To gain understanding of an individual passage, it is
beneficial to have both the Strong's concordance and Webster's 1828 dictionary
on hand.
Choose a Passage
Sometimes, the Lord will lead you to study through a book.
Other times, maybe it is just a memory verse or another verse that God has
brought to your attention.
Study Key Words
Find the key (strong) words throughout the passage (these
could be many or a few). Then, look up the definitions of these words both in
Strong's Hebrew/Greek dictionary and Webster's 1828 dictionary.
For example, I will use a study that I recently did.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-6
3 For this is the will
of God, even your sanctification,
that ye should abstain from fornication:
4 That every one of
you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
6 That no man go
beyond and defraud his brother in
any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have
forewarned you and testified.
Sanctification
Greek - (38) hagiasmos (hag-ee-as-mos'); from NT:37;
properly, purification, i.e. (the state) purity; concretely (by Hebraism) a
purifier:
Webster's - 1.
The act of making holy. In an evangelical sense, the act of God's grace by
which the affections of men are purified or alienated from sin and the world,
and exalted to a supreme love to God. 2. The act of consecrating or of setting
apart for a sacred purpose; consecration.
Should abstain
Greek - (567) apechomai (ap-ekh'-om-ahee); middle voice
(reflexively) of NT:568; to hold oneself off, i.e. refrain:
Webster's - In
a general sense, to forbear, or refrain from, voluntarily; but used chiefly to
denote a restraint upon the passions or appetites; to refrain from indulgence.
Fornication
Greek - (4202) porneia (por-ni'-ah); from NT:4203; harlotry
(including adultery and incest); figuratively, idolatry:
Webster's (fornicate) - To commit lewdness, as an unmarried man or woman, or as a married man
with an unmarried woman.
Honor
Greek - (5092) time (tee-may'); from NT:5099; a value, i.e.
money paid, or (concretely and collectively) valuables; by analogy, esteem
(especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself:
Webster's - 1.
The esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation. 2. A testimony of esteem; any expression
of respect or of high estimation by words or actions; as the honors of war;
military honors; funeral honors; civil honors. 4. Reverence; veneration; or any act by which reverence and submission
are expressed,as worship paid to the Supreme Being. 5. Reputation; good name; as, his honor is
unsullied.
Lust
Greek - (3806) pathos (path'-os); from the alternate of
NT:3958; properly, suffering ("pathos"), i.e. (subjectively) a
passion (especially concupiscence):
Webster's - 1.
Longing desire; eagerness to possess or enjoy; as the lust of gain. 2. Concupiscence; carnal appetite;
unlawful desire of carnal pleasure. Rom 1. 2 Pet 2. 3. Evil propensity; depraved affections
and desires. James 1. Psa 81. 1.
To desire eagerly; to long; with after. 2. To have carnal desire; to desire eagerly the gratification of
carnal appetite. 3. To have
irregular or inordinate desires. 4.
To list; to like.
Concupiscence
Greek - (1939) epithumia (ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah); from NT:1937;
a longing (especially for what is forbidden):
Webster's - Lust; unlawful or irregular desire of sexual
pleasure. In a more general sense, the coveting of carnal things, or an
irregular appetite for worldly good; inclination for unlawful enjoyments.
Defraud
Greek - (4122) pleonekteo (pleh-on-cek-teh'-o); from
NT:4123; to be covetous, i.e. (by implication) to over-reach:
Webster's - 1. To
deprive of right, either by obtaining something by deception or artifice, or by
taking something wrongfully without the knowledge or consent of the owner; to
cheat; to cozen; followed by of before the thing taken; as, to defraud; a man
of his right. 2. To withhold wrongfully from another what is due to him.
Defraud not the hireling of his wages. 3. To prevent one wrongfully from
obtaining what he may justly claim. 4. To defeat or frustrate wrongfully.
By looking into the definitions of the word, it helps me to
understand the subject this passage is speaking about.
Make it Personal
Once you study the passage, you can use the definitions to
make it applicable and personal. From the definitions above, my mom wrote:
"For this is the will of God, even
purifying you and making you holy, that ye should refrain from indulging in
idolatry (specifically in the physical sense), that everyone of you should know
how to possess his vessel in purity and dignity . . ."
To make it personal, she wrote:
"For this is the will of God, even
purifying me and making me holy, that I should abstain from indulging in idolatry . . ."
