesus a portal to God’s space, but He is God Himself come down to earth. The title of “The Anointed One” declares Jesus as the hope for Heaven and Earth to be reunited once again. In him, they are. And through the reconciliation that comes through His death and resurrection, His followers are also a space where Heaven and Earth are reunited as the Holy Spirit has anointed us, too. Now we live into the calling of anointed ones, bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to its fulfillment on Earth. As you read “Jesus Christ,” think “Jesus through whom Heaven is happening.” Then, it makes sense why we see the disciples healing people “in the name of Jesus Christ.” His name is power because the Anointed One is the one through whom Heaven is happening. 

So which of these feels the most interpretation-changing for you? Comment below!