Heb.
4:10 KJV For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own
works, as God did from His.
After
the first six days of the present creation, God rested from his own works. He now works with and through His creatures:
men and angels. (Men have first place
because they are created in His image.)
If
we are to have a spiritual part in His present work, we must enter His rest,
ceasing from our own works and doing with His assistance those things that are
according to his purpose.
Rom. 8:28-30 jvb And we know that
for them that are loving God, the Spirit assists in all work producing good for
them that are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknows, He also
predestinates to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren. 30 And
whom He predestinates, He also calls; and whom He calls He also justifies, and
whom He justifies He also glorifies.
In the New Testament, a Greek word
meaning "practice" seems to apply to works done without the Spirit,
without entering God's rest. A Greek word meaning "do" is often used
when works are done while resting from self, being assisted by the Holy Spirit,
and furthering the conformity of those called in Christ Jesus into His
image. Thayer differentiates the meaning
of the two words at the end of the entry for the latter:
"(Synonyms: ποιεῖν, πράσσειν: roughly speaking, ποιεῖν may be said to
answer to the Latin facere or the English do, πράσσειν to agere or English
practise; ποιεῖν to designate performance, πράσσειν intended, earnest,
habitual, performance; ποιεῖν to denote merely productive action, πράσσειν
definitely directed action; ποιεῖν to point to an actual result, πράσσειν to
the scope and character of the result.
In Attic in certain connections the difference between them is great, in
others hardly perceptible (Schmidt); see his Syn., chapter 23, especially sec.
11; cf. Trench, N. T. Synonyms, sec. xcvi.; Green, `Critical Note' on John
5:29; (cf. πράσσω, at the beginning and 2). The words are associated in John
3:20,21; 5:29; Acts 26:9, 10; Rom. 1:32; 2:3; 7:15ff; 13:4 , etc.)"
The
references giving by Thayer above amply illustrate the point that the words
often differentiate truly Christian good works, those done in full enjoyment of
God's rest, from one's own works. At other times it seems that God's
providential actions through us are differentiated from our own "intended,
earnest, habitual" works,
I
first noted this difference in the two words decades ago, but have been
deplorably slow in letting others know about it. Usage of "do" rather
than "practice" in First John first caught my attention, and later
the John 3:20-21 usages cited by Thayer. True Christian good works are also
defined in Ephesians:
Eph. 2:10 KJV For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them.
I2C
160725aa Heb4v10 Do vs
Practice | I2C | 160725 2029 et
