Power Harnessed
28 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:5 NASB
Gentle spirit – What is the biblical idea of “gentle spirit”? Is it meekness, sympathy, benevolence, a demure attitude, a light touch? If those are your synonyms, what you do think about Moses, Jeremiah, Peter? Would you say they had gentle spirits? Do you suppose Yeshua had a “gentle spirit” when he threw the money-changers out of the Temple square? How can we reconcile epieikḗs (gentle) with the actions of these faithful followers? Perhaps we need to reconsider our understanding of “gentle.” Here’s the background of the Greek term:
epieikḗs means “what is right or fitting,” “what is serviceable,” then “equable,” “moderate,” “reasonable,” “gentle.” In the LXX the group is used for God’s “kindness” as supreme ruler (1 Sam. 12:22; Dan. 3:42), as well as that of earthly rulers or the righteous, e.g., Elisha (2 Kgs. 6:3). Josephus has epieikḗs for kings and prophets, as does Philo. epieíkeia denotes legal “clemency” or “leniency” in Plato and Plutarch, and cf. the papyri. In 2 Cor. 10:1 Paul proposes the “meekness” of Christ as a model. As king, Christ has the gentleness that only one with full power may display (Phil. 2:5ff.). epieíkeia is thus a complement of heavenly majesty. The weak want to assert their dignity; Christ, having divine authority, shows saving clemency.[1]
What does this mean for us? Perhaps we should concentrate on the statement “gentleness that only one with full power may display.” This Greek idea does not mean a resigned, retiring, docile, self-effacing character. Only men and women of power can display epieikḗs because this “gentleness” is godly action. It is doing what is right under heaven, fully authorized by God’s sovereignty. For His followers, gentleness is divine agency.
Consider Yeshua’s reaction at the tomb of Lazarus. “So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it” (John 11:38). Pay attention to the Greek term translated “being deeply moved within.” The word (one word) is ἐμβριμάομαι (embrimaomai). It means, literally, “to snort with anger” as if you were witnessing war horses preparing to charge. It’s used in the LXX in Daniel 11:30 for the Hebrew zāʿam, “experiencing intense anger.” Clearly a “gentle spirit” is more like holding the reigns of a war horse then it is like hiding in the shadows. If you’re a gentle spirit in the biblical sense, you’re ready for battle.
Topical Index: embrimaomai, zāʿam, John 11:38, epieikḗs, gentle, Philippians 4:5
[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 243). W.B. Eerdmans.
“Perhaps we need to reconsider our understanding of ‘gentle’ … Only men and women of power can display epieikḗs because this “gentleness” is godly action. It is doing what is right under heaven, fully authorized by God’s sovereignty. For His followers, gentleness is divine agency.”
Thank you, Skip, for this clarification provided for an accurate understanding… both of divine empowerment for “doing what is right under heaven” and the divine agency that weeps concerning the effects of death and destruction set in opposition to life.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” (cf. Acts 1:8)
Interestingly Jordan Peterson interprets the KJV of Matthew 5:5 “the meek shown here at the Earth” as “Those who have swords and know how to use them, but choose to keep them sheathed will inherit the earth” is applying this principle of epieikḗs, which is in its essence, power under control He further states that “you have a moral obligation to be both strong and “dangerous”, but to harness it and use it for good.”